Craft: transforming traditional crafts

I love lichen. And I find it interesting that lichen is not a single, united being. It's a composite organism: A symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae.

Lichen colors range from sophisticated, muted greens and browns to eye-opening rusty oranges. And the forms and textures in which they manifest are often breathtaking. I still think about this calendar I came across a long time ago ... a lichen calendar! I think it was put out by the California Lichen Society, but I haven't found one since then.

I've always thought the nubs and interesting edges of lichen would lend themselves really well to embroidery, but I haven't come across a lot of lichen embroidery. In doing a search, I found a few nice examples. This gorgeous little lichen purse from Magic Wand Dept, for one. And Elin on etsy has created some cute items with lichen embroidery on them, like this business card holder.