Lenten Rose

Another sure sign of spring is Lenten Rose.  The flowers on these are beautiful but you don't often get a good look at them because their heads hang down.  I had to mush my head agains the ground to take the photo above.

I also love the variation in color.  In my yard they vary from dark pinky purple to rose to white.  They are actually hellebores (not roses) and there is a very nice description of them over on the Birds and Blooms blog.

Again, I have to credit Jillsy girl's blog for getting me out there to take some photos.  The above photo was inspired by Jill's April Challenge - Color My World.

Grackle on Fountain

So I just took this photo of a grackle on our fountain so I could enter it in Jillsy Girl's Tweeter board.  You should check out her blog.  She has such nice photography and fun things to participate in.  It made me go out and watch my fountain for half an hour which I wouldn't have done otherwise.  Thanks Jill!

I know most people (especially birders) don't like grackles.  But just look at the beautiful iridescence on the head and neck and how the yellow eye stands out against the dark bluish purple. This one enjoyed quite a nice long bath on the fountain.     

Bloodroot

Bloodroot flowers are one of my favorite signs of spring.  I am delighted every year when I see their white flowers and leafy arms wrapped around them like a warm winter coat.  (Click on images to get a closer look at their "veiny" coats) 

I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the family of three below.

And this little guy below would not be deterred by the rotting contorted filbert log that fell on him.

Fish Soup Tureen

The other day I needed the plate stand behind my oval platter so I put the platter down on the dining room table.  Then I realized, "OMG!  The oval platter fits perfectly on my tablecloth!"  And then I spied my fish soup tureen sitting on top of the buffet and I got chills down my spine. It dawned on me that my chubby fish friend with his beautiful ceramic curves would fit perfectly on the oval platter!  I just love it when you are not even trying and things fall in to place.

And just look how incredible the spoon is!

Squid Fabric!

When I found out that the theme of Spoonflower's fabric contest this week was squid I had to enter.  What a great subject!  You can see all the beautiful squid fabrics and vote by clicking here.  Have a squidtastic day!

Snowdrops!

OK, I know they're not native, but I do love snowdrops! Look at the way their beautiful, tripod heads hang down from their pedicels - amazing grace!

Crocus are here!

This winter has been long and cold so you can imagine how excited I was to see these beauties popping up in my front yard.  The people who lived in our house before us planted crocus bulbs all over our front yard...and not just in the beds, but everywhere!  They are always a welcome sign that spring is on the way!

New Website!

I have been working like crazy this week to redesign my website and it is finally done!  You can visit me at www.vanessasorensen.com.  I did a lot of testing to try and find any errors, but let me know if you notice anything that doesn't work correctly.  Happy browsing!

Fish Cutting Board

When I saw this fish cutting board at the Duck Creek Antique Mall I knew he was coming home with me.  I just love the way the board has started to split to form a slight smile (you might have to click on it to see it better).  I also love that he has been used and has a nice worn patina.  Keeping him company are three cast iron hens my mom bought me at the Springfield Antique Show last summer.  This is making me excited to go antiquing this spring...oh the treasures that await me!

Birding Journal: Through the Seasons

I am very excited to announce my new book Birding Journal: Through the Seasons is officially available!  You can buy it directly from the publisher, Adventure Publications, or Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  For those of you unfamiliar with the book it is a birding journal for people to record what birds they see throughout the year.  It is filled with illustrations and various ways to record your bird sightings, plus lots of extra tidbits like suet recipes, birding hotspots, and tips to attract birds to your yard. 

Below are a few sample pages from the book.

Spring is upon us so if you know any bird lovers out there let them know about the book!  Happy birding!

Quiche Crust

Tonight when I made this spinach mushroom quiche I had enough extra dough to make this nice beaded border for the crust.  It looks impressive but is very easy to do.  After I rolled out the dough the first time I turned the pie plate upside down and cut around it to make a perfect circle.  I then rolled the dough out a little bit more to make it wide enough to compensate for the vertical side of the pie plate.  When I placed the circle of dough into the pie plate I had about 1/2 inch of space between the top of the dough and the top of the pie plate.  This provided a nice little "ledge" for the dough balls.

