guest post: Grandma Bunny

Since I'm away, I asked Grandma Bunny to share a bit about my childhood Easter tradition.

Grandma Bunny: This tradition encompasses one of my favorite beliefs: less is more. Instead of filling up an Easter basket with lots and lots of candy and treats, Maya's basket was filled with a spring book and a few small toys. The night before Easter, she would line up all of her toy bunnies by the side of her bed. In the morning each bunny would have a tiny treat in its paws or right next to it. Each little jelly bean felt like a special gift. Magically ten jelly beans felt like so much more. She has continued this tradition with her own family and has discovered some wonderful alternatives to the typical candy of the season. My personal favorite is the yogurt covered almond. Each one looks like a perfect egg... and they're just my size!

Also available at many health food stores are organic Jolly Beans colored with vegetable juices. Maya hides chocolate Earth Balls around the house, as well as colored eggs for a fun twist on the usual hunt.

On behalf of bunnies everywhere, hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

sponsor giveaway: Green Rainbow Shop

Good morning! The sun is shining and it's a lovely day to shout HAPPY SPRING! Long time sponsor, Green Rainbow Shop, is here to celebrate with us. Their shop is filled with something special for everyone. Each item has been selected with earth/eco awareness so you can feel great about your choices. I had so much fun coming up with these collages... there were so many wonderful choices for Easter/spring baskets and plenty for freshening up your nest or adding to your spring wardrobe. Go have a peek right here.

Green Rainbow Shop is generously offering four $25 gift certificates! How wonderful! Leave your name (and e-mail if it's not available through blogger) here before Tuesday at 8pm EST. I'll announce the four random winners on Wednesday morning. Good luck!

Oh yes, in addition: they will give a 20% discount to readers who enter the code EASTER (valid through 04/20/11). Thanks Green Rainbow! So glad you're here!

Green Rainbow Shop

weekend bits

This is our little horse barn that has a stall converted into a coop. Neglected for the last few years, it's enjoying some TLC, and I'm appreciating having such a straightforward task. I know there are some mighty fine hen houses out there, but what this one will lack in the pretty department, will be made up for with safety and coziness. Please send lots of sunshine thoughts my way so that I can hose it down, dry it out and finish up the last steps necessary for getting it ready.

And here are some happy links to get all of our weekends off to a lovely start:

• I already have India Flint's book, Eco Colour, so Kathrin's bean water experiments have me thinking I'll be taking it off the shelf while I put some black beans on the stove.
• Lisa's pesto makes me want to go hunting down a stinging nettle patch right away.
• While we're out foraging, maybe the dandelions will be big enough to gather for this favorite.
• As the earth turns green again and the country roads beckon, I love the idea of Maya Stein's 40th birthday adventure- Type Rider.
• Action Pack has an Easter Edition that looks delightful as always.
• Have you checked out danmala in my sidebar? Beautiful earth art/ mandalas- inspiration for all ages.

simple spring basket: how to

Tomorrow marks the return of spring: the Vernal Equinox. I can't remember a March when it actually felt like spring, but here we are with no snow on the ground and birds by the thousands filling the skies. This little basket is adding a sunny touch to my daughter's room... filled with a raffia nest and wooden eggs from her play kitchen. It's the perfect craft for this first weekend in spring... quick and easy to whip up with only basic sewing skills needed. It would also make a great basket for Easter or a sweet little party favor container. I kept mine very simple, but you can think of these as little canvases to embellish with your own style. A recipe for you to interpret your own way... Make them out of any kind of felt. I used cotton batting, because I have so many scraps leftover from my burlap buckets... and it performs exactly like felt! I'm also fond of white.

