Jam Today!

Despite what the White Queen says about jam in Alice Through the Looking Glass, " The rule is jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today", you can see that indeed it is jam today here at The Nest. Strawberry jam and Strawberry-Orange marmalade to be exact. I used my brother David's recipe for the jam and just winged it for the marmalade and they both came out delicious. I love to see those jars of preserved fruits and veggies start filling my pantry shelves ...it both satisfies my nesting instincts and warms that thrifty part of my soul. These are the first of this growing season but I hope that the weeks to come will bring pickles, tomato sauces, herb vinegars, and of course more jam!

Here's a little garden pixie ready with her watering can. I know I'll spend plenty of time lugging mine from the rain barrels to the garden eventually but for now we've been getting plenty of rain so that's still mostly in my future.

Happy Strawberry days to all of you!!

You could be a Winner!

Good day all. It's been raining for days here but I have a bit of bright news for you. Make your way over to my friend Sara's blog right away for a chance to win some cool stuff including this one of my little leaf pixies!

I've been swamped with commission work but I did get to make a few more felted sweater bunnies who, as you can see, are having a grand time reading about their cousins.

Have a wonderful day!

How does your Garden Grow?

Have you noticed that there just do not seem to be enough hours in the days lately? Or is it just me? I can't seem to keep up with half the things that need to be done. My house is a mess, I'm behind on custom orders, my shop is understocked... but the constant siren song of my garden keeps pulling me away from work and out to play in the dirt. Now I know that the end result will be good for both body (yummy veggies) and soul (lovely flowers), but I still feel slightly like I'm playing hooky every time I give in to the pull. I just love to walk my garden paths drinking in the sunlight and checking on my baby plants or their more established neighbors. It's very healing on some level to connect through a garden. In my heart I know that everything will get done eventually and before long our lovely Spring will turn into the heat and humidity of the southern Summer so I guess I need to take advantage of the time outside while I can.

I have finished another Kitten girl for the shop...I'm loving these!

Go out and enjoy some garden time today!

Happy Earth Day!

In Honor of Earth Day I thought I would share with you one of my new favorite shops. Kootsac on Etsy makes marvelous reusable bags that are perfect for packaging bulk purchases and produce at the grocery store. I get all kinds of ooohs and ahhs at the local Earthfare when I show up at the register with these brightly colored and light as plastic bags. They come in a variety of sizes, are extremely easy to care for, are very strong, and help keep plastic out of landfills and waterways. What more could you ask? Go and get some today!

In other Earth Day news, many members of the NaturalKids Team are having sales today... including The Fairies Nest where all items purchased today will recieve free shipping! You can find a complete list of participating shops here.
And lastly I leave you with a little blossom fairy who hopes all of us will think about what we can change to help make sure this lovely planet continues to be a safe home for all forms of life.

Kitten Girl

This Kitty Girl is the first of the storybook dolls to get finished. It was Spring Break last week so I'm woefully behind and there are so many dolls backlogged in my head that it's starting to get very crowded in there! Hopefully I can get some real work done this week and make some room in my cranium so I can think a bit more clearly. I did get a little Red Riding Hood finished too...

... but here's hoping that this week is a bit more productive!

A Happy Accident

Remember last week when I was making heads? Well it turned out that the first group I made were much too big for the storybook dolls so I had to make a whole new bunch. But all was not lost! The first group turned out to be the perfect size for Lavender Babies...formerly known as spice girls. I decided to change the name because they're just so much sweeter and cuter than those other ladies of spice girl fame. I went with sets this time too because I wanted to make a variety of skin colors.

This tiny version of little red is my personal favorite...note the reading material. I think using books as props has become a theme in my shop lately...I can't imagine why! :)


The story book dolls are ready to go so next week I'll be hopefully adding some of them to the shop.
And on a personal note, I've been a bit under the weather this week and woefully behind on my blog reading which I will try to remedy ASAP. But my boys will all be home this weekend, so much merriment will be had here in the nest for the next few days! I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend too!

Merle the Crow Girl

Meet Merle, whose name by the way means blackbird, and who is obviously much happier now that she has a hat.



I went for a very brief trip to the ocean last weekend where I took these shots.



I love this bike! When I was eleven I inherited my aunt's bike which looked just like this! Admittedly I didn't have the cool pirate flag, but it did have Hell Rider hand painted on the side...I had a very wild aunt.