Need I say more?

I love this last one. Thanks for being so cute! There’s hardly anything better than a new baby.

Luckily I can still bind without it. But my gosh! I think I just had the thing a few weeks ago… or was that in Baltimore? Too many moves. No more!

You all must know by now that I am a slow blogger. Even so I wanted to share a few images from our first day of spring. While picking up I from school, we saw a sign that told about a 1st Day of Spring tradition in Poland. Each year they build a huge doll out of hay and dress her up and toss her into the river on the 1st day of spring. We decided that would be a fun thing to do. Here is our version of this Poland tradition:

This is our doll. Made from the tall grass I cut down while the kids played in the yard. India picked a few strands and a thick piece from one of the fronds. I tied it all together for her. She wanted to dress the doll, but I was unwilling to throw away anything that would not a natural material. I guess we could have dressed her in old leaves… next year.

We drove to one of the kids’ favorite parks. The ‘river’ was pretty stagnant, I bet our doll is still there today, waiting for the rain to wash it away. I guess that’s appropriate since spring always seems to have a slow start.

Since the schools are planting right now, I thought we should get our seeds underway. As it stands, we are going to have a ton of thyme and kale. Anyone need some for their garden? We are happy to share.

This container is what the apples from Costco come in. I always think “what a waste of material.” So have never thrown them out. Now I’ve got a use for them. All I had to do was punch a few holes in the bottom with my awl and tape the edges. Not happy about that, as I can’t reuse that stuff. I Jimmy-rigged this fluorescent lamp ($17 at the hardware store) to our bookshelf without drilling anything into it. I think it will work nicely and can be moved up while the plants grow taller. The cover is already off the Kale… it is much taller than the thyme (pictured here)… and has to be watered every day. I want to get some tomatoes and peppers started also but will need a heat pad for that. I keep meaning to get to the thrift store for an electric blanket to use instead of the $30 heat pad. I love that idea.

I love this little box. It can be anything! This time ’round we made it into an art box. So much fun. I hope she likes it.

I typed instructions for some of the items in the box. The little black books that needs to be colored with light crayons, the dolls who need to be dressed, and the stack of papers to dress them with. There is also a pad of paper to make small masterpieces with.

This house we painted and varnished. It looked great. The dolls we lots of fun too. The parents are little spoons while the kids are the tiny clothes pins.

I think there are a few boy parties coming up. What should we make for them?? We’ll see.

Ok, I’m way behind. Maybe next week I’ll show our Easter eggs.

I think she wore this same shirt last year. I think she’ll probably wear it again next year. We couldn’t find the felt shamrock… we’ll have to make another. It is super cute.

The last couple of weeks I’ve had the opportunity to photograph at two schools as they plant their seeds. Once the frost has past, they will be ready to plant. I think both schools have sewn enough seeds to host a plant sale. This will help fund their garden projects. These two weeks are the perfect time to start seeds, especially if you’d like something grown before school ends in May.
just in case you were wondering how this process works, here is the how-to:

Mr. Andy begins with a story about a girl who plants her garden in the spring. This gets the kids thinking about what is needed to help seeds and plants grow.

Then it’s time to see the dirt. The kids are shown how to fill their pots (or 4-packs) properly, keeping air in the dirt. They are reminded not to pack the dirt, they are not making sand castles. The soil needs to be loose, allowing the tiny roots to spread and grow.

Then kids’ and plants’ names are placed on sticks.

It’s time for dirt!

2 seeds in each section of the 4-pack.

Sprinkle the herb seeds in the single pots… for the K classes.

Mr. Andy has fun with the kids. He is a regular fixture at his school.

Time to clean up! A bucket of warm water for the kids to dip their hands in before they wash them in the sink. Keep the pipes clear of dirt.

While the 3 or 4 kids are sowing seeds, the rest of the class works on their plant journal.

I have slowly been incorporating my love for bookbinding into my packaging. Here is an example of how wallets, 4×6, and 8×10 inch prints are packaged. The wallets are in the little green envelope. I’ve been slowly making the change to this type of packaging. There may be some variations, but this is the basic idea. It feels good to have my work represent me, even through the mail.

Just thought I would change things around a bit. This new look will allow for larger imges. I like larger images… especially the verticals. We’ll see how long this look lasts. I might want a few more frills.
Stay tuned for my Slow Food shoot from last week.