Spring Color Story: Salmon, Blush + Eucalyptus

fabric

We often think of pink with Valentines Day. But if you take a couple shades that go well together – like blush and salmon – then balance it out with green, it becomes an all-spring color scheme.

Feathery pink astilbe flowers in a small vase

In this case, I’m thinking of minty, sea foamy greens. In the neighborhood of a lighter, warmer teal. Like the tones you find in sea glass. Or eucalyptus leaves.

eucalyptus shower bundle

So here are some DIYs, places to go, handmade items to shop+, artwork and more in this Salmon / Blush / Eucalyptus spring palette!

In Shades of Spring Color…

nopalli opuntia bailaris, also known as beavertail prickly pear cactus

eucalyptus silver princess flowers via Flower Power

Top image: Fabric on display in the Quilter’s Oasis booth at a recent quilt show in Mesa

1. Pink astilbe flowers via Festival Brides 2. Eucalyptus shower bundle by Self Care Shower 3.+ Nopalli (prickly pear) by Sandy Rodriguez via Getty Museum / nature journaling 4. Silver Princess eucalyptus via Flower Power plant nurseries in NSW, Australia

earrings

Set of 3 tapas plates

under a large glass dome

quilt detail

5. CosmicOmbre Pebble earrings made by Tucson artist Tawney Weir of Little Toro Designs 6. Tapas plates by Hana Karim Studio, Slovenia 7.+ Tiffany art glass dome in Chicago Cultural Center / Chicago short-visit sightseeing 8. “One Block Wonder” pieced by Kathy Thompson + quilted by Mad B’s Quilt and Sew / full quilt (photo #2)

Kantha Waterfall Necklace

collage postcard

Fabric slashing technique by Hot Pink Haberdashery: top layer of fabric cut so bottom layer shows through

9. Upcycled Kantha Waterfall Necklace handmade by women artisans in India via World Finds 10. The best mail day! collage postcard by Geninne on Flickr 11. Fabric slashing technique by Hot Pink Haberdashery 12.+ Lemon Drop Drive-In in Madison County, Indiana / via Roadside Architecture

sea glass

Casa Amistad, Havana

Moroccan style serving dish

bouquet

13. Ocean-tumbled green sea glass via Florida Shells and More 14.+ Casa Amistad in Havana, Cuba / via Architectural Digest (Mitchell Owens) + Domino (Meghan McNeer) 15.+ Moroccan pedestal serving dish imported by Curated By Clay 16. Bouquet at Windmill Winery in Florence, Arizona / photo by Blubird Pics

12 illustrated post cards from artists of the "Taller de Gráfica Popular" in Mexico

planter with a plant trailing outside the pot

stairs

planner art by barbarasalastudio

17.+ Activist postcards from Phoenix Art Museum’s exhibition ¡Viva la Revolución! José Guadalupe Posada and the Taller de Gráfica Popular 18. Planter in candy floss pink by Charlotte Manser Ceramics 19. Four creative ways to give stairs a new look by Beau of HomeDeco / HT Sofie Johansson 20. February planner art by Bárbara Salas Studio

moth earrings

Artemesia Soaps, Salts, Scrubs.

building in Italy

cocktails

21. Luna Moth polymer clay earrings by Velvet Orange Designs 22. Small-batch skin care products handmade in Tucson by Artemesia Soaps, Salts, Scrubs 23.+ Fabbrica di Confetti Rapone in Sulmona, Abruzzo, Italy by Kerry of Colourspeak 24. DIY Fig and Thyme cocktails by Sarah of Broma Bakery

(The End.)

fabric

paint colors in shades of green
Sea glass inspired paint palette from BHG via Reclaiming Your Castle.

Notes…

+Shopping: You can find all the Etsy items from this post in my Spring Color Palette collection. I may earn affiliate commission for Etsy products you purchase.

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artwork of a nopal cactus by Sandy Rodriguez that says "nopalli opuntia bailaris"

+3: Nopalli – Opuntia basilaris is beavertail prickly pear cactus. The artist, Sandy Rodriguez, paints with pigments made from the minerals, plants, and insects she’s collected across the US.

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chicago dome

+7: The largest of its kind, this beautiful Tiffany + Co. art glass dome was completed in 1897 in what was originally the Chicago Public Library. It remains in the building, which is now Chicago Cultural Center, and is free to go stare up at. We went in 2019.

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postcard

+12: We had planned to visit the Lemon Drop Drive-In when we were exploring Anderson, Indiana and the surrounding Madison County, but we happened to be there during a summer closure.

The marquee in the photo almost reads like a haiku:

Lemon Drop Drive-in
breaded tenderloin or grilled
both are delicious

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domino field guide to Cuba

+14: The Garden Room at Casa Amistad, said to be “the most beautiful building in Havana.” The former mansion was built in the 1920s and has since been converted into a restaurant and bar with live music in the evenings.

