The Listeners & These Train Tracks

our friends, Breathe Owl Breathe, sent us their new hard bound children's book back in September!

one side is the story/song The Listeners (or The Mole & The Ostrich).

see the paper band going around the book?  the inside of it is printed with the names (including ours!) of all the folks who supported this book project, at a certain level on their kickstarter campaign, Something for the Kidz, so that the book could get made. 

remember this post?

it's about Breathe Owl Breathe playing an amazing outdoor show, on our backyard stage, because of the support we gave them, through kickstarter, for this particular book project they were trying to raise funds for.

the other side is the story/song, These Train Tracks!

yeah, so, since we contributed at the top level, we got to have a house concert, a sleepover, handmade screenprinted capes, the book, and other perks as well!  It's one of the best investments we have ever made!  And it's an investment we have got the best return on!

please support artists you love!  and if they have a kickstarter campaign going, support it however you can!  our friends needed our help and we were more than happy to oblige!  we feel we got the best deal of all and feel so fortunate to have been able to share the love with our local friends too when they got to see Breathe Owl Breathe, live, in our backyard! 

So now it's time for you to buy this book! 

You will get more than you give!

and don't wait!  it is a limited edition!

two awesome story/songs in one gorgeous little book!

all the prints in the book are from original woodcuts carved by our friend Micah Middaugh, who wrote and illustrated both stories.

these are some of my favorite pages from The Listeners.

and these are some of my favorite pages from These Train Tracks

and it is not just a book you will have,

in your hands,

when you order your own copy.

you'll have a 7 inch record too!

with a story/song on each side!

that's right!   this sweet little book comes with lovely story/song to read, beautiful art to gaze upon and adore, and vinyl to listen to so the good message comes through loud and clear!   lucky us!!

i don't want to give too much away because it's truly such a treat to have your own experience with the book, music, stories and songs.

did you listen to books on album when you were young?  we did.  there would always be a ding or a bell sound, so you would know when to turn the page.  the album for this book doesn't do that because it's songs really, not a spoken story, that you will be enchanted by when listening.  you will love it!

buy the book here!

wrapping, wrapping, wrapping,

xoxoxo

jennette

p.s. i am looking into getting a few copies to have for sale here at Smashing Rubbish so check in with me if you are interested!

 

Magical Woodland Tree Topper

here is the magical woodland tree topper i finally made!

it was inspired by the two below that anthropologie offered last year.  they were both close to $400 a piece!!

yeah, crazy, right?!

anthropologie's teeming forest tree topper

anthropologie's mythic nest tree topper



my friend natasha found this crazy plastic piece of who-knows-what on the side of the road and thought it was the right shape for a tree topper!  smarty party!

this is what the base looks like, upright, with moss and twigs glued to the bottom.  i used a glue gun for the entire project, which is one of my favorite tools, but i am still finding hot glue strands/webs to pull off each day!  and i covered the bottom so that when this is up on the tree, you don't see plastic when looking up at it.

i had been collecting material all year, saving little bits of this and that, knowing that we would finally attempt this project, this season! 

before natasha had found this plastic piece i had begun to make a lot of tree topper bases out of strong cardboard and a cardboard toilet paper tube in the center.  i was envisioning the tube slipping nicely over the top of the tree and the lightweight base resting easily in the supporting branches near the top of the tree.

like this!  and even this odd plastic base is light enough for a small sturdy tree.

i still have several cardboard bases i will continue to work on but i think this one will be for my family. 

a few weeks ago i had the idea to add some silver glass glitter to some very small paper-wasp nests i had.  i was thinking ahead knowing i would want to attach one to my magical woodland winter scene.  i think it looks rather awesome!

and here too, i had glittered some pieces of the inside paper comb.

another tree top image.  it really looks like a fantastic woodland crown on the top of the tree!

once i started gluing down moss and lichen covered sticks to the top of the base, i had more place to attach other items too and it just became a big interwoven puzzle.  working from side to side and back and forth made it easy to see where places needing filling in or covered up.

the beeswax candles are not meant to be burned.  they are just for magical woodland effect!  a while ago i was working on a gnome house project. i had used the tiniest grapevine wreath i could find, smaller than the palm of my hand, and tied ribbon to it to make it hang like a chandelier from the gnome house ceiling.  then i used these beeswax birthday candles to make it look like the tiny wreath had candles sticking up out of it, burned the tips and used the hot wax to secure the candles in the wreath, and voila!, a gnome chandelier was born!

so the little vintage candle clips that are holding these tree topper candles are meant to hold real candles, from back in the day, when folks were brave and daring and put real candles on their tree!

on the tree topper, like i said, they are just for effect.  i am not brave or daring when it comes to combining fire and dead, dry evergreen foliage!

the little vintage glass baubles, balls, pine cones, and sprays are just old odds and ends i find here and there and all are attached with a little dab of hot glue.

there are mushrooms, a bird, a variety of dried plant material, and even millinery supplies tucked in there!

and there is even a stag to face toward the back side in case you can ever get a glimpse back there!

i will keep working on bases and hope to have many made, and for sale, in the shop by next season!  I know, a whole 'nother year from now!  perhaps i will be able to get a few more done but i think most folks already have their trees up and topped for this year!

what's on top of your tree?

making, sewing, designing, and styling,

xoxoxox

jennette

 

Metallic Gold Leather Bag & Pouches

here is the metallic gold leather bag i made from an upcycled and repurposed metallic gold leather skirt i found in nashville!

this photo makes it look more silver but it really is gold.

here is the back side and showing you the attached lining that i took out.

here i am just seam ripping, and seam ripping and seam ripping

here is the skirt inside out, no lining, and waistband detached

and here is another photo of the finished bag!

i made it with short handles, reusing the waistband, so it can hang off my arm or over my shoulder

it's lined with two different vintage fabrics and has a huge inside pocket

i like how in some light it looks more gold or less gold, but always metallic! i'm going to use it for a while. yeah, a new bag for me!

with some of the left over pieces i was able to make a few small zipper pouches!

one has a red zipper and one has a green zipper

both have the same vintage fabric lining shown here and both are for sale!

these would make adorable gifts!

get them while they last!

sewing, sewing, sewing,

xoxoxo

jennette