of teddy bears playing guitars and little chicks

zippered pouch

*trumpet* do you see this here? this is a zippered pouch and I sewed it! its wonky but straighter then most of the other things I have been making, and I am pleased as punch that it turned out so well for one of H's little school friends birthday party this weekend. Its not lined, give me a bit before I even attempt to do a zippered pouch that is lined but I think it turned out fab. M says I shouldn't have given it away, that I should have sold it in my etsy shop instead. I can only hope that it will be well received by the little girl. H has requested that I make him a zippered pouch for his treasures with the small scrap of robot fabric he has been eyeing in my modest fabric stash.

zippered pouch at a different angle with one of my mini moo cards

H and I also made this little lavender and rice warm bag for his "buddy" at school. She leaves to go to junior school and H is sad and asked if we could make her something special to remember him by. I think that about broke my heart it was such a nice thing for him to want to do. He picked out the fabric, and helped me to sew it on the sewing machine, and then he scooped out dried lavender and rice to fill it up, as it had to be just the right amount. We will be working on teachers gifts later this afternoon when he gets home from school.

chick lavender and rice warm bag

The last few weeks seemed to have been very long and stressful but today had been a good day and have Book Group later tonight. which is a good excuse to have a chat over a nice cup of coffee and to try to ignore the fact that Friday is H's last day of reception year. That means I best start thinking about activities to fill the summer days.

cute chicks

50's B Movie Swap (what goodies I recieved)

b-movie postcard put in a little frame

vintage buttons( the silvery ones are to keep the monsters away)

flying saucers knit pouch

flying saucer bookmark

the little coffin shaped box the buttons arrived in

candy vamp teeth and the rest of the fab cards Juanita found for me

Sorry it took so long to post all the goodies I received, what can I say? I excel at procrastination! Thank you so much Juanita for my fab swap goodies!

blue needlebook

little blue needle book

A little blue needle book made for no particular reason at all, inspired by a scrap of blue Laura Ashley fabric that was just big enough to make the needle book. The button is a vintage one from my little jam jar of vintage buttons. I had meant to do a lovely long post about the swap goodies I received but H has come home early from school with a tummy ache and I must go tend my poorly little man.

from tin can to penholder

pen holder

behold a little pen holder, my brain possibly may have ran away at the time of its creation the other day, but I think it's turned out rather nice and functional too. Its a small coffee tin (Waitrose espresso) covered with a vintage dictionary page that I sewed three fabric tear shapes onto, and stamped the words "...three tears like bitter jewels..." I'm not entirely sure why but that's what popped into my brain when I dragged my stamps out, so that is what I stamped. Its glued to the can with some multipurpose glue

pen, scissors, knitting needle,and random twig holder might be more appropriate name

Ahem..... anyway it works

10 books Meme

Name ten books that have stuck with you, and have helped to shape your world.Don't take too long to think about it , simply list the first Ten books that you can think of in ten minutes or less. Books you have read that will always stick with you. tag 10 friends if you wish to share the meme. This meme was on facebook but I thought I would share it here because it was an interesting exercise.

and here goes in no particular order


1. The Stand by Stephen King - my dad gave me this book to read when I was around 12 and it was fantastic, it is by far my favourite King novel, it is very complex with a wide assortment of characters, good vs. evil, plague, apocalypse, the end of civilization…

2. Where the Sidewalk Ends, and A Light in the Attic by Shell Silverstien- My dad got me these for two consecutive Christmas when I was a kid and I sat all day reading the poems and was thoroughly enchanted.

3. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder- my great aunt got me the set of books when I was too small to read them, they sat in my room for years until I was old enough to read them, and realized that they were the real stories of what happened to Laura and not just the tv show which I adored. I spent whole summers playing in the fields pretending I was Laura living on the prairie with just the dogs and cats as my companions.

4. A Thousand Words for Stranger- Julie E. Czerneda- the author is a biologist and as such creates a vivid world of aliens, star ships, and worlds beyond ours. I have read this at least 3 times and I fall in love with it every time I read it.

