Projects as of Late

Suit Case Chair

I have been checking out a lot of crafting and decorating books at the library, and I have been trying to decorate my living space creatively to feel motivated every day and to feel like it is a place that I have created and be proud of it. I found this idea in a book on reusing materials, to make a chair out of an old suitcase. I love the look of old suit cases, and this was a really cool idea to keep them around, and the only thing we bought new to make it was screws. We took an old suit case that we liked and picked out some scrap fabric from the thrift store I thought would go wellwith it. While we were there, we also grabbed some old foam seat cusions (instead of buying upholstering foam), a white sheet and a foam pillow with a padded case. We went to a resale store and bought some chair legs that had been taken off of its previous seat. The other supplies we needed were four 2x4s cut to size (2 for the bottom and 2 for the top), and 2 flat boards (ply wood would work here) cut to fit in the top and bottom of the suit case. We improvised on a lot of our materials, what we already had, and what we found for cheap, the total making cost was about $13 total. Assembly was a task, but we were only using hand tools except for a drill, a skill saw would be a peach for this project. We screwed the two 2x4s in place on each side spacing them out,then screwed the legs into them. Next, we cut the foam seat cushions out to fit on the board, and placed the foam pillow on top (all this could be replaced with upholstering foam) and used a staple gun to upholster the bottom seat, and then just set the upholstered board on top of the 2x4s. We upholstered the board to fit the back, using a white sheet as fabric, and a padded pillow case for the back (you don't need to use very much padding for the back),and then slid that into place. Then your all done! you can add rope or cord on the sides to keep the back from falling, we just leaned it up against a wall. I love this chair. There was also a version of doing just the bottom for a little bench or a foot rest, or one with no legs for an animal bed, both I thought were great ideas.

feral fox

Let Spring Get Sprung!

  We have started out spring garden. I couldn't be more excited that the weather has started to break and so has the ground. For the past few years me and my beau (Dan) have been living on a homestead in North Carolina, now that we are in Montana, we are on our own for growing food. Now that we are no longer in the country but in the city, its nice to take on the challenge of urban farming once again. Not only that but a climate that we have never lived in (we just moved here in February). But we have started our experiment, by digging up one large patch of sod and two smaller beds. Digging up sod by hand is not an easy task and took us much longer than anticipated, but it feels great to be done! Potatoes have just been put in and so have our onions and I really feel like we are getting some where now. We added few bags of mushroom compost to add nitrogen back in the soil, grass can take a lot out of your dirt. We also have starts in the house, ready to be put in after the last frost. Tomatoes, greens, cabbage, peppers, squash, cucumbers, herbs, lettuce, okra and more things that are not coming to me right now. Its crazy to think how much food you can grow in a little space. And did you know that you can buy seeds on food stamps!? I'm itchin to start cooking and preserving some of it. 

The Junk Box is Upon Us

      I believe that there is a new movement of humans wanting to learn how to do everything like it used to be done. If you are lucky, these things have been passed down to you, but like me, there are a lot of us that are on their own. There are not many places in our western culture which still values traditions of the past, and I think that for most of us that are interested in learning it is more of trial an error, picking peoples brains, and doing a lot of work trade (or volunteering your time) just to learn what used to be past down. Weather it is baking using wild yeasts, or cooking with your own harvested foods,or spinning your own yarn to knit your own sweater, gathering plants to dye your sweater. I get much hope from knowing that there are humans that still value and actually enjoy the process of things instead of cutting corners. I have learned so much by just taking time. I have learned that so many things are intertwined, (and can save you some dollars to boot!) for example: so many things done in the kitchen that we usually throw in the trash or dump own the drain can be used for natural dyes. Or unwanted pieces from our vegetables can be tossed in the the compost or kept in the fridge to make vegetable stock. I love that we can not only learn these things and pay homage to those who have kept traditions but also be creative with what has passed down or discovered. I love and hate living in the age of technology. It is amazing that we can have access to so many really fantastic things that people create. I love being inspired by those things and trying to mix old traditional craft with inspiration of today. Or just take it in and be in awe of our human capacity to create amazing things when we want to.  Yet I think we can get really distracted by it. And for those who are makers, I think that it can really block what we want to accomplish.  I am not computer savvy, and writing a blog is something I never thought  that I would want to do. It is a whole new world to me, yet I am convinced it great way to share and build community with like minded humans, so I am opening the junk box. I want to introduce a different kind of "crafty". A crafty that is a little more rustic, maybe a little more unorganized, and a little more dirty, yet just as creative and beautiful.