To make the dough balls I squeezed and rolled the dough into a snake shape about 1/2 inch thick and then squeezed off pieces of dough roughly every 1/2 inch or so.  I just rolled the dough between my hand to make dough balls and then placed them on the ledge.  They had a tendency to fall off so I pushed them down and out against the side of the dish.

The recipe for the crust is from Molly Katzen's Sunlight Cafe.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter
up to 3 tablespoons of cold water, milk, or buttermilk

Instructions:
Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Cut the butter into slices, add to the processor, and buzz several times, until the mixture is uniform and resembles coarse meal.  Continue to process in quick spurts as you add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time.  As soon as the dough adheres to itself when pinched, stop adding water and turn the dough out onto a floured surface.  Gather it gently into a ball.  Roll the dough into a circle 11 inches or so in diameter.  Lift the dough and ease it into a 9-inch pie pan or 10-inch springform tart pan. If you're not going to use the crust right away, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze until use.

I substituted Earth Balance for the butter and it was delicious!

(The recipe for the quiche is here.)

Valetine's Day Cards

I hardly ever do two posts in one day, but I wanted to post the cards I made this year.  For those fontophiles out there the "O" is Poster Bodoni and the "M" is Americana. Same for below except the "R" is Bodoni MT.

This card is now available for purchase from from my zazzle store.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Vintage Valentines Tablecloth and Bottles

When I saw this tablecloth at Duck Creek Antique Mall I tried to resist it.  I even went home and tried to forget about it.  But how could I forget about that cute Pennsylvania Dutch design?  Just look at the cute Dutch girl!  And the quality was really, good!  When I went back to buy it a couple days later I was nervous that it would be gone and when I got to the booth I was so disappointed because I couldn't find it.  My heart sank...I knew that it was too cute to last even a couple days near Valentines's day.  So I decided to console myself by looking through the stack of tablecloths and there it was!  Oh joy...Valentine's Day was saved this year!

And to top it all off George got me white tulips which looked great in my vintage bottle collection.  I love the curvy shape of this bottle.  I hope everyone has a very Happy Valentine's Day!

Rabbit Fabric

For about a year now I have been voting in Spoonflower's fabric design contest.  For those of you not familiar with Spoonflower it is a company that you can send a design to and they will print it on fabric.  So lately I have been toying with the idea of getting more into fabric design and I decided it was finally time to start submitting some designs for their weekly contests.  Each week they have a different theme and this week it was the Chinese Year of the Rabbit.  I decided to draw up a bunny under the moonlight.  You can vote in the contest here and you can vote for as many as you like.  This week there were an abnormally high number of entries so there were 16 pages to get through, but I really enjoy seeing everyone's creative designs.  Have fun!

Kitchen Cabinet Chotskies

One of the reasons I do this blog is to document the small things that make me happy.  So the other day I realized that this little arrangement of chotskies on top of my kitchen cabinet makes me happy every time I look at it.  I happened to love wire baskets and little glass containers that look like they could have come from a 1920's science lab.  And I was super excited when I found that pear painting at Home Emporium a few years ago - it just works so perfectly with the dried gourd.

One of the other nice things about this little arrangement is that it happened over a period of about 6 years.  I started off with just the pitcher and just this past summer I couldn't bear to throw the dried pods away and I looked up and found the perfect spot. I often find myself in such a hurry to "finish" a room, but I think the best things happen slowly and organically over time.  So I hope this inspires you to slow down and appreciate the little things that make your house a home.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

This year I wasn't going to send out Christmas cards because I was tired and sick (and a little grouchy), but I couldn't help myself because I had this nice acorn drawing already done.  I drew the acorn for the September calendar drawing.  My goal had been to finish the calendar for Christmas presents. I only had October, November, and December left to do - but alas, I ran out of time.  However, I was happy that I got to use the drawing for my Christmas cards.

Below was a second color option for the cards.  George chose the red so that's what I printed, but I still loved the green and brown option.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Birding Journal

One of the reasons I haven't been blogging lately is that I have been working on this!  It is a birding journal for people to record what birds they see throughout the year.  It is filled with illustrations and various ways to record your bird sightings, plus lots of extra tidbits like suet recipes, birding hotspots, and tips to attract birds to your yard.

I am excited that you can now pre-order the Birding Journal on Amazon.  When it is officially available I will post some of the illustrations.  You can also order directly from the publisher's website -  Adventure Publications. 

