ferns

i was at the mass audubon in belmont for a project last week and i had the chance to take a little stroll around. they had a beautiful formal garden as well as acres and acres of wilds (including fields of poison ivy! eep.) lately, i've been paying closer attention to plants... the shape of them, the differences on colors/shades.

this fern was so prefectly formed and i loved the delicate curl at the tips. now i'm poking my nose into every fern that i see :)

ferns on etsy

neoclassical headband by mylavaliere


fern leaf fronds - set of 5 tags by AntoinettePaperie


fern green woolpaca handdyed yarn by FibroFibers

stamp carving!

i've finally started stamp carving! after seeing all the amazing things that geninne does, i've been anxious to try it out myself. and her tutorial was an incredible resource. luckily, all the supplies that i needed were available at the blick's a few blocks away. i decided to start out small and simple with a leaf. hm... not bad but it's definitely going to take a lot more practice. i didn't like my first attempt at all but i was able to shave off what i had carved and start over thus avoiding having to throw away the whole piece. it's so satisfying cutting into the rubber. and it's a pretty compact and affordable hobby :) it's also encouraged me to doodle a lot more. i keep a large box of crayons on my desk at work and when i need a break, i open up my planner and doodle away. i'm hoping to turn some of those doodles into stamps. once i get the hang of things, i'm hoping to make an original stamp that i can use to start letterboxing!

signs of spring

robin's eggs

aren't they beautiful? :)

happy banner!

i totally forgot to mention this! i had the best time making my sister a bridal shower banner. i didn't like the ones that you can find in the store that look like the happy birthday banners you had back in the day. and they don't make hello kitty bridal shower banners (though they definitely should!) so i decided to make one. i found inspiration on etsy, martha stewart and about a million other websites. my cricut played a huge role... thanks artie! the w was my favorite one... probably because it peeks out from the edge of the circle. and i think the black and white circles look like cookies :) i want to make more! i guess i'll have to wait til my sister has a baby then i can make a baby shower banner.

day off

cool breeze, smell of freshly cut grass, laundry drying by the windows... it's springtime and life is good.

lilacs at the arnold arboretum. i wish lilacs bloomed year round! it was a bit windy yesterday when i took this picture but i didn't mind at all since every time the wind blew, it brought the smell of lilacs with it :)

graphics fairy

oo! i found graphics fairy over at paper crave and i'm in love! the graphics fairy has the most amazing collection of vintage graphics. and she makes them available to everyone for free. isn't that lovely of her? ^_^ there's a huge variety of subjects and whatever you're looking for (map of the british museum anyone?), it's probably in there somewhere. i was clicking happily through her collection and all kinds of pretty ideas were going through my head. these would be perfect for atc's! speaking of atc's... i kind of miss them. maybe the graphics fairy will get me started again!

graphics fairy

off to the library

have you ever just fixated on an idea and gone crazy over it? i have libraries dancing through my head and i'm obsessed! but not like the libraries that we go to today... i'm dreaming of ones with dusty smelling card catalogs, and date due cards that get stamped and slipped back into the pocket on the book. i miss all this so much! i used to just randomly flip through the card catalog because i liked playing with the cards. and i wanted so badly to be a librarian so that i could scan books and use fancy self-inking stamps that make a fantastic "kachunk" sound when you use them.

awesome card catalog converted into a sewing/craft supply cabinet from bitsnbobbins. so... jealous... i live in a small, overflowing apartment but if i ever came across one of these, i would buy it on the spot.

library cards from schOOLLOcker

library card catalog cards from pantone334

does anyone else miss old school libraries? :)