there's something about you, Fall...

The cool crisp nights of Fall are beginning to show their head as Summer winds down, but not without (an unconventional) fight.  The weather here has been anything but typical starting with a week of scorching temperatures in the 100's in mid-July. To trump that, the entire east coast experienced an earthquake earlier this week, followed by an anticipated visit by hurricane Irene, sprinkled with a tornado watch.

Summer has been eventful, but as always too short.  I must admit though, as much as I will miss spending Saturday's ocean side with my toes in the sand, I am looking forward to Fall.  Simply the smell of it in the air excites me for the mild days when you can leave the house in nothing more than your favorite jeans and a blazer.  The refreshing breeze sends an split-second chill, but nothing cold enough to warrant a full on jacket.  Just thinking about football season, local brews, apple cider and spending a Saturday picking apples at a local orchard excite me for all that Autumn has to offer.  I feel so lucky to live in New England, so close to the ever changing palette that New Hampshire and Vermont have to offer.  As the season progresses you can experience colors so vivid, that even the richest of paints couldn't capture their bold, saturated hues.  I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

Anyway, before I wish away what's left of summer, I must tell you that my little Zinnia flowers are all grown up and blooming.  I snapped a few pictures about a month ago, and they are still producing more blooms.  I just can't get over how vibrant their colors are!

I have more to catch you up on, but let's just leave with you with thoughts of fall at the moment to keep you smiling.  Here's a few teaser pictures from last fall, I snapped while visiting Keene, NH and Putney, VT.

And for those of you that think the first sign of Fall is when Starbuck's releases their 'Pumpkin Spice Latte', try again... please.

the teeniest tiniest zinnia

The first Zinnia flower has bloomed and I can't help but be excited!  Another bloom from my Spring seedlings.  Hopefully there are more to come, in various colors and sizes, fingers crossed!

summer blooms

Quite a bit of time has passed since my last post, which means three things.  One, I'm throughly enjoying myself and taking full advantage of the beautiful summer weather. Two, I've lost a little motivation and momentum for jewelry making now that the weather is nice and three, things have been taking shape in the garden!

As a follow-up to my post on May 8,
"spring preparations for summer blooms" I am excited to inform you that my first flower has bloomed!  It has been a long, yet exciting few months, watching the seeds first sprout from a small cube of soil into a tall, lanky stem adorned with a burst of       colorful petals.  Although the flower is small and appears to be lacking a fifth petal, I was still very excited to its pop of color contrasting against the drab brown soil.  This picture was taken a few days ago, and since then, a few more buds have opened, revealing the tiniest little flowers.  

Lately instead of jewelry making or craft projects of other sorts, I have been spending that free time  keeping my little shabby yard looking as good as it can (among other things).  When I first moved into my apartment the "yard"well... wasn't.  I decided to take full advantage of having access to outdoor space and put in a little elbow grease so that I could reap the benefits of my labor.

The before pictures show you the space isn't large, but was completely neglected.  It's a small plot filled with rocks and moss, a dead peach tree and a whole lot of mud.  Its only redeeming qualities were that it is located at the end of a dead end street, has a large tree over shadowing it and had a few Daffodil and Crocus bulbs that managed to sprout despite the less than ideal conditions.

Two years and a lot of attention later, I've got a yard of grass and am taking full advantage of it.

It's perfect for BBQ's and summer parties.

These are the Pansies I planted in the spring, still looking vibrant and full when this was taken 

(on Memorial Day, hence the flag).  

At this point, they are still alive, but have gotten very tall and leggy and their color seems to be fading, so I replanted them (keep reading for more details on their new home).

My herb garden, with a nice array of my favorites.  Rosemary - Lemon Thyme - Basil - Chives - Parsley - Dill - Oregano & Mint.  I love having herbs in such close proximity to the kitchen, I think I've been adding a dash of them into just about everything I cook in the summer time.  

A two year old Azalea plant that I thought was dead, adorned in beautiful bright pink blooms just in time for my Memorial Day party.

More Pansies, a variety of different sizes and shades of purple and a pot full of orange blooms.