5. Illusion by Paula Volsky- it’s the French revolution with magic, I have read this twice and it broke my heart and mended it both times, the book is so vividly written that I fell into it and couldn't put it down. I think the book is at my parents’ house in a box somewhere I must dig it out next time we visit if I can remember to.

6. Merry Gentry and Anita Blake novels by Laurel K Hamilton- I’m lumping them together even though they are 2 series with at least 20 books between them. Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, whatever flavour you want to call them, I love the worlds Hamilton has created, especially that of the dark fairies.

7. Enslaved by Virginia Henley historical romance/time travel/destiny….in late high school and college I had a thing for reading historical romance.. And sci fi/fantasy romance.. There wasn’t so big a “Paranormal/Urban” romance section back then, Henley packs a heavy punch with some of the historical details in her novels. (I was such a history geek at the time.. though where all that knowledge has gone I'll never know)

8. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen .. I didn’t read it in high school, I got lumbered with All Quite on the Western Front and Jane Eyre, both I loathed and skimmed through the cliffs notes to write papers and pass the tests for. Pride and Prejudice was on my list for years, I loved the BBC mini series but never got around to reading the book until a few years ago, and I loved it almost as much as the mini series and I probably never would have loved it in high school.

9. The princess bride by William Goldman ..what can I say but …My name is Inigo Montoya you killed my father prepare to die!

10. The Secret of the Unicorn Queen series by various authors.. Its a series written for tweens or young adults.. My parents bought them for me for my birthday and I was hooked read them over and over again, except for the last book I got mad at it because the girl choose to go home to boring Earth instead of staying in the world of magic and her own unicorn.. I wrote an alternative ending (my first fan fic I suppose) the book got stolen when I was sick and left it in my desk at school but I still have the rest of the series in a box at my parents house.

I'm not saying these books are classics or that they are the best books ever, but they are a part of me because I love them, and reading has helped to shape me into being the person that I am. No matter how scatterbrained that may be.

the 50's B Movie Swap (what I sent)

vampire kit needle book

My partner for the 50's B Movie Craft Swap was Juanita who is utterly fabulous and I was in a terrible tizzy over what to make her for the swap. I was full of ideas and inspiration, and the swap was my idea in the first place so I wanted to make something that was fantastic. OK maybe not fantastic but something that Juanita would be happy to own and not hide away in a dark corner with only a 5 legged spider, a dead fly, and a dustbunny for company.

inside the needle book

Ok I probably made up that last bit about the dustbunny. I doodled in my sketchbook, and decided to make a needle book with a vampire theme, I sat down and figured out what I wanted to do and then I made the needle book, its a bit wonky (mostly the stamped words are too far to the left to be perfect) but I loved the wonky black lines and the gingham drop of blood. I really wanted to keep it for myself, and I may just have to make another one for my etsy shop (do you think you might be interested in that dear readers?) The next thing I made was a painted page of a B-Movie Scream Queen, the illustration turned out better than I dreamed it would.

B- Movie Scream Queen

And because I'm a dunce I forgot to photograph the the third thing I sent, a little felt alien head pin that I stuck on a headband/alice band. That little alien was a complete bugger to get made as I had never really used felt before and it is rather small, but the hairband was simple to make, its really just a piece of ribbon sewn together with a hair tie. I may have to make another one or at least a little tutorial, but I'm all out of ribbon at the moment.

everything I sent Juanita
(I forgot to take pictures so snagged this from her blog)

I'll show you what Juanita sent me tomorrow as the pictures I took don't do it justice, but if you can't wait you can have a snoop on the flickr group for the swap.

Vintage Doily Warmbag

vintage doily warm bag

Today I made this and uploaded it to my etsy shop, I think that has got to be a first, I'm never that organized. I think it looks great, anyway and maybe if it sells I can buy a new note book or journal, because a girl can never have too many notebooks, or pens!

needlebook for Vintage Violet

needle book for Vintage Violet

I made this little needle book yesterday while H watched X-Men Evolution. I was really inspired to get this done as Megan was mooning over the fabric on her blog the other day. I left a comment on her blog saying I make her something with the fabric in exchange for some of her hoard of vintage buttons. She agreed to the swap even after my dire warnings of my wonky sewing abilities.

