East Coast Flowers

Please correct me if I'm wrong- Clematis

Lily of the valley. I must say. These are one of my most favorite flowers. I love how they delicately droop down. I have such fond memories of the ones that grew in the little crack between the house and the sidewalk on the back side of our house in Waterloo. I can remember the scent just like a perfume and I was so intrigued that they grew there in that tiny spot. And lily of the valleys are so much fun to pipe out of frosting too! And what a beautiful name, I wonder who the woman was who named it? I imagine it had to be a woman, a man wouldn't have come up with such a magical name.

Ah, and here is another one that brings back those childhood memories. Lilacs! Huge lilac trees bordered one whole side of our house in Waterloo. Whenever a gentle breeze blew the whole backyard was filled with that pleasant, sweet aroma!

Ok, I need some help here. Does anyone know this one?

Another kind of wild Trillium I do believe

And these 3 are columbine. I have some other pretty colors of some over here on the west coast. I just had to share all 3 pics because I love the way they look standing, and then close up when you flip them over to look at the petals as well.
Wild Daisy. Ok, so I know no technical name

Ok ladies. I have totally been slacking on the artsy side of this months challenge (or shall I say last months challenge), but I must tell you I have been spending some great time in the outdoors and I have been noticing all the beautiful flowers. Since I just happened to be visiting Elizabeth in New York this month, and since we did so much hiking I got a chance to take a lot of flower pics from the East coast. You'll notice, no extra credit for this girl, I don't know latin and just happened to find some easy flowers I knew the names of already! But rest assured, the books came out for the west side gardening going on over here!

I know we're all a little delayed in our posting, but how cool that we will get to see New York, California, Minnesota, Washington, and Hawaii flowers! Yay for vacations! As Jess said, I love that this months challenge takes advantage of all the different places we live (or visited) My only problem now is, which pictures to choose to put in the little book? Do I do the Tulip festival pics? The New York ones? Or the ones that we're working so hard to grow out here at the lodge? Decisions, decisions!

an itty bitty wildflower field book by jessica

Happy Summer, girls! My May book is finished just in time for my June package to arrive from Jenny. I put this book together quickie-style this morning. It was so fun to make a real little scrapbook with pressed flowers and all of the goodies from Karen. I added a slice of vellum to the cover of my book so that my picture wouldn't get lost in the busy-ness of the pretty paper.

the california coast {in my backyard}

I'm starting to see the distance between us as an advantage. Or at least in the instance of this month's challenge. Isn't it awesome that we're all surrounded by completely different flowers unique to our geographic locations!? So I went to the library today and checked out 3 books on Pacific coast wildflowers. Apparently to be a true botanist, you must be able to classify flowers based on sketch books that were published before the advent of colored print. Complaints aside, I did my best to put names to these beautiful blooms. Some I'm still not sure about. Some I'm not sure are truly native wild flowers. The rest I just made up, because I know you won't know the diff! Oh, and just for fun Itried to include their fancy latin names...

bush lupine + bee. you'll be happy to know i'm still sting-free!

fairy lanterns : disporum smithii

seaside daisy : erigeron glaucus

i have absolutely no clue : girlis ingnorantus

this one didn't make the books either

angelica : angelica hendersonii

spring queen : synthyris reniformis

I honestly didn't think that I could have such a great time shooting the tiny flowers around me. {BTW, This is an awesome idea Karen--I'd never have done this on my own! I can't wait to put my scrapbook together.} Pausing to frame each photo really made me stop and marvel at the beauty & individuality of each and every species. Seriously, how could all of this originate from anything less than a brilliant Creator? His design work astonishes me.

sea fig : carpobrotus chilensis

wild iris : iris tenax

So all of these photos were taken last week our little family {me+jeff+our baby camera} hike on the Land's End coast. The trailhead is just a few blocks from our apartment, so it's our local nature scene. And believe me, I still pinch myself every time. We live in a freaking amazing place.

the view

Anyway, I can proudly say I took all of these pictures with my own index finger. With a little coaching from Jeff. Lol. If only you could've seen us. Purely comical. Walking along together, Jeff on his latest political rant. I would listen in silence, then abruptly, randomly stop, interrupt and say "I want a picture of that one. " He'd take the camera, adjust the settings until the aperture and ISO were perfect and place the camera in my hands. I'd snap a few shots. (Yup, still haven't graduated from point and shoot.) We'd begin to walk again, Jeff continuing on his political rant, and repeat.

a place for your pins to call home

Ta da! My rendition of Posie's lovely little felted sweater pin cushion. I so should not have posted hers, my inspiration first. Mine is a humble (at best!) comparison...But I still love it. Things I learned: This was surprisingly pretty easy to make without a pattern. The only tricky part is getting all of the corner seams to line up. Err, you can tell it's pretty flawed. Also, I underestimated the amount of strrettcchhing that the fabric would do once I stuffed it. It's definitely a super-sized pin cushion! Now to find some pretty pastel pins to decorate it!