In preparation for a small 4th of July BBQ party I'm having today, I planted some new flowers.  Like I mentioned earlier, the pansies have lived a long life, but are beginning to look a little haggard at this point.  However, since they are still blooming, I didn't want to get rid of them, so I put my old grill to use.  If I wanted to be on trend, I would call that "adaptive reuse", where basically you use something that is unusable for it's original intent, for a new purpose.  I recently came across an interesting article about that such topic in the New York Times, which explained how old, unusable subway cars are being sunk into the ocean and are creating artificial reefs for sea life.  I found it quite fascinating and very responsible.  Anyway, I put my rusty old grill to use, by filling it with soil and planting the pansies in it.  I think it looks pretty cute and I feel like it turns that corner of my yard from the grill boneyard (where grills go to die) into a quirky, colorful little spot.  I took these pictures yesterday after I planted it.  I'd advise if you try this little project yourself, tie the lid, to hold it open so it wouldn't slam down in a storm and destroy the blooms.  Also, adding some rocks or gravel in the bottom of the fire box will help with drainage.  I also planted a Day Lily for some color and full foliage as well as new flowers to replace the pansies.  I decided to go with all varieties of flowers in various shades of white.

That's the update on the garden at the moment and I have a few new jewelry projects in the works.  I just started a new leather wrap bracelet (which makes a great beach activity, btw) and I am thinking up a plan for the African beads I bought in New York, I can't wait to wear them.  Check back in a few days to see photos of the Cosmo flowers, hopefully the buds that are out now, will begin to bloom!  

*~ Happy 4th of July ~*

The Day Lilies are a beautiful shade of orange that remind me of a creamsicle.

visiting an old friend and shopping for exotic beads

I recently took a trip to New York to visit my best friend from childhood. We grew up two houses away from each other and practically did everything together as kids. Since neither of us had plans to go home for the holiday, we spent Easter weekend together and hung out just like old times (when I drafted this I had just returned).  Even though we didn't go to college in the same city and currently live 4 hours apart, when we get the chance to see each other, it's like nothing has changed and we're back home just like we were as kids.

We have always been "crafty", her more of a drawer/ sketcher while I was more of a crafter.  In fact, as kids she used to call me Martha, which I secretly didn't mind (although I'm not sure it was really a secret).  When she learned about by new bracelet making technique (after reading my blog), she asked if I would bring some supplies and teach her how to make the leather wrap bracelets and in return she would show me some bead shops around town.

On Saturday of my visit, we had planned to visit MOMA, since it was raining and seemed like the perfect place to visit on a rainy day in New York (also, neither of us had ever been).  We were not alone in our thinking, for when we arrived at West 53rd Street we were unpleasantly surprised to see a line down the street and around the block, of people and umbrellas waiting to enter the museum.  Later, after staring at the line in amusement and awe, I asked someone in line what all the co-motion was about.  I was thinking there was a famous artist visiting or an new exhibition opening, but turns out it was just general admission.  People had been waiting in line for over and hour and a half just to get in.  We decided to pass on the charade and roam the city instead.  She took me to some bead stores, which I believe were on 6th Avenue and we picked up some supplies to make bracelets.  

On Sunday, we unexpectedly ran into a farmers market and then a flea market.  We picked up some flowers at the market and then I bargained for some beautiful, one-of-a-kind hand painted African beads.  I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with them, but I couldn't resist, and I had never seen anything like them in any of the bead stores around Boston so I just had to get them.

Hand painted clay beads from Africa

Garnet tube beads

Plum Czech glass beads

Labradorite rectangle beads

spring preparations for summer blooms

Just like a long awaited Spring after a cold Winter, planting flowers from seed is worth the wait, but that doesn't make it an easy wait.

My parents sent me a Spring care package, which included, among other things, an indoor seed starter kit.  Let's call it an apartment sized greenhouse.

About a week ago now, I planted seeds of Cosmos and Zinnias, two of my favorite summer blooms.  They both grow in a mixed variety of colors and continuously bloom all summer.  The Cosmos have delicate, lightweight, tissue-paper like petals in white, and shades of pink, magenta and red.  The Zinnias are a hardier flower, with layered petals that bloom in shades of yellow, red, orange, pink and white. 

