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30 April 2010

nature babies, old books and dresses and thankfulness along the way

Thankful for weekly things such as...

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Pine cone babies. From an earlier nature idea from a tiny found pine cone, we set off to make these babies during our movie night. We wrapped the yarn over the 'body' and tied fabric 'scarves' around their little heads. Then, we drew their sleepy eyes...

showing off her new old threads

pretty thrifted asian dress

Thrift scores. An old friend and I went to my favorite local haunt where I gathered some nice lovelies for myself but scored on something Nat has been wanting for awhile. A beautiful emerald Asian dress, like it was absolutely meant to be....

the wizard of oz stories i all want

i love old books momma

Love for old books. We went to Uptown Whittier for a tiny bit and of course, stopped by the new and used bookstore there. Natalie went straight to the children's area where she quickly picked up several books to show me, a couple of them old hardbacks. She told me since she 'likes old things' she 'would love to have these old books because they are old'. We obliged her one, The Tale of Paddy Muskrat by Arthur Scott Bailey (A Sleepy Time Tale) from 1916. I picked up an old favorite of mine, The Wizard of Oz in a portable paperback to tote around with me as well.

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29 April 2010

family: the beginning

You have to appreciate the ability to gather old family photos, scan them onto a computer and then share them with whoever (in the whole wide world!) that you will. I've posted a couple times before, sharing photographic history of my family and those before me. As I go through these photos and as I get older, they seem more and more precious and priceless to me. It's a visual diary of whom and where I come from and for that, I am forever thankful...

You have to love the seventies! Look at how hip my parents are, I love it! I love my mom's down to earth look with her long hair and flowy dress. I can't leave out my dad either with his 'fro (from his natural curly hair)!

A family outing, again loving my mom's entire look from this day. I wasn't doing too bad either with my frilly tank top and pony tails :)

My maternal grandparents, Carmina and James, celebrating my first birthday with me (fyi: we still have that old victorian 'munster family' sofa. it's been reupholstered a couple of times. Now, the wood is painted black and the fabric is a beige duck cotton).

My brother and I before our sibling rivalry catapulted (but we love each other)!

A day at the beach with my momma and her awesome eighties glasses :)

Me in my favorite spot, on top of my dad's belly. Poor pillow though, suffering from soul glow OD (just kidding, I love you dad)!

Here I am, again at the beach sporting a Puerto Rico tank top. I wish I still had that, it was awesome and now would be soooooo vintage (and not the fake Old Navy kind either).

I have more that I would like to share so if you like viewing them, more will come :)

a little dreamboard...

After reading a post about the pink full moon and dreamboards over at Green and Pretty (and following links to here and here) I decided I would give it a try as well. I know I'm behind now since April's full moon was on wednesday (this full moon is referred to as the pink full moon because of pink flowers that so lavishly bloom in the month. The Wild Magnolia also posted a but about the pink full moon also) but I still wanted to create a little something. I actually found a site that you can create dreamboard collages on and so I looked for various images that I wanted and came up with the one above. I actually had a bit of a hard time with it though, since every time I thought it was perfect I would save it and view it and it always looked a bit different. I finally got tired and just stayed with the one I am sharing. It is also showing a fraction of one image that is behind the herbal one. It's an illustration of Ursa Major but you can see the eye peering out from behind.

I have my reasons and ideas why I picked the various images (including some of my own illustrations) but I do have a hard time explaining things that are a bit profound to me. It was just fun putting every thing together and I think it's something I might do with Natalie. I don't mind if it's not necessarily on the day/night of a full moon. Just something to get her mind, creativity and inspirations going...

28 April 2010

small city carnival

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last week the carnival was in town
the place was filled with children's laughters and excited screams
hipster kids in herds or embraced in teenage romance
local bands playing originals between pop culture covers
bright lights all around
popcorn, cotton candy and other foods being munched on
smiles and hugs from our kids recognizing other kids from around town
all in all, a fun time to be out, to with friends and family....

to be alone with you



I'd swim across lake Michigan
I'd sell my shoes
I'd give my body to be back again
In the rest of the room

To be alone with you
To be alone with you
To be alone with you
To be alone with you

You gave your body to the lonely
They took your clothes
You gave up a wife and a family
You gave your goals

To be alone with me
To be alone with me
To be alone with me
You went up on a tree

To be alone with me you went up on the tree

I'll never know the man who loved me

*to be alone with you by sufjan stevens*

wordless wednesday...

