Star-Shaped Deodorant

I've been making deodorant from this recipe for a while now and I really like it. The only problem is that I was pouring the mixture into a baby jar and then having to scrape out the deodorant from the bottom to apply it (it cools to a solid in the fridge). It got pretty tedious. I saw a post on Amy Karol's blog about using a cupcake tin to shape it into pucks but didn't want to use my cupcake tin for this purpose. I'd rather continue to feel my cupcake tin was food safe, you know? Then, I was going through things hidden deep in the basement (I'm still working on a major de-cluttering) and came across a star ice cube tray that was silicone and I'm sure we are never going to use it for ice cubes so I gave it a shot. I love it so far! Easy to use and I can even break of a little star-arm if I need to! I realize that having deodorant handmade in interesting shapes might tip me over the edge of something...into a category of some kind of oddness but I reassure you I'm basically the same person I was before I got really excited about shaping my deodorant. Honest.

Magic Cleaning Potion

A few weeks back we ran out of laundry detergent and I looked at my Green Clean book for a laundry detergent recipe. It was so easy, I laughed out loud. *mix equal parts washing soda and borax.* We've been using that and it seems to work fine.

Then we ran out of dishwasher soap and I looked in the handy guide for a recipe and found...you guessed it...*mix equal parts washing soda and borax.* So, the same simple cleaner that cleans our clothes, also cleans our dishes. It's like magic in its simplicity.

My husband is a little skeptical and keeps wondering whether it is really getting things "clean". But, what does "clean" really mean? Everything "looks" as clean as it did with a store-bought cleaner? I'd love any thoughts on this question. What are we trying to accomplish when we clean? Eliminating germs, tidying up? What all is involved in "clean"? We may be staging a clean test in the coming weeks as I'm determined to convince him that "complicated" and "clean" are not the same thing.

Beet Lip Balm..Fail

In every aspect of my tinkering undertaking, I try to remind myself that failure is just as important as success. Without it, I wouldn't be learning anything new and just cranking out the same old thing, right? And, tigerlily isn't some kind of handmade factory. It's my place for trying, failing, sometimes succeeding, and sharing it with other people on the same journey. Got to remember that A LOT these days. Got an idea from a friend to try making beet lip balm. I set aside beet juice created when the beets cooked. I knew that water and oil wouldn't mix but thought that the shea butter and cocoa butter in the lip balm would serve as a medium that might solidify it all together.
I was wrong. The beet juice sank to the bottom and fractured into chunks for some reason. I'm going to have to try this again. Any ideas on how to make it work? All I can think of is stirring it a bit while it is cooling?
Also, thanks to an idea from Mama-Pan, I'm adding my homemade face cleaner, face moisturizer, solid perfume, lip balm, bug balm, and deodorant to the Tigerlily Market.

More Font Gazing

This whole font thing is, as is always the case with me, getting a little out of hand. I am font stalking all the time and have even started running internal critiques---oh, that is NOT a good font for THAT. (Anyone own the Brett Dennen album, So Much More? The font on the spine of the cd is ALL WRONG, truly. I mean**italics** it just doesn't do the album justice.) It also helping me appreciate some of the ordinary sites around me, like these in this post.


It can also preoccupy me while reading a book to the kids for the umpteenth time. The font in "A Pocket For Corduroy" might be my favorite, check out the word dizzy. It is glorious.
No one in our house knows where this 'promise' pencil came from but how fantastic is that? Have to say, it turns out, there are very few fonts that I actually find appealing. Next up, to feed the obsession, is to find time to watch this movie. Will let you know how it is.

Chalk Mat madness

This came together in what feels like seconds and I'm so excited about it. It's a roll-up mat with chalk cloth on one side and oilcloth on the other. Elsie Marley made one for the entire table, which is totally amazing. But, I couldn't resist the on-the-go-ness of the rollup version. I should mention it is for the kiddos, though, it may be hard to discern who likes it more. I was just thinking...sometimes we just need a little extra time to enjoy our pancakes at the diner or a sip of coffee that is enjoyed rather than gulped. Maybe this will buy me that luxury. And, we are always on the lookout for things to bring a bit more quiet time at home. I was intending to roll it out (ha!) at Christmas but we might have to bust it out earlier than that.
I forgot to add, I got the whole kit from TaDaa Studio on etsy, oh brilliant etsy.

Just what I need...

More and better temptation.  It's Supermarket, it's like etsy but with selected artists with really nice things that cost just a little bit more.  Ah, more daydreaming for me! 

Little Discoveries

These little discoveries are making me happy today:

The Sunflower Project, get some sunflower seed, plant them (you know next season), grow them and then track the activity of bees around it a little bit every once in a while, report it to this group of researchers trying to understand what is happening with the crazy virus all the bees have.  Projects like this just satisfy the little field researcher in me.

