acorns and puppies

More Finger puppets from the Lylee heart shop! ( formally known as our dinning room table)






I got to start some seedlings in a friend's greenhouse today, it felt so nice to have my hands in soil, and to see a greenhouse full of little seedlings. Summer is just out of reach, but I can't wait.

sourdough and blue birds..

Prompted by an order a friend of mine put in for finger puppets, I spent the morning making a flock of blue birds. I really like these little guys (and gals) they turned out really cute. Made of old wool, saved from the dump by the re-store in barre, and a bit of felt made from recycled plastic bottles.


Another friend recently gave me some sourdough that he started from natural yeasts. Basically, he set flour and water in a container and waited for the natural yeasts in the air, and on our bodies to create the mix into a living organism. Pretty cool stuff, and much more satisfying than just opening up a package of dry active yeast. I've been feeding and mixing my starter and today made pancakes with the batter. I added the flour, water, sugar and salt last night, then it fermented more and became all bubbly, and in the morning was perfect for pancakes.

I used the recipe from Sandor Katz's epic book Wild Fermentation . I have so many cookbooks that I love and have used so much that the pages are worn with splotches of batter and notes penciled in to the sides. Choosing a favorite is a difficult task, but I have to say Wild Fermentation is rapidly becoming my favorite and the most useful, interestingly written book about food and cooking that I own. If you have never seen it, I really recommend picking up a copy- fermented foods are so good for us, and his book really explains the process of creating such food and makes it so easy to add these nutritional and tasty foods to your diet.

craft-tastic!

I've been spending a lot of time lately making a whole lot of art to use to apply to craft shows in the area. I found out Yesterday that I got in to the queen city craft show in Burlington, VT in June.
Woot! I miss the days of the rock in roll craft show in St. Louis.

next up, really figuring out that etsy site.

happy tuesday everyone!

welcome home!!!

Yesterday was beautiful here! In the 50's, sunny, and of course the day I chose to do major house cleaning, organizing, and laundry. blarg. Anyway, Lindley got back in town and a welcome home dinner was in order.

The menu!
heart shaped (of course!) sweet potato ravioli with a basic cream sauce, garlic kissed broccoli, and maple glazed carrots. I decided to make ravioli for the first time. I used a basic recipe for the dough-just eggs and flour- and spent a lot of time rolling the dough to get it paper thin (no pasta roller here.) Everything turned out perfectly, and was so delicious.

sweet potato filling: sweet potato, cider vinegar, cinnamon, Parmesan cheese, garlic, onion, thyme

Finished meal!

more birch bark earrings

I turned in to a birch bark crafting factory yesterday... a few more for your eyes.



these are spalted maple, but still pretty and
worthy of being in the birch bark post, I promise!

birch bark earrings

In my last post I mentioned that I was starting to work on some birch bark earrings. Though I rarely follow through on blog promises I did this time! I'm really happy with the results, and excited to keep experimenting with different ways to treat the bark.



On the food front I've gotten pretty hooked on eating cream of rice for breakfast these days. I found it at a tiny Indian grocery store in Burlington and stocked up on so many goodies that are hard to come by in Vermont. In a rush to get off to work, I will often leave the leftover cream of rice in the pot. Yesterday I took the leftovers (8 hours later), all firmed up and cut them in to small rectangles. I fried them in a bit of oil with mustard seeds, garlic and onion. They were delicious, crispy amazingness. They reminded me a bit of polenta, or what I imagine Panisses to be. Panisses-Next on my food making list- are from Southern France. They are essentially chickpea flour that has been combined with water, allowed to set, then cut, dredged in flour, and gently fried- then eaten (I imagine) much like french fries.
I'm excited to try them out.

more adventures with earrings...

Last night I took a nap around 9pm, woke up at midnight, and proceeded to make earrings until wee hours of the morning. Ah, the perks of having a non 9-5 work schedule. Earrings are officially taking over the apartment. Below are images of the newest ones. Next up, earrings made of birch bark!







When we first moved in to the apartment it felt so cold and foreign to me. I don't really have any of my art collection in Vermont yet, and the white walls just jump out at me (and laughed.) I automatically started sewing things, anything, to decorate the sterile space. Behold, the toothbrush/ toothpaste holder in our bathroom.

branch buds!

hello! It feels like spring in Vermont today, and I'm feeling almost 100% better, hooray! Some more newish art for you! In addition to the hand cut, smooth wooden earrings I have been making, here are some photos of the 'branch buds' earrings that I make. Made out of twigs I find, copper wire and findings, and love they are some of my favorites. enjoy.

miso broth, saltines, and super mario brothers

"woodends" earrings. Made from mostly local
and sustainably harvested wood scraps with
Sterling silver findings. Woods are
(clockwise from top left) mahogany,
cherry ash and walnut, cherry, and ebony.
made with love.

As the title may give away, I've been fighting off a nasty cold. My tonsils decided to triple in size and I felt awful. Luckily, I'm feeling better and with that boost of energy some new art was created. More earrings, and new finger puppets! This time I decided that vegetables aren't personified nearly enough. I'm going to sell them in sets of five with a sewn case that doubles as a backdrop for them to be played with on. In the works are under the sea, backyard, farm animal, and tool sets.
Spending time during my slushy, cold morning commutes dreaming about spring and growing veggies. Below, a photo of Lindley and I at Essex farm in NY harvesting carrots. SPring is just around the corner!