Rose Geranium

Attar Rose Geranium drying in sugar.

Skeleton Rose Geranium drying for essential oil extraction.

Our wedding cake called for using Rose Geranium leaves during the baking process. We wanted to grow it ourselves and give the amount needed to Renata. This was in the winter so Hyams, our favorite garden spot, didn't have any plants in stock. We knew it would be close to the wedding date when they'd get some in so we turned to Lingle's Herbs, our trusted herb supplier. They are really amazing to work with but John was low on supplies so we ordered Attar Rose Geranium and Skeleton Rose Geranium. They also have a minimum order of six plants, so we tossed in a few others. Never can complain about that!

I worked in the garden this weekend to clear out much of what had taken over during the hellish summer months. The mosquitoes were so bad here that I just lost my inspiration to spend time in the garden in the late summer. I collected most of the leaves from both plants. We're drying some in sugar that we'll use for a touch of rose flavoring in baked goods and such. We'll dry the rest to be distilled into essential oil.

My favorite 'female' bath tonic contains a combination of some or all of the following:
Rose Geranium
Clary Sage
Bergamot
Basil
Jasmine
Neroli
Lavender.

It's heavenly!

Design*Sponge DIY Feature

We've been blogged at one of my long time favorite design blogs, Design*Sponge!

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/10/diy-project-evitas-spooky-silhouette-candleholders.html

Thank you Grace!

ETA : I love d*s reader Azzy's suggestion of painting the vellum with India ink. I'm thinking of trying it myself when I can get downtown to pickup the supplies. Thank you!

brian dettmer: cassette tape skeletons

I posted this earlier but I was having firewall issues with the image causing my browser to hang. Credit goes to my dear friend Aad.


brian dettmer: cassette tape skeletons
'atlanta based artist brian dettmer creates intricate sculptural skeletons using altered cassette tapes. dettmer began creating the pieces in 2005 as he was thinking about the demise of analog media in the increasingly digital world. one day as dettmer was walking down the street he spotted a dead bird and an idea hit him. ‘here was this thing that used to live, its used to fly around and play a vital role, and now it is dead and all that remains is the solid material.’ dettmer was quick to extrapolate this idea linking the bird’s life to that of the cassette. he transformed the skeleton of old cassettes into literal animal skeletons. this lead to a series of 12 human skulls made from tapes, each with a different theme like heavy metal or hard rock. the most complex piece in this body of work is a full skeleton made from over 180 cassettes. all the pieces are made using only cassettes tapes with no glue, tape or other outside materials. while dettmer couldn’t revel his process to designboom, he did tell us that he heats the plastic up so he can literally form and weld them with his wet hands and other tools.'

More...

Yes! Michael is on his way home from Atlanta and in his possession is one wooden bowl from IKEA so we can start the acorn bird feeder project. I'm sure we could have found something in town, but he was there and it made sense for him to swing by and grab one.

Oh IKEA, how I miss thee!

Inspiration!

{ Photo credit left: Jenna Cole | Photo credit right: Stacey Bode }

A couple weeks back the photo of Michael's boutonniere - on the right - received a comment from Mary Lorraine, a very sweet bride-to-be, asking how we managed to secure the acorns. I replied back with a couple tips and and voilà! She posted a photo of her version, and I think it's really beautiful. You did a great job Mary Lorraine and congrats on your wedding!

Update: Mary also sent me a link to her sweet blog.

diy project: kate’s acorn bird feeder

I meant to post this when it first appeared. Here is the full tutorial posted at Design*Sponge.


Michael loves this and it's been put 'on the list'. I think we may go the peanut butter route instead of using gelatin as the 'adhesive' and Michael wants to have some kind of 'perch'.

The Woodsman's Wife

I really need to finish a couple of the projects I've been yammering on about, but inertia has gotten the better of me today. Instead, I'm posting this lovely piece I found cruising through the intarwebs. I'm always looking for something that I can reproduce as a costume.

Steven Kenny

Found via FFFFOUND!

My favorite pumpkin of the season so far. Sent to me by my friend Aad.

Boys and their toys

This is Michael's 'lab' where he produces his high voltage toys. The lab is upstairs next to the bedroom so we have to deal with the same hurdles/restrictions as the bedroom, such as the awful carpet and the mauve/purple Formica shelving. Mmmmm.

I have one more photo I might try to slip in later.




The silver globe on the floor is a Van de Graff generator, Michael's current project. The stand is the first cake stand for our wedding cake until we realized we'd cut it too narrow.


Mmmmm...I love power tools.


One day I'll take a photo of Michael reenacting the famous Nikola Tesla portrait where he's holding the giant lightbulb




Meters and regulators.


Neon Sign Transformers


You can see the Marx generator in the background.


I liked this photo better.


Control box built by Michael featuring a variac.


Yup, this is anal but I cannot tell you how much time this has saved trying to find the right screwdriver when Michael has his hands full and can't reach them.

Vintage Plates - refired with new images

Dinner plates with skull, eye, snake, scorpion beetle, lizard or lobster.
Border designs and sizes vary.
Re-foundobjects.com