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hornet’s nest shadow box

by Kaylah Stroup
hornets nest shadow box

Last summer hornets built a nice big nest on our house. I got stung once and it was enough to keep me far far away for the rest of the season. We could have sprayed them but honestly, after that sting, it felt risky. Neither my husband nor I wanted to go anywhere near them. Instead, we opted to just leave them be and let Ohio’s winter do the work for us.

This spring, after the weather warmed up and we were more than positive the hornets were long gone, we knocked the nest down. I picked it up, fully intending to take it over to my compost pile but my brain screamed “CRAFT SUPPLY!” Hornets build their nest out of saliva and wood pulp. The result is layers and layers of a beautiful papery material. Truly, when I saw it up close, there was no way I could just toss it on the compost.

So, I did what any rational human would do and brought it inside. I shook the nest upside down, from which a few deceased hornets fell out, and removed the nest cells from inside. While all the hornets were dead, there still seemed to be a large number of other small insects. I have a house filled with taxidermy, and pinned insects so bringing weird little live bugs like that inside is not great. I bagged everything up and popped it into the freezer to kill off anything remaining.

hornets nest

The one craft I knew I wanted to do from the start was to make a shadow box containing nest cells, the hornets and the gorgeous papery nest material. I rehydrated the hornets and posed them as I wanted. I used spray adhesive to attach the paper to the cardboard of my shadow box and then glued the nesting cells to that. It took basically no time at all but was so much fun to make. Not to mention, it makes a rad addition to my collection of ‘oddities’!

pinned hornet
hornet's nest shadow box
hornet's nest shadow box

My two favorite details in this project are both easily overlooked! One is the hornet that died while emerging from its cell. He’s just peeking out! Second is the addition of two tiny insects that I found in the nest cell (literally the reason I threw everything in the freezer to begin with!) When I pulled the cells out of the ziplock bag and shook them out, it rained tiny bugs. It was… gross and further proved that it was a really good idea to freeze everything but now dead, they pose no threat. I felt like it’d be really cool to glue a few into the cells since they were a part of this whole thing as well. They’re quite small but if you look closely at the image below you can spot one in the center of the photo.

▲ Looking to get into pinning insects – check out this blog post I wrote with tons of resources, links + info! ▲ Check out my other hornet’s nest project inside the box for my four leaf clover collection!

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FeatherSnap bird feeder review

by Kaylah Stroup
FeatherSnap bird feeder review

this post contains affiliate links.

I recently got my hands on a FeatherSnap bird feeder. It’s a Wi-Fi connected, smart bird feeder that captures pictures and videos of birds at your feeder. You can even watch live!

I thought it was a fun product idea but I think I underestimated just how much I’d enjoy it. For the past few weeks, I think it’s safe to say, this has been the most used app on my phone. Let me tell you a bit more about it…

smart bird feeder review
FeatherSnap smart bird feeder
smart bird feeder with camera

Some product highlights –

▴ Photo + video, obviously! The feeder snaps three photos and one fifteen-second video per visit. The video even has audio. The camera is only 4MP but it gets the job done, you can clearly see all who visit.

▴ Solar powered! The roof has a solar panel so you don’t need to worry about changing or charging up batteries. In the month I’ve had mine, I only had to charge it once and that was when it first arrived. The app makes it easy to see your battery percentage, mine has never dropped below 70%!

▴ Dual seed bin allows you to fill your feeder with two different seed types.

▴ You get real-time notifications of visitors to your feeder. Go from “who’s texting me now?!” to “who’s at the feeder?!”

▴ The app offers a ‘bird book‘ which is where you can keep track of all the different visitors you’ve had to your feeder. It also has a built-in AI feature to help you ID those visitors.

Bird ID, FeatherSnap

▴ Also worth noting is that because of the size and the way it’s mounted, squirrels don’t make a mess of the bird feed! In the past I’ve owned many bird feeders that hang from trees or shepherd’s hooks and squirrels always manage to spill those because they’re trying to balance on them. This feeder has a large platform that squirrels can comfortably sit on therefore they aren’t doing gymnastics trying to eat and don’t spill everywhere. I know not everyone likes squirrels at their feeders so of course, you can sprinkle hot pepper flakes in with your bird feed to keep them away.

Feathersnap bird feeder review
Feathersnap bluejays

A few downsides –

▴ I don’t feel like it’s made abundantly clear that the birdfeeder requires a monthly subscription to view the photos on your phone. I knew that it offered a subscription but I wrongly assumed that made the AI identification available. Without a subscription, the camera still works and you will receive notifications through the app that you had a visitor at the bird feeder but you will not be able to view those images. It is worth noting though, you can install a mini SD card in the camera and check the photos manually but that defeats the purpose of having an app.