Moroccan bowl on a pedestal. Curated by Clay.

+15: This elevated bowl is handmade and dishwasher safe! It’s 15% off through 3/31/25, along with the rest of the Moroccan tableware and decor in Curated By Clay’s shop.

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framed vintage postcard set on a museum wall

+17: The Taller de Gráfica Popular (People’s Print Workshop) believed that “art must reflect the social reality of the times.”

Beginning in 1937, they created prints to share their post-revolutionary, pro-worker ideals with a wider audience. This included printing bilingual postcard sets aimed at tourists, which were part of an installation we saw at Phoenix Art Museum.

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castle on a mountainside
Caldora Castle, Abruzzo in the Apennine Mountain Range. By user Verdenex84 via Wikimedia

+23: Located in a region full of nature preserves and historic architecture (Abruzzo), the town of Sulmona has its own claim to fame. It’s known for making candy-coated almonds, called confetti in Italy and “Jordan almonds” in the U.S.

candy jars
Via Confetti Rapone

One of the factories instrumental in carving out this niche is Rapone Panfilo, in its (appropriately) candy-colored storefront. The family-run company uses traditions handed down through the past 10 generations to make their award-winning confetti confections.

Confetti Rapone
Photo by Marta Di Gioia via Accidentally Wes Anderson

I don’t know if it’s just the Google translation, but they describe the company’s director in such a grand way, it seems like it should be preceded by a fanfare.

(Cue imaginary trumpets.)

“Mrs. MARIA RAPONE GIAMMARCO, Faithful Descendant Continuing the prestigious production of very fine CONFETTI that fear no comparisons, because of unsurpassed quality.”

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 The Agave Heritage Festival’s Sweet Return

agaves at library

Agave has been cultivated in the Tucson area for hundreds of years.

agave at Mission Garden in Tucson

While tequila might be the most widely known product made from agave (a.k.a. the century plant or maguey), it’s certainly not the only one! Different species of the plant are distilled into different spirits, collectively called mezcal.

mezcal noche buena

Native peoples would also use agave to make food, medicine, and even rope. They developed farming techniques to maximize the plant’s adaptability and drought-resistant qualities, so they could grow it where other crops wouldn’t thrive.

 

Mural of Mayahuel, the agave goddess, by Rock ‘‘CYFI’’ Martinez
Mural of Mayahuel, the agave goddess, by Rock ‘‘CYFI’’ Martinez.

Agave Heritage Festival

The annual Agave Heritage Festival in Tucson celebrates the plant’s natural and cultural significance. It includes special agave-centered menus at local restaurants, gardening demonstrations, concerts, lectures, mezcal tasting events, hikes to ancient agave roasting pit sites, and a re-creation of the traditional way agave hearts were cooked underground.

steps of roasting agave at Mission Garden

After the spring 2020 festival was canceled and last year’s was replaced by a monthly series of virtual talks and DIY tastings, the Agave Heritage Festival made a joyful return this past May!

hiking around Tumamoc Hill

It has come back as a more compact, focused four days of events – in contrast to the week (or more) it stretched out pre-pandemic.

Following right on its heels was the first annual Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta. The kickoff event for both festivals was a concert by multiple Grammy Award winning Mexican-American singer and activist Lila Downs.

 

pathway through Mission Garden in Tucson

Agave Expo

One of this year’s events was the Agave Expo, which included panels, vendors, tables for organizations doing conservation work in Southern Arizona, and a plant sale. It was held on a beautiful morning in Mission Garden, a collection of demonstration gardens where a 17th-century Spanish mission once stood.

 

flowering agave stalk

Feed the Bats

I arrived right before the first talk of the day, parking next to a woman who was already loading assorted agave purchases into her car. 

Agave and bats talk at mission garden

“Pollination Nations” was a discussion about agave, bats, and ecology on both sides of the border.

Nectar-eating bats cross-pollinate agaves’ nighttime blooms, creating the genetic diversity essential for the plants’ long-term survival. However, agave planted for human consumption is prevented from blooming. Recent large-scale agricultural methods have lead to hungry bats and a monoculture crop that’s susceptible to disease.

Agave

The Bat Friendly project promotes more sustainable practices, encouraging growers to let 5% of the agaves they plant to live out their natural bloom cycle and allow bat pollination. Following their guidelines earns mezcal producers a special Bat Friendly™ label, as well as helping to ensure the continuation of their industry.

