felt +

Metal. Chain. Wood. Glass. Ceramic.

Good things come in small packages. Today my mini-shipment of beads, clasps, chains, and string arrived. I've got some special felted beads ready and waiting to be strung, but most the designs are still floating around in my head. My favorite of the batch; the smooth palmwood beads (the pretty dark brown ones in the foreground.)

cloud cover

What do you do when life throws you a curveball? The week so far has had more downs than ups. And these gray skies aren't helping one bit. I'm hoping this weekend will be able to salvage whatever good there was this week, or at least make up for it. On the itinerary: roadtrip and a casual dinner with a good friend. And maybe a cocktail or two.

Getting out in the garden always has a quiet way of brightening my spirits.

consider it embellished

Remember those plain boring bowls that were waiting to be decorated? Well, here's the blue one. Needlefelted and stitched just like I promised. They almost remind me of amoeba.



Currently in the shop.

new wool

There are a few things I find more inspiring than new art supplies. Plump tubes of oil paint, pristine paintbrushes, primed canvases freshly opened from their plastic wrappings. Today, it's wool. I've found that with new colors come new ideas. I got my hands on a gorgeous crimson color, which already has spun itself into a beaded necklace of graduating sizes. A pale green, dark marine blue, and chocolate brown merino all await their fate. To be turned into something organic inspired, no doubt. And don't get me started on the natural fleeces. Soft, understated colors ranging from off-white to anthracite. I'm itching to roll up my sleeves and get my hands wet.

summer fruit tart

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I'm a self-proclaimed Martha fan. Her recipes just work. So when I wanted a simple yet stunning summer dessert, checking her website first was a no-brainer. My version is adapted from her Fresh Cherry Tart dessert. Graham cookies are hard to come by here, so I used speculaas, and the wild peaches were calling my name at the market, so I just had to snatch up a couple. And since I was at it, I used apricot jam as the glaze. The peaches were so lovely and pale, I didn't want them stained with the red raspberry jam.

Summer Fruit Tart adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food.

- 5 ounces speculaas cookies
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 6 ounces bar cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved
- 2 wild peaches, pitted and sliced into small wedges
- 1 tablespoon apricot jam

- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a food processor, pulse speculaas cookies and 2 tablespoons sugar until finely ground. If you're like me, and not in the possession of one, a heavy mortar and pestle works just as fine.
- Add butter and stir until mixture resembles wet sand.
- Transfer mixture to a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using your fingers and the back of a spoon firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides of pan. Bake until browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add cream, and beat until soft peaks form. Spread mixture in cooled crust. Scatter cherries and peaches on top.
- In a small saucepan, combine jam and 1 teaspoon water. Heat over low until liquefied, about 2 minutes. Using a pastry brush, dab cherries and peaches with glaze. Refriegerate tart for at least 30 minutes.

*Feel free to substitute any soft summer fruit as the topping. I think strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or even apricots would work just as well here.

awaiting embellishment

Definitely thinking about needlefelting and stitching.

hello july

You bring such warm summer evenings. I hope I can steal myself away to actually do some felting this month.

Here are some newbies going up in the shop this week.