Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (Gluten Free)

This was delicious. My first time really cooking “gluten free”. I really love the coconut flour and can’t wait to make some more foods using alternative flours!
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp - Gluten Free

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp - Gluten Free

3.5 cups rhubarb
2 cups strawberries
1/2 cup white sugar

~6 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats *gluten free
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 Tbsp ground golden flaxseed
cinnamon
nutmeg

Mix rhubarb and strawberries with white sugar in a pan (I used a glass pie pan). Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and then cover rhubarb and strawberries with it. Bake for ~30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sleeping In Tents: 2012

I love sleeping in tents. I’m in one right now! I have power, wireless internet, and sparkling snowflake lights for ambiance. Hehehe… and I will be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the frogs croaking.
Tent!
Do you like sleeping in tents?

Luna Moth / Actias Luna

The luna moth is one of the largest moths in North America. I found one (injured, half of one wing ripped off) clinging to the side of my car tire yesterday evening. Exciting!
Luna Moth
Luna Moth

I vaguely remember seeing one in Minnesota when I was a kid but I sure didn’t get to take photos of it to remember it like I did this time! Its colors and shape are so inspirational. Maybe a luna moth inspired nuno felt scarf is in order… bright greens, yellows, white and rusty rose!
Luna Moth

It was so fun to hang on to it for a minute. When I was done taking photos and oo’ing at its colors I carefully left it on a tree not far from where I found it. Too bad its wing was torn. Good luck Luna!

Container Gardening : Spring 2012

I grew up in the garden. Seriously! I think back and some of my first memories were of me standing in the garden among rows of peas on wire, smiling faces of sunflowers, and marigolds dutifully guarding the perimeter, watching my mom who was busy as a bee with the water hose.

Flowers

Growing up, my family had not ONE garden… no… more like FOUR! We always practiced organic gardening, too… composting animal manure, kitchen scraps, leaves, and grass clippings.. and always picking all of those pesky weeds by hand! That was a big chore when I was a kid. Now I look forward to it because it’s a great excuse to be outside in the sunshine with my shoes off doing something productive! However, I don’t live where I grew up.. my brother and his family does! So I don’t have 4 gardens to tend to… I have to resort to some container gardening:

Watering The Plants
Container Garden
Cilantro

Which I really enjoy!
I’m also teaching my boyfriend a lot about gardening. We both tend the plants and I can’t wait for him to eat some of the first ripe tomatoes he’s ever really had a hand in growing himself right off of the plants in the back yard. Gardening is so satisfying! Even if you don’t really know what you’re doing I suggest trying anyways.

Check out this bush tomato plant already bearing fruit!
Tomatoes!

Flowers on another tomato plant:
Tomato Flower

I LOVE the smell of tomato plants. Whenever I am out watering them I rub against them, stick my nose right up against the plants and sniff.. and sniff my hands as a I walk away. Ha! It’s such a unique, fresh scent that comforts me.

This pepper is almost big enough to eat too! Oh my gosh, it’s only mid-May!
Hot Pepper

I’m totally in love with succulent plants too.. here is one of my baby jade plants! I also have a hobbit jade and at least 6 other kinds of succulent plants to share with you in a future post! I used to have jade “trees” and think they make the coolest bonsai trees when they’re really trimmed right and get super old.

Jade

Cheers to spring and a glorious summer! πŸ™‚

Awesome Recent Etsy Finds #4 : Clothing

Summer is coming up and this swimsuit is amazing. I have been wanting to make one for a long time – I already have awesome teal colored swimsuit material – but I’m a bit scared to mess it up while experimenting with the SS stitch to do stretchy stuff. Wish I could order one of these. This seller makes a lot of items I really like!
Swimsuit

Rawr! A fierce wolf? Awesome.
wolf tshirt

This shop feels so cohesive. Her style rocks! So many awesome things… this one looks so fun for around the 4th of July.
dress

Kaylim never ceases to amaze me.. this looks so hip, unique and comfortable. I’ve been following Kaylim for at least a year now. It’s really fun to see designers grow and become even better than they were not long ago!
dress

Funky! It makes me want to put on mud boots (like the model) and feed chickens in it. I think I will try my hand at making a ‘scrap dress’ soon. Inspired!
dress

I don’t find myself in shorts often at all, I much prefer skirts, but wow! These are worth a look. “Galaxy” stuff is really popular right now because I’ve seen it all over on boots and dresses too.
galaxy shorts

My style is it’s own animal I think.
In some posts-to-come I will open up my own closet..

