CAMP JOY Episode 4: Pressed But Not Bothered

Hello friends and welcome do Day 4 of CAMP JOY! 

Everyday at camp is sweet but today feels especially great!  We’re getting out into the garden! 

I’ve always thought of myself as a person who has not a green thumb, but in fact a black thumb – a thumb of death when it comes plants.  This is a story I’ve told myself for most of my adult life up until I bought The Bakehouse 4 years ago.  I had a backyard and thought – well, let’s see! 

Turns out I can grow plants. Not all plants but some tropical greens (who really just want to grow wild down here), little florals, happy succulents, an eager fig tree, a magnolia tree I worship, gardenias, and a senna tree for the butterflies. It humble and earnest and the story about my black thumb has a green happy ending.  

Today at camp we’re getting in the garden to plant a few kitty greens for King Tron.  And we’ll gather a few leaves for some clay pressings, too! 

Tron is mostly an indoor cat these days but I’d like to bring a little outside indoors for him.  I found a catnip plant at a local pet store and surrounded the catnip with oat grass seeds that sprouted up like this. 

We’ve planted greens and now we’re pressing our greens! 

Ok here’s the thing – I’m secretly SUPER nostalgic. I collect rocks from hikes and shells from the beach. I take too many pictures and hang them around my house. I preserve a little bit of each season someway somehow.  

This year I’ve pressed each season of my little garden in this flower press.  I use scraps of paper and  tape to label each clipping before it’s dried.  

My friend Suzonne is the most creative person I know.  Early in our friendship she told me about leaves she pressed in air dry clay the year her son was born – away to mark a blur of a year for herself. I’ve held that idea for the nearly five years we’ve known each other and have finally made space this summer to press and preserve. 

Here’s how Suzonne pressed leaves in clay.  

Here’s what I used:  

•  DAS Air-Hardening Modeling Clay

•  Clay roller

•  A rolling mat 

•  Mod Podge, watercolors, and brushes.

I let the clay leaves air dry overnight in foil rings then used watercolor and Mod Podge to paint the bowls.  Swirl some water around your watercolors and dip the paint brush in Mod Podge (it’ll act as a sealer).  Paint around the leaves however looks and feels good to you!  Just experiment – that’s what I did.  

Are there other ways to paint these bowls? Sure! Play around! That’s what camp is all about!  

Planting our greens.  Pressing our greens.  Now we’re eating our greens!  

I’ll tell you what – this pandemic body is begging for a salad these days. Absolutely begging. 

Here’s how I make a big salad that I actually want to eat.  

I start with a pre-packaged bag salad (the kind with little add-ins and dressing). I sure do! It’s sometimes hard to make a salad and hard to eat a salad. 

I’ll add:

• hemp seeds

• protein like canned tuna and/or hardboiled eggs

• extra pumpkin or sunflower seeds

• something sweet and something sour like dried cranberries or cherries and sauerkraut, capers, or olives. 

• something crunchy like celery, croutons, or nuts. 

• dressing: pre-packed or a simple vinaigrette

• goat cheese if you’re feeling fancy

• salt and pepper

Let’s eat these greens! 

Thanks for joining in another fun day at CAMP JOY! 

Have the most wonderful week!

xo