Writing Happiness

I'm trying to write down happiness.
Sometimes it's like a bumblebee
Inside my throat and it can't get out
Unless I throw my head way back
And laugh.
Sometimes it's a flower in my chest
That pushes—hard—against my ribs to bloom
And crowds its petals up against my heart.
Sometimes it's a running in my legs
And all I can do is try to keep up,
Out of breath and shining.
And every time always
It's a feeling of up
And heat
And gasping
And grasping
For something I already have
But want to hold
So I can write down
Happiness.

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DIY Boho Braided Belt

Obey Bohemian Belt
http://www.zappos.com

On the rare occasion when I go into a mall these days (they stress me out—all those people!) I can't help admiring all the lovey bohemian styles the mannequins are wearing. And I find myself especially envious of the accessories — flowing scarves, braided belts...so of course I had to cure my envy with a little crafting.

 Erin's Do-It-Yourself Boho Belt

Materials:

–An old wooden belt buckle that's been sitting in my craft bin for years
–A cotton clothesline from the dollar store
–Thread to match the clothesline
–A needle

Instructions:

I used a hair tutorial for a four-strand French braid from Crochet Clouds. Of course I didn't have to worry about the French part; I cut my clothesline in two, folded the two pieces in half, and fed them through the belt buckle. Then I started braiding!

To finish, I sewed the end of each strand to the next with several tight stitches, then wrapped the thread around the whole end of the belt about a dozen times before tying it off and hiding the end of the thread inside the braid.

If I were to do this again (and I might—it's so easy) I would anchor my braid on the middle of the buckle, not the edge. Live and learn :)

Happy crafting!

This post was featured on the Tea Rose Home Link Party No.79

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Here he is in the book:

I wasn't ambitious enough to attempt those feet.

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Because all poets must write of spring

Today's poem is no masterpiece, but it says what I feel. And that's enough.

I've come back home to the springtime,
The forest all in bud.
The growing green, the swollen stream,
The glorious, glorious mud.

I've come back home to the country
From the rush to the hush and the hill
From urban sprawl to garden wall
And blooming daffodil.

So keep your city glitter—
Up here I'm better fed.
I've got dirt beneath my fingernails
And trees above my head!

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Earth Day and Wedding Decorations

There's an idea I've been mulling over for a while and Earth Day is as good a time as any to bring it up. I have a big problem with waste, and I'm always looking for ways to transform used material not into something interesting and pretty, but into something useful (okay, maybe useful AND pretty)—something that people would want or need even if it wasn't made with recycled materials.

Side rant: Nothing irritates me more than people gushing over the "greenness" of taking a very recyclable material like aluminum or cardboard and buying non-sustainable craft products to "recycle" it into something useless that will one day be thrown out. Also, when did "recycle" become the most important R? If we reduced in the first place, we wouldn't have so much waste to deal with.

End of rant.

So I'm always looking for ways to make things instead of buying them, and since several of my friends are engaged or recently married, I've had decorations on my mind. Of course plenty of people make their decorations, but their materials often come from the craft store. I'm imagining an Etsy shop full of decorations (wedding or otherwise) made entirely of waste materials, except for essentials like thread and glue. And when I say waste materials, I mean it—these are things that would be going in the garbage if they weren't going in my craft bin.

What do you think? Would you patronize/support/appreciate a business like that?

Here are some samples of paper goods I would sell, though of course I'd also work with fabric.

Garland sewn from an out-of-date almanac

Folded kusudama flower balls from a hymn book that fell apart

Happy Earth Day, everyone! Let's all celebrate by not buying something we don't need ;)

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Harry Potter-Hotel California Parody

Inspired by a CBC book-song mash-up contest from a year ago, rediscovered yesterday, finished today.

Harry Potter meets Hotel California

Dark night in September.
Scar under my hair.
Long howl of a werewolf
Rising up through the air.
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light.
My heartbeat quickened and my eyes grew wide—
I loved that castle on sight!

There she stood in the doorway.
"First years!" I heard her yell,
And I was thinking to myself,
Is this Hogwarts or is it Hell?
Then she lit up a candle
And she showed us the way.
There were statues in the corridor;
I thought I heard them say,

"Welcome to seven years at Hogwarts.
Such a magic place.
Such a tragic face.
Plenty to do in your seven years at Hogwarts:
See a dragon born.
Find a unicorn."

His mind is Slytherin-twisted.
When he speaks he offends.
He's got a couple brawny bodyguards
That he calls friends.
When they strut through the courtyard,
See Neville sweat.
They'll steal his remembrall
Just to make him forget!

So I'm called by the captain,
"Please bring me the snitch!
We haven't had a quidditch victory since 1996."
And still that voice is a-calling inside my head:
"What to do, oh what to do with you?
Griffindor!" he said.

Welcome to seven years at Hogwarts.
Such a magic place.
Such a tragic face.
Never give up in your seven years at Hogwarts.
Learn an airborne sport.
Battle Voldemort.

Candles on the ceiling,
The pumpkin juice on ice,
And I said, "We are all just sitting ducks here.
I've got to set things to rights."
In the underground chambers
I finally faced him alone.
He can find the Mirror of Erised,
But he just can't get the stone!

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door.
I had to find the passage back
To Headmaster Dumbledore.
"Relax," said the matron.
"Your friends will all be relieved."
They can send me back to Privet Drive
But I'll never really leave!

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The Vintage Linen Top: Finished

My top is finally ready, though the weather isn't. It just got cold again in these past few days. I'll have to save it for later in the season, I think.

Here is the final list of materials used in this top:

• One vintage tablecloth
• One vintage lace... curtain?
• One vintage crocheted doily
• Fabric from the sleeves of an XL white T-shirt I once used in a T-shirt quilt
• Buttons from a worn-out shirt
• White thread (new)

The bust is made with the T-shirt material and the crocheted doily, so it stretches. The other fabrics are sewn in overlapping panels, which allowed me to cut out sections of the tablecloth that were stained.

For once in my life I took the time to finish my seams with ribbon and make everything as professional as I can. This project took some time and I'm pretty pleased with it, so I can't resist posting a lot of pictures...

This top is part of the April Link Party at Tea Rose Home!

 It's also entered in Made by Rae's Spring Top Sewalong!

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