Wednesday, June 20, 2012

A Sign

i got a new sign to hang outside the shop!

it's double sided, hand painted, and locally made.

it will hang adjacent to the door so you can see it coming down the street, either way.
also, i am going to make some small signs to hang from it.  for those of you who have been to the Smashing Rubbish shop, which would you say most aptly fit?  i'm trying to pick 3 of these: "vintage", "handcrafted", "home", "curiosities", "eclectic", "handmade"
or do you happen to have any other suggestions?
do share!

deep in the midst of Jenny Lawson's new book and can not stopping
laughing and cringing....perfect!
xoxox
jennette




Thursday, June 14, 2012

Sewing Necklace

i made another necklace out of vintage "fixins and findins" that is "supposed" to be for sale.
i should have never added the CEW charm to it.
i "suppose" it's mine to keep now....
when will i ever be able to let these things go?!
note to self: stop attaching personal items to treasures you want to be able to let go of and sell...
the "sewing necklace" is all you need to do your mending on the run!
do you remember this sweet little needle/pin case i found at cargo in pdx?
the one that doesn't have a loop for attaching...
well i found another!
lucky me!
with a loop!
this one, which is more square, and less rectangular, was scored from my friends Dan and Cindy when they had a space in the antique mall next to Smashing Rubbish.
and it was on sale! 
this lovely little CEW charm is added in fun and really has no useful purpose other than to remind me i love my husband, CEW!
the vintage velvety baby strawberry is the dangle from an old pin cushion and is quite useful as i can sharpen my needles/pins in it!

yes, the awesome scissors are sharp and pointy.

and that extra bit of vintage chain/necklace goodness is also just for the heck of it.
always be prepared.
it will be one of the foremost tenets of the society i am founding, likely to be named: The Not So Secret Society Of Exposed Rough Edges.
or tnsssoere, for short (!)
ha!

more on the not secret society soon,
xoxox
jennette














Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Hawthorn

i harvested Hawthorn a few weeks ago.
i waited just a day too long and had to get wet to gather May, as it is called in england,
but it was well worth the rainy adventure.

hawthorn is a favorite of mine.
jasper's middle name is hawthorn.
hawthorn is for the heart and happiness: literally, symbolically, physically, and metaphorically. 
Rosemary Gladstar reminds us that, "though little is mentioned in literature, hawthorn is a wonderful remedy for 'broken hearts' and for depression and anxiety.  it is a specific medicine for those who have a difficult time expressing their feelings or who suppress their emotions.  hawthorn helps the heart flower, open, and be healed."
i love to harvest the flowers of crataegus , which bloom on this small deciduous tree or large shrub near mother's day in the pnw, to use in tea. the flowers are 1/4 inch across and form in terminate clusters, each blossom having five petals and many stamen.  and in the fall i will collect the mildly sweet haws (berries/fruit) to use in tea too, or perhaps ferment into wine or mead. these are small, red to black in color, and have 2 to 5 seeds each.

hawthorn is part of the Rosaceae family and provides us with one of the best tonic remedies for the heart and circulatory system.  as a tonic, hawthorn will move the heart to normal function in a gentle way.  thus it can be argued that hawthorn is the premier heart tonic of herbal medicine.
word.
hawthorn is said to have a "dead" odor but i don't agree. i love the smell and there is nothing else like it... 
very distinctive scent and defines a short lived season.
too it is said that the ancient greeks and romans regarded the hawthorn as a symbol of hope and happiness so it was used in bouquets and corsages in wedding ceremonies.  it has been believed to keep evil spirits away so it was used in babies' cradles. it is supposed to bring fairies into houses and is sacred to the fairies.  hawthorn is part of the tree fairy triad of britain: "oak, ash, and thorn," and where all three trees grow it is said that one may see fairies.
 it is unlucky if gathered before the first week of may.

