Winter berries and beads

So after about a month or so of unpacking, straightening, and decorating, I finally have the time to do some crafts. Our new apartment is lovely and I'm enjoying spending time making it our own. My craft room is coming along at a slower pace then the rest of the place but it's starting to take shape. This is the first time I've had a room devoted solely to crafting so I want it to be organized and perfect, both of which take time.


The room itself gets good light despite the winter sun and my Sage is still doing well. Remember when I started growing plants from seeds? It was a larger undertaking than originally expected and only the Sage survived! I still have yet to harvest anything from it since it is still quite small but I'm sure once it warms up and can be put back outside then it will flourish!


The apartment community is full of trees and woods which is lucky considering it's straight off such a busy road and area. There's a large Holly bush right outside our balcony and many more scattered throughout the property (in fact one of Gypsy's favorite "spots" is right by this cluster of three of the largest Holly trees). I've also found Juniper, Oak, and Birch. Once the leaves return I may even find more of nature's treasures along the way.


Over the holidays I gathered many holly branches (under the cover of darkness like the sneaky witch I am), used a few for decoration for Christmas, and dried many of the berries for use in future projects. The Juniper above shall have a similar fate, being dried and used for decoration and projects. I love it's dusty little berries, the color reminds me of cold bitter winter winds.(By the by, isn't the Macro setting on our new camera just the bee's knees? I'm loving it!)


In addition to all the organizing, I've been working on a few projects here and there, this one included. It involves some hand bead work and newly learned french knots and embroidery. There was no pattern used here and I just kinda went with it as I always try to do, just letting the muses guide me. Unless I'm working on something very particular and specific I try not to use patterns. I enjoy having the shapes unfold around what I'm doing as it's a very organic process that way and it always produces better results. Try it and see what you come up with! This motif is going to become a tarot bag or similar sack of holding. I'd love to know what everyone thinks!