Bird house

Make a little bird house in your soul.

Cold frame

I built this box out of recycled pallets. The lid is a shower door I found on the side of the road on recycling day. I purchased the support wood for the frame and a box of nails for about $10. I also purchaed a nail puller from Harbor Freight for $4. I anticipate using that many times this year. I am starting seedlings outdoors this year. We shall see if it's worth the effort.

Thanksgiving

Napkin holder.

Mini furniture

Can planters

Tiny Snacks

This is Willa. She is E's new baby doll. I felt like she needed some snacks. Tacos, cheese crackers, carrots and celery all made from Fimo Dough.

Potato harvest

Grew these by ourselves. I had some rotten potatoes at the beginning of summer, and planted them in a cloth bucket.  I think the deer ate them twice, but I did end up with more potatoes than I planted. It was an overall success.

Flower magnets

Grass

My baby grass has begun to grow!

Bird seed ornament

3/4 to 1 cup birdseed

1 packet of gelatin (unflavored—I use Knox)

1/4 cup boiling water

Cookie cutters, lightly greased*

Twine and/or ribbon

Parchment or waxed paper

Combine the gelatin and the water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove the pan from heat and allow the mixture to cool for one minute. Stir in 3/4 cup birdseed, adding extra as needed until all the liquid is absorbed. (You won't want to add much more than 1 cup, otherwise there won't be enough "glue" to bind the birdseed once dried.)

Place the cookie cutters on a parchment or waxed paper on a baking sheet. (You can make the ornaments right on the counter, but a baking sheet allows for them to be easily moved aside later.) Fill each ornament halfway with the birdseed mixture. Lay a piece of twine down the length of the cookie cutter. Fill the cookie cutter to the top with remaining birdseed mixture, making sure to pack it down firmly. Allow the ornaments to dry for several hours or overnight. Once completely dried, gently press the ornaments out of the cookie cutters. If desired, add a decorative ribbon and hang on a tree branch for the birds to enjoy!

1 cup of water, 4 little packets of gelatin (one whole box) made 10 ornaments.

Snowflake Hat

Snowflake patterns are not hard to find. I customized this pattern by using multi colored yarn on the snowflake, and adding a colored stripe to end half way through the snowflake. If I redid this pattern I would not use yarn colors so close together because a bit a detail was lost in the ble.nd.

Bee soap

This was a fun project. I made oatmeal vanilla soap for the neighbors. They raise bees.

Happy Easter

If you need easy-to-peel eggs and you have fresh eggs, you might want to try steaming the eggs for 15 minutes. Pour an inch of water into a pot and insert a steamer basket. Bring to a boil. Place the eggs in the steamer basket, cover and steam for 15 minutes). The steam penetrates the shell a bit making the eggs easier to peel.

Empanada

Possibly a pirogi or hand pie.

Felt Pasta

1" and 2" bowtie pasta made of felt.

Spy V Spy

This is for my secret Santa. I am also working on a sketch.

Ya ha ha

Dave and I have been playing the newest Zelda, Breath of the Wild. One of the fun challenges in the game is finding all the Koroks and collecting the korok seeds. They are sneak little hidden tree spirits (similar to Kodama). Dave and I each made our own tree spirits, and have been hiding them around the house for the other to find. As a bonus, there is less clutter hiding about the house as we tidy up trying to look for the spirits.

Grocery bags

This was a fun afternoon project.  I recycled some hotel pillow cases.  Each bag is lined for extra heavy duty lifting power. Tie dye done with a dye kit.  The right one is supposed to be a sea turtle.  It was my first try at that kind of thing. I think it went ok.  Next time I will remember to wear the rubber gloves!

Bird Seed Cookies

3/4 C. Flour

1/2 C. Water

1 package Knox gelatin

3 TB. Corn syrup

4 C. Bird seed

Heat water, gelatin and corn syrup together over a low heat. No need to boil. Mix flour and seed together in a mixing bow, then slowly add the gelatin mixture. While cooling, put out parchment paper on our counter, and choose your favorite cookie cutters. Spray those cookie cutters with cooking spray. Next, fill the cutters with the gelatin mixture, pressing in the mixture tightly. Use a straw or toothpick to poke a hole through the ornament (for hanging). Then remove from cookie cutters and let dry for several hours. Once dry, you can attach ribbon or string and hang for the birds!

Card Box

This was the card box I made for my friend's wedding.  It was a blue, old fashioned suit case.  I ripped out the satin lining.  The top was replaced by a mural of map-like paper, enhanced with music note washi tape, and embellishments of their planned destinations in Europe.  For the bottom of the suitcase, I loving hand stitched in lace and tuelling ruffles.  I finally found a use for my upholstery needles!