Sneak Peek: Art Star

Lots of picture posts lately! But it's been hopping here at LC headquarters. Here's a peek at what I'm making for Hello Bluebird's jaunt to Art Star Craft Bazaar.

April flowers

Non-crochet craft time!

Sorry I've been remiss with posts lately, my friends. Three or four weeks ago I ate what I thought was harmless gorgonzola cheese - only to find out later that gorgonzola is fed on wheat! I broke out in a rash all over my hands and am just now able to do some crochet again. Horrendous!

While I was convalescing, I was not idle. There's always something to be done around here! And for my birthday the other week I decided to try something entirely new to me: making a terrarium. It was a lot of fun, and now I am a little terrarium-happy. You can make one, too, with my easy little tutorial :-)

Carrie's Terrarium Tutorial

First, gather your goodies:
- clear glass jar, with or without lid
- plant that is half the size of the jar, or smaller
- pebbles
- sphagnum or spanish moss
- activated charcoal (only if jar has a lid)

Step 1: Layer pebbles in bottom of jar until you can't see any more glass. If your jar has a lid, sprinkle an even layer of activated charcoal over the pebbles. This is your draining and filtering layer.

Step 2: Cut a thin layer of moss and spread it over the pebbles and charcoal. The goal of the moss is to keep your soil from migrating into the drainage layer, so you don't want too little moss... but you also don't want it too thick, either.

Step 3: Take your plant out of its pot and gently remove the excess soil from around the root ball. Place plant in jar; fill in with the excess soil. Use your fingers to press down the soil evenly all around. If you want, you can now decorate your terrarium with rocks, a little garden gnome - get creative! Or leave it as it is.

Step 4: Pour a small amount of fresh water onto the soil around your plant and put the lid on your jar. You're done! Check the soil every few days; if it seems dry, add a little more water.

Notes:
- Always buy your jar first; it's easier to fit a plant to a jar than to find a jar to fit your plant.
- Jars with lids will "automatically" water your plant by recycling moisture. Jars without lids must be watered by YOU, and more often.
- If you can't find activated charcoal, try looking for activated carbon instead. It's the same thing, and you can find it in the aquarium aisle at your local pet store.

R is for Roadtrip, G is for Gluten

I had an absotulely stellar time on my jaunt through Ohio this past week; lots of good friends and good times! My dear friend Melissa and I explored Columbus and found ZenCha Tea Salon, which I absolutely adored for their wide selection of properly prepared loose leaf teas. Spent some time with Rachel and her two adorable kids. Kudos to Rach and Greg for actually parenting their children - it's paying off! Angie and I went to Toledo and chatted about life and her poetry book, which is coming out this summer (I'm so proud of her!). Discovered all sorts of delicious things at Cincinnati's Findlay Market with Mary, and made semi-matching earrings with Sharon.

In some ways I wish I could have stayed longer, but it was so nice to come home and see my husband (who had been on a trip of his own) and catch up on our adventures.

In other news, a few days after returning from my trip, I was officially diagnosed as being gluten intolerant. Don't feel bad; it's relieving for me to know what's been making me sick and causing my horrible skin condition for the past 15 years! I've actually been having fun relearning how to eat and cook gluten-free and am thinking I'll post a new recipe here once in a while.

And now it's back to work! I promised Hello Bluebird some flower pins...