Feature Fridays and Fresh Eggs Daily

Today I have been thinking about farming and thought I'd share something farmy with you.  I have also been thinking a lot about my chickens, as I lost my first chicken recently.  I have no idea why, as the others appear to all be fine, but I have been a bit of a worry wart since the incident.  So, I guess farming and chickens have been on the mind.

So when I found this lovely blog, Fresh Eggs Daily, I knew I had to share it with you all.  It is a fun blog that talks about the fun of owning chickens and gives a lot of tips and tricks for the funny little girls.

For example, she has a great list of things not to feed to your chickens for various reasons.  

This is a very good list, and goes further into the details than other lists I have found.  Very helpful!

I also like that she shares photos documenting each week on the farm.  I love to see farms and the funny animals that live on them, so it is super fun to see what goes on...like the end of January on her farm....

Very cool.  Someday I will have a couple horses.  I hope.

And to top it off, she shares DIY's and recipes.  I really need to try this clover french bread recipe!  I love that she is a reader of Mary Jane's Farm, which is one of my new favorite magazines, and where she got the basis for this bread.

If you are feeling a little like checking out some farm living, like I have been, go check out this fun blog and say hello.  And if you are thinking about getting chickens, do it!  They are so much fun and you get the awesome reward of delicious, rich eggs. 

Ash

Little upcycled gift

Today, I needed a birthday gift for a friend of mine.  I wanted it to be fun and unique but also fit her lifestyle and morals, of course.  Soo, I made this little planter of celery!

I have been having too much fun with things that would otherwise be thrown away and spray paint.  I turned a large tomato can into this fun little planter by popping a few holes in the bottom and hitting it with the ol' spray paint!  Then tying a little ribbon on for added flair.

Then, to top it off, I have tried the craze I have seen everywhere on pinterest of growing celery from the  discarded cut off bottom part thingy.  (There is likely a real name for it, but heck if I know it.)  I LOVE this craze.  I go through quite a bit of celery, and I always buy the organic kind, one because I prefer that and 2 because I know I will soon be growing a little plant of my own.

If you have not yet seen it, it is great.  Cut on the bottom of the celery, set it in a dish of water for a couple weeks (changing and adding water as needed) and viola!  Roots start to grow and from the center you start to get a great little celery plant!  Then once it gets to about this point...

I stick it in it's own little pot and watch it grow.  In a couple more weeks, I should be able to even harvest a few (all be it, small) stalks if I so desire!  For a great walk through, check out this blog post over at 17 Apart.

And like I said, I think it makes an awesome gift. 

So go have fun growing little celery plants!

Ash

Feature Fridays and Lazy Daisy Jones...

So sometimes I decide to look at a blog based solely on how cute the name is.  And today that paid off. I was searching for the perfect blog to feature on this week's Feature Friday, and came upon Lazy Daisy Jones.  I mean, that is a pretty adorable name.  And when I clicked it?  Well, happy to report that it is a perfect mix of retro, crochet, craft and fun! 

For example, check out these seriously fun and cute crochet monsters!  Teehee!

And this made me giggle!  Check out her redux of the ol' granny style doll toilet paper cover.  She made it a Scandi Doll.  I think this is so clever!  (And so much less creepy.)

And I am in love with this granny square and the colors....

Ok...I could go on and on about her crochet!  LOVE!  But her vintage finds are just as awesome, and need to be shared, too.  Check out how she refurbished this lamp!

Or how about these awesome vintage wooden hangers that she embellished?

Ok, I have to go look through her blog more now.  Hope you go do the same!

Thanks for sharing, Lazy Daisy Jones!

Ash

Hair bands and bike seats...

I just love yarn carfting!  I love the fact that I can create something fun and functional from a piece of string.  And I love the fact that that piece of string used to be from an animal or in some cases, an old plastic bottle.  I love the process all the way through.

I recently learned how to cable knit, and love it!  (I think I may have said that verbatim in a previous post! hehe)  I have also been loving headbands as of late, so I decided I needed to make myself a new headband with a cable on it.  Super fast and easy, but also really rewarding!

