let's spend the hottest day of the year outside all day

Yes, that title is pretty accurate.  Two weekends ago, Kinsey and I did a local craft show in the area - Summerfair in Carlisle.  We never did the show before and weren't sure how it would go.  It was a little bit different than the shows we usually do, but the space was cheap and it was close.  

The weather was the hottest day of the year...103 degrees!  Luckily, we did have a little shade from our tent. 

While we didn't sell out of our art/crafts, this was an excellent time to try out using a canopy tent.  We never really needed one before, but knew we'd eventually need one as we were planning to do more and more shows.  What I didn't realized was how expensive they are!   After much research, I was able to find an amazing deal on Sears.com and purchased ours for under $50! ( And free store pick-up.)  We wanted one that was quick to put up and didn't involve trying to fit together a million poles.  This one is the Ez-Up brand and literally goes up in minute.  So nice!  

This also was the most space we've ever had at a craft show.  We brought all the folding craft tables we could fit in our car (3!) and each had one and a half tables for our work.  This was such a huge change! We're used to trying to squeeze all our stuff on one little 8 foot table!  While I would have liked to bring more props for height, I think this was definitely our best looking set up to date.  

I made map banners to hang around our tent and on some of the tables.  Kinsey made some chalkboards for his display, which turned out really nice.  

The sun is really glaring in this picture, but I really like how Kinsey attached some of his prints on the outer side of the cube shelf.  This really caught attention from people.  

maine times six

It's been really, really hot here lately.  So of course we've been thinking of going someplace a little cooler for a quick trip.  Naturally, I thought of Maine.  (This obviously isn't a surprise if you know me.)  

I was going through some photos on our computer and found some of my favorites from our last trip to Acadia.  This one is from a slightly foggy day which happened to be our anniversary.  

We considered going back to Acadia National Park, but have never gone in the summer months and were a little worried that it would be super crowded.  When we go in the end of September, it's perfect. The days aren't (usually) sweltering and the trails and beaches aren't packed.  On our honeymoon (to Acadia, of course!), we had discussed coming back and had said we would on our 5 year anniversary.  Well, we ended up going on our 4th anniversary instead.  We'll be skipping Acadia this year as I'll be starting a new job in the middle of August.  However, we wanted to fit in a summer trip before I started.

Instead, we're going to our second favorite place(s) - Portsmouth, NH and the Portland area.  This trip will mark our 6th trip to Maine in the last 6 years.  We like Maine the best for its natural beauty, but we are so excited to go back to one of our favorite shops anywhere- Daytrip Society and Daytrip Society Jr. Can't wait.  

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mid summer photos and new work

I wanted to share a few pictures Kinsey has taken recently that I think have a "summer" feel to them.  I love this one of the corn field and blue sky.  I didn't know at the time that Kinsey was taking this picture and thought to myself that I wish he would take a picture like this.  And he did.  The corn was already so tall for being so early in the season.  I believe this was the very beginning of June.  

This is one Kinsey took of an old barn that was torn down near when I grew up.  The barn has been torn down for a while, but they left the stone foundation in place.  It's right at the side of a huge open field.  

Here's a sneak preview of something (sort of)  new I've working.  Last year, I made a few hot air balloon pins and sold them at a few stores and shows, but for whatever reason never made more.  I found a half finished balloon in my desk drawer the other day and decided to give them another try.  Not just a pin this time....something a little different.   Look for them soon!

I love felt and making an easy summer wreath

I recently made (or actually upgraded) a wreath for a front door.  This weaved twig wreath has been on our front door since winter.  Back in the holiday months, it sported some festive ribbon and tiny glass balls.  After Christmas, I removed the decorations and just kept the bare wreath up.  Everyday it seemed to be saying to me, "Cloth me!  Decorate me again!"

I finally listened.

 And one of the best parts is, I already had everything I needed for the project!

The supplies needed are very few.  Felt (any felt will do really, even the cheaper sheets available at craft stores are great for making these flowers, so there's no need to buy the expensive felt.), glue gun, and wreath.  That's it.  I already had the wreath and a glue gun and felt are pretty much staples in our house.  So the total cost of this project = $0.

 First step is to cut out circles of felt.  Then, cut in to the circle making a spiral shape.  At the beginning, cut a normal strip and gradually have the strip get thicker.  You'll end up with a little circle "knob" in the middle.  It should look something like this:

Starting at the narrow end of the spiral, roll the felt up.  Be sure to keep the bottom of the felt lined up straight.  

As you keep going, little "petals" will form.  It will start looking a little something like this:

 Here's where the glue gun comes in.  When you roll up all the felt and get to the center, put a dollop of glue on the felt right before the spiral gets to the center "knob".  

The last step is putting a few more dollops of glue along the flower back and then pressing the center down.  

Hello finished felt flower!

Making these flowers can be very addicting.  It's super easy to do and you can make them in all different colors and even in multiple tones.  If you're like me, you'll make more than enough for your wreath.

Next, comes placement.  I recommend laying them on the wreath before gluing to get the design and composition that you want.  

Once you're happy with the placement, hot glue the flowers on.  You can always add things like ribbon or buttons to the wreath, too.  

And the finished wreath hanging:

A lovely and incredibly easy summer wreath.  You'd be foolish not to make one yourself!

corn and what appears to be a jungle....