27 April 2010

who wants to build a tepee with me?


I have this urge to make tepees whether it's small, in craft form or large where we can all climb in, play games, draw and tell stories. Either way I want in, how about you?

Erecting the tepee

Tepee decoratons

Tepee decoratons


other links:

I am sure there are many more....if you know of any, please share!

If I ever get started with actually making a big teepee I should start some some sort of group like 'Teepees in the City" or something...that's just me thinking out loud :)

24 April 2010

pyramid inspirations...

happy/thankful for...

+ flower fairy portraits and a stick bug portrait (twigs and googly eyes!) Nat made for her teacher
+ earth day; making coffee ground fossils with leaf imprints with Natalie and lighting candles at night for a little earth hour before sleep
+ finding more and more inspiration, through people, through lives and through stories
+ sending treats to a very creative and nature loving family and being the giver of inspiration to a sweet fauna
+ making a little change of my own and changing finding moths in my pockets to ursula the bear (for more sentimental and creative reasons) and liking the 'stories' I find to share there
+ a text message from my husband telling me how much he appreciates the things I think to do with our daughter ♥
+ winning my first team challenge with Indie Free Spirits, getting a little goodies in the mail as a prize and having my etsy shop badge and interview posted on both the Indie Free Spirits Team blog and on Mermaid's Closet
+ drawing a lot more (again) and finishing the above untitled piece. I still do not know what to title it but I will share that it was inspired by Mathyld and her decision to become 'under the pyramids'

22 April 2010

be good to our only earth...

Happy Earth Day everyone!!
Be good to it and delight in all it's beauty and wonder....

21 April 2010

if i was...


Gunne Sax

if i was a month i'd be november
if i was a day of the week i'd be thursday
if i was a time of day i'd be dusk
if i was a sea animal i'd be a seahorse

String Game

if i was a direction i'd be east
if i was a piece of furniture i'd be an old chair
if i was a liquid i'd be the sea
if i was a gemstone i'd be topaz

behind the window

if i was a tree i'd be a willow
if i was a tool i'd be a paint brush
if i was a flower i'd be a hellebore
if i was a kind of weather i'd be rain


if i was a musical instrument i'd be a banjo
if i was a color i'd be earth brown
if i was an emotion i'd be longing
if i was a fruit i'd be a anjou pear

Bestest Friends

if i was a food i'd be my spinach, sausage and bean soup
if i was a material i'd be cotton
if i was a scent i'd be tuberose
if i was a flavor i'd be sweet

glastonbury

if i was a sound i'd be a 'ssshhhh'
if i was an element i'd be wind
if i was a mammal i'd be a fox
if i was a phase of the moon i would be full

"Moon Ritual"

if i was a berry i'd be blackberry
if i was a bird i'd be blackbird
if i was a book i'd be the lion, the witch and the wardrobe
if i was a place i'd be a forest by the sea

it was a dark dream

thank you dear heather of moonshine junkyard for sharing your lovely list (and for those who were before you too, the girl who married a bear and a cup full of sunshine...)

for art and photo credits, click on pictures...

the middle day

new work in progress..

nettle, marshmallow leaf and cinnamon ready to be tinctures in a month..

a pine cone baby. i found 'her' on a walk, immediately thinking of a little babushka. i wrapped her in yarn and tie a bit of lace around her. now natalie has her wrapped up in fabric with a bow :)

the little pine cone baby in my black painted hands (evidence of another project beginning...)

we made a few flower fairy portraits today, including a stick bug portrait she made for her teacher. tomorrow she will wear brown, green and blue for earth day at school. i still want us to celebrate even though she has a game in the afternoon that takes a bit of a chunk out of our day.

now a few new discoveries...

20 April 2010

featherheart love...

Yesterday I received a nice package from a new friend I met through Etsy. Her name is Shannon and she runs the shop Featherheart Trading Co. I stumbled on her shop about a month or so ago when I found that she makes and sells hair powder (for you know, those slicker days with your hair). I've been wanting to get one for awhile since I like to wash my hair every other day but I hate the greasy, stringing look it can get sometimes. While I was perusing her shop I saw a ton of other great, natural and herbal things as well as some really cool hand crafted items and vintage clothes.

