Sep 09 2008
Hello! I just wanted to share this photo with you:
I can’t believe how blue these hydrangeas are this year! The flowers on this bush have always been a beautiful dark purple. The soil pH is what determines the color and I’ve done nothing different to bring about this change. Their blue is so intense it’s almost neon. It’s even reflected in the leaves. Isn’t nature something?
Aug 26 2008
It has occurred to me there’s much to be learned in a garden…
How to stand out in a crowd:
Seeing things in their best possible light:
And from more than one angle:
We’re reminded to embrace our differences:
Support our friends when they fall:
Tolerate the occasional flaw:
And always look for the inner beauty:
I’m wishing you a beautiful day.
Aug 11 2008
Begin with a solid white image. Mask and stamp with a leafy background. Paint flower center chartreuse, then feather burgundy toward petal edges. Apply rust colored Fun Flock to the stamen ends.
Okay…I’ll admit it…I didn’t have time to do a coloring tutorial this weekend. I spent the weekend stamping for Flourishes’ new releases which will be happening this Wednesday (pretty exciting!) and making a gift bag for a friend to go with the 22 cards he just bought from me for his mom. All the while the weather was beautiful and I still had the gardening, housework, laundry and other weekend chores to do. Add to that my husband came home Sunday after a four day absence and…well…you get the picture.
I’d say I wish I was a superwoman, but I don’t think I’d like that. I’d rather be my pokey-slow Type B personality, plodding through my day, easily distracted by a butterfly, a shimmer of light, or a wildflower growing on the other side of the fence. It’s not easy being me in the fast-paced environment in which I work. I sometimes feel I’ve split myself into two personalities — the one that’s “on” (at work) and the one that’s on cruise control (at home). Perhaps I over compensate when I’m home but I guess each of us has our own way of moderating the stress in our lives. Home is a stress-free oasis for me unless I choose to make it otherwise and I’m fortunate to be able to make that choice. Some are not so lucky.
So here, at least, is a photo of the gift bag I made. It’s a design by Angela Sylvester that was shared as a Stampin’ Up! OnStage online project. The instructions were shared with me by my friend, Nancy Littrell. I searched online to see if Angela has a blog where she might have posted a tutorial but the best I could come up with was this PDF file which appears to be incomplete — there’s no Page Two with a diagram for the score lines.
EDT: Monica found a tutorial! See it here. Thank you, Monica!
It’s made from two 12″ x 12″ sheets of double sided designer paper which are taped together with Sticky Strip at one of the corners. I folded the top 2 1/4″ down to the outside to make a border. The finished bag is 8″ x 3 1/2″ and my bag is 7″ tall, but it could be taller without the top folded down. There’s a sheet of white cardboard in the bottom to firm up the base. It’s really an ingenious design and could be fixed up super cute but I don’t have time to do more with it today. Maybe next time.
I sure hope you all had a nice weekend. I’ll be back by Wednesday with brand new stamps from Flourishes. I had a great time stamping my little heart out with them this weekend. Take care!
Aug 05 2008
This is the pretty yellow flower that’s in my new blog header. It’s an Evening Primrose. Most Evening Primrose blooms stay cupped during the day and only open fully in the late afternoon and evening, but this variety stays open all day. I thought it was about time I changed my header from spring to summer. I hope you enjoy it!
Have a wonderful day!
Jul 28 2008
Hello! I’m just checking in for a minute to say Coloring Today has been postponed due to lack of time. I had a busy weekend and I knew I wouldn’t have time to do a tutorial, but I had a card to share… well… then along came one of those bad headaches I get occasionally. All things considered, I decided to take a sick day and didn’t even photograph the card. I’m feeling better now — just in time to go to work.
So… I’ll just share photo I took the other day in the garden — another busy bee. Looks like she’s just resting for a minute. Maybe she had a headache, too.
Tomorrow I’ll be back with that card and next Monday there will be a Coloring Today post. Be well and I’ll see you again soon!