The button is a vintage red button from a previous order from Megan's haberdashery shop (go on you know you want to visit), so knew the button would be perfect for the needle book. I love the wonky lines of the black thread on the needle book, I think it looks fab, and I really like creating needle books, its been fun and is a small item to craft that leaves me inspired and not frustrated. I have a few ideas for a few more when I receive the fabulous Alice Wonderful fabric tape I ordered from Lilla lotta, and the cute fabric I ordered from Matatabi.


I wish I had ordered more from each shop but I promised M I would be careful with my ordering and not spend more than what I sell in my etsy shop. So in that case I will be adding a few more items to my etsy shop very soon!

blueberry and banana muffins

Blueberry and Banana Muffins

ingredients:

1/2 cup butter at room temp
1 cup caster/white granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (a pinch)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 medium sized brown bananas (smashed with the back of a fork)
2 cups self- raising flour
1/2 cup milk


Heat oven to 375°F (180 c).

Grease 18 regular-size muffin cups (or 12 large size muffins) or line muffin tins with paper cases.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating after each.

Beat in vanilla, baking powder and salt.

With spoon, fold in half of flour then half of milk into batter.

Fold in the remainder of the flour, and then the remainder of the milk.

Gently fold blueberries and mashed banana into the batter and spoon into muffin cups.

Bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to touch.

cook's notes: I probably have a half dozen different blueberry muffin recipes, this recipe takes a little more work with the mixer but it gives you a really light and fluffy muffin that melts in your mouth. And can I just say I was so happy to serve the muffins on the cake stand I made! *glee*

p.s. H has been quite poorly with the flu over the weekend so I got no crafting done, and very little of anything else. He is home today and appears to be on the mend or so it seems from his arguing with Scooby Doo on the tv, and earlier making paper lasagna...I don't know either but it was very important to him.

The Button Thief

button thief illustration on vintage book paper

The Button Thief
by Apryl Lowe

Once there was a pair of blackbirds, with shiny black wings and a beautiful song in the hearts. They had a little nest swaying high in a willow tree. Inside the nest, a pale blue egg the colour of the summer sky.

The egg soon hatched a tiny little bird, as blue as the sky. Mother Blackbird kept her warm in the nest, and Father Blackbird found a button to give his lovely daughter.

A fledgling bird Skye learned to fly, but fell to the ground. A woman dressed in Sunday best, with red buttons on her coat, rescued poor the poor little bird. The little chirped and hopped on the woman’s hand, she pulled a shiny red button from the woman’s coat and flew off into the willow tree.

One little bird feathers bright as the midday sky, she found a wee mask and became a thief.


The button thief she stole a button shining silver in the sun.

Then she stole more, and more, from the men, women and children that walked in the park, from the shops in the town, a treasure trove in the haberdashery.

Round buttons, square buttons, wooden buttons, shell buttons, plastic buttons, metal buttons, cloth buttons, none were safe from the Button Thief.
.
Red ones and blue ones, yellow ones and orange ones, shining pearl and carved oak, bright silver, tarnished brass, each shining, button a new treasure to steal.

She sat and preened up high in the willow tree, and admired the beautiful buttons in her nest. Her eyes were keen on the ground, and on the people all around, for the beautiful buttons they might wear.

The end


----------------------------------------

the button thief illustration is on a vintage book page from a battered copy of Alice through the Looking-glass, black tea, acrylic paint, and ink were used in the illustration, along with one vintage red button. The light was a bit off when I took the photo but paint shop helped to some degree, I will attempt to photograph the illustration again when it has finished drying and flattening.

Cake Stand Tutorial

cake stand

Cake Stand Tutorial

What You Need:

* a pretty plate
* an old candlestick, vase (small and sturdy with a wide base is best), large espresso shot glass, or a thick glass
* super glue, or craft glue ( I used superglue as I never seem to have much luck with craft glue)
* tape (masking, cella or craft tape)

Directions:

1. Choose your plate and base, and make sure that the plate balances on the candlestick (or other base)

2. Clean and Dry both the plate and the candlestick.

3. Find the centre of the back of the plate and mark it with a marker pen.

4. Apply superglue to the candlestick and the bottom of the plate.

5. Firmly but gently press the candlestick onto the bottom of the plate.

6. It may be necessary to apply tape across the candlestick while the glue dries.

7. Once dry (over night or a few hours depending on the glue used) use as a display item or cake stand. Wash gently depending on the durability of the glue used.

