2.8.11 ... bracelet beginning

my back is on a rant and i am moving at half speed until that passes. i started on this bracelet project. here is an in-progress sneak preview and i look forward to completing phase II and sharing it with you. i hope you are all well, warm and happy tonight. ev made bread pudding with leftover homemade amish bread. amazing indeed.

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sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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1.20.11 ... little birdies coaster

i love these vintage tea towels i found years ago and have doled out the pieces sparingly. this bit was peeking out at me today as i walked by my neatly formed stacks of fabric and this is what came to me. i needed a coaster, too. inside is batting in the form of a vintage mattress pad cover that lost its primary occupation many moons ago. all around, a quick, fun daily project.

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i'm still working on my zine and a few other longer term projects. looking forward to sharing those with you another day.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

if any of you have a homemaking question for my zine columnist, the flying housewife, please leave it in the comments here. {there's a bit of a hint to the theme of my new zine.}

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

Springing Forward in Many Ways

I am participating in my Etsy BBEST Team ACEO challenge.
The theme is SpRiNg.
I LOVE lilacs and I was going to paint a small watercolor of them on my tiny canvas.
Then I remembered this knitting sample I'd made when I was practicing stitches and gauge. Every time I looked at this over the years, through so many moves, I'd think I must be nuts to think it was worth saving and keeping safe, yet, accessibly stored. And every once in a while, I did get an idea. But it was always just not right.
Until now.

I thought I could stitch it onto the paper with my sewing machine set on basting stitch.
But I was dreaming.
I hand sewed the knitted sweetie onto the ACEO paper. Then I started the button search.
I intended to use some creamy off white or perhaps florals or clear. Sparkly? Hmmmm....
Nothing was looking like what I envisioned. I thought perhaps my button idea was too grand and I should consider french knots out of thick embroidery floss. Well, I wasn't even going to try the purples. I mean they'd never show up. All of a sudden, I found these buttons with the cloth bits and I think they represent little lilac buds perfectly. I am so happy. Especially because in all my collection, buttons that haven't been cleaned up of threads or scraps are rare. I can't believe my luck. I hope my friend loves it as much as I loved creating and making it.
For more photos, including the groovy batik back, visit my flickr stream.

We did SpRiNg forward and it has not been delightful. But our new recipes of the week certainly were. Above is our Thai Soup from mid-week and below, our Italian Clam and Bean from tonight. We made fennel bread to go with it. Now, that's delightful.

Last weekend, we watched the film Bottle Shock, recommended by a dear friend. Loved it and now Evan wants to try affordable California wines. My trusty scissor/saving habits came through once more. I found my top wines list from an old Gourmet or ??? magazine. We managed to find two of the wines by going to different shops. It was a fun hunt and this first wine is wonderful indeed.

Until next time, friends.
Bon Appetite.
ox joon

Sharing Beauty on a Sunday Morning

Hello Friends. Just found THIS in the NYTimes online and it is a wonderful, inspiring respite to those who appreciate true art. If you love photography, you'll love the feature.

And, how does Robert Downey Jr. fit into all this? Well, not that he needs a reason to fit in anywhere, but he is featured in the presentation. And, complete coincidence: I am listing this set in my joonbeam shop this morning. Just the pinbacks, ladies. The photo stays with me.

How's your Sunday? Well, I believe it may have just improved significantly. :)
ox joon