Friday, March 30, 2012

Painted Silk Pillow

jasper made this silk painting in his after school art class at SeaHorse Studios
i love the colors he choose.
his inspiration was the sydney opera house!
we made the piece into a pillow case instead of a wall hanging.
it's one of my very favorite things!

hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
i am trying to get some sewing done over here: cot covers, bags, pillows..... the works!

xoxoxo
jennette







Thursday, March 29, 2012

Nettle Patch


i think this is the earliest i have been to my nettle patch in the spring time. 
look how low these beauties are! 
I usually arrive here just in time to harvest them hip high!


they are so gorgeous!  purple and deep green.  and so little!


i used clippers to harvest these tender tops.  i usually find the sweet spot where they give themselves to you when you pluck the top half with your hand and fingers and they make that lovely "pop" sound.  if you get a good rhythm going it's like a chorus of song.


here i am trying to get a closeup of me and my ally without stinging my face off! 
i wasn't here today for my "major harvest," i will do that in a few weeks.  then i will gather enough to hang, dry, store,  and last me the entire year!  today i just wanted to procure enough to make some bacon, nettle and asparagus quiche for dinner!  i forgot to take a picture of the quiche because we were so happy to devour it in seconds flat!


oh look! 
a baby galium aparine! 
it is common, in these parts anyhow, to find cleavers growing near nettle.  they use the nettle to climb on and they do it well since they are so sticky!  usually by the time we get to our patch the cleavers have grown so much that we harvest them too to make infused vinegar and crowns.  the galium is sticky enough, and long, that you can just wrap it around on itself into crown sized circles and slip them on your noggin to be festive and merry and bright!
i used galium aparine aplenty when i had reoccurring mastitis with jasper and it, along with phytolacca decandra (poke root), saved me.

how would we survive without our plant allies?!


i made this nettle infusion today from last years dried nettle.
jasper calls it nettle juice. 
he has been drinking it since he was a baby, first thing he tasted besides mama's milk.  we both like our nettle infusion cold so we typically brew it, let it sit for 6 hours or so, then refrigerate it and drink over the next day or so. 
this is a gallon jar. 
once we get down to the plant material i pull all the stems out to compost or give to the chickens and use the remaining leaf in smoothies and all other recipes i can sneak it into, which isn't hard, because we eat a lot of greens around here!

do you have a nettle patch?
do you notice what else is growing wild and free around it?
ever notice the big leaf maples?
have you met galium aparine?

enjoy spring friends! 
it won't last long and before you know it beltane fires and summer solstice will be upon us!

Long Life Honey In the Heart,
xoxoxo
jennette






Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Wear-n-Worn

i found this cute wrap skirt at haystack antiques last month at their third thursdays event.
it looks vintage but i think it is new fabric meant to look old school.  it wraps and snaps.  the lining color is a cross between light turquoise and robbin egg blue.

yes, those are my mother's cowboy boots that she had when i was born!
over 40 years old and they are in great shape and fit me like a glove....one of my favorite things! 

the skirt is swingy, comfortable and cute.
what more could i ask for?!

immensely enjoying hunting my equilibrium!,
xoxox
jennette










Sunday, March 18, 2012

Closing Wednesdays for Equilibrium!


these two amazing creatures are my raison d'etre.

i have been thinking quite a bit about how to tell you something, how to put it, the reasons to give, if any, and how to remain professional and all "adult-like". so here goes...

i will be closing the shop on wednesdays.
the doors will remain locked until thursday at noon.
unless we feel like being in here to be creative....
but otherwise, don't expect to see the open sign turned toward the street on wednesdays.  at least for the time being.

some things have come up.  and yes, i have mentioned here before that i was considering staying closed on wednesdays, mostly because i get very little business on wednesdays.  which is not to say that i don't absolutely adore all my customers, clients, friends and family who regularly support me in this adventure by purchasing from me and allowing me to stay open (most days!). j'adore, j'adore.....yes, i adore you! really, every last one of you that walks through my door and says the sweetest things about how the store looks, the "good eye" i have, commenting on how wonderfully items are displayed, even suggesting i should charge admission because it's like a museum ( i take that as a compliment folks!), you just keep me going and going and going.  i am forever grateful and blessed to have the best customers in the world who make me want to work hard, do more, provide this element of beauty, and share my little world down here.  so you see, i want to be here, open for you every day, but i have to make it work for all of us.

