[TUTORIAL] Domed Terrariums

I LOVE building terrariums and luckily, I live in the perfect part of the globe to satisfy this obsession pretty much year round. Unlike the majority of our beautiful country, we are NOT burried in snow. In fact, we only received one day of snow this entire season and yes, it stressed me out. With that being said, our forest floors are thriving with baby ferns, moss and my newest find - Rattlesnake Plantain - a native orchid. Now that I know what it looks like, I'm finding it all over the place and decided to try it out in a terrarium.

I have posted in the past a tutorial for making these fun Little Forests using local specimens in a different array of vessels. This time around, I decided to try making a terrarium using a 'dome' to cover the plantings (in my case, an upside down vase). Here's a little DIY in case you're interested in trying one yourself.

MATERIALS

terrarium base such as a dish, cake stand, shallow bowl, garden pot base

glass dome (think outside the box)

local foliage with height - ferns, orchids, interesting grasses

moss

florist charcoal

potting soil

gravel or small stones (we used aquarium gravel)

STEP ONE Gather Materials. Take little bits and pieces of nature for your terrarium. I have had success with moss, baby ferns, violets and, fingers crossed, wild orchids.

STEP TWO Pour a small mound of gravel in centre of base

STEP THREE Sprinkle charcoal layer on top of gravel to continue building the mound

STEP FOUR Mound potting soil over gravel/charcoal layer

STEP FIVE Spritz with water if soil is dry to help keep mound together. Make a small divet in top of mound (think volcano) and carefully insert plants without toppling everything over. I used orchids, but a delicate fern would look lovely too.

STEP SIX cover mound with moss - give a good spritzing to help moss root - carefully cover with glass dome starting on an angle at one side and coming up and over plants and down the other side tucking in moss as needed. Give the glass dome a couple good twists back and forth to work out any dirt that may be between the glass and base. Clean up the base and voila - a beautiful nature vessel for your spring table.

*** NOTE ***

The base and glass dome that I used allowed for a margin between the glass vessel and the rim of the plate - I filled the gap with the same moss as in the terrarium. I found that watering this outer border of moss all the way around the dome, let water seep under the glass and wet the terrarium. We'll see what happens...

[EXPLORE] Spool Of Thread

Getting super excited for the upcoming Refresh Spring Market on April 25th!! Have a few more doll designs to get underway and then it's sew sew sew sew!!! Speaking of sewing, have you ever checked out Spool of Thread on East 15th?? It's been on my 'places to visit' list for quite some time now, and I finally got to go with my favourite lady - My Mama! And looky looky what I came home with for my birthday (thanks Mom!!!)

She (yes 'she') is a Janome 419S and is oh so pretty! She breezes through my dolls thick layers, has beautiful tension for each stitch and is super simple to use. She is certainly not light weight (my kinda gal) as her body is aluminum, which means my needle stays nicely in alignment.

Other than my gorgeous new machine, we also perused the fabrics - and oh my word...they are WONDERFUL. Anything and everything you can imagine - I was like a kid in a candy store...sigh.

They also offer sewing classes for every level at a very reasonable price - there was a class in session while we were there, and it looked like so much fun. Don't need lessons? Love to sew but have no room?? No problem, you can also rent one of their lovely Elna's, and use their cutting tables (my only problem would be I'd bring my own fabric then change my mind and end up buying something else...it's just too tempting!).

[FAMILY] Hazel

What do you get when you cross the majestic Maremma Sheepdog with a Golden Lab?? This sweet little girly - meet Hazel, our 8 week old pup.

Hazel and her siblings were born in Fruitvale, BC - a little town situated in the Kootenays near Nelson - on December 4th 2014. She made the long journey to Bowen Island last weekend with Geoff and Logan...what an adventure.

She loves snuggling Chloe at home and in the car.

She loves to 'help' me garden.

She loves hangin' with Logan and his pals and snuggling up on his lap after a long and busy day. She's just lovely. Now if only we could curb this puppy biting so Chloe can freely walk around the house without her ankles being chewed off...advice anyone...?!

[EVENTS] Resfresh Market

So so so excited to announce that FOXGLOVES Lovely Lads + Lasses will be participating at the 2015 Spring Refresh Market in Squamish. This lovely event is held biannually at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park and features both handmade and vintage goods from local folks. So mark your calendars and make the trip up the Sea to Sky and visit me on APRIL 25TH 10AM-5PM.

original photograph from www.refreshmarket.ca

Here's a link to last years market that I attended with my Mama - can't believe I'm going to be a part of it this year...or at least I will be if I get my butt to the sewing table!!

[DOLLS] Tick Tock

We're entering the last lap of preparing for the annual CSA Craft Fair - the pressure's on...so why don't I feel it?! Normally, at this stage of the game, I'm freaking out - what was I thinking...how am I ever going to finish...who wants my kids...but nope, not this year. I am loving every moment of creating these little personalities. I've never made dolls before, and I'm hooked...completely in love with this new found obsession (and yes...it's turning into that).

The goal is to have 40 dolls ready...I'm more than half way. Wish me luck!! And good luck to all you other crafters out there that are tackling the craft fair scene this season.

