Update on doilies and terrariums

I've got to admit that I've been too preoccupied to make anything new and exciting lately so I thought I'd make an update post about some projects I had going on before.

The vintage doilies I found (and wrote about here) haven't gotten much action even though I keep staring at them. I cut a few flowers out of one of the damaged doilies and pressed them in my button machine. The mylar covering crinkled slightly due to the added thickness but I think they look pretty. Not pretty enough to make a whole bunch though. I also have been using one of the larger ones as a background for photos and I think it adds a nice textural detail. For now, most of them are placed under my terrariums on a shelf in classic doily fashion.

Speaking of terrariums; my mossy wonderlands were really doing splendidly. The plants were looking greener and the condensation was just right. Sadly, I think the moss I picked up off the road may have had some mold spores inside because a gray fuzz is slowly creeping across the landscape in all the environments that contain moss. I think their future is dismal and I will have to start again later with new moss. I'm pretty disappointed but not totally dismayed. I'm thankful that my favorite terrarium which contains just a small fern frond is doing very nicely.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this week because I have less responsibilities and can get back to my experiments. I made a trip to the craft store yesterday so I'm expecting a surge in the shop soon because nothing gets my brain going like new supplies.

Above is a picture of me that Justin took recently. The buttons look pretty on my jacket but my face seems like I smelled something foul. I do feel a little glamorous because the wind was actually blowing my hair around in a romantic fashion. That is a rare thing for me since this is the longest my hair has been in over eight years so I'm relishing the new sensation.

Moss, Mt. Rushmore and Sadie Hawkins

Today I made homes for the moss I found on the road. I arranged three simple terrariums the largest contains moss, fern and a few birch twigs for decoration and the other two are just moss or just fern. I didn't do much with decorating because I'm not sure of how well the environments will work. These three are sort of samples for bigger environments I hope to create later. I have high hopes for these three and I'm already plotting a very large terrarium scene complete with doll house furniture.

While I was at the thrift store looking for glass jars yesterday, I found these great Mt. Rushmore souvenir plates and bought two. It has been a long time since I've gone thrifting and I used to do it all the time. I thought I was really amazing at finding treasures but time has revealed that I just get excited about things that aren't really so spectacular. I feel confident that these plates are pretty great though.

Also, I posted a week or two ago about my parents' dog being sick. I feel I should give the update that she passed away this morning at home. The cancer progression was rapid. We're all trying to be comforted by the idea that her pain didn't last long and that her life was good after she came to live with our family. She was a rescue who definitely was meant for the finer things in life. She was nine years old and acted like an exuberant puppy until she became sick. She was a crazy snack-obsessed girl who played endlessly with her ball-on-a-rope and we will all miss her too much.

Growing and collecting things

As a person who makes things, I am naturally inclined to collect and perhaps have an affinity for growing things. I've been trying to curb my desire to gather and bring little treasures home due to the small size of our apartment. Plus, the bunnies munching ways have made me reticent to grow plants for fear that they will poison themselves. I currently only have a few sticks of bamboo and an aloe in my home for plant life.

Right now I feel like I'm on the verge of starting a new collection and growing some pretty scenes due to something I happened upon on my walk home from work yesterday. On my walk, I crossed the road to avoid what I thought was a giant heap of horse droppings (an uncommon sight in my area but not impossible due to carriage tours). As I moved closer, I saw that the lumps on the pavement were much nicer than poo. They were a great number of pretty balls and strips of vibrant green moss! They had slid off an old roof with a sheet of ice. Naturally, I picked up all the moss I could wrap into the takeout menu I had in my purse and continued home.

I had no plans for the moss but I set to arranging it in a still life while the light was good. I picked out a cheetah statue and an antler I'd painted blue to accompany the moss in the scene and took a few shots.

Later, I got the idea to make a terrarium with the moss since I have a few nice glass containers. I began looking up instructions for making terrariums and I saw many photos online of amazing glass jars filled with moss and little trinkets. I am very excited to start my first terrarium and with any luck, I'll have a new hobby that will quench my desire for having fresh green growth in my house without worrying about bunny marauders since the plants will be well contained.

I can see myself going all out with this and finding antique glass and etching designs into it, growing exotic ferns, moss and lichen and making charming scenes with statuettes. I need to go clean off a shelf somewhere before Justin gets home so I can say we have enough room for this.