One of the joys of living on Monteagle Mountain is the stunning amount of locally grown food ~ organic herbs and vegetables, fresh-baked bread, grass-fed meats, and eggs with yolks so deep orange you want to weep. (Okay, that may be some hyperbole but not by much.) There are farmers everywhere, and farmers markets both online and in-person. Even in January, there are local goodies for the table.

This week, I got some just-picked organic shiitake mushrooms from Jess and Nate Wilson, farmers in Monteagle. They are firm yet tender, with a subtle earthy, nutty taste. The first thing I did with them was to gently saute them with butter, yellow peppers, garlic and scallions.

If you've ever visited my OvoLactoPesco food blog, you know that I don't really measure stuff; it's a little of this, a handful of that, whatever pleases you. I don't post to that blog any more, because I'm no longer vegetarian, not even the ovo-lacto-pesco kind. (I know, I know.) So, I'll post recipes here, really "tiny" recipes because they are really more like suggestions, idea-starters for your meals. And I hope you'll  a) let me know how they turn out for you and  b) share "tiny recipes" of your own. 

P.S. Did you miss the last Tiny Project? Click here.

Kim Phillips | Striver-in-Chief
Tiny Creative House
©2016 Kim Phillips | Tiny Creative House

Wintertime doesn't have to be "down time" for gardeners. If you gathered seeds from your plants at the end of the last growing season, you can share them with friends. Putting them in hand-made seed packets makes a charming gift. Making the seed packets is easy, using recycled materials and other things you have at hand.

Here's what you need for the project:

• paper ~ used paper grocery bags work well, or you can use brown kraft paper; if you use old gift bags, the inside of your seed packet can be really pretty!
• cover stock ~ heavier paper for the template, which you'll use again
• x-acto knife ~ or scissors but an x-acto knife is great to have
• ruler ~ longer is better
• scoring tool ~ I like the kind with the tiny ball on the end of a pencil-like stick, but you can use an "orange stick" normally used for manicures
• self-healing cutting mat ~ indispensible for paper crafts
• pencil ~ and a red pencil if you have one
• artist tape ~ optional; can use blue painters tape if it helps
• colored pencils, fine Sharpie ~ or anything you like to decorate the packet

1. MAKE YOUR TEMPLATE
Decide what size you want your finished seed packet to be; in this example, the packet is 2.5" x 3.5" but any size will do. On your cover stock, draw out the main body of the seed packet with a pencil, plus side flaps, bottom flap, and top flap. Save the template to re-use later.​

2. TRACE AROUND TEMPLATE ONTO PAPER
Trace around the edge of the template, then use a red pencil to angle the edges of the side flaps and bottom flap; this makes folding cleaner. draw the round-cornering on the top flap. Note: You'll want to score where the folds are before you cut out the packet; do the scoring on the outside ~ the "good side" ~ of the paper.
​

3. DECORATE THE PACKET
This can be done now, or after the packet is assembled. I like to do it at this point, before cutting and gluing, because the paper lays flatter. Your decoration can be drawn, painted (if the paint doesn't buckle the paper), stamped, colored with pencils, or you can glue things to the packet. (Remember to leave a clear space where the flaps overlap.)

4. FOLD AND GLUE
Turn the paper over to the (blank) inside, put a thin bit of glue on one of the side flaps, fold in the other flap, and press the glued flap down. Be sure that none of the glue seeps inside; this will ruin the packet. Then, glue and fold up the bottom flap. That's it ~ your seed packet is done!

A NOTE ABOUT GLUES & ADHESIVES
For paper crafts, some glues are better than others. You want glues that won't wrinkle the paper. I like the Scotch scrapbooker's glue shown here. Some glue sticks work well and don't wrinkle the paper, but the adhesion will be less strong, and you don't want your seed packet popping open! Spray adhesives are great when you need to cover a large area. Choosing the right glues and adhesives for paper crafts will be covered in more detail in a future post.

HOW TO CLOSE YOUR SEED PACKET
After you add the seeds, you can seal the packet with a dot of glue on the top flap. Or, you can get fancy and punch a hole through the closed packet and run a ribbon or twine through it; this is a nice technique if you want to tie the seed packet to another gift.