Due to the severe lack of cake in the house I was forced to pile the plate with delicious looking jewellery instead. There will be Cake tomorrow, I promise you, my faithful readers, that. Or at least coconut candy to adorn the cake stand. I found the plate at Heanor Antiques Centre, its not an antique, its from 1996, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Bronte sisters poetry. I'm not a Bronte fan, but I am obsessed with writing on things, some of you may have guessed this with the cooing I have done over fabric with writing on, the book page illustrations I create, and the random drabbles and writing I do.

Chrysocolla and Black

faceted black agate bracelet

I love these bracelets...I'm going to have to keep one for myself... but which one?

I'm off to Ikea/Starbucks for coffee and to find some now craft storage to sit beside my little desk! wish me luck

chrysocolla bracelet

Vintage Doily Needlebook

vintage doily needle book

I admit its probably a scrap of lace, not specifically a doily but I'm still over the moon with how this little needle book turned out. This is by far the neatest sewing I have done so far, which isn't to say its very neat but its getting there. The fabric is the same linen and cotton blend that I have been using for my warm bags, the inside of the needle book has beige felt and a blue with white polka-dot cotton fabric. The red button is from Megan, and I may need to hit her up for some more vintage buttony goodness very soon.

inside the needle book

Coconut Candy

Coconut Candy

ingredients
2 cups desiccated coconut (I used a mix of plain and sweetened)
1 tablespoon butter (softened)
1 tablespoon milk
¼ cup icing (confectioners) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
A sprinkle of salt (optional)
1 x bar of white chocolate *
1 x bar of dark chocolate **


In a small bowl, combine the coconut, butter, milk, vanilla and a small sprinkle of salt.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave on MEDIUM power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. Add the white chocolate to the coconut mixture and mix thoroughly.

Form into 1-inch balls by rolling a teaspoon of mixture in your hands, and place onto wax paper covered baking sheet.

Refrigerate the coconut balls for 20 to 30 minutes.

Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave on MEDIUM power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.

Drizzle the coconut candy with the dark chocolate (you may also dip the candy into the melted chocolate then place the dipped candy back onto the waxed paper.)

Refrigerate to set the dark chocolate. Once the chocolate has set, store tightly covered in the refrigerator.

*I used a 150g bar of continental white chocolate that was lurking in the cupboard

** I used a 100g bar of M&S fair-trade organic dark chocolate (72% cocoa) but you can use any chocolate you prefer and you can use more than one bar if you prefer the coconut candy to be covered by more chocolate.

Cooks notes: I had it in my head to make some simple coconut candy yesterday, having not made any before I searched the interwebs for a suitable starting recipe. The original recipe was simple enough but it didn’t workfor me, the mixture wouldn't stick together so I decided to experiment. I added vanilla, and melted white chocolate to the coconut mixture and it worked like a dream. Good reviews back from M, my Mother in Law, and from my neighbour down the street… and I think they taste yummy too!

a little birdie

a little birdie in a tree

vintage book page illustration for Gloria. The birdie has been a little doodle in my sketch book for ages and until yesterday when I prepped some pages of Alice through the Looking-Glass with black tea and decided to make Gloria a little painting to go along with the bracelet she bought from my etsy shop. I didn't know what to draw but the little birdie called to me so I just had to paint her. Cute isn't she? I have a few more book pages in the works at the moment and I will try to get them finished tomorrow.

precious things

chrysocolla bracelet

No you haven't stumbled onto another blog by mistake, this is is Meridian Ariel, not in an alternate dimension either. But I have captured a muse and have been inspired to drag out some beads and play around with colours. Yesterday I crafted three bracelets, and today another three. I haven't dragged my bead boxes out for weeks, months even and 6 different bracelets in the span of two days. I think I may need a lie down, or another coffee at any rate.

