chickens!...



i couldn't resist buying his little egg holder from the front house on etsy today. mostly i couldn't resist anything that has a quote like "a kiss without a mustache is like an egg without salt". it was also to celebrate needing an egg holder soon... well hopefully by fall...  since we just ordered some chicks! i'm so excited. i have 8 chicks heading my way in april!!  i have wanted chickens for so long, so i am really looking forward to those little cuties coming. now we just have to make a little set-up for them in the house, and then get the hen house ready. yay! can't wait to share pictures once they are here. until then, here is some other etsy chicken related goodness to start the week...


large bean pot, from jasper jane

wooden animal set, by just hatched

multicolor hen egg cozy, from annerstreet4home


vintage tuck's easter postcard, from gizmo and hoo ha


start the day rooster, from yours truly in my prairie seed shop


easy diy chicken coop plans, from 24 lavender lane

happy monday!


prairie seed...





my sister katy has been doing sucha  lovely job on our shop and new shop blog... as i am slowly trying to crawl out of a mountain of boxes.


not only has she added some great new items to the shop, but she finds the loveliest inspirational photos to go along with these items and get your own creative juices flowing. i hope you will check out the new blog!






and don't forget the beautiful custom made wedding/ special occasion orders you can make...








out of my comfort zone...



i was very pleased to be asked a to be a stop on the blog tour for abby glassenberg's new book, the artful bird. i have long been a fan of abby's beautiful birds, and wrote about seeing them in person just after moving to atlanta. i was blown away then by the intricate work that goes into each bird and not only does this book capture them beautifully in photograph (seriously it would make a good coffee table book to have around) but gives you the opportunity to see how they are made. so, as you know i regularly sew little animals myself, but i have to admit i was intrigued and a little nervous about the idea of trying one of abby's projects. though i can hand sew up a storm, i'll let you in on a little secret... machine sewing is not my forte. i do not generally venture beyond a pair of curtains. so, i thought i would challenge myself. i'm not a beginning sewer, obviously,  and i do have the advantage of understanding how a three dimensional animal comes together... gussets are no big deal for instance. i have to admit to you though that i never read patterns! even when i use old patterns, i never actually have read the directions. generally i look at the form, and adapt it to my hand sewing needs. it is like a puzzle and generally just comes together. written directions just never make sense to my brain somehow, so like i said, i was a little nervous.

as spring is just around the corner i wanted to try the sweet little chick project. i have made chicks in the past so i thought this would be an easy introduction for me, especially for trying out her leg instructions. i have to say the directions and photos at the beginning are super helpful. she goes through the steps of making any bird, thereby making each individual project easier to follow. she gives you both written and pictorial instructions which is really great. read that part first, and go back when you need to.  i didn't have the exact fabric she used, but i thought i'd improvise a little. luckily, i had some fabrics that worked and most of the other supplies necessary (if you don't, once you bought them they would be used again). my first daunting task was to actually find my supplies, but it was a good motivator to get my studio in working order.

ugh

after cleaning some

you can see my addiction to fabrics

i went through step by step, and found the directions to be surprisingly understandable (that isn't a comment on abby, but my own brain)! the only part i was personally confused by was the head, but i figured it out really quickly. it is definitely a challenge using the machine to sew such miniature pieces and my finished bird came out a little bigger because the fabric i used was stiffer and a little more difficult to use than the recommended one. i'm really happy how it turned out though! it was challenging to me in a really good way. i learned the basics of machine sewing animals, which i honestly had never done before. the feet took me two tries, mostly because i hadn't done it in a while and was out of practice... so the same would probably be true for someone new to it. i also didn't have sealer for paint, so i chose to wrap the legs in fabric. they bird was really easy to get to stand. i was amazed!! i am super grateful to abby for sharing this info because it was always a struggle for me. honestly, it was really much easier than how i usually do it.








(my favorite part... hand sewing, my least favorite part... stuffing, which is always true but i love abby's advice to come back to it when you are rested! i didn't take a picture of making the legs because it was dark by then. my husband came in and asked my why i was sitting on the floor... because i need the space, obviously!)

so my cute new friend is up on the mantle in the new playroom, waiting for spring. actually my daughter has already adopted him and "rescued" him from a lonely life so they can play together while they wait. i  can't wait to try another project... i'd love to make an owl for myself!




this is a really great book to have, and i know i will really enjoy it. thanks abby!

roar!...



