Stumbling Blocks

I wore my new crocheted rose hair clip out today and I am just so in love with it.

When we moved, I got rid of 4 shelves which had held my fabric.  I'm barely getting along without them.  Most of my material is still in boxes and it makes it so difficult to go through and work with my inspiration.  Plus, the boxes don't stack so well since they are from such different places and of varying sizes.  Right now my machine is on the floor in the family room and my supplies are upstairs which makes finding matching patterns hard.  Everything I've made since I've been here has been from the same pieces.   Oh well.  So much else has been going in my favor.  Once Easter comes I'll have to push it off to a corner since people will be staying in that room.  Frustrating... 

I love how many hippies are here in NC.  I drove by a couple of them today and they had a sign looking for a ride to Greensboro.  Had it been my car, I probably would have picked them up, just for the adventure and to explore a new place.  Instead, my mom locked the doors.

After thinking I had killed off my seeds by planting them too early, today I spotted growth!!  Finally something identifiable as Purple Basil cannot be mistaken for cilantro or chiles.

Tea Party

Gorgeous Weather, Blooming Peach Tree Branches in vases, Cherry Plates, and some delicious pie on sale at Target all called for an afternoon tea party.  This tablecloth was a clearance find at a Target as well but from the end of last season.  Man, I like collecting stuff.  The dishes were not mine, but maybe someday will be my inheritance, hee hee.

In the name of gardening, some branches must be pruned away- but their beauty cannot go to waste!

This is the vase from my bedroom I brought down for the day.  I acquired it from a church yard sale.

Gorgeous!

I began setting the table with hand-sewn pot-holders and set an array of teas on a plate.  The plate stand came from a store just this week and was half off.  Oooh lala!

There are random containers of these branches all over the house.

The peach-raspberry pie was amazing as was the strawberry shortcake.  I wash it down (and the cookies) with about 5 glasses of tea, so I expect a lot of bathroom breaks tonight.

I finally acquired a copy of the long-sought Herb Book by John Lust.  I even got it for free!  Major score.  The herbs have begun springing in the yard yet not so many of my new seeds.  I think I should have obeyed the package and waited til April/May to plant them, but I was so anxious in March.  Oh well.  Something is doing very well, but I neglected to label them so I have no idea what it is.  At least my beans are doing well!

I'm about to transplant some spearmint from the ground into a pot to start an indoor garden.  I also bought more seeds today but I'm waiting to plant them.  At least the Herb Fest is right around the corner and I hope to buy lots of things!

Nostril Piercing

I REALLY want to get a nostril piercing.  I had one before but Im too touchy feely with my nose (picker) and was with someone who was very conservative so I took it out.  I like the look of a stud but apparently the best jewelry to start out with is a ring and you should leave it in for months til it's all healed.  After having had 14 piercings, I still always think I could be that one weird, rare case.  I could deal with the ring but being a hypochondriac I've been googling piercing PROBLEMS.  Oh, and images as well.

Whoo Boy!!

"It comes after research estimated one in 10 adults in England have piercings in places other than their earlobes.
More than a quarter have had complications while 13 per cent have had problems so serious they sought further help.
Almost one in 100 piercings among young people aged 16 to 24 led to them being admitted to hospital.
Among this age group, 31 per cent of piercings result in complications, with half of those requiring medical attention."
I'd like to know my chances of developing a "bump" or horrible scar tissue.  I'd love to be able to see my face in the future and know if it was a good choice.  Amidst pictures of gorgeous, Indian jewelry and medical oddities, I came across this cool blog:
http://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/

It was a nice mental  break but back to reading about pus, compresses, and keloids....

Also,
I have been featured on Dollar Store Crafts, hooray!

Once in a million tortillas...

Some have said it is the face of Jesus.  While cooking up a great mexican meal, this guy appeared on one of the tortillas:

Super happy, despite his ultimate fate of being devoured alive at dinner.  It took a lifetime of making these for my mom to be graced by such a miraculous apparition.  