faceted black agate (my favourite)

and did I mention the sketching? because I have been drawing, sketching and painting too, only a little bit but still that counts. Bust mostly I'm in love with these cute bracelets, the black agate and the chrysocolla ones are my absolute favourites and I'm really trying not to snaffle them up for myself.. but they are calling me, whispering things to me... oh but the turquoise one is pretty too...

erm something starting with a v (sorry I forgot I'll look it up later)

they may find there way into my etsy shop tomorrow.. if I don't hide them away... "My Preciousssss" ... ahem yes where was I?

chrysocolla and snowflake quartz, deep red jade,
and dyed turquoise

spellcheck thinks chrysocolla = Chrisco (ahem its a stone not lard)

Quick Tiramisu Recipe

Tiramisu

ingredients:
1 tub Mascarpone cheese (or 1 1/2 packages cream cheese)
1 package lady fingers (trifle sponges ect)
½ cup caster (white ) sugar (or confectioners powdered sugar)
2 tablespoons Tia Maria (brandy or coffee liqueur)
3 tablespoons cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 shots espresso (or roughly ½ cup very strong instant coffee)
Dark chocolate for grating (or you can use cocoa powder)

6 small glass ramekins for individual servings

First make the coffee and let it cool in a small bowl. Add the Tia Maria (or other liqueur) when cool .

Open the package of sponges and tear them up into pieces to line the bottom of the ramekin dishes. Drizzle the cake with the coffee and liqueur mixture and set aside.

In a medium bowl beat the cream, mascarpone cheese (cream cheese), vanilla and sugar.

Spoon the mascarpone mixture over the drizzled cake. Smooth over the top and then grate the dark chocolate over to top. Refrigerate until serving.

For a fluffier cheese mixture, use ½ cup whipping cream, beat it in the bowl until whipped and fold in the mascarpone and sugar mixture.

Cook’s notes: I have made this several times and each time I have varied the amounts of coffee and alcohol to taste. it’s a very quick and simple recipe without having to mess around with eggs. This recipe took about ten minutes to make, much to M's delight.

Many of tiramisu recipes ask you to tip the cake fingers into the bowl, I find this unnecessary, messy and more work than you really need to do, Its easier to just drizzle the mixture over the cake until you have as much as you desire in the individual dishes. Even H liked the tiramisu, and scoffed his own little ramekin’s worth (I did put less of the coffee and liquor mixture in his).

Mermaid's Kiss

chrysocolla, silver, and glass beaded bracelet

Today for the first time in weeks I got my beads out to have a play and to sort out a bracelet that Anita at the framing gallery gave me to restring for a lady. It had some lovelychrysocolla beads but hadn't been put together very well by whomever had made it. I'm quite happy with how my reworking has turned out and hopefully the owner will be happy with it, and that it will fit her properly now too.

mermaid tattoo lavender rice warm/cool bag

Seeing as my beading supplies were scattered on and around my desk I decided to play with some green agate beads that I could never seem to put together in perfect way until today. It's a really simple design but the beads are such a lovely colour green in the light, and the bracelet sits well on you wrist. I'll be adding it to my etsy shop a little later today.

Emerald City Bracelet (green agate)


I made the little mermaid tattoo lavender and rice warm/cool bag a few weeks ago and never photographed it because I couldn't get a decent photo and I thought it wasn't good enough at the time. But now that I look at it I don't know why I didn't because its perfectly pretty, and though its small (measuring 3" by 8" ) its still very nice and smells good too so I thought I would pop it on etsy and see if I get any bites, but as its only a small bag I will sell it for a small price.

Lovely Meme Blog Award

What is your current obsession?

coffee..oh wait you probably know that allready... well recently I was obsessed with watching Veronica Mars, learning to sew the things that float about in my little brain, and possibly a rather unhealthy obsession over the exploits of zombified chickens in the Derbyshire countryside...run to your nearest mall people! its the only safe place..