hawthorn grows where people are and you will often find them on old abandoned homesteads.  the thickets and hedgerows of hawthorn serve as important forage and nesting habitats for birds and other wildlife. also, as R. Gladstar has mentioned, "the hawthorn tree has been planted in or near most herb gardens and has been revered and surrounded by legend for centuries."
hawthorn flowers and berries have been used in chinese medicine for thousands of years.  the berries are often turned into jam and have sufficient natural pectin in them to not require any extra be added. also, the berries tend to require very little artificial sweetening as these "thorn apples" tend to be mildly sugary raw.
the thorns characterize this member of the apple family even in winter. its curved thorns are 1 to 3 inches and are strategically spaced along the branches, often at eye level.  when you get poked, it hurts.  the wood of hawthorn is very hard and therefore a favored tool wood.

my favorite ritual and magical uses of hawthorn come in the ancient stories of times when hawthorns were believed to be witches who had transformed themselves into trees.  it is known that witches have long danced and performed their rites beneath the thorn.  in the past, all witch's gardens contained at least one hawthorn hedge.
my land contains three.

after i plucked all the flowers and leaves of my harvested branches, i layed the flowers and leaves out to dry for a few days.  as it had been raining during collection, i needed to be sure they were very well dried before packaging them.  i saved all the magical hawthorn wood, tied it in a bundle, and hung it in my wood shed to dry.  i will use the wood for amulets and talismans at a later date.  for now i am enjoying cupfuls of hawthorn flower tea that i sweeten just a tich with honey from my honey bees.
it is a fine life i live,
if i do say so myself.

wild harvest,
xoxoxo
jennette




sources: Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham, Common Herbs For Natural Health by Juliette de Bairacli Levy, Family Herbal by Rosemary Gladstar, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West by Gregory L. Tilford, The New Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman, Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Bradford Angier, The Years in My Herb Garden by Helen M Fox, and Rodales Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs.










Thursday, June 7, 2012

Green Cart

this is one of my favorite things in my house, this green cart or trolley, as i just discovered it is called in the UK.
my dad gave me this cart/trolley for my birthday a few years ago.
he knows me well.
and yes, in this photo it is a mess, but normally it is used as our "nature table" (as if the whole house hasn't already become our "nature table"!)
it's that boho naturalist styling thing i go for...

my dearest friend Suze just lent me her copy of the UK Country Living magazine, Country Home.
it is a gorgeous magazine filled with inspiring images and ideas.
and on page 113, in the decorate your kitchen section, look what i found:

my cart!
the trolley my dad gave me was found at a gardening center in eastern washington. 
i wonder where the UK twin was discovered?
quelle coincidence!

in other news, smashing rubbish news, today is the last thursday that the shop is officially open until fall!
i will have the shop open EVERY Friday and Saturday, unless otherwise posted, but i won't be open other days unless i get a wild hair, a spontaneous burst of shop opening energy, or some random urging to open it up.
if you see lots of cool loot out on the sidewalk in front of the shop, that means i have given into the random, wild, spontaneous urge and opened the doors for the day!
otherwise, you can expect to find us open EVERY Friday and Saturday thru the summer, noon to 6pm.
come see us when we are open and plan ahead if you need Smashing Rubbish merch for a gift or event.
my phone number and email are posted on the shop window so you are welcome to call for a viewing appointment as well, any time, and i will do my best to accommodate you!

thank you for your continued support and kindness friends!
i am going to take time this summer to get my balance, play with my kids, and be creative in ways i have not had time for this past year.  thanks for hanging in here with me, checking in , and leaving your sweet comments.  i will be continuing to blog and document all my finds, projects and experiences here so stick with me a little longer as we return to our regularly scheduled programming!

heading to the ocean for the weekend while kathy tends shop,
xoxoxo
jennette




Saturday, June 2, 2012

New & Noteworthy


here are several pictures of items arranged in the new and improved downsized shop!
enjoy!
and come visit on
Fridays and Saturdays
noon - 6pm

























xoxoxo
jennette