My Very Own Secret World

Recently, I did a trade with my friends, Jeff and Taryn at Mystic Orb Sacred Earth Talismans. Taryn fell in love with my felted wall hanging of chickens by a red wheelbarrow, and said I could make a custom request in return. Jeff carves some of the most amazing jewelry I've ever seen out of all different kinds of gorgeous wood, antler, bone, stone, you name it. Recently, he even did some ultra eco-friendly buttons carved out of scotch broom stalk rounds (a nasty invasive weed).  They sell his work on their Etsy shop and at our local Eugene Saturday Market. I had been pining away for a Sacred Orb necklace to call my own for a long time, so this was a great trade!

I told Jeff I wanted a wooden pendant carved with mountains. Trusting in his amazing talents and creative license from there, I eagerly awaited my necklace. Right around my birthday, they surprised me with this most beautiful surprise! A tree watching over a forested valley with a river below and mountains in the distance. Jeff said it was my own secret world. Indeed it is. My own secret world that I carry with me wherever I go, and visit whenever I want to. I love it.

I tried to get as close-up of a picture as I could. Just look at all that tiny detail. Wow!

Thank you Jeff and Taryn!

Honey Bee

It's that time of year again, when the summer rolls in and the flowers are abuzz with busy honeybees gathering pollen to transform into delicious, amber colored honey. I felt inspired to make some jewelry in honor of these important little creatures, and I came up with these sweet necklaces.

I started with ceramic honeybee pendants, and strung them with small amber chip beads and honey-colored glass hearts. They are 15-16 inches, so just the right size for a child, or as an adult choker-length necklace.

We Love Honeybees!

Here are links to the ones I posted on my ETSY store: http://www.etsy.com/listing/49656618/honey-bee-necklace-with-amber  and  http://www.etsy.com/listing/49657785/honey-bee-necklace-with-amber

Veneta Farmer's Market

This Friday, I'll have my Mountain Hearth Handcrafts booth at the Veneta Farmer's Market. If you're in the area, come on by to hear some live music, buy some fresh local veggies and visit my booth! It should be a grand time!

Here is the link to the Market's web page: Veneta's Downtown Farmer's Market

Building a Nest

I just have to say that I have been having a grand time lately making birds nests for my Etsy shop. As I get settled in this year in our first home, a solid 1934 farmhouse, it seems fitting somehow that I should create nests. I find something very inspirational about roots, and I have been using invasive European beach grass roots (a fine example of eco-friendly crafting and invasive species control working hand-in-hand), washed up seashore tree roots, moss and little bits of lichen to make these lovely nests. I wet felt some eggs out of beautiful blue wool, and that is the finishing touch on this all natural art project.

I love birds nests. I was always making little nests when I played out in the woods and fields as a child. I would use grass, mud, sticks, whatever I could find to make homes for the birds. I was sure if I did a fine enough job, I would trick those birds, and they would move in! Now I always seem to find old abandoned birds nests on the ground and I have them displayed in various places all over the house. They bring me a lot of joy.

My friend, Taryn, just wrote a wonderful post on her blog about nesting with a photo of one of my nests. Check it out here at: Wooly Moss Roots, "Nesting"

Vending at the Mayfaire

I think that I have always wanted to sell my crafts at festivals but didn't really know it. I seem to always be making things as gifts for other people, but only recently have I discovered the profound joy in creating art for no person in particular and putting it out there for the world to see. This Saturday was my first booth experience, and it really affirmed for me that I love having a crafting business! I had so much fun arranging all the little faeries, gnomes and other crafty items for folks to look at, and seeing the smiling faces of my friends and community coming by to see what I have been making. It was a beautiful, sunny May Day and the Eugene Waldorf School's Mayfaire was just the right place to celebrate this time of flowering. I especially loved seeing smiling children running off with my magic teasel wands!

I have to say a big "Thank You" to Erin for letting me use her Saturday Market booth structure and sharing her banner dimensions with me. I wore my custom Patchwork Underground dress in her honor. I also want to thank everyone who came by to say hello, look around, or buy some of my crafts! I can't wait to do it again next year, and vend at the Veneta Friday Farmer's Market in June.

Miss Fancy Pants

This past week I finally finished this pants project I was working on for my daughter. I was invited to a sew-your-own-pantaloons party at a friend of a friend's house, where I had the good fortune to meet the talented Usha Davis, who taught a group of ladies how to recycle old flare-sleeved blouses and pants into these fancy pants creations. She makes some of the most amazing clothing with beautiful, rich colors and textures all from thrift finds and yard sales. Then, of course, I was feeling inspired and had to make a trip to the Goodwill Bins up in Portland to get a pile of blouses by the pound. Since blouses are so lightweight, this is a good way to go. I found some great stuff! Along with my pantaloon supplies, I found a good sized pink and white circular tablecloth doily which I remembered was good skirt material from a Mary Jane's Farm article I had read. I was swimming in supplies for my projects! These supplies sat for a while, but I did finally get two pairs of pants and a skirt made to delight my daughter's inner fashion queen.

The skirt was very simple. I cut a hole in the center of the tablecloth and then hemmed it around the edge. Then I ran a finger-knitted drawstring of wool yarn in and out between the little holes in the crocheting, and voila! A fun, frilly skirt. The pants were pretty simple too. I took some comfy pants that looked like they would fit for a while and cut them off at about knee length. Then I cut off blouse sleeves and sewed them on in tiers up the pants as high as I wanted them to go.

While sewing something from scratch is not necessarily my cup of tea, I found that I enjoy recycled clothing projects that involve sewing parts together to make something new. It's an amazing transformation to see a regular old pair of pants turn into a frilly, colorful pair of pantaloons. It just gets me thinking of all the ways a person can get creative with their clothes...

The Enchanted Tree's Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Mountain Hearth Handcrafts giveaway at the Enchanted Tree! It's so lovely to see all of you following Mountain Hearth on Blogspot, Etsy, and Facebook. Our winner is entry #61,  pink026. She will be receiving this lovely little daffodil fairy as her prize. Congratulations!