What is your horoscope & do you relate to it?
Taurus, I'm probably pretty on the mark sign wise if you believe in such things, I'm strong willed, grounded (mostly but my brain sometimes wanders away from me), warm hearted, relatively reliable, not entirely patient with things...

What are you wearing today?
ahem.. I still have my jammies on but after I have made a cup of coffee (yes another) I will probably put on jeans and a t-shirt, nothing fancy.. and its cold this morning.

What's for dinner?
no idea, something with chicken, and a very small amount of potatoes that need eating or planting.


What's the last thing you bought?
an iced latte at Starbucks!


What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Megan is great, she is fabulously talented, with a great eye for brilliant finds (with and without buttons), we haven't met in person but maybe one day we will because I think we would get along brilliantly. I have swapped a few times with Vv (Megan) and bought buttons from her and will probably swap again with her when next we have created something that the other wants!

That question about a fully furnished, paid-for house that everyone answers with 'Paris' or 'New York'.
Northern California...yes I know I grew up there but if I'm getting a fully furnished house somewhere then I want it to be somewhere lovely that I miss and love and would only be a short hop on a plane to visit my parents in Idaho. Though i don't think M would be able to survive summers in California it would be too hot for him.


What is your must-have item for summer?
ice... seriously you have got to have ice for you iced coffee, your ice cold coke, and for making fruit smoothies and milkshakes... its one of those things that I can't live without and living in England even after 10 years I find the lack of ice when you go to a restaurant quite annoying. I always have to ask for extra and get this completely baffled, "Lady you are weird" look when all I want is an ice cold drink that is not luke warm with one sliver of ice floating around pathetically at the top. Give me ice goddamn it!


If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would it be?
Borders bookshop to curl up with a coffee and a pile of craft books and urban fantasy novels...bliss

Who do you want to meet right now?
I would love to meet some of the bloggers/mumsnetters that I haven't met yet, like Vonnie, Megan, Juanita, Serenity, Show of Hands, Hannah, AnnieB, Jodie, all the rest of the crafter..oo'ers that I haven't met... I could go on and on about the fab bloggers that I would be in awe of meeting, but I would also like to add my cousin Tiffany who I have just gotten in contact with via the interwebs after not seeing her since we were small.

What is your favourite piece of clothing from your own closet?

my grey converse, I'm not normally big into clothing, I'm fussy, fat, and not into labels in the slightest, I prefer dark clothes, and live in jeans most of the time.

What is your dream job?

I honestly don't know, I love crafting, baking and writing and I'm scared to death to push anything to far because it will turn out that I'm not actually good at anything at all.

What's your favourite magazine?

Craft, Sew Hip (because my friends have been featured, not because my skills are good enough), Empire movie magazine, Glamour for clothes and tat, Arena/Maxim because for some reason women's magazines never have anything remotely funny and men's magazines have gadgets, blow stuff up, and are completely sarcastic and funny.. *makes note to start a zine*

Where is your dream holiday destination?

I would love to go on a family holiday to Italy, stay in a lovely little villa somewhere and bumble about the countryside and cities, that would be fabulous. Also would like to add that one of M's dream holidays is to get a massive RV and drive across the States stopping everywhere to take loads of pictures.

What is your most treasured possession?

coffee...oh erm I have a lot of things that I treasure but one of the most treasured items I own is a small antique silver and mother of pearl fruit knife that my dad gave me. I always carry it in my purse but the most it ever cuts are bits of yarn when I'm in a knitting sort of mood.

Describe your personal style.

hmmm, I'm completely unstylish, I dress for comfort, simplicity, and to not be noticed, I tend to wear a lot of black and grey this is my inner gothlet's doing, she would have me in full goth gear if not kept in check, or at least a 50's sort of Betty Paige look (at least my hair would be if I could tame it)

What are you going to do after this?

get dressed, make coffee, sort out some beads for jewellery making!

What are you proud of?

I'm proud of M and H but I'm not normally that proud of myself, this is where I get told off by my friends for my low sense of self worth and accomplishment, *shrug* that's just me.

What do you want to learn this year?

I would love to learn more sewing, and to make my own stamps, fabric design, and learn to make resin jewellery too!