At the time of writing this post, the subscription costs $6.99 per month or $59.99 annually.

▴ Video isn’t immediately available and must be “requested”. I don’t think I would have a problem with this if it worked every single time but alas, sometimes the video just never shows up.

▴ No way to remove ‘FeatherSnap’ watermark. Not a huge deal but it feels unnecessary to have it stamped on every single image and video, especially when you’re paying for a service.

Final thoughts –

I love this bird feeder. It has turned me on to a new hobby. I’ve always had bird feeders and enjoyed it when I’d happen to catch one having lunch there but this? This is something different! I LOVE watching the birds now.

Does it stink that there’s a subscription? Yes, of course. Like most folks these days, I’m subscription-ed out, man! Buuut, I do genuinely think this is worth it. Even with my small gripes about the feeder and app, I still think the good outweighs the bad. This has brought a lot of joy into my life. I LOVE checking who is visiting after every notification and whew, the thrill of getting a new type of bird? It’s the best.

For 100% transparency, I was gifted this bird feeder as part of a campaign but this blog post is not part of that. You can check out my sponsored post here.

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mom’s daylillies (2024)

by Kaylah Stroup

In the late spring of 2021, when I was getting my garden started, the first things I planted were taken from my late mother’s garden. I transplanted some of her irises, a hydrangea, some stone crop and these orange daylillies. Out of those few plants, the daylillies were least exciting to me at the time. Buuuuut, as I’ve mentioned before, the second they bloomed I realized I had greatly underestimated their importance.

Each year since I’ve taken a photo with the daylillies. It’s fun to document their growth. (Bonkers how many flowers I get now vs the first couple years.) It also feels like a way to honor my mom and keep her memory alive.

I’ve been a weepy little grief baby lately, what’s new?, so I’m not sure I can type too much more without making myself cry. I just wanted to share some photos of this year’s blooms and express the obvious – I wish she was here to see her flowers in my garden.

2021 vs 2024

See also: Mom’s daylillies – a post from July of 2021 & My Mother’s Irises from June of 2023

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DIY toad abode

by Kaylah Stroup

Last spring I picked up a silly little hobby… making toad abodes.

My interest in this started a couple of years back when I had a toad living in a potted plant outside my front door. I posted about how silly it was on my Instagram and the people demanded a home for the little fella! As luck would have it, I spotted the perfect home at the thrift store. It turned into a whole series on my Instagram. We named him Gomez and he brought a lot of people a lot of joy!

Check out some of my favorite posts about Gomez — the day he got his first thrifted home, when he got his name, Gomez getting ready for Halloween.

I knew I wanted to do something toad-related again and to potentially expand on this idea. That’s how I ended up building my own toad abode. I used scrap wood, bark from our woods and my brad nailer. It was super simple, cost next to nothing and was done in no time. Not to mention, it’s the cutest.

toad abode

Obviously, a toad house isn’t a necessity. They’ve been getting on forever without them but I do enjoy the whimsy. There are few things more exciting than going out and spotting that someone is home and using the tiny house I built.

I have two toad abodes in our yard at the moment. One is in my garden which has an abundance of toads who love my damp soil, all the bugs my plants attract, and the cool shade my plants provide. That house is occupied maybe half the time. There are lots of other spots for them to live in my garden where a giant doesn’t disturb them with a camera.

The second toad abode is located in a potted plant outside of my front door. It’s the more popular of the two. I would venture to bet that it’s because of my porch lights. That home is occupied the vast majority of the time.

DIY toad abode

A few tips for drawing toads to your garden & toad abode —
Provide water sources + offer toads a damp environment. (Even near a downspout is good!)
Shady is best!
Your toad abode needs to be placed on dirt and have no bottom. Toads like to burrow into the cool dirt. They have no problem digging in the mulch in my garden but I do try to pull mulch away from the house so they have actual dirt to hang out in.
Avoid pesticides.

DIY toad house made from bark
DIY toad house made from bark
DIY toad abode inspiration
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my four leaf clover collection

by Kaylah Stroup
four leaf clover collection

For about five years now I’ve been collecting four leaf clovers. I didn’t have a specific place to put them after they dried. They’ve been shoved into notepads, lost in books, and floating around my office.

While cleaning out my basement I rediscovered a little green metal box. The tools that came in it are long since missing but the box itself? Just something about it scratched something in my brain. I didn’t want to get rid of it.

I decided to line it with a piece of hornet’s nest that had been on our house last year and fill it with my four leaf clover collection.

I’m using a fine line silver permanent marker to keep track of how many are inside. Just over 100 at the moment.

