Welcome Back

My manager took a trip to Europe for three weeks.

She was gone so long that her keyboard (or possibly one that I got from my brother-in-law shhh) was overgrown with moss :)

I really enjoy artistic statements.

P.S. My manager thought that this was about the funniest thing yet.

Silverware Salmon

I finally finished my Silverware Salmon sculpture. I saw one last year when mom was up visiting and have been wanting to make one since then.

A friend and I spent a morning shopping for silverware at the thrift shops in Anchorage. The spoons, forks and knives cost about $7. The six + different types of glue cost over $50.

FYI--If you want to glue stainless steel the best option is industrial strength hot glue.

Now we will see how long it stays together.

This is our living room. I like how the fish looks on the very white fireplace.

I do not know why anyone would ever paint a fireplace white. I spent hours scrubbing the smoke off of it when we first moved in. Now I don't even like to use it as I don't want it to get dirty again.

Trash to Treasure--Project #1

I promised pictures so here is project number one.


I saw an incredible recycled wool scarf on Etsy and decided to try to make one of my own. It appeared to be in line with my sewing capabilities--I can turn on the machine and sew a mostly straight line:)

I purchased some wool sweaters at the Salvation Army thrift store and felted them. Three of the sweaters turned out--the thicker ones did not felt for me. I would really like to try this with some cashmere sweaters.

It took a bit of cutting to cut out all of the circles but I got enough to make three scarves. Each scarf is around 100 inches long.

Moss Terrarium

I enjoy winter but admit that I miss the sight of green.

I saw one of these on Etsy and decided that I had to try to make one. Our yard has a lot of moss next to trees. So the other weekend I went out and dug around and came up with this! It has been a few weeks and it is still green and looks great as the centerpiece on my dining room table. It is a talisman of spring.

Instructions:

1. Get some small rocks and rinse them with water.
2. Find some moss and gently dig it up--make sure that you leave some moss there to regenerate.
3. Dig some earth up below the moss--this dirt has the right acid blend.
4. Place the rocks into a covered container
5. Cover the rocks with the dirt.
6. Place the moss over the top of the dirt and gently press down. Shape moss as needed to fit into container.

Now the best part--cover and just mist every two to three weeks.

Here is a picture of my Moss Terrarium. I put some snow on it to water it after potting it.