f a n c y

Fancy Pencil Jar :: Remake

Use to store pencils, rulers, paint brushes, kitchen utensils, and maybe even dried flowers or seed pods.

Made with a glass jar, some paper, and glue. Cut circles and designs, glue them on an appropriately sized strip of nice quality white paper, place in jar, and use a few dots of glue from a hot glue gun to secure in two or three places.

Definitely don't use a "craft repositioning stick" to glue your circles and designs onto the strip of paper. It isn't glue and it doesn't work to actually adhere paper. I imagine it is useful for other things, but it somehow appeared in my glue stick collection, and when I used it, without knowing what it was, it reminded me of blowing out trick candles on my birthday cake. "Uh oh! Try again!" It looks just like a glue stick, but it really, really isn't. Good to know that sort of thing is out there, right?

You don't need a lot of hot glue to affix the paper strip to the jar. Just place one or two dots under the seam (where the ends overlap) and press.

Wouldn't it make a nice gift with a stack of new pencils?


xo e

r e d

I've been enamored by the colors in our backyard. Our biggest maple tree was rusty red on Thursday, and by Saturday it turned fiery red, and by Sunday, when the wind and rain had cleared, almost all of the leaves had fallen off of the tree. Towards the end of Sunday afternoon the light was shining through the trees in that breathtaking way that makes you forgive the sky for yesterday's torrents of rain. It was as if the angular beams of light were proudly pointing at each branch and at each deeply colored leaf asking me to notice.

I read a poem with Chick this evening. It was all about sandboxes that won't be used again until the spring, dried seed pods who were turning their heads toward the ground, window screens stored in the attic, people putting their garden to sleep, and the pause before the earth is covered in snow. It all felt a little dramatic when they locked the garden gate for the winter, but still, it echoed exactly how I was feeling today. There was a damp cold feeling in the air that reminded me that the seemingly perpetual 65 degree afternoons won't be around much longer.

I am pausing.

And, I am inspired by the deep, bold colors of fall. It has been informing my crafting and artwork in a big way these days as I am working on collage and sewing. I've been spending much of my time creating a new series of art blocks, which are mixed media pieces made on old boards with picture hangers on the back for easy hanging. I am using natural pine scraps from our local lumber yard and a non-toxic satin sealant for protection. I'm thinking of putting a few in my shop in the coming weeks. We'll see.

This one is titled Bird at Home and it features two of my hand carved stamps.


I now have to scurry off to my studio to finish working on the girls' Halloween costumes. Chick will be the tooth fairy and Miss Mouse will be a chocolate chip cookie. Chick wants to hand out some white felt teeth, so I have some cutting to do.

xo e

m i x e d

Here are some pictures of the collage ornament project, which I promised in my last post. Chick and I worked on these at home since we have a few birthdays to account for and a Halloween treat to send to her little cousin in California. It was the kind of activity that became sort of meditative, and ended up leading to some singing, story swapping, and the buzz of chatter and quiet thought.


Materials:
re-purposed cereal box panels
little pieces of torn up magazine
glue stick
scissors
hole punch
yarn
Mod Podge (optional)

How to make it:

Cut the re-purposed cereal box panels to any shape you wish. I used rectangles for this project since I knew I'd be working with little hands. I did make a some collage birds and suns for my own work, which ended up looking kind of nifty. Go crazy with the glue stick on the cereal box shape, and then glue the pieces of paper onto the shape whichever way feels just right.


Use scissors to trim the pieces of paper to size if you wish, and don't be afraid to go off the edges since, at the end, you will trim all of the excess paper off in order to preserve the original shape. Chick decided to trim part of the shape as well, which ended up making it even more fun for her. Punch a hole. Tie on some yarn, and hang somewhere fun like on the rear view mirror in the car or on a little hook.

Or, on a doorknob.

Inexpensive, simple, and re-purposed.

xo e

t o g e t h e r

Here are some Story Stones from the Play series that I spent much of July and August working on. There are many more little children and play things in the series, and I plan to slowly share them on the blog in the coming months. Recently, I was honored to be asked to sell my wares at The Hartsbrook School's Winter Festival in late November, so I think I'll bring some of these along.


This past weekend, while the little ones soaked in the grandparent love, Tom and his father installed a beautiful white pine floor in our upstairs bathroom and I led a craft project at Cradle's open house. At the end of the day on Saturday, we sat down to a big autumn feast with sweetly roasted vegetables and apple crisp for dessert.