I love how it turned out. I can’t wait to add more!

four leaf clover collection
upcycled tool box
four leaf clover collection

Find previous four leaf clover content here, like the time I found sixty in one month!

Check out my tips for pressing plants here.

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what I’ve been reading

by Kaylah Stroup

this post contains affiliate links.

Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin.

“Having a mom like Izzy meant Mia had to grow up fast. No extracurriculars, no inviting friends over, and definitely no dating. The most important rule: Tell no one of Izzy’s hunger – the kind only blood can satisfy.

But Mia is in her twenties now and longs for a life of her own. One where she doesn’t have to worry about anyone discovering their terrible secret, or breathing down her neck. When Mia meets rebellious musician Jade she dares to hope she’s found a way to leave her home – and her mom – behind.”

This was such a fun and totally different vampire book (although, one must note, they’re never specially called ‘vampires’ in the book) It was hard to put down. It was so easy to become involved with the characters and care for them.

Hurry up and grab a copy before the sequel, First Light, comes out later this month. I cannot wait to read it!

Mostrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova.

“Grieving mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son Santiago’s lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale, she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience, growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio she keeps hidden within the walls of her family’s decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually, Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was, but his innate impulses―though curbed by his biological and chosen family’s communal care―threaten to destroy this fragile second chance at life.”

I knew this one would be a heart-breaker. Generally that would scare me away. I don’t really love digging into those feelings on purpose. (I mean, c’mon, I’m a huge horror reader for a reason!) BUT there was just something about this one that drew me in. Maybe it was the cute little critter on the cover.

Y’all, I LOVED this book. I was sad to see it end because I really enjoyed the characters and the story. It was beautiful, original and yeah, heartbreaking. I did a nice little cry at the end.

This feels like an early contender for top 10 of the year!

The Watchers by A.M. Shine.

“You can’t see them. But they can see you.

This forest isn’t charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina’s is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams.”

Look, there’s more to that description of the book but honestly, all I needed to see was ‘you can’t see them. but they can see you.’ paired with the word ‘forest’. SIGN ME UUUUP. Horror stories involving the woods are my favorite.

A little push for you to read it next – it’ll be coming out as a movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan this year. The trailer looks pretty darn good.

Seed by Ania Ahlborn.

“With nothing but the clothes on his back―and something horrific snapping at his heels―Jack Winter fled his rural Georgia home when he was still just a boy. Watching the world he knew vanish in a trucker’s rearview mirror, he thought he was leaving an unspeakable nightmare behind forever. But years later, the bright new future he’s built suddenly turns pitch black, as something fiendishly familiar looms dead ahead.

When Jack, his wife Aimee, and their two small children survive a violent car crash, it seems like a miracle. But Jack knows what he saw on the road that night, and it wasn’t divine intervention. The profound evil from his past won’t let them die…at least not quickly. It’s back, and it’s hungry; ready to make Jack pay for running, to work its malignant magic on his angelic youngest daughter, and to whisper a chilling promise: I’ve always been here, and I’ll never leave.”

After reading (and LOVING) Brother, I’ve been very excited to dive into another Ania Ahlborn book. This one did not disappoint! She builds fantastic atmosphere that makes for one spooky story.

A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor.

“Time slips. Doomsday scenarios. Killer butterflies. C. J. Tudor’s novels are widely acclaimed for their dark, twisty suspense plots, but with A Sliver of Darkness, she pulls us even further into her dizzying imagination.

In “The Lion at the Gate,” a strange piece of graffiti leads to a terrifying encounter for four school friends. In “Final Course,” the world has descended into darkness, but a group of old friends make time for one last dinner party. In “Runaway Blues,” thwarted love, revenge, and something very nasty stowed in a hat box converge. In “Gloria,” a strange girl at a service station endears herself to a coldhearted killer, but can a leopard really change its spots? And in “I’m Not Ted,” a case of mistaken identity has unforeseen fatal consequences.”

This is the first of two books from C.J. Tudor in this post. I have become quite a big fan of her work over the last year or so. She’s an excellent writer with a dark mind. Her stories are full of twists and turns. If you like to dip your toes into an author’s work before diving into a four hundred plus page book – check this out for sure. She’s got some real winners in here!

I had a hard time putting this collection down. I just kept saying “Ah, one more story!” until I basically had the whole thing done in one sitting.

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor.

“500 years ago: eight martyrs burned
30 years ago: two teenagers vanished
Two months ago: a vicar died mysteriously

Welcome to Chapel Croft.
For Rev Jack Brooks and teenage daughter Flo it’s a fresh start. New job, new home. But in a close-knit community old superstitions and a mistrust of outsiders mean treading carefully.

