Fairy Garden Party Crashers

Hello there, friends.  Yes, the fairy garden housewarming party was crashed by the gnomes.  Those gnomes can be sneaky little things-- and came in a hootin' and a hollerin', and bouncing all over the place.  They tp'd the garden, knocked things around, and left their rubbish all over the place.

Surprisingly, the fairies are quite use to this behavior and were able to clean it up quite easily with a little touch of magic.  I, however, am quite exasperated-- but I'll be back soon with the fairy garden tour.  I promise.

Hugs,

Fairy Garden Housewarming Party

Welcome~ to the Fairy Garden Housewarming Party!  The fairies have been busy around here, preparing for their party guests.

They have been fluttering about-- tidying up, hanging festive paper lanterns, baking fluffy cakes, and making sweet lemonade.

The lights are hung and lit, and the fairies are so happy that you are here.

Let the housewarming festivities begin!

Hugs,

PS:  Please return soon, and I will give you a daytime tour!  Oh~ In case you are wondering, I received those adorable paper lanterns in a Club Little House swap a few years ago.  Aren't they sweet? 

A Fairy's Work Is Never Done

Hello, Sweet Friends. The garden fairies have been busy setting up house in their new little digs. They're almost ready for their housewarming, so please come back soon. They can't wait to show you around!

Hugs,

Sprout

Hello, Sweet Friends. 

How is it that I still get just as excited to see a little leaf pop up through the earth as I did when I grew my first bean in a milk carton when I was four years old? 

The simple joy of it never gets old for me.

Well, I've been out working in the back garden most of the day... and now I'm beat.  But in a good way.  Have a wonderful weekend~

Hugs,

My Salad Bowl

Hello, Sweet Friends! Life has been busy around here, and part of what is keeping me busy is Spring!  I've recently been working in the back garden, so I thought I would show you a little bit of the outdoor nesting that's been going on around here.

Above, is what I call my "salad bowl".  It's full of all kinds of yummy heirloom lettuces.  It's nice to be able to pick a fresh salad for dinner.  There really is a difference in flavor with fresh lettuce.  This lettuce has been really easy to grow, and with it hanging I haven't had to worry much about slugs and snails.  Love. That.

 

Recently I've been picking up plants here and there to get my vegetables, herbs, and flowers going again.  I found a few of my herbs and tomato plants at a garden club plant sale at McKinley Park in East Sacramento.  I love going to garden club sales.  You never know what you're going to find.   

One of my basil plants is called "Goddess Basil".  I got a kick out of the name, so I couldn't resist bringing it home.  Apparently it has a fairly spicy flavor and is considered a gourmet basil.  I wonder if it's the basil often used for "Green Goddess Dressing" ?  I love how there are so many types of basil to choose from.  Check out this fun basil list-- I was shocked at just how many types there are!

I also picked up some low growing plants to refresh my fairy garden.  Winter was not kind to my fairy garden this year, so I'm excited to re-plant and re-fresh my tiny garden.  I think the fairies will be very happy with my choices.  The gnomes, however...

This is just a little peek at my potting bench.  It's just a teaser because I want to make a new skirt for it before I reveal the whole thing.  I've had this potting bench for several years now and although it's very simple, I love it.

Okay, so I love a good Buddha in a garden.  Is this not the sweetest face on this Buddha?!  I know, this is not exactly vintage/cottage style decor for my garden, but I adore him.  I picked up the little aqua pot with succulents at Trader Joe's last year.  I love Trader Joe's for little things like that.  They make great gifts.  This was, uh, a gift for myself.

Soooo... what do you do with a dead tree?  You hang bells and chimes on it!!  Can I call this repurposing and recycling?

This vintage water tank stand has been repurposed into a plant stand with a galvanized bucket and some flowers.  I love repurposing vintage items in the garden.

I love the columbine and ranunculus flowers.  The fluffy white ranunculus flowers remind me of Hagrid's fluffy head.  Oh, that is Hagrid's fluffy head!

I hope that you are all enjoying spring.  I'll be back soon to share more of the back garden.  I've been very busy-- this is just the tip of the iceberg, friends!

Hugs,



Under The Sea

This past month has been a busy one for stitchin'~ all gifts for special friends and family... and friends that I consider family. These two lovelies are going to make their way to Boise, Idaho to two of my favorite people in the whole wide world-- mother/daughter dynamic duo, Debra and Chelsey. Deb, Chelsey, and I have been lifelong friends.

When Chelse-Woman was a wee one, she loved Disney's "The Little Mermaid". She would spend hours in the tub singing Ariel's "Ahhhh... ahhhh... ahhhh...". Those of you who have kids may know that song well, as your little ones probably sang it in the tub too. When Chelsey sang, you could hear her down the hall, and Deb and I would just look at each other and giggle.

Chelsey was a fun, precocious little girl, with gorgeous red hair and an incredible imagination. Chelsey was often in "Chelsey-World"~ dancing and singing around the house in her tie-die leggings, and her twirly-whirly red square dancing slip that her grandma found for her. Seriously, (giggle) I don't think I ever saw her without one or the other-- or both. Chelsey could speak from a very early age, and introduced us to vocabulary we didn't even know existed. To this day, we still incorporate "Chelsey-isms" into our conversations. ("Oh my goodness-- Deb! We need to have a discussment!") Just goes to show, close friends have a "language all their own", right?

Well, Chelsey has grown into an incredible, lovely, talented, world-travelin' young woman. She's an amazing photographer (I love, love, love her photos), a great cook (she can cook Julia's boeuf like none other), and she's got great style (she wears her leggings in solid colors now). And yes, she still has that gorgeous red mane.

However, no matter how grown up Chelsey is now, whenever I see a great mermaid image--I think of her. Needless to say, this was the inspiration for choosing these vintage mermaid embroidery patterns to stitch for Deb and Chelsey. I hope these images will bring back sweet memories, and that they will love them as much as I loved stitching them!

Hugs,

Clay Play, And Some Sweet Vintage Embroidery

ost Fridays, my friend Kathy and I get together for what we call an "Artist Date". It's a fun way to stretch our creative wings, discover creative inspiration, and to simply have fun. Recently, Kathy and I had the opportunity to play with clay! Kathy has access to a kiln, so we have been excited to try our hand at sculpting. Above is my sculpture. Can you tell what it is??

Is it easier to tell in this photo? It's a pincushion! You know, the classic tomato with a strawberry needle sharpener. I used white clay, and decided to glaze it clear. I thought it would turn out with a more of a matte finish, but it's a bit glossy. I had hoped that the "fabric texture" would show more too. The strings came out okay though. (Okay, okay, okay, I'll stop the critiquing...)

Although I learned so much on just this little project, I have so much more to learn. This little pincushion was so fun to create and I'm really looking forward to the next project!

I love this little vintage embroidered dresser scarf thingy-- did you notice it under the pincushion? I collect vintage embroidery pieces here and there, and this is one of my favorites.

Each stitch is so perfectly stitched, and the images are so sweet. I love this mama duck and her little ducklings. Check out the baby duck butt-- that little duck is diving for something!

I love the trees on this piece also. They used two shades of green, and they look great.

Such a sweet stitched scene!

Hugs,