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.

May Challenge

Wild Trillium in Tennessee on the AT
Mountain Laurel on the AT
Bluets in the Roan Highlands, Tennessee
Firepink in Virginia
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly sitting on a Wild Flame Azalea


Soon you should all receive the May challenge package. Sorry it is so late! When I think of May I see all the beautiful wild flowers in the woods popping up and the lovely flowers blossoming in the yards all around me. So what better subject for May than FLOWERS. I hope all of you take time out of your busy schedules to go take a walk in the woods and really look carefully for all the glorious flowers that peek through in the wild. I hope your walk will inspire you to take pictures, make sketches, or write a poem about what you saw. To me, there is no greater flower than a wild flower. On to the challenge; I made a small scrapbook for each of you and sent you related flower themed items for you to use in your scrapbook. As you can guess the scrapbook should have its theme around flowers. A couple of summers ago our family had a wonderful trip to California and we visited Huntington Gardens in the middle of LA. It was spectacular and none of my pictures did it justice, but when I got home I bought a small scrapbook and centered it around those gardens. The scrapbook is for you to create any way you would like but I would like it to have flowers as your theme.

Feel free to add pages or just use a few of the pages as you like. I did include a few pressed flowers but you can add to them by pressing some of your own. One of the best and easiest flowers to press are pansies which you can buy now at the garden centers. I sent info on how to press flowers and tips on how to make potpourri, hope sometime this summer you will be able to try them. One of the things I sent was a sticker sheet of flowers and leaves. They are double-sided stickers so you can use glitter or micro beads to show them off. By the way it was a Martha Stewart product.

The beautiful pictures were taken by Andy on the AT trail. All of them were wild flowers and they all were taken in the month of May. Hope you can find some beauties on your own hikes.

Here are a couple of quotes I found:
"I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." Abraham Lincoln

"Earth laughs in flowers." Ralph Waldo Emerson

More Fun with Wool

I am just having the best time with my sweater. I still have a little left for one more project, and then of course there are the 2 extra sleeves! So this is a big and ridiculous wrist pin cushion. I cut out a piece of plastic and put it under the wrist part (to protect the wrist from getting stabbed with a needle) and then secured it in place by sewing a piece of felt over it. I just did the petals free hand. I sewed and gathered each row of petals before attaching it to the wrist part. The wool felt was from this huge piece I found at a thrift store. The color isn't my favorite, but it's alright. I'm sure you will see it showing up in my other stuff since I have so much! You know me, I just couldn't pass up a bargain. I got 2 or 3 yards of this yellow wool felt for $2.00!

Happy May Day!

Sorry this is hours late but I just couldn't pass up wishing you a Happy May Day! I only wish that each of you were my neighbor so that I could ding dong ditch you and leave you with this delightful surprise.

Coffee, anyone?

I know most of you aren't coffee drinkers. Maybe your parents are, or friends, or co-workers are- so you can spread the word to them. Well, I am a big coffee drinker. I love the idea of fair trade. I don't know why I haven't been doing this, but I'm going to start now. When I went to Guatemala I got to see first hand the whole coffee process. And it's a lot of work.
Please take a few minutes to look at this slide show to see more. So here is a little more info. about this coffee in their words:
For over ten years the Mission has been selling the best coffee in Guatemala and exporting it throughout the United States. Working with a cooperative of small growers, the Mission ensures that these workers receive better than fair trade prices for their harvest, over triple the national average. The street price for 100 pounds of coffee is Q 60.00. This gives very little income to families. We buy coffee at Q 200.00 per 100 pounds. We ensure the finest beans and closely monitor the quality of the coffee. We are also involved in every level of coffee production: from picking the coffee fruit to drying it, from sorting and roasting the beans to grinding them. Our coffee is packaged in colorful cloth bags created by the residents of San Lucas. The entire coffee program, from the cultivation of the beans to the sewing of the bags, is entirely geared to supporting the local economy, providing just wages for the people of San Lucas, and producing the finest coffee Guatemala has to offer.
Click here to buy the coffee:

It comes in those cute cloth bags. The coffee is fabulous. It's only $7.00/ lb. Cheaper than in the store. Yes, you have to pay for shipping, but it ships out of MN, so you might even be able to pick it up yourself if you live near the area.
I can back it up 100%. I have seen it with my own two eyes. And that trip is when I became a coffee drinker. Please spread the word.