Agave plant at Boyce Thompson Arboretum

The panel discussing these topics was made up of experts from Bat Conservation International, Borderlands Restoration Network, and Sonora Silvestre, as well as mezcal-makers from Bacanora Batuq and Mezcal Zincantan. It was moderated by Jesús García, Research Associate at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Co-Chair of the non-profit Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace (FOTB).

(Incidentally, Moderator Jesús had returned from a trip to Mexico just in time for the Lila Downs kickoff concert and gave it rave reviews!)

 

Agave parts

On the Table

Afterwards, I wandered over to the ramada where raspados (snow cones) were being served in hollowed out half lemon peels, in exchange for donations to the garden.

agave raspados at Mission Garden

They had three different flavors made from garden produce, and I was not prepared for that kind of decision making. I was especially torn between the refreshing sounding lime-mint flavor and the artisanal agave syrup, which seemed like the most fitting choice for the occasion. Then the volunteer scooping the crushed ice suggested I have both. Sold.

Agave raspado

Sprinkled throughout the garden were informational tables and artist booths, including Found Design Sculptures by Leonard Ramirez and Cold Goose Pottery by Judy Ganz.

found art
Found Design Sculptures by Leonard Ramirez

Tucson Audubon Society was there with resources. They were especially highlighting their Habitat at Home program, which shares ways to support birds and other pollinators from your house. One thing they suggest here in Southern Arizona is to leave your hummingbird feeder out on summer nights, because bats might stop by for a drink!

ritual chocolate
Chocolate Ritual

Before I left, I made a final stop at the Chocolate Ritual booth to pick up some of their mezcal-infused chocolate truffles. They create their chocolates to have a taste that pairs well with either mezcal or coffee. The “ritual” is as simple as sipping your preferred beverage in between bites of chocolate and savoring the combination. It’s a practice I can definitely get behind.

mural by Rock ‘‘CYFI’’ Martinez
Another agave goddess mural by Rock ‘‘CYFI’’ Martinez!

Clover Color Story

Somewhere in the neighborhood of Kelly green, a bit lighter than emerald, you’ll find Clover. It’s the color of lots of leafy growing things and glass bottles, and it brings an eye-catching vibrancy anywhere you add it.

A few places and projects that look great in this green…

Jungle Garden in Pasadena

1. Jungle Garden at the Huntington Library in Southern California. / from our 2016 Pasadena trip

A-frame Cabin

2. Tips for building an A-frame Cabin on UO Journal. / Photo: Carey Quinton Haider

aerial embroidery of the British countryside

3. Embroidered aerial views of the British countryside by Victoria Rose Richards. / via @chromato_mania / +See more modern embroidery projects.

Cauliflower tacos at the Coronado

4. Cauliflower tacos we enjoyed at The Coronado in Phoenix. (They’re  delicious!) / from a date day in 2019

DIY wind chime kit

5. Assemble-it-Yourself wind chime kit from an artist who makes beachy glass bottle sculptures, jewelry, and wind chimes in the Florida panhandle. / via Lifting Up Spirits / +More wind chimes you can make.

Statement plants

6. Decorating with statement leaves by Justina Blakeney. / via The Jungalow

Poster for animated film THE SECRET OF KELLS

7. The Secret of Kells poster by Jessica Seamans. This is her interpretation of the film (which I haven’t seen yet), and I love its detail and rich shades of green! / via Mondo

DIY cactus

8. Clever paper cacti printables! / via The Crafted Sparrow / +More cactus crafts.

Restaurant in Madrid, Spain

9. La Bobia restaurant, Madrid. / from an extended layover on the way back from Italy

How To Freeze Jalapeno Peppers Properly via Pepper Geek

10. Tips for freezing jalapeño peppers. / via Pepper Geek

Green Toad row boat

11. A rowboat (adorably) called the “Toad.” These are made in a village northwest of London by a family that has been making and selling small boats for over 40 years. / via Heyland Marine

DIY leather pouch project

12. DIY faux-leather pouches project and tutorial by Claire Brander. / via Fellow Fellow on the Internet Archive

Paper plants

13. Delightful handcut paper plants and flowers by Tania Lissova in Tyumen, Russia. She sells prints of her work on posters, cards, and stickers – as well as her original pieces – in her Etsy shop. / via Lissova Craft

Heritage tile

14. Neat pattern with dimensional hexagon tiles from the Atomic Subway Tile series, crafted in the Midwestern U.S. / via Heritage Tile

the world after us art installation by nathaniel stern

15. The World After Us: Imaging techno-aesthetic futures is an art exhibition that looks at the way growing things might take over our discarded tech in the far future. It features plants and fungi sprouting from electronics like laptops, keyboards, and phones. / via Nathaniel Stern


Photo sources are included in their descriptions. All the photos I took were from before the pandemic.

Top Fives of 2020

Road up Mount Lemmon

We humans are weirdly resilient.