WHY YOU'LL WANT TO BOOKMARK THIS POST
Now that you know the way to make a seed packet, the same steps work well for making any sort of envelope. Here are some ideas:

• holder for a gift card
• envelope for a greeting card
• holder for the recipe for a baked gift
• envelope for spices or spiced tea mix
• holder for a cash gift

The sky's the limit, when it comes to hand-made envelopes. And people love receiving something you made yourself. 

Learn more about the humble marigold; click here.

Did you miss the last Tiny Project? It's here.

Kim Phillips | Striver-in-Chief
​Tiny Creative House
©2016 Kim Phillips | Tiny Creative House

This fun little gift bag is so easy to make. Why make your own gift bag when you could buy one at the store? Lots of reasons... you can make odd shapes and sizes to accommodate exactly what you are giving; you can design a set of pieces to the gift that all match, like the greeting card matches the bag that matches the tag that matches what's inside; you can make something way prettier than what the store offers. And, you can say to the recipient: "I made this bag just for you!"

Now that you're ready, here's what you need for the project:

• paper ~ scrapbooking paper works well for small bags; you'll want something heftier for bigger bags
• x-acto knife ~ or scissors but an x-acto knife is great to have
• double-face tape ~ 1/2 inch wide, or glue stick
• ruler ~ longer is better
• scoring tool ~ some look like a knife but I prefer the one with the tiny ball on the end of a pencil-like stick
• self-healing cutting mat ~ they cost a little but are indispensible for making things with paper
• pencil
• artist tape ~ blue painters tape will do

1. DESIGN
On scratch paper, sketch out the dimensions for your bag, which will let you know how big your paper should be; it's bigger than you think. Use this free template as a guideline.

2. DRAW YOUR TEMPLATE
On your cutting mat, lay your paper with the good (outside) side down, and tape it to the mat. Draw out the template you designed for your gift bag, being sure to include the flaps. 

3. CUT OUT THE TEMPLATE
Carefully cut along the lines ~ this is where the x-acto knife is really helpful ~ being sure to angle the ends of the flaps just slightly. If your bag will have a hole in it for a ribbon or string, now is the time to cut that hole.

4. SCORE THE PAPER
Turn your paper over with the good (outside) side up and, using your ruler and the scoring tool, score the paper wherever it will fold. Please note that paper folds better if you score into the fold from the outside; the heavier the paper, the truer this is. 

5. FOLD THE PAPER
Everywhere you scored, fold the paper, then unfold it before gluing. If you forgot to cut a hole for string or ribbon, you can do it now. 

6. GLUE (or TAPE) THE FLAPS
It's best to put the adhesive on the flap itself rather than on the part of the paper you're glueing to; that way, you don't end up with glue where you don't need it.

7. ASSEMBLE THE ENVELOPE
With the adhesive exposed, gently fold the gift bag into its finished shape. Put your gift and some paper in the bag, add a ribbon and that's it!

TINY TIP: Wallpaper is terrific for making bags and for gift wrap. Keep your eyes peeled for leftovers.

Now, we want to see your handiwork. Click here to email us a photo. Be sure to give us your first name and where you live. 

Kim Phillips | Tiny Creative House
​© 2016 Kim Phillips
​

There's a saying up here on Monteagle Mountain: "It's all downhill from here." Growing up in Nashville, I heard people talk about Monteagle with reverence. Friends who own houses here would say simply, "We're going to the mountain this weekend." Nobody ever asked which mountain. In Monteagle, wealthy enclaves like The Assembly and Clifftops sit cheek-by-jowl with the gun store and the Piggly Wiggly. You see pickup trucks with monster-size Confederate flags mounted in the back.

And, of course, there's Sewanee, The University of the South. In Nashville, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Sewanee alum. I went to the University of Tennessee and those orange-clad folks can't hold a candle to Sewanee when it comes to devotion. Geez, it's like the place is magical or something. Well, it kinda is. The campus is unequalled in beauty, nestled in over 14,000 acres of woodland, with flora and fauna and hikes and breath-taking views. It's a church school that parties hard and reveres writers. (Those last two may be related, no?)

So why leave Nashville when it is booming? I could say that I left it because of heinous traffic, insane real estate prices, and the way development is tearing down just about everything that gave Nashville its soul; it is becoming charm-free. I no longer recognize my home town. But that's not it. In the last six years, an epic flood, my mother's death, the death of a man who was a father to me, a traumatic injury that has left me slightly disabled, and the end of a 33-year marriage left me massively depressed. So, I started dating. I mean, who wouldn't want to hook up with someone with my sunny disposition? 

