One of my YouTube subscribers (and repeat customer) threw out the idea for me to design a bag that he could toss a few books into; something simple to throw over his shoulder, made from upcycled denim, with a touch of birds (yes, this subscriber found me through Riley Mae’s beloved bird channel).
At this suggestion, my brain instantly went 💡
these bags look small and compact, but are big enough to comfortable fit an 11″x9″ notebook into, as well as a few books!
I hope that you all had a cozy Valentine’s Day; I certainly did, which means that I spent the day at home celebrating the completion of my Valentine’s to-do list (and starting on my next projects!).
Now I shall dump an excessive amount of red-pink-and-white photos into this post, please enjoy my 5 DIY Valentine’s Day Projects 😌🎀
just look how cute this is; the perfect backdrop for all my videos!
I can’t believe that January is already over. I know it drags on endlessly for a lot of people (and I’m often one of those people), but it really seems like it was here and gone this year.
And not only did I succeed in making all twelve monthly wraps last year (you can find the whole playlist of them here), I started all over again for 2026. It’s too much fun to watch the changing year through them all!
I’m happy to report that winter has been very wintery here in New England. Multiple winter storms have arrived, and the last storm we got (Storm Fern) dropped a good 16″ inches on top of us. We now have snow-blown paths winding through the yard leading to all of our important destinations (the barn, the wood shed, the compost, the birdfeeders…).
One of my newest creative projects has been shadowbox making.
I knew I wanted to make some as Christmas gifts, and I had already had this idea (and had pinned a whole bunch of inspiration onto a secret Pinterest board!) before we went on vacation.
I also knew that vacation would be a perfect time to collect some items; down by the coast there’s plenty of lovely pieces of nature, and of course the cherry on top is that much of it came from some of our favorite places.
Exciting news: I’ve partnered up with Riley Mae and Mom to design some bird merch for Riley Mae’s YouTube channel, and yesterday we official launched it 🎉
I was excited to get to design some simple, straightforward birds that are now being printed on t-shirts, mugs, pins, hats, and more.
All of these designs were drawn directly from some of Riley Mae’s photographs, and then painted with black acrylic paint before I scanned them onto my computer and turned them into transparent PNG files that can easily be uploaded to all of our projects.
carolina wren, ruby-throated hummingbird, sanderling, blue jay, northern cardinal, northern flicker, turkey vulture
When I first started pinning butterflies in June (you can see my how to pin butterflies post here), I was well-aware that this was going to be a slow-going hobby for me. I only ever pin bugs that have been found dead, and I think we all know how rare it is to find a beautiful dead butterfly in the wild.
All the Redditors can defend their bug-catching methods all they want, but I’ll never be okay with catching and killing a bug for the sole purpose of owning its beauty. Imagine you’re enjoying your life one day, out in the big wide world, and a giant alien sees you, thinks you’re pretty, scoops you up, and sticks you in their freezer, just so that they can pin you in a box.
Y’all, that’s insane, and there’s not one ounce of me that approves of that selfish barbarianism ☝🏼🤨
the colors and pattern on the Ornate Tiger moth’s wings (bottom left) are pretty crazy
Officially into the 9th month of the year (in case you missed my 60-second August wrap, you can watch it here), and my Christmas senses are tingling, people. The lights want to be hung! The lists want to be made!!
But summer isn’t quite over yet, and I’m making the most of the last days of it.
(Christmas lights will be being hung within the next month)
hangin out with some beautiful girls 🥺❤
A new addition has been added to my…skull wall. Which yes, sounds like a strange thing to have in a bedroom that has pink walls, and white furniture trimmed with gold.
But you know what? I’m pretty sure I pull this vibe off perfectly.
Because floral skulls, y’all.
With gold teeth.
The vibes are impeccable.
As I briefly mentioned in my recent post: I pinned my first butterfly.
This, of course, quickly turned into me pinning my second butterfly. And my third butterfly. And then I moved on to pinning plenty of moths and other interesting insects…but I’ll save that for another post (because my current collection deserves a whole post of its own).
And just in case y’all don’t know me already, I’ll start this post with a clear disclaimer: I only pin bugs that have already died naturally; I never kill bugs to pin, and I don’t approve of such strange activities ☝🏼🤓
Spicebush Swallowtail (left) and Red-Spotted Purple (right)
It’s been a hot minute (literally) since I’ve posted on this blog — you have no idea how many drafts I’ve started in here, only to lose steam halfway through and never publish them!
When I disappear from one place, it usually means that I’m busy elsewhere, and that has definitely been the case this time around.
Although summer has technically just started, it’s been so much fun so far.
releasing my dear Painted Lady butterflies (more on this later in the post)
art by jordan rae 