have i mentioned that how much i love our new neighborhood? not only are the people great (um, we got cookies from the neighbor across the street on our first day here), the homes lovely, and there are many good restaurants... there is also a beautiful park. a park where kids actually play! this was a bit lacking at our last playground. we are loving it. one of the best things about this lovely old park is an amazing zoo, one of the oldest in the country. it is in a lovely setting... and though it is small, it is really well done. we have lions and elephants and pandas (including a new baby!). there is a lovely children's zoo with goats to pet, and so much more. my favorite animals are the giraffes...


one of the coolest things? when we walk through the park to the playground there is a little path that leads to the giraffe area. you can peer through a fence and say hello to them as you pass by! um, living a few blocks from a giraffe? almost as good as having one in your back yard;)

thanks for all your nice comments on the house. i'm starting to feel like it will never get all unpacked. the bathroom upstairs is half painted... and i'm not even sure how to paint a living room with 12 foot ceilings? (i'm only 5'2"!). we are really loving it, though, and feel so blessed. we also love the early spring weather. we had a picnic in the yard, the kids are swinging on the tire swing, we have hung up bird feeders everywhere... pictures of all that next. but first, be sure to come back friday when i am a stop on the blog tour for abby glassenberg's wonderful new book! see you then!

a little peek...

breakfast nook

some random photos i took this week, so you can see the house is starting to look like a place people live.


kitchen, still filling shelves

the kitchen is freshly painted and i'm loving the light in here and where we eat. i can't wait to paint more rooms this color.


entry way

i have a rug picked out that i would like to get, and need a bigger lamp. i need about a thousand lamps actually! they are so expensive though.


living room

i ordered these curtains for the living room today, in mocha. i'm really excited... not to have the whole neighborhood staring at us! i found a great discount code online and got an additional 25% off and free shipping. only eight more windows to go... nine? oh, dear, better not count. this room is really comfy to hang out in and i have since added a table and lamp next to the chair.


corner of the living room


pantry

i'm loving the pantry and large laundry room!





we had a little snow fall. it was lovely. but also funny to see the tree in front covered in snow and flowers.


crab apple tree


sidney in the snow

i guess sidney is dressed appropriately for this strange weather... winter coat and sun hat. we actually do have a lot of winter gear but i think she is becoming a native. half the people in atlanta dress like this when it snows.

i'm so tired and beat up! looking forward to it all getting done, someday.

flickr favorites...


1. Whit's Knits: Pixie Dust Lap Blanket, 2. sunday morning, 3. Woven Shetland Blanket, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. 28:365, 7. 28::100 queen, 8. 26/365, 9. Crafting for home, 10. New banner for fun, 11. The light, 12. Finished


it's been a while since i have done a flickr favorites. this is my mood lately... a desire to stay inside, nice and cozy, while it pours freezing rain outside. i'm enjoying left over chocloate birthday cake and coffee... trying to ignore the fact, for a few minutes, that i am moving monday! oh, dear. wish me luck! i received a new lens from my wonderful husband for my birthday, so lot's of new photos of the house coming soon.

have a lovely weekend! see you next week.

glorious day....

sidney capturing the glorious feeling of the day perfectly

we have been so busy packing and painting and cleaning and moving and pulling up floors and painting some more... it seems it's all we ever do anymore. so, we took advantage a rare beautiful glimpse of spring on sunday and went to the atlanta history center. we have been meaning to go visit the circa 1840's farmhouse they have there, which somewhat resembles out own new house...


tullie-smith farmhouse at the atlanta history center

we wanted to get some inspiration... we need new windows and a roof... and also a glimpse of what life was like back then. did you know they had to pay a tax each year just to have window panes? what luxury we take for granted! it is a lovely little house with beautiful 19th century furniture, a loom and sweet little schoolroom. of course it is also a lesson on the history of the south and the way that slavery allowed such luxuries like window panes for upper middle class farmers like these.

we have been doing a bit of searching into the history of our home too. it is difficult though, because all the records of course burned during the civil war. all houses around here officially date back to 1870 because of this. we have a letter from a city historian who visited our home when it was renovated last, back in the 80's. he was able to see the wall uncovered and believed the house to be from the 1850's... making it one of the oldest in the neighborhood and indeed atlanta. we may never know for sure, but it is fun to explore! every time i touch the banister i think of all the hands who have trailed there before mine.

so, hopefully we will finish all the immediate things that need to be done and actually move in next week! i can't wait, because it is starting to just feel like this place we visit to do lots of work! i did get a new (to us) couch... found at a vintage store for an amazing deal. it was dropped off yesterday and it actually made the place start to feel like a home. we will have a lot more painting and work to do after moving in, but right now i am anxious to just get there.

we will miss our little home here, but a lovely family with small children is moving in and we know they will carry on with their own traditions and make it a home for themselves too. we can't wait to do the same!