Favourite childhood movie(s)?


Legend or Labyrinth, Goonies, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and The lost Boys

There are rules to this tagging shenanigan... Respond and rework – answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own. Tag eight others. I'd like to tag these blogs:

I'm not going to tag anyone because I think you are all fab (and I'm lazy and half of the people I was going to tag have already got tagged.. so if you haven't taken this particular meme and had the award than take it you all deserve it you are all lovely people!
u

poison apple

one poison apple

I'll admit its quite happy looking for a deadly poisonous apple, but that's its charm and allure. Its my first attempt at making a plush fruit, and though its far from perfect, there is a charm to it. its filled with polyfil and some rice and dried lavender to weigh down the bottom (it could be used as a pin cushion or paperweight. the stem is a small twig that H found for me awhile back and I had promised him that I would craft something with it. The leaf is a scrap piece of green felt with vintage button detail.

Its a poison apple due to my obsession with writing my Poison Apple tree fairy tale, which I keep putting off finishing because I'm afraid it will turn out to be a terrible story, whether it is bad or not it will seem so to me. I keep going back to the theme over and over again, I have embroidered, painted, doodled, and painted the tree several times, and I have an idea that it could turn into a fantastic quilt if i god talk someone into helping me turn it into a quilt. But the story must be finished first. Oh and then there was that silly promise I made to Katy about getting a small tattoo of a curling black apple tree branch with two blossoms and a wee apple. (I'm a coward like that is ever going to happen? unless Katy drags me *looks about worriedly*)

I need to get some red fabric though to make it more true to the story in my head, in my heart, and half written on my writing blog (and a bit more saved in a file on my little laptop. And paint the stem of the apple black, and a few more details I haven't figured out how to make perfect yet.

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edit: I just recipeved this beautiful stamped silver pendant in the post from simply*u*jewelery that I won from papernstitch blog giveaway. I asked for "poison apple" to be stamped on the pendant and here it is, draped over my plush poison apple, perfect!

poison apple stamped pendant from simply*u*jewelery

Red Rock Wasted

this is me knitting at Crich

Today is World Wide Knit In Public Day so I brought some knitting with me on a picnic to Crich Stand, which is not too far down the road from here. Its a lovely day for sitting in the sunshine, and I though it was the perfect chance to do a small bit of knit graffiti. I have wanted to do some form of knit graffiti for awhile now but its hard to do when you don't actually knit that often.

this is a rock on my knitting

So I sat and knit and found a small rock to wrap my knitting around, and there you have it, one small knit rock. I clambered about and took a few pictures leaving the red knit rock on a section of dry stone walling. We were ready to go, when all the sudden H realized we didn't have the rock, I explained it was meant to stay there for someone else to find. Cue tears and drama, and H hugging the rock for dear life. *face palm* maybe next time. knit graffiti = fail

red knit graffiti covered rock and Crich Stand

the light at the top of Crich Stand

Crich Stand

What's in a bloggy name?

I'm a total sucker for memes of any kind, and over at a 1/4 of an inch the question has been asked "What's in a bloggy name?"

the answer for me is that Meridian Ariel is a combination of two names that I always wished for myself when I was a little girl. Anything was better than being named for a month of the year and getting teased with the incredibly lame "April showers brings may flowers" thing, it was in no way remotely funny when said by classmates or by teachers. and for goodness sakes its a Y not and I. bitter moi? Eventually I used the handle Meridian Ariel on the WBS chat forum in the X-Files room (when not being Vixen51 or 50 other random handles). When I decided to start blogging to get me writing again (after many years of avoiding it) I decided on Meridian Ariel, its been such a part of me for such a very long time, and Meridian was already taken.

I also have a small random writing blog called The Teapot Nebula, for random short stories, drabbles, and that pesky fairy tale that I still haven't finished writing. Why the Teapot Nebula? it was random really but I was thinking of the whole tempest in a teapot thing and thought why not a nebula, as the point of writing drabbles is to create a small world in 100 words. One hundred words, infinite worlds....I thought it was clever anyway.

what's in yor bloggy name?