DIY Door Basket

We're having company on Thursday.  Because of that, we've been dashing about getting the yard neatened up... or perhaps I should say between bouts of rain we have been working in the yard!

One of my projects has been to make the front door a bit more welcoming.  I'm not really into conventional wreaths, so I decided to use a basket instead.

This is a basket I made a while back.  It used to have a handle but it was broken off.  Oops...

But a bit of sisal rope woven through the bottom and up the side took care of that problem.

A few sprays of silk apple blossoms and other white flowers filled it nicely.  This is my favorite type of DIY... easy, fast, and free!

Welcome to our home!

http://www.housebyhoff.com/2015/04/get-your-diy-on-spring-diys/  

Doing Slab Pottery

Not too long ago I took some pottery classes and one of the things I made was this little tray.  You can see it got second place in a contest.

It was so fun to make that I'll be doing more.

You start out with clay that you've worked over until there are no air bubbles in it.  Then you can start working on flattening it.  This is a special roller to make it so much easier.

You just keep rolling it back and forth until it is the thickness you want.

The final shape it rolled out to gave me the idea to make a triangle tray.

So I cut it to the size I wanted and pulled up the sides.  My fingers made the fluted edges, which I liked and kept.

I came back once it was fired.  Time to clean it up.

Bottom side too!

The first brush of glaze.  The little feet don't get any glaze or else they would stick to the bottom of the kiln.

I put 2 different glazes on to get that depth of color.

And here is the finished piece again.  

I love how you don't know what it will really look like until it comes out of the kiln.  So fun!

Good Eats: Little Saigon in Clarksville, TN

Our favorite Vietnamese restaurant has new owners, so we decided to see what had changed.

Walking through the door brought the first change.  A new updated dining room.  It doesn't look like a dive any more!

We ordered our favorite pho (pronounced 'fuh').  

Still wonderful.

And she has made the servings even larger!

The side of 'plain fried rice' is just that... plain.  But very tasty.  I enjoyed it.

Our egg rolls were hot and crispy without being greasy.

We were very happy with our meal and the surrounding.  I plan on being back the next time we are on that side of town.

Little Saigon

1191 B  Ft. Campbell Blvd.

Clarksville  TN  37043

931-647-1773

Springtime in the Country... On My Table

After a crazy winter, it is more than time to bring some Spring into our home.  A new table vignette was an easy way to start.

I love my big ol' table, it's a little bit farmhouse and a little bit contemporary.  There are three slabs of slate down the middle like a rock runner.  Perfect for setting hot bowls on.

When we found it, Himself had taken off in one direction in the store and I in another.  When we met back up to leave, he said there was something he wanted to show me.  And I told him there was something I wanted to show him.  

We took each other over to this very table!

I found this great pot that Sis gave to me down in my studio.  To fill it, I raided the pansies I had bought for the front porch (I can get more next week) and some leftover moss from making my moss garden.  These two books in my reading que match the colors in the pot perfectly.

Mom gave me this sweet sign a few years ago for my birthday.  The basket peeking out from behind it is one that I made.

I found this darling English ring dish in an antique shop in Minnesota.  Does anyone know anything about it?

The doilies were gifts.  And the lazy susan belonged to my grandmother.

It was so much fun to put this together!  It's given me the itch to bring even more Spring inside.

I wonder what I'll work on next...

http://knickoftime.net/2015/04/farmhouse-tables-and-chairs.html  

"The Perfect Lamb" Moss Garden

I've found a fun new blog challenge at the Urban Jungle web site.  The web site is for those who enjoy plants, and keep them in their homes and work spaces.  Each month there is a new challenge that has to do with plants.  Since I'm just getting started with the challenges I'm not sure what I'll be doing... I'm just jumping right in!

I'm a little late for my first challenge, which was "happy green Easter".  I knew exactly what I wanted to do, so I went for it.  Now that spring has arrived, the woods are greening up with moss.  And I'm back to making my little moss gardens because they are so much fun.

So here is my first moss garden for 2015...

"The Perfect Lamb"

Just right for an Easter centerpiece.

http://www.urbanjunglebloggers.com/march-2015-happy-green-easter/  

It Could Have Been a Tragedy

These are my favorite pair of 'house pants'.   

Soft fleece and loose fit, they are super comfy.  They are my go-to choice for working around the house.  

Or... I should say WERE my favorite pants...

See the hole?

I walked past our kerosene heater and apparently that soft loose fabric brushed the heater.

In an instant... so fast I couldn't even react, there was a 'whoosh', a flash of heat, and melted fleece on the side of the kerosene heater (it was like it was sucked towards the heater).

I was truly blessed that I was not burned.

Then I got the cold chills.  

That fabric melted so very fast there was NOTHING I could do.  Then I thought about Little Bird and Little Hoss... and all the other babies that are wearing cute fleece pants and house jackets their mamas made from fleece.

So quickly things could turn horrible.  Just a brush against a heater or candle, or reaching over a gas stove burner.

And there would be nothing they could do to stop the burning.

Easter Stuffed Eggs

I've had some questions on how I did the stuffed eggs.

They are very easy to do.  You start off with the hard boiled eggs (I boil mine for 15 minutes.  Then drain the hot water off, bounce them around in the pot to get the shells really cracked, and then place them in an ice water bath.  After about 10 minutes they are ready to peel.)

TIP:  Last few times I've boiled eggs I've added a 1/4 cup ish of baking soda to the water.  It seems to really help making the eggs easy to peel.  This last batch half were fresh eggs and none were hard to peel.

After you've peeled the eggs, split them in half and remove the yolks as you normally would.

Then you will need to gently was the white halves to remove all smudges of yolk.

Add food color to a bowl of water, adding until it get to the depth of color you desire.  Put the egg halves in, making sure they are completely under.  (The purple ones are how they should NOT be.  I pushed them under after the photo.)

Let them soak for about 10 minutes.

Remove from the dye bath and let drain on paper towels.  You might want to have gloves for this, or you will have dyed finger tips too!

Even the paper towels come out pretty!  ;-D