Spring Basket

Need:one piece of felt or batting measuring: 8x13 inches
one piece of " ": 2x11 inches

contrasting felt for flowers and leaves
2 buttons
pinking shears

Make:

1. cut out rectangle
2. fold in half and sew up the sides with a 1/4 inch seam allowance... trim excess with pinking shears
3. make boxed corners by opening and folding in the opposite direction with the seam now falling right in the middle (see photo)
4.keeping seams even with one another on both sides, mark and sew a 3 1/2 inch seam over the corner... trim off excess triangle (from the corner)
you now have your basket... fold over top about an inch

5. Make handle: fold 11x2 piece of felt in half the long way. Sew up each side with a 1/4 seam allowance. Trim excess with pinking shears.
6. Cut out eight flower petals (I made hearts for simplicity) and two leaves
7. Sew handle to the outside of basket directly over side seam.
8. Tack four flower petals and leaf together with a few hand stitches. Attach flowers with buttons covering where the handle meets the basket.

Fill and enjoy!

There are so many ways you can personalize these... covered in felt flowers, applique, embroidery, buttons... I'd love to hear how you create yours! And if you're a maker who doesn't sew... I have a basket just for you coming up.

diy: fabric bendy strips for spring

I came up with something simple, but so exciting the other day. It all started with kale. We eat a lot of kale. Our farm share was over for the season, but our co-op sells it bundled with a twist tie: a super-duper long twist tie.  I saved them... such nice delicate twisty wire must be put to good use. A piece of linen selvedge was approximately the same length and sitting on my cutting table. It seemed only natural to put them together. It had potential, but it was narrow and my sewing machine didn't like going over the wire here and there where it bent, so the stitches were wonky. Next, I tried a strip of one inch fabric.

An improvement, and a very cheery little red checked rose bud bloomed.

I knew I was on to something and wanted to keep experimenting, but I ran out of twist ties. I used some heavier gauged wire and a bit of eyelet trim that already had a little channel at the top- just the right size.

Loved it!

These versatile scraps really have no limit for springtime embellishing and the best part is that they can be shaped into so many different things over and over again... just straighten and rebend. The internal wire means easy attachment to handles, wrists, button holes, clothespins, bobby pins, etc.  A very fun way to reuse! So I made some more... and you can, too!

Fabric Bendy Strips

Need: 

• 15 inches of thin wire or a recycled long twist tie with the paper removed
• 1 inch wide scrap of fabric that is several inches longer than wire or eyelet trim with a channel at the top

Make:

1. Fold over 1/4 of an inch of fabric lengthwise down the strip and press with an iron.
2. Insert wire into crease and stitch it into place being careful not to touch the wire.
3. Alternately, if your wire is thicker, you can try sewing the channel first and then insert your wire after.
4. Scrunch/gather fabric and then close both sides of the channel with a few stitches to keep the wire from slipping out.

The potential for these bendy twisty pieces of fabric is HUGE. Here's the beginning of my list, but I'm sure we'll all think of more:

• flowers for spring/Easter baskets
• blossoms for hairpins
• wedding/prom corsages or bracelets
• gift toppers
• wine glass identifiers
• gift bag cinchers

eggs and baskets

Good morning, belated welcome to April and happy Monday to you! So happy to return to routine and rhythm after a very full spring break with busy kids and quite a few of their friends, as well. We were ecstatic to see all of the snow melt away.

And dealt patiently when it returned.

We ate a lot of good food, took a mini road trip, played a lot and made a lot. Our week culminated with all kinds of eggs… fresh, decorated and chocolate ones, too!

On Easter Eve, I decided it was time for a few new baskets. How come my best creative moments are always at midnight the night before something? So there I was... stitching cotton laundry cord into the wee hours- completely enthralled! I made a total of 4 baskets. Two minis, a medium (filled with eggs above) and a large. 

Creative Bug has a great workshop by Nicole Blum on how to make rope baskets right here. But I must admit, I haven't watched more than the intro yet and just winged it- something I think Nicole would totally relate too, as an artist who also loves to improvise! But for many, careful instructions makes producing something new much less stressful- so go check it out! Since I made these up as I went along, they kept improving, and I got more inspired with each new basket. This spiral sewing is addictive beyond belief. 

 More pics tomorrow!