an update from little miss slacker

I just found this oh-so-inspiring sweater pin cushion over at Posie Gets Cozy. She amazes me. I'm thinkin' that this is what I need to make with my sweater. Now for a free day to get crafty. I promise, I'm getting there. :) Oh, and for my {week 3} challenge sharing the gift of relaxation...I just sent a massage gift certificate to my dear, dear friend Gretchen. I can't be there in person to give her hugs, so I figured a massage could be the next best thing. She really needs one. Even more than a massage this week, she really needs our prayers. She is crumbling right now. Pray for her to find strength+wisdom+healing.

pay to the order of: ilc building fund

Yesterday at church I opened up the bulletin and was completely wowed by the new building plans for our Alma Mater. I'd been seriously doubting that this project would ever actually come to fruition. {We all know each other's true opinions about the way our dear school is run, so I'll leave it at that!} I'm seriously excited about the architect's rendering and the floor plans for the new building. It looks great you guys! The special music & art rooms are my favorite part. Imagine that! I especially love that the building's design is in keeping with the other historic buildings on campus. I'm feeling optimistic and enthusiastic about supporting this project. There is hope. It'll be a huge blessing to Immanuel!

signs of spring, new and colorful

These are the pin cushions that Becca and I made while relaxing in front of their fireplace at their lodge. We used wool felt and lots of different embroidery stitches. We both will be using our cushions in our crafting nooks and hope they brighten our spots and give us added inspiration. The top one is mine and the bottom one is Becca's.

Signs of Spring

I am sorry to interrupt Amy's month of giving. I know this is late. But better late than never. And as of 3 days ago we had snow here again so I really wasn't feelin it, so I can really relate to how hard it is for the midwesterners to be posting because it will be another month or so till they get what we have out here. But I just have to share today because it's a glorious morning.

Resurrect: I believe I'm the only person who has posted this one. Come on peeps! I just had to do the sweater that I stole from my mom. I wish I had a picture to post from my mom wearing it in the 70's? is that how old it is? Well I wear it and love it 30 some years later!


Energy: Drinking coffee and stepping outside and breathing in the fresh mountain air and seeing the SUN oh yes that bright round thing that comes out each day-so happy to SEE it again!

New: I bought 2 new springs skirts from target, you saw the first one, here is the second

Hatch: I was really stumped on what I was going to post for hatch, since I was lame-o this year. I didn't even have any easter candy! I love dying, blowing, and painting eggs. Easter just came to0 quick this year, so sadly I didn't do any easter-y stuff around here. Then it came to me, everyone always is intrigued by this when they come here. I have no idea what it is made of or where it came from. This is the only appropriate time to share it, although it sits perched at our kitchen window all year round.

homework

Happy Weekend, Girls! I thought I'd drop in to say hello and to turn in my homework. :) Before I dish it out, please note that I'm labeling this post homework. Let's try to label all of our response posts this way in order to keep things more organized around here. I'm sure Becca will dig this...

1. My package has finally and officially arrived. I just plugged in my Scraps O Love CD, and so far the first 3 tracks are awesome!! Becca, I am so delighted that you included Yael Naim "New Soul." Hearing it makes me convinced that I need a new paper-thin Mac Book!

2. Library run accomplished! Here are a few of my picks, worth sharing:

Craftivity by Tsia Carson is a compilation of 40 random, clever D.I.Y. lifestyle projects

Dominitrix by Jennifer Stafford is a sassy, mod piece filled with tips and patterns to make knitting look totally hip and yes, I'll say it, downright bad-a**

Gift Maker Mag is filled with tons of cute papercraft ideas...everything from mini scrapbooks gift wrapping ideas. {It's from the same company that writes CardMaker magazine.}

3. Oh yes, me-oh-my, there are *so* many great bloggers out there that I dearly love and highly recommend! Please, please, pay these awesome, inspiring women a visit. I promise, checking out these sites are well worth your precious time! I'll even narrow it down to my current top 5.

These girls rock my world:

kwerner design blog: This girl's a pro, and she posts videos each Monday showing us how to make her lovely, lovely cards.

it's me, kp: Kelly is a Midwest girl with mad photography skills and fun posts that make you want to live a little...

m.writes: Marta's got a real gift for writing...and making darling mini journals...and has been super successful in starting a hopping little business from her very own craft table.

unruly things: Alyson is an a*mazing graphic designer/fashionista. Be sure to pay her a visit before your next shopping spree.

{frolic}: Not a week goes by without me paying Elsea Chelsea a visit. She's got adorable party ideas, and much, much more.

Tomorrow+Monday I'm hauling out the crafting supplies and holing up in my sunny scrapping space. Can't wait to share my projects!! XO Jess