Hayefield

It’s so easy to find inspiration: interesting garden projects, gorgeous plant combinations to try, and beautiful things to make. The hard part is finding the time to actually try some of the wonderful ideas that other people have come up with. My own to-do list is ridiculously long, but over the past few months, I’ve been ticking a few things off of the list and having a great time doing it. One project I’m particularly excited about has been at the top of the list ever since I read about it in the March 2014 issue of Gardens Illustrated. The article, which you can read online here, features the work of Rachel Dein in the U.K.. It focuses primarily on her work with making plaster castings of plants, though she works with other materials as well. The photos of the finished projects were so enticing that I knew I had to try the process for myself. Continue reading First Impressions

Being immersed in writing a book is a great experience, but when I’m in between books, I enjoy picking up smaller assignments, especially when I’m asked to write about topics I normally don’t get to indulge in. Over the last six months, I’ve been working on a number of fun plant-related projects for the HGTV website, which has given me the opportunity to experiment with a variety of crafting techniques. I’ve enjoyed them all, but one of the best ones was learning how to turn some of my favorite garden plants into handmade paper. So, as a change from post after post of endless garden photos, I decided to write up some of the stuff that I didn’t get to include in the finished project, just in case any of you might like to give this a try while there’s still lots of great paper-making material available in the garden.

Continue reading Paper Training