Latest creations.. butterflies and gold

My latest creations for the Boutique! terrarium bottle pendants made with delightful little things like *real* butterfly wings, wisps of gold flakes and native Irish mosses and lichen. The butterflies were sustainably sourced from a butterfly farm, no wild or endangered butterflies here!

These vials are reminiscent of dusty old natural specimen jars, odd in their beauty and oozing with irresistible intrigue and mystery. A tiny world preserved, for you to wear.

I'm working to get these ready for a weekend I'll be spending doing demos and selling my wares at the Shanagarry Design Center in East Cork, so pop in and say hi if you're in the area this coming Friday, Saturday or Sunday. If you don't get a chance to see them in person, these bottles will be making their way to my Etsy Shop sometime next week (if any survive the weekend that is!).

Introducing Baby Bear

 The worlds most hard to photograph kitten! Baby Bear was found hiding under a skip in Bandon, West Cork a few days ago. A friend found him and got in contact to ask for advice, and we offered to take him in and to try to find him a forever home when he's big enough.

He is so tiny at six weeks old, and didn't even know how to feed himself for the first few days, so we had to care for him constantly at first, but he is learning so quickly! He also takes incredible pride in keeping himself spotlessly clean, which is really amazing for such a small baby :)

When we got him home we soon discovered he has a bad limp and very swollen paw, so he's on antibiotics and will probably be having an x-ray soon if the swelling doesn't go down. Although he was a stray, he quickly fell in love with me and P. and is incredibly loving and affectionate. He  cries if you dont hold him close enough to your face until you tuck him in under your chin when he can nuzzle, pod and purr himself to a happy sleep.

We're trying to stay strong and focus on not getting to attached, but it's pretty much impossible when you're nurturing such a small, vulnerable little creature day and night.

 
We are hoping to find him a forever home in the next month or so, depending on how his paw heals! If he faces a series of Xrays and possibly surgery, I think we will have to do some sort of fundraiser to generate the money, so please stay tuned to hear more!

 

Something new!

 

 

 Sweet and whimsical little necklace, made with a delicate little white feather encased in a beautiful glass vial and suspended on a sparkling gold cobweb chain. Feathers are a symbol of freedom, hope, new life and travel, and so this would be a wonderful meaningful gift for someone you know embarking on some new adventures in life!

Available from my Etsy shop!

Summer is the time for adventures!

 

 Not so long ago we took our beloved old yellow van on a trip around the coast of West Cork and Kerry. We got a tiny boat out to Garinish Island, and saw seals and an eagle, and strange exotic flowers that don't grow anywhere else in Ireland, and visited a big stone temple overlooking the bay. 

  We camped in the woods and stayed up late drinking strawberry wine beside a lagoon ringed in flowers.  In the morning I got up early and went exploring down the shadowed woodland paths and along the icy cold stream

After we had breakfast I set up studio under the trees with a tin cup of fresh coffee to make a few pieces of jewellery that needed posting soon.

When I got my parcels in the post, we carried on our way West! We visited all the cheerful little rainbow towns that nestle somewhat defiantly in the hills, out of the way of the cruel and wild Atlantic winds from Glengarriff to Allihies.

 On a day like this, you could be anywhere in the world.

Curiouser and Curiouser...

....are these little things I have been making of late. 

Introducing my new Curiosities and oddities collection! This strange and wonderful assortment was born from a particular fascination of mine with dusty old Victorian curiosity cabinets, of nature specimens and taxidermy,  of butterfly shadow boxes and miniature world terrariums and anything small and precious encased in glass. 

I have started listing these pieces in my Etsy Shop  and hope to have them all up in the next day or two!

 

Beetroot, walnut and sage risotto

So I know this is bit of a weird recipe to come up with in the middle of July, but I am bringing tonnes of beautiful big beetroot bulbs home from the allotment these days, and have found myself needing to get pretty creative with how I cook it! Also, I have been experimenting with using the leaves too, which have a lovely rich, nutty, buttery flavour, not unlike spinach but much much tastier, so I  really recommend you buy your beetroot with green bits intact ;)

In this recipe I have combined some of my all time favourite ingredients: strong farmhouse cheddar, (Cork made Hegartys cheddar, best cheddar in Ireland in my opinion), walnuts and natural yoghurt to create a simple, hearty and incredibly comforting dish, lovely for anytime of year!

Ingredients (serves 6);

1 1/2 cups risotto/arborio rice

3-4 beetroot, peeled and cut into small cubes

Beetroot leaves (optional), roughly chopped

4-5 cups chicken stock

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 onion, diced

1 tbs lemon juice

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 generous tsp sweet paprika

3-4 sage leaves, chopped

2 cups mature farmhouse cheddar, grated

salt and pepper

sour cream or natural yoghurt for garnish

Method;

* Fry onion in butter or oil until golden, add garlic and beetroot and saute for 2-3 mins.

* Add rice, paprika, lemon juice and gradually add chicken stock one cup at a time until the beetroot is soft and the rice soft but with a slight bite.

* Season well with salt and pepper.

*Add beetroot leaves, walnuts, sage and cheddar and cook for another minute or two until the leaves have wilted.

* Serve with a spoon of yoghurt or sour cream

Enjoy :)

Treasure!

At last... my life is a little more complete today. 1922 vintage Singer sewing machine.