Fall Collecting in the Forest! Nature's Beauties!

 I added a link a the top of my Page for Interweave which I found from a favorite magazine, Cloth, Paper, Scissors!  It features all kinds of Crafting and Art Resources! It is the Interweave Link which will take you to so many fun places, check it out! You will fall in love too! Save 30% Off at Interweave with Offer Code SPOOKY30 I have not blogged much this summer, but it rained the other day  I stayed inside most of the day,  I am sure my husband liked it better on summer days when I was outside many times past his dinner call!  I cleaned and vacuumed and was in his way all day!

I have stayed busy planting and building gardens, moss, flowers, and wildflower (roadside finds) which I said I was not going to do this year BUT, it happened...

I could not drive my car the beginning of summer, in May I wreaked our car and my husband banned me from driving because Our car insurance rate will  be raised yet again due to me. Two accidents in last two years, which really is a bit much for me... But, eventually I wore him down and said I would pay the increased premium if he would let me go back to my wanderings.... ( he got tired of waiting in the car for me while cutting roadside finds and lots of times he would not even stop which led to some bittersweet words from me....

My gardens have kept me busy and fall collecting season has been fabulous! The acorns are falling on  my head in my backyard! A Banner Year for them!

I am finding so many acorn with no tops which is amazing to me, where are the tops? Maybe they are so heavy on the trees they fall and tops stay. I don't know but both are all around me in my backyard especially, The yard is just covered with both and I cannot help but keep picking them up. They find their way into crevices and leaf bunches, our yard slopes and catches many things, fun to look around.

I even have been finding with I cannot resist collecting is these tiny  little eanny meany acorns, I find their little eyes looking at me in the leaves, They would make great table scatter I tell myself. So yes, I pick them up!

Meanwhile, here is what I have been doing! 

I remember a couple of occasions when I went looking for an acorn and another time a pine cone. They were just not to be found, it was too late for the pine cones, they were under pine straw and rotting and wrong time of year acorns. Some years we just have not had many but THIS has been a BANNER Year for them! They are falling all around me outside in my yard and hitting our car even. 

SO, Collect them when you can!

I  have been collecting the acorn tops for awhile now, they started falling in my back yard a while back so I have a fabulous supply! 

 I had some drying when the rains came and the nuts started sprouting so I feed them to the squirrels but they are separating now and I am collecting them separate and putting acorns the street as I don't want them in my gardens sprouting! I sure don't need pine trees in my gardens.

 I started collecting the acorn tops when I thought of the Gnome Hat Factory for my Etsy store.  As you know fairies, gnomes, hobbits, elves, any kind of  forest creatures who love to hide is what I LOVE! I say to myself I find the magical trinkets they leave for me to discover! Also some buyers are using them to felt acorns with and other ideas.

Also, we have had several days of rain and one a humdinger with  high winds and hard rains and now the pine cones are everywhere, so YES! I go get them! All kinds of trees are in the forest and so many types to find. Long, short, little, fat, they are all around me. They are all a lot to clean and remove pine straw debris but I am working on it

I am now finding all sizes of pine cones and I collect them all. I use them for mixed media projects like the new fireplace starters I am working on. even the eany meany ones will be neat table scatter and in my potpourri I am working on.  Some can be barely seen and are not open.

 I have been drying flowers all summer long for my potpourri mixes and I have a beautiful supply of Dried Hydrangea now too, Beautiful colors in blue, pine, brown lace, white lace, and greens. I have dried flower petals of all kinds.

Some of the small pine cones I am using in my New Fireplace Starters I am just starting to make. Of course, they are all different as I use forest findings to make them. They will be nice for campfires and  fireplaces, etc.  I put inside them items I thought would be neat to see or colorful but the wax dried white instead of clear so next time maybe I will add a scent to them for color since you cannot see inside the fireplaces starters. I did decorate the tops with woodland findings and they will be in my Etsy shop too!

With our hard rains down came the leaves too. I was sweeping our porch and moved my concrete bunny that holds a couple of pine cones that never open. I had added a couple that were on the porch just to clear the way and look what I found. Do you see the tiny mushrooms growing inside the pine cone?

I hope you have enjoyed my days in the woods! 

Smiles, Cyndi