The Small Object's Recipe Review post-it notes, these are just crazy great.  Little post-it notes that you stick into your cookbooks with all your cooking notes so you don't forget next time you go to make it.  Done in the adorable Small Object way, or course.  I'm also dying to get a candle holder and I think the mustache magnet is brilliant. Her 'steno pad' site is fantastic, by the way, and has great do-it-yourself holiday ideas and strengthens my resolve to go 'hand (or artist) made' this holiday.

BuggaBugs felt food: this is the kind of felt food I want to stock in my son's little kitchen.  I did sign up for her newsletter and got the free instructions for making a strawberry and had to make three immediately because they are so fun and easy. 

Elsita's little ride, does it get any better than this for a boy's imagination? I think not. And, her blog is full of imaginative paper cuts, ceramics, and flower people as well as literally alive with imagination and heart.  

This Beach Cruiser Pillowcase is just pure fun.

I have always loved children's literature and especially love the art in children's stories from Ezra Jack Keats to Maurice Sendak.  This etsy shop has a small selection of books: The Art and Book Shop.  But, one of my books on the art of children's literature highlighted this, The Hole Book, and I'm in love with this cover.  So cute.  Apparently, the hole goes straight through the book and fits with the story on each page, including shooting a rabbit.  For this reason, the book isn't so popular anymore. We don't really kill rabbits as much these days I guess.

And, sigh, Saffron Craig.  Saffron is an Australian fabric designer with elegant but whimsical fabrics that make me want to try my hand at winning the lottery so I can spend my days making things with her gorgeous designs. 

The last thing making me happy, and this is making me really happy, my Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule of Soulemama arrived!  I browsed it first, then studied it a bit more carefully, and finally pulled out the post-it notes (the pretty ones) to mark projects for the future. 

And, with all of these good things swimming around in my head, I'm about at tired as little Adelaide right now.  Off to bed for me.

Getting Organized the Pretty Way

I've been meaning to get my crafting space more organized for a while now. After the work was done on our house I had just enough time to throw it all together and make it mildly functional. As I've had time I've been working on making it more organized. So, this week and last I sorted my stash and even my scraps and laid out my supplies in an organized fashion. I've seen pictures on lots of people's blogs of their crafting table and always admire how organized they are and how much inspirational material people keep up in their view. So, I decided to build an inspiration board that also organizes me. I've been meaning to create a wall organizer for a while after looking at the project in Lotta's book Simple Sewing. Then for Christmas I got Anna Maria Horner's (who just had her baby!) book Seams to Me. It was only in the last few months that I was able to really sit down and pour through it. She has a project for a fabric covered magnet board that I thought I could alter to use up some cork board that I have. In the end, I decided to create a cork board that incorporates a wall organizer. I love the way ideas germinate even when you don't know it's happening! So long story short...or longer, whatever. I adhered foam board to the size of cork I wanted as is picture below.


Then made a fabric sleeve with pockets at the bottom as in this shot, slid in the cork board and blind stiched the end. (Lesson for the future, leave the short side open for blind hand-stitches unless you really like hand-sewing, which I do not.)
This is how it looks completed. I don't have a picture of it hung up because my crafting space is in a dark basement. But, now, next to the boxes and grey walls is this great, bright organizer ready and waiting to inspire me.

Here it is hung up, on our oven. This is sure to cut down on the under-the-breath swearing in this household as I will be able to locate my exacto knife! I will say this was a fun project and is essential for a tinkerer like me. As I flit from one project area to another my list of 'must have' tools tends to shift, this way I can keep things right in front of me.

I'm thinking I need more of these, especially behind our kitchen office space for bills and cards and wedding save-the-dates. And, of course, kid art. Might as well use of the cork board. Both of the books, Lotta's and Anna Maria's are fantastic--elegant and whimsical projects.

Kaboom! Pow!

In the end it all came together in time for the birthday get-together--the cupcake toppers, the birthday banner and the birthday crown. These cupcake toppers of cars and trains were the last to be made and were also really simple, made with craft toothpicks, stickers and paper cut with scalloped scissors.
The cupcake toppers were definitely a hit and so was the crown, he wore it all week long! Big sigh...now that the decorating and baking and hub-hub is done it has hit me that the little guy is 2 and not so little anymore. It does go by fast.

This one reminded my of my childhood television shows like Chips or Dukes of Hazzard. Kaboom!

The Luckiest Little Man

It's hard not to feel like this little man-to-be is unbelievably blessed. And, you had better believe I am feeling the same.

Not only did my work colleagues throw me an amazing baby shower with homemade food but they bought gifts mostly from etsy and even connected with one of my craftiest friends for some amazing surprises. I just love the love that etsy spreads, it's such a good kind.