who is this "all of us," you might ask....well all of us is you.  and me.  and my boys.  and have i mentioned i have this amazing partner/boyfriend/husband fully supporting me in the background and just quietly being my rock every.single.day... yes, him

and so i once again, always and forever, am seeking my equilibrium. 

do believe me friends, it will be best for all of us if i can "find" it, sniff it out, hunt it down, and wear it like a magic cape!

  i try not to use the word "balance," simply because to me, balance is static.  it's a place of holding, tight, uneasy, strict, stationary, showing little or no change, lacking movement, development and vitality. 
i choose to think in terms of equilibrium because for me its a place of flow, loose, nonrestrictive, ease, grace, motion, unbound and vital.  it is energetic and unfolding.  there is poise, but it is contemplative.

so i seek it. 
it will be searched for with jasper, who no longer has school on wednesdays.  we will discover it in horseback riding, practicing our instruments, exploring the back roads, tending our honey bees, playing in our gardens, cooking, making cheese, fermenting pickles, harvesting nettles, then hawthorn, then linden, and so on.  we hope to discover it in being creative, crafting, art making and surely in the softness of jasper's new little buddy-bunny:
elvis hawthorn fluffernutter

perhaps being kept on my toes will track me to equilibrium... i do, after all, have gus, my amazing and busy teenager, who could use a little more support around navigating working, driving, preparing for college next year and comprehending what's beyond all that.  
a man-boy, who deserves a mom who is available, attentive, understanding, a compassionate listener, and not too harried and busy and distracted to notice him.  see him.  witness his unfolding, growing, his leaning into adulthood.  it goes by so quickly my friends and i refuse to let these moments with my children slip by me for anything.  so if not opening wednesdays affords me even the slightest sliver of a glimpse into my equilibrium in this realm, it's so worth the door being locked and the signing saying "closed."

i have to say that i so appreciate having my business in a charming small town, where i can feel a little more free to make these choices for our well being and not feel too cruddy or pressured about it.  i don't want to let anyone down....you, customers, or friends. but mostly i don't want to let down my tribe, my family, my peeps, the 3 people who are the center of my universe and who i am just crazy about....in a good way!
i am grateful to have a business that i can model and structure however i choose.  i appreciate being able to try on different ways of running a small sole proprietorship: sometimes more organic in it's being-ness and sometimes more rigid.  in trying to find my way, discovering what works and what doesn't, i am thankful to have your continued support while i navigate these waters.  i admit i am not perfect or fully self-actualized so i do have fears and one of them is that you will see me as flaky and nonprofessional.  so thank you, for accepting me and my unique ways of trying to stay in business, while i gain more understanding and try to figure it out myself!

isn't shifting, transformation and deepening super awesome?!!!
sameness is dull friends!   boring! 
rejoice in the knowing that you can always count on change!
there is eternal growing, expansion, development!
and there will be more around here....i can assure you....but baby steps for now, baby steps...

so from now on, Smashing Rubbish will be open
Thursday-Saturday noon-6
Sunday noon-5

don't forget to "like" the Smashing Rubbish page on Facebook or follow on Twitter.  you should be able to access blog posts on both so they are great places to check for hours, happenings, and see new merchandise too.
 
also, when you visit the blog from now on, you should note some changes here too(go figure!). i added a search tool just in case you might find it useful....and i added a way you can safely and securely follow this blog by getting the posts directly into your email inbox.  i am currently working on getting some new pages up on the blog so it may look different, again, the next time you stop by!  please do comment and leave me feedback and constructive critique please!  if there is anything you want to see more of, ask!  it would please me to give ya what ya want...i just want you to be happy!

and with that i will leave you to ponder the possibilities... what is shifting in your life?  what change are you welcoming with wide open arms? what transformation is making you want to run and hide?  what deepening is cracking you wide open?
what unfolding has you holding tight?
can you loosen up, embrace and welcome it?
or does it cause stress, anxiety and worry?
it's all ok.  just take a deep breathe and one step toward it.  a baby step.  just a little step.  you can do.
i know you can.

full tilt shifting,
xoxox
jennette
oh...oh yeah....to show you how much i love you i am going to have a four day 20% of sale starting thursday march 22.
almost everything in the store will be 20% off, there will be very few items marked nd(no discount), but otherwise 99% of this awesome stuff will be 20%off!  cool, yes?  alright!