If you know anyone who enjoys birdwatching let them know that Birding Journal - Through the Seasons will be available soon!

Mariachi Poppy

The past three months have been challenging, but I'm back! After two of my next door neighbor's houses burned down,50 illustrations and copy for a new book, an infected tooth (& extraction), a Thanksgiving trip to Rochester, and a nasty case of the flu, I am finally starting to feel normal again and I have lots to blog about!

This January my Dad is turning 70 and I did this invitation for his party. He has been really into karaoke lately and we often find him wandering around his house singing and strumming the toy guitars of his grandchildren. We are going to have a Mexican singer at his party too so I put him in a cute mariachi outfit.

Check back soon because there is a back log of blogs!

Cast Iron Insects

I started this collection over a year ago and have been slowly adding pieces.  I've been meaning to blog it for a while but the latest piece (longhorn beetle) was so cute it reminded me it was time.   The ant above is one of my favorites...I just love the ridges on it's little body and the body swivels around on top of the legs.

All of these piece have moving parts except the ladybug which was just too cute to resist.  The longhorn beetle is actually a boot jack and is double the size of the others.  You are supposed to place one foot on it's back and the other between the "horns" to help you pull your shoe off.  

What do I use these for you might ask?  I use them on the porch as weights for my tablecloths.  I do worry that they might leave rust stains so I usually put them on a coaster or tray.

OK, I know this isn't an insect, but I had to include it because it is part of the collection.  This was my very first piece.  I got this before I even started going to the flea markets.  I just love the expression on the face, the texture, and the Asian feel of it.  It is also a bell but the string broke.

Framed Fabric

Another flea market find inspired this project.  I found this flower tablecloth on the dollar table and I thought it would go well in my bedroom so I decided to find two other coordinating fabrics and frame them.  I got these frames at Ikea.  I really like how the lavender-blue and cream-tan go together. 

I was going to hang these in front of the bed but I found them to be too stimulating, so I moved them to bookshelves on the side of the bed.  I think I need to stare at a blank wall before I go to bed to quiet my mind - otherwise I will be up all night thinking about design projects!

Vintage Wood Bird Tray

I was so excited to find this tray at the Lawrenceburg flea market in Indiana a couple weekends ago.  It is so me! 

When I first picked it up and was considering buying it, I suddenly saw the moon hiding in the tray (you might have to click the image to see it better).  That totally convinced me - it is so subtle and beautiful the way it has worn down to the wood in places to make it look like clouds in front of the moon.  It makes me wonder if it was that way when it was brand new.  Intentional of not, it is lovely and I love the overall Asian flair and the scant brush strokes near the bottom.  It is amazing what treausres you can find at the flea market for less than five dollars!

Paver Patio

Before

After

Now that the paver patio is finished I finally feel like the porch project is done!  If anyone ever needs a stone mason I really enjoyed working with Tim Hodge.  He did a great job and I cannot say enough good things about him.  Send me an email and I will send you his contact info. 

I did have a moment (no, let's say a day) of freak out when the pavers arrived and they looked very grey.  I even made a trip out to the paver store to check the color and it looked different than their sample.  But I am very happy with them in the end and now the mud pit is gone! 

Tole Tray

I found this great tole tray a couple weeks ago at Duck Creek Antique Mall.  I have been totally addicted to folk prints lately and this orange-red tray caught my eye.  I looked up exactly what a tole trays are and apparently they are typically metal trays that have been enameled and decoratively painted with a colorful design heavily influenced by folk art.  The practice of enameling and painting has been widely practiced in Asia for centuries, but tole trays seem to have emerged around the 18th century, primarily among Scandinavian immigrants in New England.

I decided to hang it on the porch and it makes me happy every time I look up at it.

Homemade Tortillas!

George has been spoiling me rotten lately by making these homemade tortillas.  He got the recipe from my mom and in typical George fashion altered it a bit.  Instead of mixing it in a bowl he uses the cuisinart and that makes it a lot easier.  He also doesn't sift the dry ingredients and uses butter instead of shortening.

If you have half an hour they really are worth it.  When they are warm they are heavenly! You can download a pdf of the recipe below by clicking here.  Enjoy!