The open house was bright and cheery. It was one of those events where kindness blanketed the room, and everyone there was just happy to share in friendly vibe.



The craft was a simple repurposed cardboard square collage with some cotton yarn tied through a hole for easy hanging. I'll post pictures of the finished craft in the next few days.

There were busy little (and big!) hands working all morning.


I'm off to do some work and then to read to sweet Chick who has a bit of a cough.

xo e

lucky me

Look what I found at the thrift store a few weeks ago! I know, I scored big, right? It is a soft little lap quilt made with vintage fabrics, and it happens to be in beautiful condition without any holes or tears anywhere. At first, I didn't see it hanging between two worn out plaid blankets, but as I carefully pondered each blanket, I noticed a bright line of color pressed against the wall. And, when I saw it, I immediately looked around wondering how I ended up being so lucky.

Each time I place it on my lap or watch my children play with it, I try to figure out why it was unwanted and sold for $2.50.

Odds & Ends:

I'm busy preparing for a little craft project demonstration, which I am leading on Saturday at the grand opening celebration of Cradle in Northampton. I'll post some pictures of the event. It is bound to be warm and lovely since it is being organized by the wonderful Katie Rubinstein!

I'm off to bake for curriculum night at Chick's school tonight, which I'm so excited to attend. I love hearing all about what she is studying and exploring.

xo e

tiny pine cone garland

Remember, two weeks ago, when we went searching high and low for fall with our finding fall box? We are searching no longer. There is now blustery wind and orange leaves blowing through our yard. The nights are cold and we have been finding ourselves wrapped in blankets while sitting in the house. Pots of soup have been made and the butternut squash is rolling in. All of this fall business inspired me to use some of our findings from the other week to make a garland for our living room doorway.


Chick happily went to our little pine forest on the side of the house to gather more tiny pine cones. I promise we aren't always happily skipping through fields around here. We have tears and dull days, but today she really was especially happy to run outside. Perhaps it was because it was really dark and rainy this morning, so the bright sun felt like a little surprise gift.

After gathering cones, I cut flowers (or suns if you ask Chick) out of some of my favorite wool felt. I did some free style sewing on the felt flowers. Here is a closeup of one of the flowers:


Then, using an embroidery needle, I threaded the pine cones and the felt flowers onto sturdy thread making sure to put the thread towards the top of the flowers to ensure that they don't flip around. The cones were pretty easy to thread, although I probably should have worn a thimble since I ended up poking myself a few times. Here is the garland hanging across our living room doorway.


I'm off to work now for a bit, so I need to kiss the girls and Tom goodnight.

xo e

f a i r y

Chick and I made fairy houses or as she likes to call it, "the big fairy hotel." She spent lots of time loading up their abodes with crab apples just in case they happen to find themselves a little snacky. This kind of outdoor play makes me think of The Girl From the North's recent post about Dinoland, which made me smile.


We spent the weekend with family visiting baby cows and goats, eating the world's biggest donut, and watching our town's 250 anniversary parade in the rain.



xo e

I read The Story of the Root-Children, by Sibylle Von Olfers, to Chick on the first day of autumn as a way to welcome the change in seasons. It is so sweet and enchanted in that elfin kind of way. It tells a short tale of the root children who live under the earth waiting for spring to arrive so that they can decorate the earth with their colors and spirits. We both decided that these shy, spritely little children are probably more than ready for a good long rest after all of their dancing and prancing and swimming (not to mention all of those curmudgeonly beetles that hog the swimming hole).

I find the pictures and earthy color pallet inspiring. It added to the sense of peace and tranquility that autumn often brings to our home.

xo e

finding fall box: remake

Since today, at around 5:30, marks the first day of autumn, I decided that Chick and I should go on a finding fall search in our backyard while Miss. Mouse naps soundly in her bed upstairs. We found yellow leaves, seed pods, acorns, a gazillion tiny pine cones, and lots of flies and bugs that decided to be born in today's balmy weather. It made me smile each time Chick thought of something that wouldn't fit into our tidy, little finding fall box, like "colder night air," "loose, rainy branches," and "that the nights are getting shorter."