Jul 15 2008
I don’t have a card for you today, but there’s been some mighty pretty things going on in the garden this month. I wondered if you might like to step into that world for a moment. I won’t keep you long.
I have a stamp that says “Flowers are the poetry of nature.” How true that is. They’re the writer’s pen, the artist’s brush, the weaver’s loom. They’re a reason to get up early on a dewy morning. They draw me out for one last stroll as the sun slants low in the evening. They’re ruffled petticoats and draping jewels, delicate, decadent, romantic, shy. They work magic on my soul but the awe is so compelling it hurts a little bit. It’s too big. Or I’m too small. I hope you enjoy the photos.
Above: Penstemon backlit by the late afternoon sun.
Below: Fuschias dripping from the weekend watering.
Baptisia in amethyst and sage.
Impatien, sweet and pure to its very heart.
Thank goodness for the garden. Have a wonderful day!
Jun 24 2008
At least they leave the foxgloves alone. Digitalis — they’re poison. Aren’t they pretty, though? They’re scattered all over the garden, growing prolifically from the seed they spread. Most of my foxgloves are transplanted from the wild but the pale pink on the left is from White Flower Farms. The color is called Salmon so I was a little disappointed when it turned out pink – but it’s such a pretty pink.
The pot behind it rests in a bird bath. I love the idea of having bird baths in the garden. Unfortunately, so do the racoons. They were forever climbing up to get at the water and knocking the bowl from its pedestal. The concrete bowl would crash heavily into the surrounding flower bed, crushing everything beneath it. Once I replaced the water with a flower pot the racoons left it alone. The blue and white lobelia in the pot will soon cascade over the bowl, providing an elevated spot of color in the bed.
Most foxgloves are biennial — they spend one year growing, the next year producing flowers and seed and that’s usually the last you’ll see of that particular plant. The yellow foxglove, above, is a true perennial. It’s small and the color is subtle – not as magnificant as the biennials but it has its own charm.
I’ll have something stamped to share tomorrow. I’m on vacation this week and you’d think I’d find time to stamp, but everyday I wake up with a list in my head…today I found a little time for the garden. See you again soon! Have a great day!
May 26 2008
Marvin had his very first bath recently. He’s gotten old and doesn’t clean himself up much anymore. This behavior isn’t necessarily inherent in an aging cat, but Marvin has become arthritic and all the contortions necessary for a good cleaning are painful for him. We were prepared for a fight but, actually, I think he rather enjoyed the lavish spa treatment and all the love and sweet talk that went along with it.
The towel drying afterwards was his favorite part of the experience. Whenever he comes in the house wet and bedraggled (doesn’t seem to bother him at all–he’s such a boy!) he gets the towel treatment. We think he goes out and soaks up some rain just so he can get the towel. He doesn’t look too upset in this photo, does he? Can you see his smile?
Later, I remembered this Gary Patterson stamp I’ve had for a long time. I’ve used it a few times for masculine cards and for thanks-for-taking-care-of-me-while-my-people-were-out-of-town cards. This is pretty much what Marvin looked like the rest of the evening after his bath. He seemed very content. Making this card was fun for a change, switching gears from my usual style. I wouldn’t want to get stuck in a rut.
I watercolored the image with Stampin’ Up! inks on 90# hot press watercolor paper. The background is two pieces from my scrap drawer – a retired wheel called Bold Blooms. Most of it is covered up but better here than in my scrap drawer. The background cardstock edges are sponged with matching inks and the sentiment is embossed. I did a Google search for Gary Patterson stamps and it seems there aren’t many in circulation anymore. Too bad. They were some of the cutest, most comical cat images. I did find this particular stamp here, at Addicted to Rubber Stamps, which is where I got mine many years ago.
Here’s Marvin in one of his favorite spots for napping:
Thanks for visiting with me and Marvin today! I hope your week gets off to a good start and stays that way. Take care!