Hands down my favorite summer vegetable is sweet corn.  Well...zucchini is a favorite too.   And of course a nice, fresh, crisp cucumber.  But corn is easily in my top 5 summer vegetables.  Anyway, my aunt and uncle have a really large corn field in their yard.  I'm not entirely sure what they do with all this corn.  But the past two summers they've given us lots and lots of their sweet corn.  We've always gladly accepted this offer and proceed to them spend a few hours husking all of it, boiling it, and them freezing it.  We recently put corn away for the season, which was just in time because we were fast approaching our last bag from the freezer of last year's corn. 

 Here's our progress a few bags in:

The corn is grown organically, so there's always the chance of a few bugs or worms along the way.  Here's a bright green one that I found happily chewing away as I peeled back the husks:

The corn was dropped off at my parents'  house, so while we were there, we checked out the decline of what used to be a garden last year.  Yes, these are weeds that are taller than me.  Last year at this time, there were tomato plants and zucchini planted here.  A few random tomatoes did come up from seed this year.  There's a plant in the front right side of this picture.

.  Actually, there is a zucchini plant in the front of the picture below.  In May, there were rows and rows of sugar peas planted here.  We harvested many, many baskets of them.  It's sort of crazy to think how different this area was a mere three months ago.  Not sure how high these weeds will grow....

wildflowers as far as the eye can see.....

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is the pick your own wildflowers that a local farm offers. Kinsey and I have gone at least once every year since 2007 or 2006. You just grab a coffee can, a pair of clippers, and walk out to be faced with rows and rows and rows of flowers in every color.




This summer has been incredible dry with very little rain, so the flowers weren't flawless, but compared to everyone else's flowers, it was amazing that they looked so good!



I loved these rows of bright purple flowers.  They grow in sort of a "Y" shape with groups of little paper like flowers at each end.

We always seem to pick one of the hottest days of the summer to go flower picking.   Yesterday was no exception at about 95 degrees.

One coffee can full of flowers came to about 8 different arrangements for us. At around $9 a can, this is definitely quite a deal.

Summer on the Porch

A little bit ago, K and I went to Ikea to look around for a desk for his art studio. We came across their outdoor furniture section and fell in love with this four piece set. After carefully making sure it would fit in our hatchback, we set our sights on setting it up and all the great meals we'd eat out on our back porch. I must admit, I bought the set really for the bench seat. I've wanted a good bench for a while, and loved this one. The entire set cost what I've seen just a good wooden bench cost. The large chairs are really comfortable as well.


The bistro like chairs didn't come with the set. But did come from Ikea as well.


My favorite seat.


A shot at dusk.

maine and...sunburn

Kinsey and I have been going to Maine every year since we've been married. Our very first time, we went to the wonderful Acadia National Park on the beautiful island of Mount Desert. Unfortunately, our schedules don't really allow us to take a longer trip like that right now, so we haven't had the chance to go back yet. (Next year seems like the year, though!) Nonetheless, we've still manage to enjoy the rocky Maine coast and view in another great and closer area in Maine...(although I have yet to find a location in Maine I haven't fell in love with). The past three years we've been staying in the Portland area. Cape Elizabeth is a favorite of ours and we've spent lots of time just sitting along the coast, collecting stones and shells, sketching, and looking out at the ocean.
This past trip was very relaxing and inspiring....and well, hot. Everyday except the very last day, was in the mid to upper 90's. It definitely put a limited on the amount of hiking we did. Our massive sunburn that we got on the VERY first day at the beach also didn't help things.


Kinsey is a tiny speck among the rocks along the coast.



Me looking for sea glass among the rocks.


One of my favorite things to do in Maine is take photos and look at the tide pools. The colors are very inspiring and beautiful. Here's one picture I took near Two Lights State Park. (Mere minutes before eating what I consider (and many, many others) the BEST lobster roll in Maine at Two Lights Lobster Shack.)


This was taking at dusk in the harbor in Portland. I can see an embroidery piece in the future based on this photo.


This was taken at a super quick detour to York Harbor on our way back home. We first discover York Harbor last year and didn't have a chance to go back and spend more time on this trip. We did stop and put our feet in the water before getting started on our 9 hour drive home. This of course did three things: 1 -Made it incredibly hard to leave. The water was actually a decent temperature for Maine and felt so refreshing. 2 - Made us realize why we keep coming back to Maine and everything we love about it. 3 - Made us get sand over every area in our car. I were my flats I wear almost everyday out on the sand and as a result a never ending supply of luscious, white, Maine sand keeps coming out of my shoes.....of course I'm not complaining. Any reminder of Maine is a good one!

Summer

In between picking and processing the many fruits and veggies of the season, I realized that my everyday purse was, well, a little autumn like. Dark brown and green made up the bag and the inside was a dark (and quite messy) mess. I'm on of those people who can put something into a bag and it becomes lost among the growing collection of pens and gum wrappers. I'd really like to try to keep a neater bag, so I thought a new one was in order. A few years ago, I got this great screenprinted linen and never knew what to make with it. I loved the mossy green color and the flower print. I decided this with my current favorite sea green canvas would be a perfect combination.



A square bottom is essential. I used to be real big into tote bags, then I discovered how easy a more shaped bag can be. This one took a hour in the evening and another hour the next day.



I love the contrast in the yellow lining.

I will keep this bag neater. I will not leave trash in it. I will not keep a stash of pens in it.

A great, new summer bag just in time for our trip to.......Maine. :)