Yet right away Jack has more frightening concerns.

Why did no one say the last vicar killed himself? Why is Flo plagued by visions of burning girls? And who is sending them threatening messages?

Old ghosts with scores to settle can never rest. And Jack is standing in their way . . .”

The second C.J. Tudor book in this post! This book was SO GOOD. I genuinely think the less you know about it going into it, the better! Lots of reviews gave away small details I felt were spoilers. I enjoyed every little surprise along the way.

Peruse the ‘books‘ category here on the blog for similar posts. Keep an eye on my instagram stories if you’re looking for even more recommendations!

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what I’ve been reading

by Kaylah Stroup
Dear Laura book review

Dear Laura by Gemma Amor.

‘Every year, on her birthday, Laura gets a letter from a stranger. That stranger claims to know the whereabouts of her missing friend Bobby, but there’s a catch: he’ll only tell her what he knows in exchange for something…personal.So begins Laura’s sordid relationship with her new penpal, built on a foundation of quid pro quo. Her quest for closure will push her to bizarre acts of humiliation and harm, yet no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape her correspondent’s demands. The letters keep coming, and as time passes, they have a profound effect on Laura.’

One hundred and nineteen pages that I devoured in one sitting! I couldn’t put it down. I feel like this is a great one if you’re in a reading slump and need a quick push out of your rut. Highly recommended!

the glassy, burning floor of hell book review

The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell by Brian Evenson.

‘A sentient, murderous prosthetic leg; shadowy creatures lurking behind a shimmering wall; brutal barrow men―of all the terrors that populate The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell, perhaps the most alarming are the beings who decimated the habitable Earth: humans. In this new short story collection, Brian Evenson envisions a chilling future beyond the Anthropocene that forces excruciating decisions about survival and self-sacrifice in the face of toxic air and a natural world torn between revenge and regeneration. Combining psychological and ecological horror, each tale thrums with Evenson’s award-winning literary craftsmanship, dark humor, and thrilling suspense.’

I’m a quick reader. A lot of the times with anthologies I will read a handful of stories per reading session. This one took me some time to get through though but it’s not what you might be thinking… These stories took time for me to digest. I didn’t want to run to the next one right away, I wanted to keep pondering what I just read. Each story felt like it had so many layers I needed to peel away to really understand what I was reading. I really enjoyed this book. I feel like this would be a fun one to read along with a friend or book club so you can chat about what the heck you just read.

I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House by Ben Farthing.

‘Dave and his four-year-old, Jacob, find a circus tent in the woods behind their house. A strange voice invites them through the dark doorway.
When they refuse, the tent swallows them…’

I am generally not frightened by horror books. Ghosts? Whatever. Murders? Meh. This book though? It got me, not even because of clowns! I don’t mind clowns. I just loathe the idea of finding something in the woods that shouldn’t be there. I loved this book. It was fun, tense and totally unique.

Fun little tip; listen to creepy carnival music quietly in the background while you read! I listened to this. It just adds to the atmosphere.

The author also wrote I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls which I absolutely need to pick up as well!

On the theme of finding things in the woods that shouldn’t be there – The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher comes to mind. I loved that book and still think about it while I’m in my woods.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle.

‘Welcome to Neverton, Montana: home to a God-fearing community with a heart of gold.
Nestled high up in the mountains is Camp Damascus, the self-proclaimed “most effective” gay conversion camp in the country. Here, a life free from sin awaits. But the secret behind that success is anything but holy.
And they’ll scare you straight to hell.’

I’ve followed Chuck Tingle on social media for some time now but had yet to read one of his books until his horror debut, Camp Damascus. Queer horror? Count me in! I loved this book. I even made my husband read it right after I finished. (He enjoyed it too!) It was a quick and easy read!

Hide by Kiersten White.

‘The challenge: Spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught.
The prize: enough money to change everything. Even though everyone is desperate to win—to seize a dream future or escape a haunting past—Mack is sure she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that. It’s the reason she’s alive and her family isn’t. But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes that this competition is even more sinister than she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide but nowhere to run.
Come out, come out, wherever you are.’

Loved this one. Suspenseful and unique! I’m already looking forward to reading more from Kiersten White based on this book.

The Toll by Cherie Priest.

‘Titus and Melanie Bell are on their honeymoon and have reservations in the Okefenokee Swamp cabins for a canoeing trip. But shortly before they reach their destination, the road narrows into a rickety bridge with old stone pilings, with room for only one car.

