Terrarium Tutorial

Hannah and I had a fun little field trip to some Antique Malls here in St. Louis last Friday.  Hannah ended up buying this really cool glass container thing-y, though she wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to put into it. 

We decided to stop by the local farmer’s market before we picked up her little boy from pre-school.  We were just going to pick out some fruits and veggies for dinner when we saw a bunch of succulents, staring at us, begging us to take them home.  And they didn’t have to beg very hard- I’ve been looking to get some for a while now, and so has Hannah!

Then, the idea started brewing… we could make a succulent terrarium with the above glass thing-y!  Well, it would be a terrarium sans lid, since succulents need to stay mostly dry.  So we picked up some soil, some stones, and she picked out three different types of succulents (don’t ask me the names, because I have no clue!).

We lined the bottom with some medium sized stones (these can be picked up at many garden stores or Michael’s or Hobby Lobby).  Then, we packed some soil onto the top of the stones.  This will allow for drainage of excess water since succulents need only be watered once per week/two weeks.
Then, we took each succulent out of their respective containers, took some of the soil off of the roots (not too much, just enough so that it is easier to re-plant it into the terrarium), and placed it into the soil of the glass container.

Once we re-planted the succulents, we added some more soil and packed it loosely around the roots of each plant.  Then, we added another layer of the stones to make it look pretty!

   
We encourage you to find a unique glass container of your own, visit your local farmer’s market, and make your own tutorial.  When you do, we’d love for you to share it with us!

Rock N Roll Craft Show, Reviewed

If you are local, I hope you made it to last weekend's Rock N Roll Craft Show at the Third Degree Glass Factory in St. Louis.  Oh my goodness- there was so much great local talent- I was floored.  It was a show to remember and I can't wait to go again next year; I just hope Hannah and I can get it together in time for FlyChicks to be represented!

Hannah is moving this month and was busy the day we went, so I, along with my mom, her husband, and my son Quentin (who guest posted here!) piled in the car and drove less than a mile (I guess we could have walked, but I'm still recovering from surgery) to the show.  First of all, the building is amazeballs and if you all have a chance to go, the third Friday of the month is a sort of Open House and you can see all the cool people blowing glass!

The sun was inTENSE on Saturday, so please forgive some of the pics I took.  But here are just some of the great finds you can come to expect at a fun, alternative event like this one:

(disclaimer: I didn't intend on doing a review, just happened to have my camera; I didn't get the names of each vendor, so please go to the RRCS website for more info OR if you know the names of the talented crafters and want them mentioned here, please email me and I will put the info up asap.  I tried to link to either their etsy sites or their blogs.  Thanks!)

My son loved these kitschy little necklaces!

The Red Anvil

I loved the display- especially how the prices were marked on playing cards and other repurposed cards.

These plush guys were amusing, offbeat, and just plain cool.

Cranky David 

various artwork by

Hosey and Pod, Sarah Wyman, Anchovy, and more

Um... I LOVE.

Hosey and Pod

there were tons of little notebooks all around the place

mostly from All Along Press

(my new step-cousin, Serena Perrone, just did an artist in residency here in September; she is a fantastic printmaker!  If interested, go to her blog, Print Me Pull You, for some serious inspiration)

Quentin and I loved these handmade journals!  He's like his momma when it comes to journals, sketchbooks, school/office supplies- you can never have too many.

Janice Wallace

photo album or large, square, blank sketchbook made out of an old record album- genius!

These journals were probably my favorite- made from vintage hardback books, with blank pages inside for jotting down notes, sketches, ideas- oooo, I covet!

The Fancy Lamb

cute bibs for babies...

and crayon rolls for the older kids!

Owlette Collective

(the crayon rolls remind me of our blog friend, Sam, who makes crayon aprons- so cute!)

Quentin and I took a load off for a few minutes to watch this guy work on a glass blowing project- didn't get his name, he was workin' hard.

We also strolled around the glass blowing studio area and took a look at some of the artisans' products that were also for sale.

Quent and I got a big kick out of this "flattened" bottle!

Beautiful vase- enchanting design!

The colors in these pillows really caught my eye; they'd be great on my couch.

Bruk Longbottom

Thought these were fun!

Wonderful Handmade

Duct tape clutch

Eleven Peacocks

Clutches- I love the one with the doily.

Fancy Lamb

Little coin purses/wallets

Tyrone's Toys

I really dig the tweed and the braided leather- perfect fall/winter purse!

Daughter Designs

All sorts of fun stuff here!

Katatomic Labs, Thrift Store Junkie, Ebba Handmade, Tyrone's Toys

Those green, turquoise and blue felt brooches remind me of another blog friend of ours, Katie of Blue Eyed Freckle.

Felted bracelets

Hypercraftive

Glass blown ornaments by artisans at the Third Degree Glass Factory

Loved this display with the knobs on the frame!

Lala Lori

I also really liked the display of The Foundrie's jewelry.

Sweet roll-up tote

Squaresville

Screen printed apron

Ebba Handmade

I pretty much love this...

Par-tees

and these- anything with elephants, really.

If anyone knows who made the plethora of plaque mounted animal heads that were everywhere, please inform me- I got such a kick out of all of them!

And, there you have it- I hope a lot of you can make it to next year's show.  It will be in its eighth season by then.  I didn't even mention the wonderful line-up of live music, the coffee, wine, and beer that accompanied this fabulous craft show!  So, now I have.  Go. Eat. Drink. Listen. Buy handmade. Support your local craft community.  My mom and her husband actually got a lot of their Holiday shopping done- yea!