"Dirty P" art by John Carrillo.
“Dirty P” art by John Carrillo.

A few years ago, I wrote (through tears), “Life can be such an off-balance mix of highs and lows, beautiful moments and heartbreaking ones all scrambled together.”

It remains true at the close of this tumultuous, challenging, disorienting – and, yes, often heartbreaking – year. There are points of light, even in dark times.

Dog
Quijote hanging out with me before polling place setup in November.

I asked a few friends to think of some good moments they experienced in 2020 and share them in the form of a top five list of things they did or simply enjoyed.

Their lovely responses (and fun photos!) are below.

 

Handmade clothes and quilts
Craft projects by Kelli.

Kelli Donley Williams: Top 5 Things I Made

These are my top five favorite makes of 2020 – a year that provided ample time for me to be creative.

1. Cornflower Yoke Cardigan from Vintage Baby Knits for my niece, Maxine Eleanor. She was born August 1.

2. No. 1 shirt from designer Sonya Philip. I learned how to sew basic garments this year. I made several of these and lived in them all summer!

3. I participated in Denyse Schmidt’s Proverbial Quilt Along. The quilt reads, “The Darkest Nights Make the Brightest Stars.” I gave it to my eldest niece Alexis, who headed off to college in August and was having a hard time with everything she’d been forced to miss due to the pandemic.

Sweater
Kelli in a sweater she made herself!

4. My best friend Meghann turned 40 in August and asked for a quilt in her colors. This is the most ambitious quilting project I’ve ever completed. My mom quilted the top with her longarm, to make it extra special. The pattern is an Ohio star.

5. I completed Morning Sky sweater in cornflower blue and have enjoyed wearing it. I really like the scalloped edge and the fit. I made it from inexpensive yarn, and it has held up nicely!

 

Healthy meals
Serious meal prep by Christin!

Christin Underwood: Top 5 Ways I Stayed Healthy during 2020

1. Meal prepped weekly to stay on my nutrition

2. Made sure to do at least 3 home workouts a week

3. Made sure to hike weekly for Vitamin D

4. FaceTime and Zoom called my family once a week

5. Journaled and did meditation for mental health

 

Lucrecer Braxton portrait
Lucrecer with some of her many plants, who she plays music and dances with.

Lucrecer Braxton: Top 5 Songs I’ve Been Listening to This Year

1. Diana Gordon, “Woman”

2. Almondmilkhunni feat. Evander Griiim, “Grapefruit”

3. Yung Baby Tate, “That Girl”

4. Maxine Ashley, “Lobster”

5. Koffee, “Toast”

 

Sangeeta and Shanauk got the beet.
2018 photo that I dug up on Sangeeta’s Facebook.

Sangeeta Agarawal: Top Ways I Learnt To Do R+R This Year

1. Call and Zoom friends

2. Walks in nature and meditation retreats

3. Cook fun recipes

4. Clean and decorate house

5. Coloring and calligraphy

6. Reading spiritual books

7. Being in pajamas

8. A little bit of gardening

 

Dog in a tent
Laurel says her dog, Honeybear, is an excellent camper!

Top 5 Things I Enjoyed in Spite of 2020…

• from Laurel Shane:

1. Camping trips

2. Cuddling with my dog

3. Reading Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

4. DIY projects like sewing masks and making home improvements

5. Rewatching The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

 

Yosemite
Vesna hiking Half Dome.

• from Vesna Taneva-Miller:

1. I went on my first meditation retreat in Stockbridge, MA a week before everything shut down because of COVID. This was on my 2020 list before 2020 arrived.

2. I went on an epic hike in Yosemite and hiked Half Dome. I was sooo lucky to be invited on this hike as going all the way to the top requires a permit that is given through a lottery system.

Stamps
Two of Vesna’s hand carved stamps.

3. I was able to stay home for 6 weeks when COVID first hit. We did a lot of walks in local parks. I also learned how to edit videos and filmed 3 classes for Skillshare.

4. I planted two fruit trees in my backyard: a fig and a pomegranate. I will always remember that they were planted during COVID year (haha)!

5. I am joining Carve December, and I am determined to carve a stamp a day during this month.

 

Happy campers
Lori camping with family.

• from Lori Meisner Cleland:

1. Socially distanced camping trips with my brother and his family

2. Discovering new (to me) music, like Gregory Porter

3. A slower pace

4. Increased support of and appreciation of small businesses

5. Seeing all the amazing creativity going on as people work to navigate this crazy year together

Food and beverages
Photos from some of the local restaurants Lori supported this year.

Photos that go with the lists are from the respective listmakers.

P.S. Dinah Liebold’s list of gift ideas that was so detailed and timely that it got its own post last week, so be sure to check that out if you haven’t already!