I had fun playing with design and deciding how 'long' the cables should be.  I will try and share my pattern soon.

I also love to crochet, and I definitely better at it than knitting.  I have been doing it a lot longer, for one thing.  So it is fun for me to get inspiration from something and try and duplicate it.  For example, I found this picture on pinterest of a 'bike seat cover' that someone crocheted.  I could not track down the original poster or creator though.

(Source and creator unknown)

Soo....I decided I'd try something like it.  I used a much larger hook and different yarn, but here is my version....

I was recently given a bunch of colorful acrylic yarn, and I thought that it would hold up pretty well to the occasional (or not so occasional here in Eugene) weather.

I love the way it turned out!  I may have to come up with the pattern for this to share, too.

Happy yarn crafting!

Ash

Feature Fridays and Jane's Apron

I have admittedly been spending way too much time on Pinterest and Craftgawker.  I have this funny routine where I check both of them after work to see what is new, and sometime I look at Pinterest in the morn while still waking up.  But, I am justifying it today by the fact that I have come upon some great new blogs to share with you all.  One of which is Jane's Apron.  

I have been on a serious vintage kick as of late.  Loving the 'glamping' style, my 70's dishes, and just a different time.  While peeking at fun stuff like this, I found Jane's Apron, which is just a fun, vintage sewing inspired blog.

I love all the vintage fashion, sewing related things she finds and makes on this blog.  The thing that first got me on her blog was a how to on printing onto tags.  I am planning on doing some of this for my etsy biz, and I wanted to see how she did it.  And the images she chose are also adorable!  

I also like this sweet and simple journal that she made.  The papers that she has found are too cute!

Such a cute idea.  I need to make one for me!

AND...I have been wanting to do this forever and I am even more inspired now....check out these super cute clipboards!

LOVE!  I have so many vintage patters that I could make color copies of or just take the pics from and use to make something like this.

And of course, she also shares her thrift shop finds.  I love these mugs that she found...

So go check out her fun blog, click around and get some vintage inspiration for your weekend.

Happy Friday!

Ash

Sad news on the urban farm....lost my first chicken

Sad news.  Yesterday, we lost our first chicken on our little backyard farm.  I have to say that I have been pretty lucky, as our chickens have been happy little chickens for some time, and I am actually a little surprised it took us this long to lose a hen.

I went out yesterday morn and found Peeper Planes (the red one above) laying in the run.  No apparent cause, and from talking with other chicken experts, sometimes they just do that.  I am watching the other girls carefully, just in case.  They appear to be fine so far.

I dunno about others with small flocks, but it is pretty easy to get attached to the little birds.  I was kind of surprised how much it upset me.  I was not a total wreck, as I know I would be if the dog or cat were to pass on, but it still got to me.  She was a pretty cool chicken, one of the older gals that I had definitely made more tame than the newer ones.

I felt as though I needed to share.  I think it is important to remember that life is short, no matter chicken or person, and that I appreciated the eggs she gave and watching her be a little goofy chicken.  And important to remember that this stuff happens sometimes.  (And especially if I want a bigger piece of land with more chickens!)

Bye bye, Miss Peeper Planes.  Thanks for everything!

Ash

Feature Fridays and IHeart Organizing!

Let me say, I am a very good political and volunteer organizer - which is my job.  BUT...when it comes to my home and the organization of stuff...maybe not so much.  

So it is a good thing that there are people in this world, like Jen at IHeart Organizing, that can break it down in fun ways for folks like me.  She has created a super successful blog off of her organizing skills.  And many of them are super fun and funky, which I love.

For example, take this cute re-do of a canister for the kitchen:

That is super cute!  Such a good idea.

I really like this this idea for organizing drawers using cereal boxes!  (Love upcycles!)

I really need to do this.  Very cool.

She also has this fun etsy store, with neat printables to help organize your life.  I want several of these.  I am sort of a a super nerd for this sort of stuff!

Of course, there is a lot more to check out!  Head on over and see how you can start working on getting more organized.  Thanks for sharing, Jen!

Happy Friday!

Ash

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