A Trip To Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

My husband and I were finally able to get away with the kids on a short family vacation. We had heard of the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Garden a while ago, and I really wanted to go. It is about a 3 hour drive each way from where we live, so we made it an overnight trip so we wouldn't be rushed and exhausted. We were fortunate enough to visit during the Chihuly Glass Sculpture displays and the ArtPrize.

I really like this sculpture of the horse.

Having a love of gardening, I really like this sculpture of the trowel. It was quite large - compare the size of the trowel with the trees!

This is an amazingly massive sculpture. My daughter said she wished it was a slide.

I don't like spiders, but this was a pretty cool sculpture. My daughter was a little afraid.

This beaver was interesting. Quite friendly little guy. Well, actually, he was pretty big.

I liked the animal footprints in the stonework. We enjoyed trying to guess the different types of animals the prints belonged to.

This is the TreeHouse in the Children's Garden. My husband and I took turns taking our daughter through it since our son was in the stroller. Lot's of fun!

This is a plant in the room with many variations of cactus. My daughter especially liked this one and said it needs a haircut!

Very nice sculpture. I can't imagine the time, sweat and patience it took to create this.

As a mother, I really enjoyed this one.

Overall, we had a great time and I am so glad we took the time to see this. Sometimes the best vacations are short and sweet, and close to home.

The Gathering Bag

This is the newest item available in my etsy shop. It is a Gathering Bag, a bag for collecting goodies from nature, an adventure bag, what ever you would like to call it. It is made of burlap, 100% jute, a natural plant fiber.

I love the rustic, natural look to this bag. It features a long strap that allows the bag to hang 16" from the shoulder. Perfect size for a smaller person or a child to wear across the chest.

Roomy enough to collect all that nature offers us. Pinecones, acorns, leaves, stones, seashells. Take it to the backyard, on a nature hike, to the park, or the beach.

This is the first being offered in my shop http://www.harrietshaven.etsy.com Customers may even choose any design from my shop to have stenciled on the bag instead of the word "Collect". This really is the perfect bag for the kid in all of us.

Stirring Up A Little Ghoulish Fun

I love Halloween. It had always been one of my favorite holidays as a kid. Of course, back then I loved it because of the trick or treating, but also because of something more. I loved how people would go out of their way to decorate and make their lawns scary. I loved the hayrides, pumpkin carving, leaf piles, scarecrows, apple cider and donuts. You name it, if it had something to do with Halloween, I loved it.

Now that I have kids of my own, I want to share with them some of the experiences I enjoyed when I was their age. As a homeowner, I had never really had the money to spend on the costly decorating Halloween involves. So I decided to make my own ghosts.

I have a lot, and I do mean A LOT of scrap material from all of my other crafting projects. What better way to use some of it up then on one of my favorite holidays? I used 2" foam balls and tore wide strips of fabric and left the edges raw for a "scary" ghost look. I draped the fabric, usually about 3 pieces per ghost over the foam ball and pinned it on with straight pins. After each ghost was made, my 4 year old daughter had a blast drawing the faces on with a Sharpie marker.

We made a total of 12 ghosts. After each was made, I used a large needle to thread embroidery floss (6 strands thick) through each ball and tied them to this pine tree...

...and this shrub. How "ghoulishly" scary!