My grandmother said it's the devil.  But I think he only makes appearances on Devil's Food Cakes and the oh so sinful creme brulee. 

On my list of things to make today, is a skirt with an appliquéd giraffe.  I drew inspiration from this great book I got on clearance at an antique/junk shop yesterday.  It has pics of clothing and articles from the 60's.  Here she is, the "Gay Day" Giraffe, made in South Africa.

I eventually want to try making the plush toy as well, but it's number 138 on my to do list.  Today is for skirts.

B.O.M.B.

Before I left Cleveland, I got a tattoo with my bestest friend, Bonnie.  She sews leather accessories and clothing and has gone by B. Original (even though some time back I saw this show on tv where the girl went by this, Bonnie has had this name for a much longer time so Bonnie is THE B. Original) for decades.  Since my site is MeliBeli and I have an awesome flag that was made with this, when we join forces we are B.O.M.B. (B. Original MeliBeli).

I miss her like crazy and as awesome as the South is, I don't think I will ever have such a great group of friends like I had back in Ohio.  At one of our first shows together, our two friends modeled in the gallery window for us and here they are:

*Sigh* 

Now whenever I fly, if I'm asked if I have a bomb on me, technically I do!

Crocheted Flowers

Spent some time crocheting these flowers for the hair.  Some will be attached to headbands and others onto barrettes.  Luckily these go easily into my thick hair but I wanted some options so that those with finer hair could still use them.  My favorites are the ones with skulls but I'm trying to only take one or two for my own personal use.

I'm using vintage buttons as well as cool beads for the center pieces

They are 100% cotton in most cases and I've really got to get them for sale in my shop.

They're flowers you can place behind your ear that will never wilt or fade.  Well, maybe if you wore it every day for YEARS the natural fibers would have their color fade a bit... but they'll last a hell of a lot longer than their real counterparts.

At the moment I am making black beans.  I've never successfully made a batch of beans that weren't from a  can so we'll see.  As  much as I love black bean soup, these will be just normal beans since they will be complimenting chicken tacos.   

Mmmmmm, tacos....

Muddy Days, Planting the seeds away..

As you can see, I had quite a productive day outdoors:

I think I need another pair of Nomad rubber boots.  Maybe in red this time.  A pair for mud and a pair for rain.

So I have a lot of high expectations for the coming season.  So far I've mostly planted herbs but I do have squash, beans, cumquats and spinach in pots as well.   The thing thats growing the best so far is the garlic I got from my sister's fridge because it already had an inch or so of greenery and a decent root system.  Having done well in dark, cold conditions I expect it to flourish in sunlight and dirt.

I also worked on some of the outdoor decor and hung random thingys around that I had made:

Then I saw what looked like a jumping rock, and after chasing it down handed it off to my husband so I could run in for my camera:

Then after chasing a squirrel, one of the cats followed suit and actually CAUGHT it for me.  He released it and then chased it up a tree.  He set up vigilant watch at the base of this tree for quite some time despite my many attempts to distract him and let the poor squirrel run away.

Despite such muddy conditions, I took a stroll round the woods

After coming inside, I played around with my magnificent, recent acquisition of a nepalese, hand carved set of Mexican Milagro stamps.

Milagros are small metal religious charms found in many areas of Latin America, especially Mexico and Peru. The word “Milagro” means “miracle”. They are also used in Europe, where they are often referred to as Exvotos (Offerings). These small charms, often depicting arms, legs, praying people, farm animals and a wide range of other subjects are typically nailed or pinned to crosses or wooden statues of various saints like the Virgin Mary or Christ, sacred objects, pinned on the clothing of saint statues, or hung with little red ribbons or threads from altars and shrines. They are also carried for protection and good luck

I want to mail small, stamped cards with online purchases to send off good luck and prayers around the world. 

And I finally got my earring holder up.  It was made by The Sign Guy from Tremont in Cleveland and was originally a piece of wall art however now it is utilitarian wall art.