Thursday, March 15, 2012

Vintage Doll Clothes
















vintage baby doll clothes are finally up for sale at Smashing Rubbish.
i have been hoarding some of these for years.
yes, i do have some unrelenting obsession with old dolls, vintage babies, antique miniature anything, and it requires me to buy and hoard every little bit i can secure!
i am loosening up my ways and to your benefit, you may now procure your own vintage doll, baby, miniature everything at Smashing Rubbish!
tehehehehe ....

come one, come all, form a line at the door,
vintage, handmade, hand sewn, tiny shell button havin doll clothes are here.

i knew you'd want to know,
xxx
jennette














Monday, March 12, 2012

Wear-n-Worn


i got this little white Libertine shift a couple years ago at target, of all places, when Libertine was the "designer" label of the month, or whatever it is, where the designer pals up with a store and makes a special line for them.  blah, blah, blah....

anyway, i love it but have only worn it a few times because it is short.  i have worn it over jeans and here i am wearing it with grey leggings and clog boots.


the details are the best.  like the pin tucked placket on the front, the tiny rhinestone buttons, the "stripe" of the fabric, and the tiny little pouf sleeve and cuff detail. 
it's cotton and easy.
love.

this time i wore it with those new gold snake earrings i adore. and i tried straightening my hair with a....wait for it.....middle part!  yep.  my bangs are growing out and i have been trying the middle part more and more but the side part is my go to.  and boy oh boy is my hair getting curlier with age.  i know its straight-ish here but if i let it, it is like ringlets!  strange...greying and curling.
and yes, that button covered mirror above is the very same one i made in high school, 20 years ago.  we call it the skinny mirror, just try to guess why.  and it does have all those buttons so it's a keeper!

off treasure hunting with Tif and Marjan,
wish us luck!
xoxo
jennette






Friday, March 9, 2012

All Are Welcome Screen Door


for months now this screen door has been hanging around.
the screen's coming out.
it's not perfect.
but i thought it might be a nice shabby vintage earring/jewelry display, leaned up against a wall.


well i never did hang stuff from the screen.
and day after day i was moving it outside to lean against the wall.
all imperfect and falling apart.


then i remembered seeing somewhere that you can essentially embroider on screen.
hey, why not?


i have admired this slogan that shanna murray sells as a decal


so i just started stitching and it turned out alright.


i could go over it and make the stitching thicker and more bold....but for now it will be sold as is

hope you all have a great weekend and dont' forget about the time change. 
so happy it will stay light past 7pm now!

ironing, hanging and pricing tiny handmade doll clothing,
xoxoxox
jennette












Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Wear-n-Worn

nothin special.
just wearing august's "faux" glasses.
and that beaded hair clip again.
got somethin in my eye!
comfortable...

this must have been "casual friday!"

except for my fancy beaded bracelets
scored in sayulita, mexico and made by the huichol people
my "go to" boots are about to fall apart since i wear them so much.
i will cry when they are no longer useful.

making, crafting, creating,
xoxoxo
jennette





Monday, March 5, 2012

Boots!

these are the finished boots, the vintage plasticy ones i scored at the thrift last week that are in primo condition, after i took a crack at them with fabric and glue!

see that panel down the front?  i figured i could just trace a pattern for that and snazzy these babies up.  so i did!


once i got the pattern cut out i was originally hoping to cut out this gorgeous peachy vintage velvet that natasha gave me.  it used to be her grandma's curtain panels!  can you image?!  how divine!


the color looks much more pink here.  but after i got these cut out and tried sewing the vintage black and white striped seam binding around the edges, it was a disaster!  the binding didn't have enough width to really grab the velvet how it needed to so it just kind of peeled off.  disaster.  so on to plan b.

those of you who have known me for a while know that i LOVE me some wood grain print!  i have made a BUNCH of stuff with this fabric: a bag, a jacket, card holders, tissue pouches, etc.  well i have just scraps left so i figured what the heck.  some wood grain boot panels edged in black and white striped binding.  good, yes?

here are the supplies: boots stuffed with bubble wrap and fabric to keep them stiff and give them form, elmer's glue, paint brush, fabric and clothespins.  easy peasy.

and a finished boot!


i think i will try wearing these with some rolled up jeans and a silk shirt next week.
i like my flashy "new" boots!

working on a cover for another fold out cot.
gotta have cute cot covers, you know!
will show you soon,
xoxoxo
jennette