The finding fall box is made out of all recycled materials. I used an Annie's Cheddar Bunnies box that I wrapped with a brown paper bag, and I used some old catalogs for the little acorn decorations. The inside paper lining is an old piece of scrap paper that I cut to size and stamped with the numbers 1-6.

I like the idea of limiting our display to six items at a time, so that we can be selective and purposeful as we change and rotate our pieces of nature as we like. I think I will make finding boxes for the other three seasons as well.

I also feel the need to introduce you to our new best friend: the mulch pile. We bought this lovely pile of mulch in June and, since then, it has been sitting on our driveway. I've actually grown attached to it since it reminds me of all of the fun things we did this summer instead of spreading boring old mulch.

Happy Fall!

xo e

w e e k e n d

I do actually have some crafty things to post about. There is the back to school (a little late, I know) story stone series that I have been plugging away at since the summer, and a little felt necklace that I have been scheming up.

But, lately, all I seem to want to post about are the colors and shapes and beauty that have been surrounding me during my late summer adventures. This time, I met two friends, from the college years, at a beautiful little camp on a pond in New Hampshire. Right away, I got to have an almost nap in the sunny spot on the dock, and then we sat on the porch and sipped tea while I stared at the water and rocks and trees in a way that I don't always have the chance to do. I brought a slew of vegetables from our C.S.A. farm share, and we slow roasted all of them throughout the late afternoon. There was eggplant, swirly beets, garlic, carrots, cauliflower (not from the farm), and red onions. We ate them with buttery pasta and salmon with crispy prosciutto.

Before settling down for dinner, we drank Proseco and ate bread with strawberries, ricotta salata, and arugula (otherwise known as rocket) on crusty French bread. Divine.


The colors were deep and rich and beautiful.

There was much reminiscing about the old days, like faux trips to Boston and the way Tom first won us over with his acoustic version of The Indigo Girls' Closer to Fine. The camp is without heat, so I came prepared with fleece socks and three blankets. Our toes and fingers may have been cold from the late summer - almost autumn - air, but between the oven, the lit candles, the warm blankets, the wine, and our laughter, we were plenty warm. And, plenty happy.

Psssst: Amy at Mod Podge Rocks has her first ever give-away on her blog, and it happens to be quite useful if you like to collage or decoupage. I recommend taking a peek.

xo e

story tags :: remake

This project started because of Chick's deep desire to continue the ferry adventure conversation. These days, when we get out of the car, she asks if we can pretend our whole house is a ferry boat, and when she goes to sleep she asks for stories about ship adventures in the high seas. Little bits of our adventure keep trickling into our daily conversation, so one afternoon I went scavenging through the paper recycling bin to find a way to make our memories a little more permanent.


In this new remake craft, cereal and tissue boxes became gift tags, wall hangings, story telling cards, or memory cards. I cut the boxes into little cardboard squares, gave them rounded edges, and I made little collages onto them using magazines and junk mail. Each square represents something important about our journey, and Chick now has little pictures to use as she retells it again and again.


She especially likes to put them in chronological order, which is fun for me to observe since it is a fairly subjective process. In her mind, where does the beach fall in the line-up? The town? The pinwheel?


I used cereal and tissue boxes, a rotary paper cutter, a rounded edge punch, magazines and junk mail, and a decoupage medium (Mod Podge, diluted craft glue, etc.) to make the story tags.




Here, I used the cereal box tag to make a little sign for a very special teeny tiny boy's bedroom. Welcome to the world little Finn!


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o l d

Our super fun friend and neighbor, Erica, wrote late Saturday night suggesting the possibility of driving an hour east to Old Sturbridge Village for a little adventure. I love historical villages. I just do, and I'm willing to be frank about it. There is something about the DIY, use everything, waste nothing, practical, horse drawn wagon sensibility that I find inspiring and completely fascinating. My parents tell me that when I was little they would give me five or six really fun choices for our summer family vacation, and every time I would choose the Old Sturbridge Village/Boston option. Its true! I know it is true because I remember my love affair with the old houses, tin and candle making, and peppermint candy sticks.


This historical village, in particular, is especially beautiful and pastoral with a working farm and acres of pasture land and gardens. There is also a fancy little indoor play area where the kids can sell pickled cucumbers and eggs from barrels, stack firewood, and pull carrots from the garden.


Yesterday, in the fire pit, they were dying wool with natural dyes. Oh, the colors! She used iron to make the really dark eggplant one.