Much later, Titus wakes up lying in the middle of the road, no bridge in sight. Melanie is missing. When he calls the police, they tell him there is no such bridge on Route 177…’

Okay, how great does that sound?! LOVE the idea a bridge or area you’ve been to not actually existing. That’s just really unsettling to me. This book was fantastic. I truly enjoyed it. Very atmospheric! You meet a lot of characters but they’re all quite memorable so unlike some books with lots of characters, I had no problem keeping them all straight!

Interestingly enough, a lot of reviews of this book call it out as being one of the author’s weakest books so I am very curious to check out her others if this one was “bad”.

Peruse the ‘books‘ category here on the blog for similar posts. Keep an eye on my instagram stories if you’re looking for even more recommendations!

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house plants + MycoMaxx

by Kaylah Stroup

This post is sponsored by MycoMaxx.

The weather is finally cooling down a bit and my garden is starting to die back for the season which means it’s time to make up with my house plants!

For the most part, my house plants are on autopilot. I water them regularly but maintence, feeding, propagating, etc kind of takes a backseat until fall. It always feels SO good to spend a day just tidying the collection up.

I am always interested in trying out new things to help my plants reach their fullest potential.

I’ve been experimenting with MycoMaxx in place of fertilizers for my indoor plants. Fungi spores colonize within the roots of your plant and become a living extension of your plant’s root system helping them take up more nutrients and water from the soil. So, in return you’re getting larger healthier plants!

MycoMaxx is super easy to use. All you do is mix a packet of it with a quart of water in a bottle and spray that on to the roots of your plants or directly on your seeds. It works on essentially all flowers, house plants and veggies aside from those in the brassica family (which is brussels sprouts, cabbage, etc!)

I can’t wait to see the difference this makes. I’m already excited to use it on next year’s pumpkin patch since that’s the one thing I’m always hoping to grow way bigger!

By the way, MycoMaxx sent me over a coupon code to share with you! ‘kamyco10’ gets you ten dollars off your purchase – which is a huge discount!

Squid loves to help with my plant care time. She always joins me, it’s the sweetest. ♥

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half bath renovation // part one

by Kaylah Stroup

On a whim, I decided to gut my half bath.

The room I said I would wait until last to even start… I started.

Sometimes having a giant fixer upper house feels wildly overwhelming. There are a handful of big projects that just seem very out of my control. So, sometimes it’s nice to just start something you know you can knock out of the park without too too much of a hassle.

And that’s why on a random week day, midday, I decided to start demo!

This is what I started with.

Its a room Jeff and I barely ever use but our guests generally tend to choose the downstairs bathroom. Because of this the idea has always been that it’d be a massively bold room. I want guests to walk in and just be hit in the face with fun bold choices!

It feels like a fun room to experiment with. Perhaps do things I might not want to try out in a larger room for fear of how it looks. If I paint it a color I think might look rad but hate? No biggie, it’s a small room and not terrible to fix. Although, spoiler alert, I am obsessed with all my choices to far!

This was one of a couple rooms in our house that wasn’t insulated when we bought. The previous owner actually had this section of the home behind a wall and then tarped in. It was definitely a chilly room mid winter! That was why I decided to gut it completely. Otherwise, the drywall that was already hanging wasn’t in too terrible of shape. I could have removed the wallpaper and patched the walls.

BUT obviously I want to do things right! My dad and I installed insulation. It worked out that we had the perfect amount left from when we had to insulate the kitchen (another previously chilly room!)

Demo, insulation + drywall aside, let me give you a peek at the planned details!

I scored a ceiling medallion at Goodwill for a couple of bucks. I wasn’t sure where I’d end up putting it but knew that I couldn’t pass it up for the price!

I had been on the fence about the bathroom mirror that came with the house. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything but I also didn’t hate it. When I saw the roses on the medallion though? I knew I had to keep the mirror and put the medallion in the bathroom. They’re not a perfect match but they do compliment each other and I like that.

I’ve always had it in my mind that I wanted a chandelier for in here. I just love the idea of a bathroom chandelier. Its…silly? I don’t know! Just feels like a fun choice. Lucky for me, someone had removed one that was in the house previously and left it in the basement. It needed rewired but otherwise seemed to be in decent shape.

It cleaned up nicely and rewiring was a neat new skill to learn!

Here’s where I’m at now! Finished drywall, and beadboard paneling up along the bottom of the room. My dad and I made custom trim for both above the beadboard and along the bottom. The chandelier is hung and the ceiling is painted a nice moody shade! Flooring is ready to be installed and wallpaper is on it’s way here. The last thing left to choose is the color I’ll be painting the beadboard and trim.

I can’t believe it’s so far along!

Check out this reel I posted on instagram for another look at the room & everything I’ve done so far!

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