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Here I am in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, pawing my way through the boxes of Christmas stuff at a stoop sale. I found two glass beaded garlands, and the beads are in shapes I had never seen before! I’m wearing one around my wrist in the picture as I hunt down the loose beads of the other one from the bottom of this box. Did I dig out every last one? You betcha. I put on my best poker face so the guy who gave me the price quote couldn’t sense my glee.
Photo credit: Justina
Shown here is my own font of wired matte red seed beads. Each one is on a wire “stem”, and can be used to embellish a gift or desk decor, or wherever one might like to display these. I used jewelry plyers to make nice little loops on some of the corners, making these feel a little like jewelry. Each letter is one inch or just a smidge taller.
I’m pleasantly obsessed with red-and-white mushrooms, so decided to take a stab at making my own. I’m very happy with how these turned out. The biggest ones are just shy of 5″ tall. They each sport a cotton cap, felt stem, chartreuse reindeer moss, and on the bigger ones, a birch base. There are two turned out inchworms with bakery string scarves. I guess they caught a glimpse of the fancy chicken and thought a scarf was the accessory for spring.
My friend Sam has a basketful of tiny plastic chickens on his desk that guests are encouraged to play with during informal meetings. They were the inspiration behind my new chickens. These bad boys are just over 4″ tall and 5″ from beak to backside, and look good wearing scarves. Sometimes they are available in my etsy shop and at Parcel.
This is the first year I’ve decorated for Easter since I was a kid. I like Easter, what with the fluffy bunnies and chocolates and the promise of Spring, but I never felt the urge to do much more than put together Easter baskets or care packages for loved ones. Then, two years ago, my maternal grandmother passed away. Catherine Gagnon was a major crafting influence–she taught me the granny square, made custom Sunshine Family doll clothes and Thanksgiving-themed nut cups–I could go on and on.
Last year the loss of Gram was too fresh. This is the first year I’ve felt ready to display and enjoy the Easter treasures that decorated her home. These fantastic hens with parasols would grace the dining room windowsill; I’d go over to her house and we’d blow eggs and decorate them for posterity. (Five such eggs are now strung over my mantle.) We miss you Gram, but your spirit lives on!
After the holiday, I will repack many of these treasures in the Velveeta box whence they came. Reusing Velveeta boxes for storage. That was “so Gram.”