Isn't this old blue farm thing pretty? I love this particular shade of blue.


Side note: If you ever feel parched and decide to get slushies on the drive home from somewhere, don't stop at Cumberland Farms for $0.79 any size slushies. There is a reason they are $0.79. Just three sips and we felt like we had eaten a dozen sour gummy candies in under a minute. Chick, who rarely eats anything that artificial and weird, was all, "Mama, this drink just doesn't taste so good." I'm pretty sure we will just go for milk shakes the next time we want a sweet, dessert drink.

Another side note: I also just have to mention that I'm feeling really excited about my lovely friend Nicole's (One Golden Apple) skirt, dress, and tunic top designs. She is a super talented crafter who has been, recently, doing the most amazing things with jersey. Her eye for color along with her simple, beautiful designs and her unique finishing techniques make me feel like I need to be cutting and sewing and getting down and dirty with jersey ... right now. She pinkie swear promised me that her techniques are simple and satisfying. I think I might begin with a long tunic sort of design since that is the sort of thing I like to wear.

The end.

Off to cook dinner.

xo e

i s s u e

I'm all excited because my Collage Circle Garland project is in Family Fun's "Everyday Fun" section in the September 2009 issue. My name is in teeny tiny print running up the side of the page, which makes me so happy since I didn't even notice that my name was there until our friend *Justin* pointed it out.

I feel so lucky to be surrounded by incredibly thoughtful, inspired, lovely friends and readers who encourage and support my craftiness. Really.

xo e

ferry

This past Saturday we went on an adventure to Greenport, NY. After waking up bright and early, we drove two hours south to New London, CT where we met up with my parents and took a ferry boat across the Long Island Sound to Greenport, NY. There, we visited family and played at a private little beach where the water was just right for hours of swimming. The beach was quiet with small waves and there were little orange shells and other beach treasures covering the sand. After a beautiful lunch of lobster, corn salad, fresh tomatoes, potato salad, and the peach cobbler, we strolled through town, went on a super zoom carousel, hugged good-bye, and drove to the ferry port to wait for our boat.

While at the port, I was wrangling some pajamas on Mouse, and Chick and Tom discovered a little beach that was covered - COVERED - in rounded, smooth, beautiful stones of all sizes and colors . I almost died. In my neck of the woods, it sometimes takes me weeks to find the right stone, and here I was face-to-face with millions of stones that are perfect for making story stones. I grabbed a bucket and some bags and filled them to the brim with stones. The ferry traffic director people thought I was wacko because I kept crossing in front of streams of exiting cars to plop my enormous bags of stones into my trunk. There was sweat and fast running and probably an embarrassing look of determination on my face. But, who cares, right? I have enough stones to last me years and years and years. Oh, and there was also the most beautiful sky and pinkish moon. The evening felt magical.

After we boarded the boat, Chick fell asleep in my arms with the ocean spray blowing onto her hair and me covering her with a sweatshirt to warm her. Miss Mouse faked us out with a big dramatic interpretation of sleep when really she just wanted to stay awake for the entire ride so she could point to the water and say "Bubbles. More Bubbles."




Here are some of the stones that were not gathered up into one of my totes.


The ferry boat.



The next day, the girls' hair smelled like the sea, which made me wistful since I know it won't be until next summer that we will frolic in it again.

xo e

peachy

I'm known to make a peach cobbler on Labor Day weekend. There is something about a peach cobbler that both reminds me that it is the end of summer and makes me feel like summer is unending. How is that for a paradox? At this time each year the farm down the road has peaches filling their bins. They are practically spilling onto the floor telling me there is an endless, most plentiful supply of summer fruit. Summer indeed! Yet, the leaves are just beginning to turn around here, and I know that apples and squash will soon take over. So, I buy tons of those peaches and I make a dessert that is sweet and indulgent, and when I'm quiet I can hear it whisper, "Relax! It's still summer!"

The farm offers nice big bags of utility peaches for $4.00 a bag, which always inspires me to bake them down into what, for me, feels like the perfect dessert. Don't be horrified if you bite into a utility peach and it tastes like a tasteless sponge with hints of peach. Once those beautifully ripe utility peaches simmer, they will be knock-your-socks-off flavorful. I love how the peaches get soft and even more peachy as they bubble under the biscuit topping. It is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. This year, we went on a beach adventure (pictures to follow), so the cobbler traveled with us - across the Long Island Sound -to Greenport, NY.

