Spring Inspirations and a Kitten

Hello! I hope everyone has been enjoying the spring weather, I know it's been unusually pleasant here. I have been happily observing a mother dove dutifully warming her eggs. I wonder, when and for how long does she leave her nest to feed herself? There is also a robust blue jay that has taken to our water fountain.
        Yesterday was also rather eventful, on my way walking home from the bus stop, I could hear a faint mewing. That was curious enough, so I looked around for a kitty meowing (that I could possibly pet, of course). I didn't see a cat, but I did spot a tiny gray lump across the street and went to investigate. I'm sure you can infer by now what happened, but I found a very tiny, very scared, very hungry crying kitten. It did not look injured or like a stray, but I called my Mom over and asked her for some tuna. She isn't a cat person, but I was able to coax her over to the kitten. I was especially worried because of the number of dogs in the neighborhood and the fact she was next to a road, so I knew we needed to help her. We were able to convince a cat-loving family across the street to look after the (cutely hissing) little kitten. I haven't head that much back yet but he or she seems to be doing find. Hopefully she's not sick or anything like that (any hopefully they will keep her :) Wheh! That was a long story about a kitten... It's just nice sometimes to have a break from a mundane routine (and help little animals).

The kitten looked a bit like this (from We Heart It)

Anyways, back to the original reason for this post. The other day I accidentally found a plethora of Japanese mori-esque/natural-kei/zakka embroidery books. Many of the designs are fairly simple and absolutely adorable! I thought that they would be perfect for a bit of spring crafting, the books are full of berry, wildflower and vegetable patterns. The Etsy shop Japan Lovely Crafts has a great variety, and here are my favorites:

1. EMBROIDERY OF GARDEN FLOWERS BY KAZUE SAKURAI

2. WILDFLOWER GARDEN BY KAZUKO AOKI

3. Wonderful Embroidery by Onoe Megumi

4. THE BASICS OF EMBROIDERY AND APPLIQUE BY AYAKO OTSUKA

5. RIBBON STITCHES BY YUKIKO OGURA

   More embroidery inspiration :)

   
   
   
   
   

St. Canary and Other Purchases

Hello everyone! This is just a quick update of some of my recent treasures~

Firstly, items I found during our local garage/yard sale. 

A selection of vintage floral embroidery patches -all for $2

Vintage-inspired stickers, $0.25 for both and a large embroidery hoop for $0.25

Antique hand-colored butterdly etching for $10

Close-up

Another close-up

Odd antique shark print for $7

How strange looking

What a wonderful morning of deals!

Next is a biography on Beatrix Potter ($7 on Amazon)

In excellent shape for a used copy

And lastly an Imai Kira St. Canary series art calender ($20)

It even includes a stand and little paper dolls

 

 

 

The March/April close-up

And the cute "St. Canary" seal

I still have a few items on their way in the mail too <3

April Lifestyle Ideas

• Try incorporating bunnies, lambs and baby chick motifs into your outfits (think brooches, jewelry and prints)
• It's not too late to start a small flower or vegetable garden, beans and carrots are easy to grow. (Or better yet - grow the seedlings indoors in egg shells)
• Egg shells also make cute tiny flower vases or planters
• Create you own spring centerpiece with (fake or real) eggs (try different colors and varieties), moss, lace, flowers or anything else that reminds you of spring.
• Make a cute carrot cake in the honor or baby bunnies!
• Start pressing spring flowers before summer withers them up. Use them to make cards or decorate a diary
• If it's not quite warm enough to romp around outside yet, why not research mori-esque movies? I plan to do a large post sooner but why not try Anne of Green Gables, Princess Mononoke or (maybe a stretch but she does have a lot of cute outfits and forest scenes) Pan's Labyrinth.
• Suzy's Zoo characters aren't very popular in the US, but I think they would be quite cute for mori-esque stationary and accessories. I have a cute calender I got for $1!
• If you usually drink hot tea, research new ice tea blends. Peppermint, floral and fruit flavors make delicious cold tea.
• If you're looking for a new friend, consider adopting a bunny from your human society. Many baby bunnies are given to children during Easter and then grow bored and abandon them. The same applies to chicks and ducklings!

Monthly Challenge Theme: Animals

Theme: Animals

Hopefully you've been noticing more cheeping birds and chirping squirrels lately. In honor of spring, rebirth and renewal, this month's challenge theme is animals. Whether it be a print, brooch, socks, embroidery or anything else, try to incorporate your favorite mori mascot animal into your outfit. Think of the Pink House bear jacket, fuzzy alpaca motifs, or Martha's lovely teddy bear-inspired coordinate of her Moss Garden blog. An actual image is not necessary, as long as it captures the essence of the animal!

Ponchatoula + Shopping

Hello everyone! Please forgive my absence, I was out of town the past few days in Louisiana. I was able to visit a cute little town called Ponchatoula. It means "hair that hangs" (referring to the Spanish moss) in Choctaw. The town is also famous for it's delicious strawberries! There were cute strawberries everywhere!

A cute old train

They served strawberry margaritas here

There were also several antique stores that I was excited to explore, but they turned out to be very disappointing and I left empty handed. There was acute old sewing machine with a crank handle! I wasn't sure if it would work so I didn't gamble taking it home. How cute is it though??

How cute are they?

I did pick up a cute shirt (that I may need to take in a little if it doesn't shrink in the wash) and a cute scarf! I had an eye on a scarf like this for Valentines day but it was sold out when I went to get it :( Even better, there was a sale! I got the shirt for $7.50 and the scarf for $3 what a deal! It's a light scarf but I need to wear it soon 'cause it's getting so hot.

I love the edge lace

I love mori pom-poms!

We also visited family friends with an adorable old home. There were wildflowers and clovers everywhere.

A butterfly with a damaged wing

My current obsession - pansies!

She had a cute garden

We found a four-leaf clover, how lucky!

Her lovely 28 year old horse

Overall it was a long, sad trip (we attended a funeral) but I was able to escape with a few pretty memories.