Thanks to Lexapro and a little thing called the internet, I met the love of a lifetime. And I joined her on the mountain. We cook, we garden, and we have two hilarious little doggies who keep us entertained. Our yard, which was part of a dairy farm, benefits from all that free fertilizer; two tomato plants turned out over 50 lbs. of fruit this summer. We have spectacular neighbors and we look out for each other. And, we turned a tiny house out back into a studio for me. Thus the name of my business; it covers more of what I really do.

This will be my first winter on the mountain. It will be warm and cozy in my tiny house, as I do my art in peace and quiet, with two dogs on the big pillow beside me. I will sketch and dream and make plans for the spring. Life on the mountain is grand; come see.

It's all downhill from here. And I'm so grateful.

Kim Phillips | Tiny House Creative

©2016 Kim Phillips

We've all heard it: it's better to give than to receive. At this writing, it is right before Christmas, so there's a lot of giving and receiving going on. Mostly, it goes like this: I give you a present, you receive it; you give me a present, I receive that.

Even Steven.

Let's talk about another kind of receiving. It's the kind where there's no (or very little) expectation or possibility of giving something back to the giver. 

My friend Anna* is the nicest person on earth (seriously, you could ask anybody). She's so nice that people love doing things for her and giving her stuff. Anna went through a bad patch a few years ago, and she was literally showered with gifts of all kinds. I asked her: "Anna, how do you pay people back for all this stuff?" She said, "I don't." Since Anna is the nicest person on earth, I was a little surprised. "You don't even try to reciprocate?" She said, "Nope. I try to pay it forward. But I really can't." Wow. That is some advanced humanity.

Once upon a time, I was in the hardware store, headed toward the cash register with my one little item. There was a lady ahead of me, laden with all kinds of stuff—tools, plants, what-not. She nearly toppled under her burden. "You go ahead of me," she says. I started to say, "No! You have so much stuff there." But I changed my mind, said thank-you, and checked out as fast as I could. Why did I do that? Because it made her feel good. Had I insisted she go first, I would have taken away her opportunity to do a good deed. Any onlookers probably thought of me, "Dang, is she selfish or what?" 

It felt good to receive. And it looked like she enjoyed doing it. We both probably got more out of it than yet another sweater or the latest electronic gizmo. What we gave each other didn't cost a nickel.

Let someone do something nice for you. It may be the best gift they receive.

Kim Phillips | Tiny Creative House

*Anna isn't her real name.

©​2016 Kim Phillips
Photo by Dwayne Toplin | Unsplash

Do you paint, sculpt, do ceramics, make jewelry, illustrate, or carve wood? Are you a book artist? Your work can be featured here. This call for sharing is open to artists and makers in Sewanee, Monteagle, Winchester, Manchester, Tracy City, and nearby those. Please contact us if you'd like to participate. A short bio/artist statement will be included, along with a link to your website and Facebook or other social media page. Show us your stuff!

Kim Phillips | Tiny Creative House
©2106 Kim Phillips

Creativity looks like fun. And it can be. In your own studio, still in your pajamas, doggie by your side. Just pick up your magic wand and, POOF! The ideas come. Time for a nap.

If only that were how it works. Mostly, mornings are for grunt work...billing, taxes, sweeping the studio, recycling the mounds of wadded-up paper from the doodling and trying and testing out designs. Creating is harder than it looks, and you have to do lots of un-fun stuff before you get to the good stuff.

Creativity is mostly about discipline, practice, and remaining critical of your own work. You have to train yourself to see through the eyes of another, to be objective, and to know when something sort of sucks. Maybe it isn't on the client's creative strategy (or there isn't one, which makes it hard to be on-strategy). Maybe you took the easy way out on a piece of art, without asking, "Is there another way to see this?" Maybe you went with the first logo you designed, without challenging yourself to do one, two, three or four more. Maybe you only do what you can get paid for.

Everybody is creative. Let me say that again: everybody is creative. Some folks are great cooks. Some are wonderful painters, or party-throwers, or gardeners. Some know how to get the best out of others, how to teach, or how to be the social glue in a situation.

What's the single best way to be creative? Try something you've never done before. Suck at it, keep trying, and get better. Find other people to do all that with. Find your voice, your truth.

Kim Phillips | Tiny Creative House
​©2016 Kim Phillips
​