The recipe I use is modified from one that was torn from a newspaper years ago. While I've read peach cobbler recipes that suggest peeling the skins, I really don't see the need since they become soft and almost indistinguishable after it cooks. I just slice the peaches as is -with the skins on- and toss them in a big bowl with the lemon juice.


I use this particular drop biscuit top recipe for berry cobblers too. It is simple and has the perfect balance of butter, sweet, dough.

Peach Cobbler
modified from a recipe torn from a local newspaper insert

8 medium peaches - sliced with skins on
1 t fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/2 t cinnamon

Drop biscuit top
1 1/2 ounces chilled butter
1 cup flour
2 T sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss sliced peaches with lemon juice. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then toss with the peaches. Put in a buttered baking dish and bake until hot and bubbling. In my oven, this takes about 25-35 minutes depending on how many peaches I've used.

While peaches are baking, prepare biscuit topping. Put all dry ingredients and chilled butter in a food processor and pulse until it is crumbly. Alternatively, you can use two forks or a pastry blender to combine. Put crumbly mixture into a mixing bowl and gently whisk in the milk. Be mindful not to over-mix.

Drop biscuit topping onto the hot peaches and bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Just peachy.

xo e

a hoot

We're back from our trip to the coast of Maine, and we had so much fun! The food highlights were clam chowder, lobster-on-the-go [read: fresh lobster tail mixed with mayo on a grilled hot dog bun], baked, stuffed haddock, and breakfast for dinner at our favorite Portsmouth, NH breakfast place, The Friendly Toast. Chick is still talking about how her pancake was in the shape of a bunny with butter pats for the eyes and nose.

Tom got to catch a few of tropical storm Danny's waves since the waves were pretty organized and moderately sized - perfect for him. We spent lots of time on a beautiful sandy beach and some time sorting through the rocky tidal pools. We found safe, sandy places for Miss. Mouse to explore, and Chick was old enough (and capable enough) to rock scramble her way into some pretty cool tidal pools. I think that both Mouse and Chick's most favorite part of beach play was digging in the sand right by the shore where the water kept filling up their deep, soggy holes. They just kept digging and digging until they were desperate for lunch.

Oh, and one of the best parts was getting to cross a tidal river at low tide! At the deepest point, the water was up to Chick's chest, but she trudged through that tidal river mud like it was nobody's business.

As much as I love getting away, I always sleep better at home. So, here we are, back at home, doing our regular things. On Wednesday, I made this special order owl t-shirt for a local friend. I'd been dreaming up the design for quite awhile, so it felt good to finally make it.


I'm off to make my favorite peach cobbler. I make it every Labor Day weekend, and I promise pictures and a recipe by the end of the long weekend.


hoot!

xo e

s h i r t s

This is a series of t-shirts I made for Cradle, a new maternity wellness center which just opened in the beginning of August. I stopped by to drop off the shirts on Tuesday and was ooooo-ing and ahhhhh-ing the entire time I was touring their space. It is beautiful, peaceful, and clearly lovingly designed. Even their bathroom is glorious with giant art murals and a beautiful, clean space to change a wee one's diaper. The place seriously made my heart skip a beat.

I was so honored and happy to be asked to create this series for their sweet living room style shop, and I had so much fun planning and executing my designs.

xo e

keeping cool

Some good friends of ours, who moved to South Carolina this past March, drove back to our town to visit with friends and to pick up some of their belongings that were left behind. We were thrilled that they stayed at our home because we have missed them so much since they moved away. Our days together were full of yummy food, wine (once the kids were asleep), a picnic at the park, dominoes, and tons of playing. Chick was so excited to have her friend play upstairs in her room with her, and whenever any of the adults went to check on them, both girls would ask us to kindly leave so that they could continue.


This was the one week that summer decided to actually behave like summer, so it was hot and muggy outside and inside, which motivated me to cut up the big bag of cucumbers our friends gave us when they arrived. I had Tom cut some dill when he picked up our vegetables from the farm, which is the essential ingredient in this cold, sweet and sour cucumber salad. I ate this kind of salad at a friend's house seven or eight years ago and instantly fell in love. Since then, I have been given a few recipes from various friends, and I have sort of combined them all to make what, for me, tastes just as it should: crisp, tangy, cool, and infused with dill. It doesn't hurt that our dill came straight from the farm, so it was super flavorful and fresh.


