Game of Thrones Inspired Khaleesi Dragon Clips: Collaboration with Mountain Musings!

I have done a couple pretty neat collaborations with Mountain Musings the past year or so. She incorporates my fairy wings into her beautiful kanzashi flower hair clips.

With the new Game of Thrones season coming up, she decided to make these Khaleesi inspired clips with my little dragon wings. Here I am showing off a set she made for me!

Each flower represents one of the three dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. The petals were folded in such a way to mimic their dragon eggs. They are all three individual clips so I can choose favorites and wear just one or two if I want something less flashy.

Quick action shots! I am being flashy.

I'm so excited. You know what I'm going to be wearing for season 5 right?! Her work is so stunning!

Organizing: Hair Pins

I'm going to organize all of the things!

Today's project is really small but feels so satisfying. Sometimes the little things make all the difference.

I don't have an extensive hair pin/tie hoard, but finding them was a pain and they previously didn't have a home. They were just scattered everywhere with my makeup and shower stuff. I went shopping at Joann Fabrics and found a little container for bobbin storage. They were with the regular storage containers on an end cap, then I found more hanging up front by the registers. 

Even though it was a tiny purchase, I still used a coupon (why not? hehe) and it was somewhere around $3 if I remember right.

They fit perfectly!

They stay in their compartments too!

I do have more hair elastics than that, but I keep them with the rest of my toiletry back-up (I buy extras when they go on sale). If I give myself access to too many elastics at once, I keep track of them less and them lose more. Oops. 

So this one was easy. Now I'm trying to find a system that works with all of my big fancy hair toys!

In Love with Marimo Moss Balls

I was sitting at the kitchen table while my boyfriend and brother were playing Magic the Gathering together. I was trying to be at least a little sociable. Soon my boyfriend looked over to see what I was working on, and then he appeared a little concerned with all the cups, green fuzzy stuff, and my silence. "What are you doing over there?!"

"Propagating moss balls!"

It is becoming increasingly hard for me not to keep getting these little cute fuzzy green Tribble things.

These are "Marimo Moss Balls" but they are not actually moss at all, they are a form of algae (Aegagropila linnaei). They grow naturally in only a few lakes throughout the world and it is assumed that they develop their ball-shape from being pushed around in the current.

I originally got my first one for my little betta fish tank. I read that they can help with water quality a little (it competes with other algae for nutrients), they are VERY low maintenance, some fish like to play with them, plus I think they are pretty cute!

Later I learned that some people keep them as "pets" in little cute jars. I envisioned a row of little jars sitting on my windowsill...

Oops.

They also grow very very slowly, only about 5mm a year according to most sources. I found that intriguing and a bit of a challenge. I would love a Tribble-like army in a shrimp tank someday, so how can I propagate them and encourage growth? 

I read in a couple places that in their natural environment, Marimo growth is strongest in brackish areas of the lakes. So I divided one of my balls up into many little mini balls. That is the most common method of propagation, minus waiting around for a ball to randomly spit a baby ball out, which is a rather rare occurrence. 

I then separated the balls into two difference jars, and am using marine salt water in just one and freshwater (from the tap) in the other. In a few years I'll see if I notice any difference in growth between the two. LOL so I'll get back to you then.

Do you have a Marimo ball (or two...billion)? Tell me about it!

Blog Makeover

Hello everyone!

This blog first began back in the summer of 2012. I have touched it on and off at the beginning, but then went on a super long hiatus, lacking any inspiration at all. I really didn't know what I wanted to do. The past couple months I have been thinking about it a lot though, and have finally figured out the general direction in which I want to go in. Yay!

In the spirit of the upcoming spring, I'm excited to give this a fresh start and commitment. 

Happy flower picture because I need spring now (my orchid bloom last spring)

A lot has happened the past few years, but one of the biggest changes was getting my first full time job. While I'm grateful and blessed for the work opportunities, my job is completely unrelated to my hobbies and several personal passions. I found myself in a huge creativity dump with fewer feelings of accomplishment.

I would like to look at this blog as an outlet and a record. A "hub" of sorts for things I do. I have stuff scattered all over the internet and would like to centralize my projects and thoughts. I want to also go back to see what I have done, and then go forward with motivation and encouragement! Not only that, I hope that one day it could inspire someone else too.

Thanks for checking it out! I hope to see you soon. :)