Yesterday was Tutorial Saturday. Did you make something? Which was your favorite? My favorite is the star bead. And I used some awesome glass to make it. And I plan on making a lot more of these guys. They are so cool. Two are in my kiln right now. Also made with awesome glass. That Double Helix stuff I am so in love with. 
I also made three Tie-Dye beads and two of the Twisty beads. My larger twisty broke…bummer. But I made a new one and it’s cooling down slowly in my kiln right now. Right along side those two star beads I made. So let me know what you thought and if you made any of the beads send me a picture. I’ll post it on the blog.
Have you read?
Book Review: Off to the Nursery
One of the best things about the return of warmer weather is getting to plant new flowers and starting the vegetable garden if you have one. Off to the Nursery by Alice Oehr is subtitled “a celebration of gardening, plants and seasons,” and it’s also a celebration of diversity (because gardening is for everyone) and caring for the earth.
The book starts with the work of getting the garden ready for spring, pulling out the old plants and spreading compost made from kitchen scraps. They grab tomatoes and peppers, learn about zucchini and eggplant and explore the tasty world of herbs.
They also look through the seeds, succulents, berries and fruit trees, flowers and aquatic plants, talking about the benefits of different plants and how fun they are to grow. Maybe you can relate to the family buying what seems like way too many plants?
The book was originally published in Australia, so some of the flowers mentioned might not be familiar to your or your kids, but that’s kind of fun, too. You can also use this as an opportunity to talk about which plants in the book can grow where you live and that just like animals, plants have preferred habitats, too.
Illustrations are colorful and the book combines a standard font and a hand written font to make it feel more like a journal about the garden. The illustrations include fun facts and growing tips such as always planting mint in a pot or germinating seeds on a wet paper towel before planting.
If you want to introduce kids to gardening or just talk about what kind of plants can be grown at home where you live (yes to tomatoes, probably no to the kumquat tree), this cute book is a great addition to your spring reading list.
About the book: 30 pages, hardcover. Published 2025 by Scribble US. Suggested retail price $18.95.