Here are all the families you are helping. In addition to the local farm (where I got to pick beans at) they buy it from other local families to help them:
In addition to the coffee harvested on the farm, the project buys coffee produced by selected families in the community on their own land to help them obtain a just market price at the time of harvest.
The following list shows the number of families from whom the project buys coffee:
115 families from the village of Chitulul
175 families from San Lucas Tolimán
9 families from San Juan La Laguna
11 families from Pampojilá
2 families from the village of San Martín
1 family from the village of Panimaquip
2 families from the village of San Gabriel

My next post will show what I'm going to do with the money!

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!

Christ Follower...easier said than done

Hey Girls,
I walked away from church (Blackhawk) yesterday thinking...Pastor Chris must read our blog! His message was the perfect way to wrap up my month. His message spoke of how we need to have a Christ like attitude that puts others first. Phil. 2:5 "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." If you get a chance enjoy this weeks sermon "Religion vs. The Gospel."

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.

Lets Play a little game...

Guess Who?




She's a cute little lady with a growing belly!





You guessed it! It's our friend Kimmy who is now 7 months along!

Our ages may be similar...




but what were going through at this very moment in life makes us totally different people!


This has been a wonderful mid-week get away, I made the lovely little road trip from Madison, WI to Mankato, MN to see our high school friends Kim and Kyle (and the little one on the way). I knew I just had to get over here to see Kimmy before it was to late. Out of all my friends Kim is one that has wanted to be a mommy since high school I couldn't miss out on seeing her with an adorable belly! We've had a great day seeing the cute little shops of Mankato, and I have gotten plenty of time to enjoy rubbing her belly!

4 weeks of giving: week 3

Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love. –Lao Tza

This week show someone you love them through the gift of relaxation by surprising them with a back rub, foot soak, manicure or some other type of physical compassion gift you think of.

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!

Pay to the order of: World Vision

I was able to tour World Visions "Step in to Africa" yesterday night. "The interactive experience takes the participant on a deeply personal journey into the life of a young person living in Africa, where more than 12 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. The 2500 square foot exhibit features a stirring audio tour combined with captivating photography that will transport the viewer into the heart of Africa." It was a moving and eye opening experience. You should all check out on line when they are coming to your neck of the woods its something you don't want to miss. After the tour I decided that I needed to finally act on my desire to support an African child who I may one day be able to meet. So here she is the adorable Franny.

Twenty First Time

Hey Ladies I just have to share what has to be my favorite song at the moment.
Sorry the only way I know how to share it with you is to send you to YouTube.
This song is called "Twenty First Time" and its by Monk and Neagle. Their words help remind us of what our purpose her on earth includes. Enjoy (And yes Becca this song repeats itself many times over and over at my house...I haven't changed a bit!)

My greatest find yet!

So I was perusing the new Goodwill that just came to State St. her in Madison and happened upon a black leather bag. I have been thinking about purchasing such an item for after graduation to have to carry around a laptop or hall all my stuff to work in. The bag looked like it was made of real leather, so I thought what the heck it may be the cheapest leather bag I will find at $15. When I got home curiosity got the best of me and I had to look up the bag on line to see if it was truly leather. Not only was it leather but according to the Monsac web page my bag was priced around $350! YIKES...what crazy person would pay that much for a bag!!! Well I'm luck they did and that they got sick of it before it was all beat up!

Nicks favorite sweater found a new purpose!

After a disaster of a shrinkage (my brother Nick didn't realize wool would shrink if you put it in the dryer) Nick was devastated that his favorite sweater (made by his Aunt Niki) would no longer fit him. But now after a craftacular transformation...he can carry it with him wherever he goes...its his new laptop case!

Since Nick and I have matching laptops, I decided I'd better make a lovely wool case for myself as well!

Mittens in April?

Well, who wants to wear these now? And I wish that the project for this month didn't involve sewing simply because we're giving this away. I'm pretty sure no one else will want my lame attempt at mittens here. I do love the pattern of that sweater though. Also- I updated the purse pictures!