I am shocked by how quickly the seeds germinated and little sprouts began to break through the soil.  The Cosmos, naturally a taller, more leggy plant, have almost doubled in size compared to the Zinnias, which are slowly growing each day.  With a little water, lots of filtered sunlight and a "germination sheet" which was provided with the kit (nothing more than a glorified sheet of plastic wrap, which surprisingly helped insulate the seeds), the baby sprouts are growing up right before my eyes. 

I am excited to see them grow even more, develop more leaves and eventually see buds that will turn into summer blooms.  I know the excitement of flowers won't come for quite some time, but the process of growing from seed is so rewarding.  It's one of Earth's many special gifts, worth the wait.  In a world where every second seems to matter and people want instant gratification, planting from seed is a way of slowing life down and taking pride in what you've sowed.   

signs of Spring

All New Englanders know that Spring does its fair sharing of teasing us, yet somehow we always seem to fall for it (or spring for it I suppose).  What I am referring to are those (few and far between) days of warm, sunny 60+ degrees, when everyone dusts off their sandals and sundresses and trots about town as if it were the 4th of July.  Needless to say, we're jinxing it because typically the day after a "treat" like that, it's usually cold and windy, if not even snowing again.  Well, we've managed to pass the days of snow, (or so I hope) and we are well on our way to the little Spring we do have here in Boston.

I think that Spring has got to be Boston's best time of year.  You know it's really Spring when all the tulips burst open in the public garden, the cherry blossoms and magnolia buds are starting to bloom along beacon street and comm. ave and all the runners, seasoned marathoners and winter couch potatoes alike, flock from the woodwork to hit the paths of the esplanade.  There's something so refreshing about seeing people out and about, enjoying the beautiful weather and the company of others.

After a jog this morning, I decided that it was time to stop by my favorite local flower nursery in Union Square, Ricky's Flower Market to get pansies for my window box and pots.  I do this every year when I know it's finally Spring and they continue to flourish and bloom right through to Summer.  This year, I decided to put all varieties of purple pansies in my window box and then use single colors in the pots.  I can't wait for them to grow and fill in, until their pots are spilling with blooms.

BEFORE potting

BEFORE potting

AFTER potting...happy pansies, welcoming Spring! 

new materials means new projects to come

I've been away from the blog for a bit, busy celebrating St. Patrick's Day followed by a quick trip to Florida to visit my family and relax in the sun.  While I was there, I hunted down some bead shops to see if the selection would be any different than what I was used to at home. My parents were nice enough to drive me around town looking for bead stores throughout Ocala, Florida, where we were staying with my Aunt and Uncle.  It just so happened there were two in the same town, so we first went to the The Bead Strand and were unhappily greeted by a CLOSED sign (apparently they are closed on Mondays).  Judging from their website however, it looks like I missed out on a rather large selection. We ventured to the other side of town to Beed Time.  At first glance it didn't look like it had much to offer, but once I walked in I was pleasantly surprised to find what I was looking for and more!  The owner, Lydia was so friendly, helpful and extremely knowledgeable about all things beads and jewelry-making.

I picked up a variety of beautiful faceted Czech glass beads to use on my leather wrap bracelets, in a clear, light steel blue, fire-polished sage green and a fire-polished silver/clear that catches the light and sparkles just so.

I can find those Czech glass beads at most bead shops but the colors were so beautiful and the price was right, I just couldn't resist.  I also bought a few dainty silver buttons, to use on the leather wrap bracelets as well.

I found some really unique hand-made polymer Plumeria flowers from Spain, that I plan on using in a tropical inspired bracelet.  

The most unique purchase I made was on these tiny Czech glass beads that came in a collection of approximately 12 strands per color.

At first glance they look similar to seed beads, but they are even smaller as each bead is slightly faceted on one side, which catches the light and makes them sparkle.  I am not yet sure what I'm going to do with them , but they were just so beautiful I couldn't go home without them.  In fact I couldn't resist them, so I bought four different colors; turquoise, gold, silver and bronze.  I can't wait to think up a project where I can use them, ideas welcome!