Jupiter's Child Blog

"Art in the Garden"

We were out in Dripping Springs at Thyme and Dough's "Art in the Garden" on Saturday, March 27th.

It was a gorgeous day. Perfect for sitting out in the garden, sipping our tea and selling our handiwork. Beth has found a new passion - screen printing. We are excited to announce her new T-shirt designs. Gaynor's favorite is the "peace chicken" as opposed to chicken pieces. Barbara's is the "cowgirl"...Yeehaw! (Photos on their way.) We had all sorts of colorful napkins, natural egg dying kits (just in time for Easter), screen-printed tea-towels, and draw-a-napkin kits for the kiddos. Right now, our T-shirts are up-cycled, but we are planning to screen-print some original designs using T-shirts made of organic cotton.

We had a good day. It's such a pleasure to talk to customers in person. There is always a story to be told or a suggestion to be made or an idea that we might just run with...or not.

Look for us at the Dripping Springs Farmer's Market every 1st and 3rd Saturday in April and every Saturday in May, June, and July! You never know what you might find!

Thyme and Dough is a great little bakery and eatery on Hwy. 290 West. The atmosphere is relaxed and the food is good!!! We tried their zucchini soup, mango chicken sandwich, turkey sandwich and tuna sandwich. They also have tasty breads and desserts. If you haven't visited them give them a try. You'll be glad you did!

View from the London Eye

St James Park or the Queen's Front Yard

A well earned rest on a day in London Town. A great day trekking around my home town with my favourite daughter. Started the day with a quick tour of the Natural History Museum, a lengthy tour of Harrods, a pass-by the Palace, a rest in the park and then onto Westminster and a turn on the London Eye in the dark.

For the love of Etsy....

...I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would want to buy a gift anywhere except Etsy.  Okay, let me modify that.  If you buy it from someone who's made it locally, it might better than Etsy.  If you make it yourself, it's definitely better than Etsy.    Otherwise, why shop anywhere else??

This isn't just a shameless plug (since, for the record, I do have an Etsy shop).  It's just a plug to buy handmade.  Have you ever spent any quality time over at Etsy?  You wouldn't believe the talent.  It humbles me.  Here, for instance, is something I snagged recently for the sheer loveliness of it:

It's a perfectly wonderful little owl brooch carved out of cherry wood and decorated with india ink.  For $15.00.  Good grief.  The only problem with Etsy is that stuff tends to be too cheap for what you get.  The time and care that went into making this brooch touched me to the core.  Hand-made by the good folks at brightcolorart, who definitely deserve a wider audience.

And since I'm a sucker for good woodworking, I also discovered another Etsy gem recently:  these gorgeous cutting boards from Sullivan's Showcase:

This one is now sitting proudly on my kitchen counter.  1-1/4" thick, solid cherry end-grain, it cost $35 and will last forever.  It was made by a real person, and it makes me smile on a daily basis.  Priceless.

Okay, so people aren't making a fortune on Etsy.  I'm certainly not.  But it represents a movement--a do-it-yourself movement--that gives my life meaning and gives me hope for the future, regardless of the economy. 

Oh, and by the way, I don't know either of these vendors.  I just stumbled onto their wares and was mesmerized by the quality of their work.  How rare is that?

Oh, to be in England now that March is here....

 

Oh, to be in England

Now that April's there,

And whoever wakes in England

Sees, some morning, unaware,

That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough

In England - now!

And after April, when May follows,

And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows

Hark! where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge

Leans to the field and scatters on the clover

Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge

That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,

Lest you should think he never could recapture

The first fine careless rapture!

And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,

All will be gay when noontide wakes anew

The buttercups, the little children's dower, -

Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Off to England in a few days so leaving the eggs in good hands! A mother-daughter trip that promises to be more enjoyable than the trip we took when my daughter was in 6th grade and mother-daughter was not cool. We plan on having more fun this time visiting London, the seaside, the countryside (a bit early to experience Robert Brownings England) and best of all hanging out with family. May even get a chance to herald my grandniece or grandnephew into the world - what better way to celebrate Spring - and to boot, March 14th is Mothering Sunday so I get to have two this year! Mothering Sunday was the only day of the year when the young people 'in service' were allowed to go home to visit their families. The housekeeper or cook would allow the maids to bake a simnel cake to take home to their mothers together with gifts of eggs and flowers. It's nice to know it's not another 'Hallmark holiday"! 

Whilst I'm away frolicking amongst the daffodils Beth and Barbara will be setting up shop at the Dripping Springs Farmer's Market which starts on March 20th. Be sure to stop by and check in on them for me!

March roars in..

Well, March is certainly living up to its reputation - coming in like a lion and (hopefully) going out like a lamb. Today's weather has certainly been lion-like with high winds and stormy skies. So..., to remind me that Spring is really here because I follow the Celtic year, I took some white hen's eggs and dyed them pretty shades of pink, yellow, green, purple and peach and placed them center-stage in my kitchen. The tradition of coloring eggs for springtime celebrations goes back a long way. Today most people color their eggs with egg kits that contain dyes made from petrochemicals, but for a long time eggs were colored with plants found in Nature. The leaves, flowers, roots and barks from many plants produce beautiful natural dyes. I used a kit that Beth cooked up in her kitchen using natural ingredients from somebody's garden and a little alchemy. It's safe and very hands on because you mix the dyes, rub the dye on to the eggs, leave for 5 or more minutes, polish them up and voila! Simple and the kits will soon be available at a Jupiter's Child store near you!

Meow! Meow!

Do cats whisper?  Or are humans the only animals who can do that?  Hmmmm...

Recently I was trolling for cool-looking fabrics at my favorite local thrift store.   As I was checking out, the nice lady behind the counter said, "You know, hon, they're getting rid of a lot of material over at the senior citizens' center.  You should go have a look." 

I am a cloth-a-holic as well as a shameless craft supply opportunist.  My blood felt all warm and bubbly as I strolled across the parking lot to see what the seniors felt they could do without.  Which, as it turned out, was an entire roomful of fabric remnants.  Over five decades' worth; a veritable archaealogical dig. 

"What are y'all going to do with all of this?" I asked the elderly lady who was putting cloth into large green garbage bags.  "Oh honey," she said, "Nobody quilts anymore.  Take what you want, 'cause we're giving the rest to the rag recyclers."

Over the next two days I must have carted away several hundred pounds of fabric.  I called my friends, and they took some.  We all made cash donations to the senior citizens' center, if only to ease our guilt.

So now I have more vintage fabric than I ever needed or deserved ("or had room for," grumbles my husband).  I found this fabulous Simplicity pattern for stuffed animals, circa 1954, and started sewing.  You can see the results above.  Next up:  horses.  Purses.  You never know.  Actually, you will know.  Watch this space.

And if you want to take home a genuine piece of history, complete with little-old-lady good karma, you can purchase the results of my labor on our website.

We are here! We are here! We are here! We are here! --Dr. Seuss

Howdy from Texas!

I'll tell you what, craft blogging really makes you feel like the tiniest of specks in an enormous sea of talent. Just take a look at Etsy and you'll see what I mean.  Nevertheless, we've been making stuff collectively for a year, and individually for most of our lives, so I suppose it was inevitable that we now have a website with a store, a Facebook page, our own little corner of Etsy, and of course, this blog.  We are 4 friends whose creative endeavors include sewing, dyeing, knitting, print-making, felting, woodworking, and...er, probably a lot of other things that I can't think of right now.  At the moment we have some gorgeous hand-dyed cloth napkins on offer, right here.  But stay tuned for more STUFF, as Chuck Barris used to say.