How to make cootie-free birdy nests

making nests for my Easter babies, a photo by patiencehouse on Flickr.

Today, as I was pulling out dried Alyssum stems from around my Fairy roses I was thinking, "hey, these have some nice bendy in them," and it sparkled this idea ... Nests! I could jam them into teacups to shape them, and then maybe add some glue? Then, hopefully I'd end up with some nifty birdy nests, minus any birdy cooties! Easy peasey, right?

Hrmm, not quite sure how to do this...
Actually, first thing I did (after curling the stems inside the cups) was to put weights on them to squish down the wilder pieces.Later on I put some plastic wrap inside the teacups and then randomly squirted on glue.So far, so easy.

And then I waited...and waited....and waited.
Hrmph! Not so good - the glue did not want to dry inside the teacups, so I took the nests out and resorted to the hot glue-gun.At this point it became a full-on PITA and I felt about as coordinated as a third grader, hot gluing my dang fingers together every other dang minute!{I will confess to a fair amount of cussing at this stage.}

Eventually, I did escape from the glue trap that I had laid for myself and I ended up with nine pretty, cootie-free birdie nests.
Lastly, I topped them with tiny punched butterflies of pale green vellum and vintage sheet music and also some dried hydrangeas and ferns. So darn purty!

That's my Felix up there.
Always a help, that one {well, he tries to be a good boy}.

pretty candy balloons {or how not to make string eggs}

pretty balloons, a photo by patiencehouse on Flickr.

My messy project for today is embroidery floss eggs.You know where you dip colored string or yarn into watered down glue and wrap around balloons to make those neat looking eggs? There are tutorials everywhere right now with Easter right around the corner, so a good thing to do on an unexpectedly hot March day, yes?

I just love the soft candy colors of these water balloons. Don't they sparkle like pretty little jewels in the sun?

Later on, I will find out that the glue never does dry when you use water in the balloons. {Good to know} I dumped out the water and it worked great with air in the balloons -hah! Although, filling balloons with water will always be massively more satisfying than filling them with air! Holding a water balloon in your hand on a hot day immediately sends joy..happy..joy singing to your memory center, no matter what your age!

Sometimes you have to actually read the tutorial, not just glance at the pictures!!Well anyway, it all worked out in the end and I have my neato string egg/balls! Tadaz...

Tiny Easter Bunny Pails

 

I love my sculpey ultralight.It doesn't always love me back, but eventually we meet in the middle.

I had some fun with my sculpey ultralight, making tiny Easter pails for my friends.Their little faces are drawn on with and ultra-fine sharpie. {Why so sad, my purr-ple friend?}  : ( 

There are cabbage and turnip pails for the bunnies and a boatload of tiny toadstools too! Wicked fun : )

So this is love...

I recently asked a question (to no one in particular)
"Who moved my muse?"
I had been feeling uninspired, know what I mean?
And I couldn't get myself to make a single thing.
I was frozen - stuck. I began to wonder where my muse had gone.
I was begining to wonder if I would ever see her again.

Then the next thing I knew, I found myself obsessed with this thing
called spun cotton.
Spun Cotton ??? What the heck is that?
I had never heard of it before, but I was desperate to make my own.
So naturally, I asked Google - "hey friend, how do I do this spun cotton thing?"
Google, usually so helpful, had not so much to say, so I just tried everything I could think of.
Eventually something began to happen
and I was off and running ... here is my first one.

my very first spun cotton bunny - 12/24/2011 (its pretty bad actually!)

Best. Year. Ever.

I like it.
Just a simple statement of fact.
And fact or fiction as we will find out later, are not what they seem.
I am simply stating that I want this year; 2012, to be the best year ever.
I'm not asking for romance or recognition or riches.
Just my best year, so far.
It's none of my business how.
Or why.
It is a simply a question.
So ...
"What do you have for me Universe?"
I am ready to accept it, whatever it is.
And I don't need to decide ahead of time what it should be...

Because I am ready.
Are you ready for your best year ever?

 iris from my garden - this blue is really amazing