Bit of a blog break.

As you might be able to tell, I took a bit of a blog break. Life is going swimmingly, but a couple of things have popped up that are requiring a bit of work. One of them may lead to my own little farm for the spring! Excitement.

I've spent a lot of time inside because of rain, recently, so I thought I'd share my current project. I got a bunch of plastic from the lovely Katy of girlindustries and have spent a lot of time piecing things together, testing, and thinking. She sent some clear bags that I just couldn't wreck by fusing. I, instead, trimmed off some undesirable lettering and added drawstring 'tubes' to the top. Now, I have some pretty fancy drawsting giftbags. I need to run them with some black cord, and they'll be finished!

Ginkgo -- Pt. 2

I found so many amazing things while searching etsy for ginkgo, that I couldn't just do one post. Here are today's ginkgo finds.




westernartglass is now one of my new favorites. I love that this artist is recycling bottles and turning them into beautiful pieces of art. Check out these great ginkgo earrings.











This lovely drawing of a ginkgo leaf by AKJapan immediately caught my eye. The colors and simplicity really appeal to me.







And now for a YOWZA! This lovely pillow has great, bright colors and it really makes for a fascinating look. Even cooler is that cottageindustrialist designed all of the fabrics!

Ginkgo -- Pt. 1

I was pondering some fresh ideas for spring, one including the lovely ginkgo tree, and I decided to see who else had been inspired by this striking dinosaur.



To start us out, I thought I'd share one of the many lovely works by the artist of ginkgo. I love the little bunches of copper leaves so delicately hung. Simple, yet striking.







And now, the lovely, pure silver ginkgo charm by the equally lovely MeridianStudio. All of her pieces are individually crafted, never cast, so you know you're getting a one-of-a-kind piece every time.







Next, the amazing filigree carved ginkgo gourd by trestella. This gorgeous piece definitely speaks for itself! The colors and textures are just wonderful.

Mmmm, compost!

I've been pretty productive for the past couple of days. I finally got around to dumping out one of my composters and can't wait to start filling it up again. I dumped it out after it got rained on, so I declined taking pictures of the finished product. I added some leaves and bark shreds to it, and it's now sitting in our 'pit' to cure.

I set up these composters about two years ago and they've served me well. Here are some pictures.We assembled a 'deck' out of scrap lumber and fixed a bunch of small, fixed casters we got at Harbor Freight for .35 each.

I cut a door in the end, screw in hinges, and a latch. I also used a hole cutter and drilled 1" holes in rows along the sides for ventilation and drainage.

We got the white bin from someone who attempted to make a standing bin. She was moving and it hadn't worked out for her, so we happily took it off of her hands and have a nice second bin. We had to modify the deck to work with the way it was cut.

You can see how the bins sit on the decks. They roll quite freely and it's soooo easy to get things mixed up. I knew I couldn't do the pitchfork/pile method, but this has been great for us. These bins maintained temperatures into the hundreds all winter last year, which I thought was pretty surprising.

MMG Holiday Exchange!

Out in the mail today is an amaryllis growing kit to one of our MMG members. It consists of a handcut, hand etched container, my container mix, and an amaryllis bulb that should be white with red candy stripes, if my tags are correct.

BURD!

This little guy was hopping around on one of the trees in the front yard, confirming our suspicions that the tree is, indeed, dying (not that we needed a confirmation!). He was very shy and would hop around the other side of the tree every time I tried to open the storm door. I wish I could have gotten closer or, at least, gotten a snap of him without the branch in front of his head. Didn't happen.

A new MMG home! and trees.

I've mentioned the BNR thread that I participate in and the great group of people who are in it before, but this little BNR has become something big! The lovely Dorana arranged a ning site for this group here. Check it out, if you're interested in hangin' with a bunch of great, supportive etsians with a ton of community knowledge who are always willing to help!

This BNR thread is having a holiday swap, and I've been kinda freaking out about what to do. The original idea I isn't going to be possible in the short period we had to get things together, so I've been trying to find Plan B. My brilliance kicked in this evening and I have a plan; all I have to do is check my inventory tomorrow and see if THAT'S doable. I think it will be!

And a picture from one of my front beds I took yesterday:

Snow!

Alright, not really.

Monday night, we had some freezing mist, and the little fluffy balls of ice piled up on the ground. I didn't notice it sticking all that well, but Tuesday, around noon, I went to check the mail and saw this!
I love snow, and the South has totally cramped my winter style. Seeing this made my day...well, that and a handful of sales! I guess holiday shoppers are hitting etsy, finally, and the past couple of days have kept me busy. I've had to set up two custom listings and my Erlenmeyer Terrarium Kit sold. I was kinda sad to see it go, but I'll fix another up sometime this week, I think.

Of course, I've conveniently run out of bubble mailers and bubble wrap to make more mailers, so I'm waiting for both of those to come up. If I get any orders between now and when I get my supplies, I'll have to break down and see what I can find locally. Can't complain too much! :)