As I was reading her shop info, I really was drawn to her aethestic of having an old fashioned trading company featuring the things she loves, vintage clothing and her handmande herbal products and accessories. I decided I needed to say hello to her and tell her how much I love her shop and the whole concept. We began talking and sharing and after a bit, decided for us to do a trade. I was so thrilled!! Shannon is such a sweet soul and immediately I thought she (and her shop) would be a perfect addition to the Folk Reveries group which I am not so sure if I have mentioned it much here (I am actually quite surprised since I love sharing everything. To sum up, Folk Reveries is an etsy group I started last year and it has quickly grown with some amazing artists and crafters. I am so estactic about the group and this year created a flickr group for members as well as a blog in addition to the twitter and facebook page).

I couldn't wait to pull out the camera (on my new phone, finally, something!) and take photos of her awesome products...

I got a very nice lavender face and body oil which I used last night after I washed my face. A couple of drops will do (yes, oil can go on the face) and it's aroma was a nice herbally lavender. Very happy with it and happy to know it will last awhile while making my face feel good and pretty.
I've been hearing the wonderful benefits of Holy Basil (also known as Tulsi) for awhile and when I saw she offered a tea of it, I was in. Her blend is called Holy Basil Love and it also has rose petals and a touch of lavender and it does not disappoint. She individually bags the tea and the pouches are quite filled little pillows, she does not skimp! I had two cups of it last night (Rick and Nat both liked it and as usual, Nat took the rest of my first cup).

The product the first drew me in, gypsy woman hair powder! I have it in my hair right now as I type and I love the natural aroma it has (it has lavender and rose petals in it). It is not overwhelming in the bottle but it does leave a nice earthy fragrance in your hair. I rubbed it in a bit so it wasn't obvious in my brunette hair that i had it there and it does give a bit of life back to locks that can be a bit limp. So happy to have it!

The mugwort and white sage bath salts, the one product I haven't tried in the bath yet but can not wait too! Nat and I open this promptly yesterday and her fingers were touching it before I could. She loves bath salts (she practically has used up all of a hefty sample I once got from Sarah of Lilith's Apothecary) and I know she wants to try this one. I did use it as a scrub on my hand to try it out and I can't wait for all that goodness to go over my whole body.
Speaking of mugwort and white sage, I saw that she also offered it in a lip balm. I've been dying to get my hands on some mugwort for awhile, actually. I wanted to try it as a tea but also as part of an herbal blend for dream pillows (it's said to assist in dreaming). Among her other lip balms is a rose one as well that I had to get for both Nat and myself (how can I not give her a little something, right? Besides, we all know we 'share' practically everything). I must say, her lip balms feel like pure heaven. Very emollient, very smooth (not like some lip balms that you have to 'work' into your lip before it starts doing what it's suppose to). I love the true rose fragrance, not an overpowering synthetic one and i love the way the mugwort and sage smells as well. Instant favorites.
Last, but not least of my amazing goodies is the sandalwood rose peace lotion. This lotion is more like whipped butter melting into your skin. While I was pampering my toes and soles with this creamy lotion I was thinking 'wow, how would this feel on my face?'. I remembered then that her lotions can also be used on the face so I am going to have to try that tonight. The texture truly is amazing, like silk and butter at once and I love how she uses pure ingredients that everything smells the way it should. I am going to have to stretch this product out because I know it will make all of my skin amazingly soft.

Of course, she has more delightful concotions for the body and I really need to snag up some more tea along with a few cool accessories and thrifted goods too. Again, you put vintage pretties with herbal products and I am so in! I am so happy to have found her and her shop and can't wait to put her name along with other folk reveries members as well. You can also find her at twitter and at her blog.

Photo item credits: tea cup lavender sachet by encore petite, lace and feather garland by white owl, felted owls and egg nest by faunfare and embroidered handkerchief by tiny happy.

P.s. Here I am in my all natural glory, smelling good with hair powder in and wearing my newest thrifted sweater that I told you about last week or so ;)

hello april natural morning...