A Cute Gift Given

Gift Boot

An old, worn black cowboy boot that I picked up at an antique store in southern Missouri earlier this year… With a baby sensitive plant / Mimosa Pudica planted inside!

Gift Plant In A Cowboy Boot

Gifted with a Happy Birthday announcement flag made with decorative paper and a bamboo skewer pushed down into the dirt, a matching envelope to the flag with a hand written letter, and a needle felted bee that I made and suspended at the top of a small wire which is barely visible so it looks like the bee is flying above the plant!

Gift Boot

EEee cute!!! Right?
I planted another sensitive plant in the other boot for myself πŸ˜‰

Project: Mushrooms From A Box! Day 6 & 7

They are really starting to look like recognizable mushrooms now as you can see by the bottom (latest) photo. It is so very exciting! Even though I haven’t eaten any yet, I already recommend this kit to anyone who is interested.

OK, enough words, it’s photo time!
Tuesday March 20th ~ 1pm (day 6)
DIY Oyster Mushroom Kit - Day 6 @ 1pm

Tuesday March 20th ~ 4pm (day 6)
DIY Oyster Mushroom Kit - Day 6 @ 4pm

Tuesday March 20th ~ 8pm (day 6)
DIY Oyster Mushroom Kit - Day 6 @ 8pm

Wednesday March 21st ~ 1pm (day 7)
DIY Oyster Mushroom Kit - Day 7 @ 1pm

Wednesday March 21st ~ 11pm (day 7)
DIY Oyster Mushroom Kit - Day 7 @ 11pm

First Garage Sale Find of 2012

It’s that time of year again… the time when it’s perfectly acceptable to rummage through peoples things on a nice day in their front lawn and pay them next to nothing for it! I went to my first one of the 2012 season on Friday morning. I found this lovely necklace with a peanut pendant for just a buck!

Peanut Necklace

I’m saving all the change I can find for next Friday’s sales!

My First Mannequin! & Paper Mache Mannequin

Hello and welcome to this weeks episode of whatever this is πŸ˜‰ First off I want to share with you the fact that I got a beautiful mannequin in early January – my first one ever! After doing some research on mannequins (all the different styles, materials, cost) I decided on what I truly wanted and budgeted appropriately. I searched high and low throughout the internet and was super lucky to find an ad on craigslist with EXACTLY what I wanted, at even a lower price than I thought possible WITH the option to go pick it up in person. Two days later I was in the car with a friend, on our way up to Kansas City to look at the mannequin. It was located in this place called the Super Flea … which turned out to be quite an experience/adventure. When I found the mannequin inside it was exactly perfect and so I paid the guy happily and strolled out with her in a box on top of my head.

Meet Isabella!
New Mannequin Owl Scarf Custom Vampire Bite Scarf

But hey, if you have one mannequin… why not have two?
Why not MAKE another?
So that’s what I did! I covered Isabella up with lots of plastic bags, plastic wrap and tape to protect her body and jersey fabric covering and then I did paper mache (Papier-mΓ’chΓ©!) around her. When I thought it was thick enough and completely dry, I carefully cut open one side and peeled the paper mache off of Isabella and painted it black with basic acrylic paint. Newspaper, brown paper bags, water, white flour and all-purpose glue and black acrylic paint where all the supplies I used. It was messy and took a little time/energy but what isn’t that is worth it? Now I have a super light and “I don’t care if it breaks I can just make another one” BLACK mannequin. (Un-named. Hmm…)

Paper Mache Mannequin     Paper Mache Mannequin with Peacock Scarf

Check this photo out.. you can see that the newspaper has a little ad printed that says “recycle this newspaper”. I actually tore that out and put it on just as it is without even paying attention until my boyfriend said something to me about it! It was meant to be.

Paper Mache Mannequin