This is a picture of leftover salad because I completely forgot to take a picture pre-dinner. If it looks a little bit two day-old, that's because it is.

Cucumber Dill Salad

Ingredients:
4 or 5 cucumbers
1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 T sugar
1/2 fresh ground pepper
1 T kosher salt
2 sprigs of dill (optional)

Peel cucumbers and slice thinly. I sometimes slice them in complete circles, but this time I scooped the seeds out and sliced little crescents. Sprinkle the kosher salt on the cucumbers, and toss to coat. Put cucumbers in a colander (over a bowl or in the sink) and let stand for an hour stirring occasionally.

While you are waiting, in a serving bowl stir the vinegar, dill, sugar, and pepper until sugar is completely dissolved. After the hour of draining, press cucumbers firmly into the colander one last time with a thin, cloth towel and then pat dry. Place cucumbers into the serving bowl, with the dressing, and toss to coat. Refrigerate until cold. Place two sprigs of dill on top of salad for an optional garnish.

*Note: feel free to add more or less dressing depending on taste.

Hey, Henningsons - Thanks for filling our home with cheer, laughter, and plastic horses. We already miss you, and the herd.

xo e

antique

Summer finally arrived in the northeast with heat, humidity, and sunshine that just won't quit. Luckily, we visited the lake house this weekend, so when we were uncomfortably hot, we just slipped into the cool water. Chick played in the water endlessly. She was in the water yesterday from the early morning until we drove off in the early evening.

My sister-in-law, Beth, and I bravely decided to face the heat, and visit The Madison-Bouckville antique show in NY, which is, conveniently, only 17 minutes up the road from the lake. This is where I found the above handkerchief and the 1940's business ledger tablet pictured below. There was a whole stack of the Blair's Mail bill head tablets, but I figured that I would just scan one of the ledger sheets into my computer and have it forever.

I read about the fair on Maya's blog just before we headed out the door on Friday evening, and was instantly motivated to make my way there since I knew we would be mere miles away from antique paradise. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera because I felt wimpy and a little fearful of the extra sweat that would run down my neck from carrying it. We were drippy and hot and thirsty, but it was totally worth it since there were so many reasonably priced treasures to be found like this sunny salad bowl.


I'll hopefully be there next year with my camera!

xo e

small places :: story telling in a jar

I've been spending some of my evening time developing new story stones that belong to different groups and series. I've already posted about the fairy tale series, which has made me beyond happy and, at the same time, feeling sort of creepy since most of the old fashioned fairy tales are mostly about being eaten and other random, gruesome deaths. These days, I'm particularly excited about the new back-to-school series that features a diverse group of children with different hair colors, clothing styles, and skin colors. The series isn't meant to be limited to children who go to traditional schools; instead, it is meant to celebrate the reacquainting of a group of children who have been apart during the long, warm, free-roaming summer. Stay tuned for pictures of those new story stone children and play things in the coming weeks.

On top of developing the actual stones, I've been pondering various settings and play areas for the stones. Lots of ideas have been flooding my mind, but, just yesterday, while dealing with a jar of pickles, I came up with one of my favorites so far: The Story Telling Jar.

It is made with a clean, transparent jar, some felt, stuffing, a needle and thread, a button, a little bit of glue (optional), and a wee bit of fabric scraps and paper. It is the kind of project that can be tailored to whatever imaginative story you and/or your child hold dear.

1. It begins with a large felt circle and a basting stitch around the circle. I filled it with stuffing, pulled it tight, and knotted. This is the grassy hill that goes in the bottom of the jar.


2. Before putting the grassy hill in, I placed a circle of green felt at the bottom to sort of fill in the areas where light filtered through the bottom. I used a dot of glue under the circle of felt to be sure it stayed in place, but the glue is optional since the felt gets wedged in there.

3. Once the hill was in place, I used a hole punch to make some fabric and felt circles. Using tiny, tiny dabs of glue, I glued the little flowers on place on the hill. I think the the hill can be adorned any which way.

4. There is a bird flying around in the jar. Do you see it? It is a tiny paper bird dangling on some blue thread. I punched a hole in the lid of the jar, threaded the bird thread through the lid's hole, and tied the end to a button to keep it from falling through.

5. Put some story stones (or any small critters or people) inside the jar. Fun.

xo e