[EXPLORE] Fall Treats

FALL...glorious, glorious fall. Kids are back in school, warm sunshine mixed with crisp salty air, wood fires, fog horns and a sea of autumn leaves. This is my favourite time of year on our little island. Sure the long summers days are nice, but there is just something so magical about this seasonal change that awakens the natural hunter gatherer in us to prepare for the inevitable winter. Woodsheds are being filled, chimneys cleaned, gutters emptied, harvests preserved and every minute of our limited sunshine used to the best of our ability.

This was our first true fall morning, and we filled it to the brim with our friends.

Frog hunting, spider studies, fuzzy caterpillars and a lily pad filled lake started our day. Beautiful light, warm translucent reflections and skipping stones were on our agenda. Dense forest trails, holding hands, running, jumping and skipping the entire way - that's how we roll.

Lunch on the water, a walk on the dock, icecream and a new little addition to our windowsill.

Home to our happy chickens, clucking and scratching their way through the yard for bugs and other tasty treats. Admiring their beautiful colours in the sunlight and giving them a little cuddle before heading in to continue sewing my dolls for the annual Christmas craft fair. Perhaps one more outing before dinner...

[LIVING LAB] Tadpoles and Salamander Nymphs

Our tadpoles and salmanders are thriving in the 'little ponds' on our deck. We have been adding fresh pond water every week or so and new vegetation to ensure there is plenty of organisms in the water for our salamanders to eat. We had been feeding our tadpoles fish food and noticed that the few that had made their way into our salamander bowl (they had been taken for show and tell with a salamander nymph and we decided to keep them together) are almost twice the size as the fish food fed little guys (and no it's not because they've eaten the salmander nymphs). We think it may be because this bowl has a lot of pond vegetation and a larger swimming surface, whereas the other bowl was low on vegetation and has a smaller swimming surface, but is deeper. So we have added a lot of surface vegetation to the tadpole bowl, and we'll see what happens.

The salamander nymphs have doubled in size, and their front legs are now quite visible. We will need to adjust their habitat to a large container soon, so that we can have a gradual ascent from the water as they develop further. We are really enjoying them.

We have added a little cluster of mystery eggs to our lab that we found on a leaf from our pea shoots. Our guess is ladybug...we'll just have to wait and see. So fun!!

Next up...caterpillars.

[GLAMPING] Wanderlust

Look what we bought last night...on a total whim. We were on our way to sushi and decided to stop and take a peak at a little homemade camper that was advertised on our local Buy Sell + Trade Facebook site. I had my doubts, as the picture in the ad did not do it justice at all...and it was $150.00. Was it really worth dragging the hungry, grumpy kids to - YES!

The camper was handmade by a local carpenter to fit on the back of his truck when out on site. It's a bit boxy looking, but that just means it will be that much easier for me to paint!

The interior is in perfect condition. No signs of leaking, no rips, tears or even scuffs on the linoleum and countertop. It has a little icebox, which we'll replace with an electric unit and a little double stainless steel sink. All the light fixtures are clean and free of rust and it's even wired for a stereo system. The interior is finished in plywood which I think looks great.

It has a sleeping loft that will fit two people and we'll need to modify the table so it can slide down, and we can add a piece of plywood and an additional cushion to make another bed for two. It shouldn't be too hard...or so I've been told.

Is it weird that I LOVE these cushions?? So vintage and in perfect shape. The seat cushions are also pretty good, but I think I may recover them with a denim or canvas. Window coverings are a must, so pretty little curtains will soon be on the way.

We do not have a truck, however, we do have a trailer that will fit this perfectly that we can tow all over this beautiful province. Yee haw...'Glamping' Pinterest Board here I come!!

[FIELDNOTE] West Side Beaches

As soon as the sun makes an appearance, our lives seem to rev up and the days are full to capacity. All the beach visits, walks and go go go has caught up to me however, and I now find myself fighting a chest infection (yuck and ouch). But perhaps it's a blessing in disguise as I have no choice but to rest and get caught up on this lovely space.

Where to begin....perhaps a little compilation of our beach visits, as we have been exploring our intertidal shores non stop the past couple weeks on the west side of our rock.

Bowen Bay Beach has been spoiling us with beautiful starfish, sea slugs, chiton, blennies, sea worms, shore crabs and tidepool sculpins. We are learning so much and having a ton of fun in the process.

We have also been exploring King Edward Bay and finding lots of Frilled Dogwinkle shells to take home and clean. I never tire of these beauties - I love the hidden colours that come through after having a good scrub, soak and oiling.

Cape Roger Curtis is another favourite spot. It seems that each little sheltered cove along the shores of the Cape, has it's own beachcombers delight. Last week, we visited a little beach mid way along the 'Sea Walk' and found quite a few dried sea stars, interesting seaweed and small, deep tide pools in the rocks, filled with limpets, barnacles, hermit crabs, shore crabs and sculpins. We used clear plastic cups that I had left over from one event or another, and caught crabs and sculpins to study a little closer.

Tunstall Bay Beach is a beautiful, long and pebbly beach on the west side of our island. It has lots of tidepools and big rocks to turn over and explore. On one evening visit, we found a very feisty crab hiding under a rock. Upon further investigation, we discovered she had a large cluster of eggs on the underside of her belly that she was protecting. No wonder she was in such a hurry to get away!

Now that's just a few of the beach visits...there has been other fun things happening here as well. Let me take another puff of my puffer, have a nap and write more later...