These beautiful booties, gorgeous sweater and baby soaps are all from work friends and were bought on etsy. The soap I have already sampled, got some for family at Christmas. My work colleague is friends with the soap maker, Marigold, and I have to say this is some good stuff. For her baby soap she did all kinds of research to create this baby-friendly soap. Her soaps are so gentle and smell good and don't turn into goop in your soap dish, an incredible combination.

They also got the baby an amazing owl mobile that I find myself just standing and admiring, as if mobiles weren't already amazing this felt owl-friendly creature is also red/white/black perfect for baby vision without being offensive to mama like so many conventional baby mobiles are.

Also, a while ago my work colleague had contacted my artist friend lily through etsy about her painted dolls. So, to my amazement the two of them had connected and through my work colleague lily sent this mobile (I said etsy love was good!). The ceiling in the baby's room is going to be filled with with floating, fun good feelings.

And, because Lily is just one of those people she went ahead and also sent doll version of our soon-to-be four person family. Check these out!! She custom makes these for sale on etsy and they are even better in person than you can imagine. I put them within view at my desk for two days and as soon as I brought them home my husband put them next to his bed so he looks at them in the morning. They are that great. I don't know if it comes across in the photo but the baby is in a sling and has a little leg sticking out...it's too great.

All of this is coming from someone I work with, who happens to be an amazing photographer/ crafter in her own right. So, she went ahead and took four photographs using the dolls in different settings. No, I am not kidding! Check this one out.

So, now my plan is to frame all four photographs to put them up in our kitchen when it is finished. Talk about good shivers. I'm just a crazy bundle of good shivers. Babies bring such challenges and alot of that has been on my mind these days but, wow, they sure do bring some kind of special joy.

Welcome Little Critters!

Our contractor warned us but it has still been difficult to swallow. The work on the house has eliminated most of the grass in both the front and back of our lawn. It also means my beloved hydrangea bush looks like a pile of flattened sticks. It's all replaced with the red clayish mud characteristic of this area. They will be flattening the ground so that what used to include dips and holes will be level, just without any life.

The flip side is that we have an unprecedented opportunity to recreate our lawn, which really needed the help. As winter drags on I can't help but start thinking of spring. Who knows what we will accomplish with two little ones this spring but we did find this. The National Wildlife Federation will certify your lawn (no matter how small) as a Wildlife Habitat. As they put it:

All you need to do is provide elements from each of the following areas:
Food Sources - For example: Native plants, seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, nectar
Water Sources - For example: Birdbath, pond, water garden, stream
Places for Cover - For example: Thicket, rockpile, birdhouse
Places to Raise Young - For example: Dense shrubs, vegetation, nesting box, pond
Sustainable Gardening - For example: Mulch, compost, rain garden, chemical-free fertilizer

You pay the NWF $15 and they send you a little certification sign for your lawn as well as their magazine.

Considering we already compost and have a bat house I figure that we can easily incorporate these other ideas into our plans for the yard. Unfortunately, I've had a hard time finding much information on plants native to New Jersey. The only sticking point. Any ideas for where to search?

When it Rains it Pours

Anna Marie Horner has finished her book and her publisher is holding a contest with an amazing giveaway...sewing machine, book, thread...it's the Sew Like a Pro Sweepstakes. Plus, you can register everyday until mid-November.

Buying Kitchen Time

I've given birth to a boy boy. And, by that I mean he really digs modes of transportation. He will play with a doll for a while and hug a teddy bear but what he really wants to do is play with trucks or trains or cars. We go for walks just to see construction sites. So, despite my best intentions of being gender neutral I made these magnets for him. I went out and took pictures of trucks, cars, van, etc. and the printed them, applied a magnet and laminated them. They now live on our fridge. (Let me tell you, the picture taking part is not as easy as it sounds...these vehicles are usually moving or not in a position to stop and take a good photo.) And, holy smokes, they are a winner! I have seriously bought myself an additional 20 minutes of kitchen time.
Here is, of course, the quintessential school bus...complete with bus driver who was more than a little uncomfortable with the lady taking his photo. If our printer was better, these would have actually turned out with sharper color but so be it. The only thing missing is a city bus and a motocycle.
I'm thinking next might be magnets of family members (and the cat) or different emotion faces for communicating feelings...we will see.

Hey Mama! It's Votin' Time!

Oh, there is alot going on in political arenas right now but this isn't about that, thank goodness. Our lovely etsy is currently running a contest and asking for votes on Handmade Kids goods. Voters are automatically entered into a raffle to win an etsy gift certificate, which is great. But, more than that it is a great opportunity to support the amazing artists at etsy that make such beautiful things. So, head on over and vote! It only lasts to September 8th.

Tiny Street Art

This is pretty cool, check it out.

http://little-people.blogspot.com/