Magpie Shinies: June 2011

Nature can inspire us all, but with what is often the question. She isn't always beautiful, and can be alternately terrifying and cruel, but She is always awesome, in the traditional meaning of the word. Nature is like love, and what you take is equal to what you make (to borrow a phrase). Nature is also always magical, with light and dark, whimsy and power.

A while back, I won these fantastic earrings from Helen Sarah Vaughan who keeps the blog Trees and Whatnot.


made of laser-cut leather

I love them! In addition to being made from leather which might often get tossed due to its size, they are incredibly organic and flattering - I am a fan of long, drop earrings. Sarah has many items on her site that repeat this organic vibe, and her leather items are truly lovely and one of a kind. How pretty are these orange ones? I'm also grateful for her link to Handmade, a website for a shop in Brighton that specializes in local artists (I believe her items are there). While I am a continent and an ocean away from being able to visit, I've been enchanted by the crafts on the site. So, needless to say, I am incredibly grateful to have won this giveaway, and I wish Sarah the best of luck in her endeavors. She is a very gifted artist!

Speaking of the magic of nature, while I was online looking for garden and container designs, I came across an entire subculture of gardening/craft/playing that involves creating Fairy Houses. Talk about enchanting! (Warning: if you look up fairy homes yourself, there are a LOT of "flashing" sites! It's a little eye-murdering) Check out some of these fairy houses:


Fairyhouses


The Magic Onions

E-how

Canadian Country Woman

More instructions can be found here.

Speaking of a magical time, and nature, my husband and I are both long-time Gin Blossoms fans (this will make sense, trust me). So when we heard that they would be playing in the area, we again jumped at the chance to see them. To our surprise, they were playing at a Catholic school (with the very magical name of Our Lady of the Lake) fundraiser. The date of the show also happened to hilariously coincide with the end of the world, May 21st! So, we thought, if it happens, at least we'll go out doing something we love.

My church only ever had a beer tent & dunk tank party. Oh, and BINGO. Lots of BINGO.

Right after we arrived, everyone who was there was hustled into the school basement because of a tornado touchdown in a nearby town. I found it kind of funny that me of all people would end up in a church school basement on Rapture Day, with tornadoes. But after an hour or so, and the beer tent moved temporarily inside to placate the masses, the area was declared safe.

The Gin Blossoms put on another great show, and we were lucky enough to get a spot in the very front to enjoy it. Some photos of the band:

So much fun!

So next post, I swear I'll post some actual craft projects I've been working on! They involve altering those mens' tees, and I'm pretty excited. I haven't sewed anything in a while, and I'm kind of rusty, so working with tees is a great way to get back into the groove. Mostly, lately, I've been working on hand embroidery, and that's not too exciting to do updates on, but here's a sneak peek: