A rolling stone

I’ve wanted to make my first terrarium for a long time now. I have a terrible curse on my head that kills any plant that enters my care. For example, I recently bought a tiny hydrangea plant, and it’s barely hanging on. So this morning I was in a rather productive mood, and decided to gather the necessary materials to try my hand at moss. It’s very simple : all you need is a clean jar {preferably with a lid}, some pebbles, and some moss.
There are many types and variations of moss. Moss is a non-vascular plant and lack roots, leaves and stems and because of this, moss does not contribute to hay-fever or allergies. It has been used for centuries by the Japanese in gardens as it is believed moss brings a calm and contemplative state of mind {something we could all do with}.
There are a lot of good websites to give you tips on keeping moss {here’s one}. You can easily scoop up a tuft of moss within walking distance from your home. Place the moss {plus attached soil} in a jar. You will need to make sure the moss is packed and not too loose in your container, to ensure it takes on it’s new surroundings. Mist your moss when necessary, and since moss is quite hearty, it can be revived should it take a turn {fingers crossed}.
I took these pictures in my bathroom, since there’s very good light in it. But I’m beginning to think my terrarium looks really good on my cistern. And I think a cluster of terrariums would look even better …

Needlepoint terrorist

I am a fan of graffiti. I feel the need to correct myself – not something a prepubescent boy has drawled across a shop front. I appreciate good graffiti and will {to the embarrassment of my brother} stop in my tracks and take a picture of a particularly good piece.
Since I am somewhat crafty, I wanted to make cross stitch that was the opposite of a typical cross stitch. I decided to combine my love of graffiti with my love of cross stitch, and began searching for ideas. I came across the Fuldesign website, which is full of designs right up my alley.
The moment I saw their Banksy Flower Terrorist piece, I had to do it. They have a downloadable PDF version {as seen below on the left}, but since it’s quite blurry and difficult to decipher, I redid the pattern in Excel {below right}.

The finished product. I framed it along with a grey mat and black frame to make it pop.

After two weeks, I was finally finished. This project was a real test of patience. It seems to go on forever, but is well worth the final product in the end. The main colors in this piece are black, with highlights of dark and light grey.
Should you like to try this cross stitch, let me know and I can e-mail the Excel pattern to you no problem. Happy stitching!

Curious to see what this looks like 5 years later? Check out my revised Banksy cross stitch here