May 17 2008
It’s the time of year again when I spend my days in the garden whenever possible. Today was one of those glorious good-for-the-soul-days. Temperatures stayed in the mid-70’s with only the slightest breeze — perfect for spreading compost, planting flowers and just general puttering around enjoying myself.
I do like to share the garden photos because it’s very much a part me but I’m feeling rather hard pressed to show you anything different from last year. Yes, the garden is always changing, not only with each new month, but plants come and go, get rearranged, nibbled away by the deer or broken down to nothing by wrestling racoons. The basic structure, however, remains the same. Still, I never tire of it.
This particular spot has always been a favorite of mine no matter what the month. I’ll hurry along past it to the garden shed, but when I turn to head back up the stairs it gives me pause every time. So this is what it was all about — all that digging out of sod, mixing dirt, hauling rocks, setting bricks, planting flowers. The moment I turn I’m a little overcome by the tranquility I’ve made of my world. I must have had a real need for this to have gone to such lengths. I am a quiet person in a very noisy world.
Just for fun I thought I’d share a “before” picture of this very spot. When we were house shopping 18 years ago we did a drive by of this property after seeing it in a real estate catalog. We could see but a glimpse where the driveway parted the hedge but that, for me, was the beauty of it. The neighborhood was quiet and tidy, the house was the right price. I had to see more. As it turned out, the house was extremely ordinary — sturdy, but with some design shortcomings. Too bad…my head was turned by the possibilities of the landscape.
This photo was taken from the upper level, looking along the edge of the slope, whereas the first picture, the “after” photo, was taken from the lower level. There was a garden shed, sans garden, at the foot of the slope. To approach it you risked tumbling into the blackberry thicket that edged the hillside. If you tumbled through the thicket you’d land in a gully on the other side.
We replaced the garden shed and dug out and terraced the hillside, turning our slippery slope into a garden vision. The blackberries with their wicked thorns are gone, replaced with a flower bed that borders the path to the garden shed. Tons (and I mean that literally) of sod were removed from all over the property as flower beds were added. The sod was used to fill part of the gully and expand our usable ground space.
This green oasis is much more to my liking than the parched and patchy lawn that preceded it and my husband, the lawn guy, is happy to have less work on his hands. It’s more work for me, but then, there’s no place I’d rather be and no pursuit at which I’m happier.
For the folks who’d like to know what the flowers are in the first photo:
The blue is Ajuga, or Carpet Bugle. This variety has burgundy foliage, blooms in Spring and again in August. Very easy care. Takes some foot traffic. I have it mingling with Creeping Jenny which will bloom with yellow flowers later in the summer.
The white is Allium, or Wild Onion. Grows like a weed, very invasive, spreading both from bulb and seed. It will keep you busy trying to maintain control. It’s beautiful but I’m rather sorry I ever planted it and when I’m asked to share starts I refuse. I wouldn’t wish it on my friends.
The deep pink is an evergreen azalea just coming into bloom.
And this is a Periwinkle bloom. It’s not growing in the immediate area of the first photo but I thought it was so cute peeking out from between the rocks. There were surprises and little delights everywhere I turned today.
I’m so glad you could stop by for a little time in the garden. Tomorrow I’ll be out there again but I’ll have some stamping to share tomorrow night. Thank you for indulging me today. Be well and I’ll see you again soon!
Apr 02 2008
I shooed away these visitors last night before I went to bed and again this morning before I went to work. When I came home for lunch these two siblings were sunning themselves on the lawn, no doubt their bellies full of the most tender Spring green morsels my garden had to offer. They stood up to pose for a picture and to listen to a car drive by on the other side of the hedge. Gee, it didn’t seem to bother them at all when I pulled up in the driveway…in full view…just a few feet away.
I think they’re wise to me. I don’t spray them with the hose, as has been suggested, or chase after them shouting and waving my arms; I simply step outside and tell them sternly to go find something to eat in the woods. They listen very closely, politely, even…
When they’re satisfied I’m done having my say, they twitch their ears, flip their tails and head toward Mom, who’s usually browsing in another part of the yard. The photo below is one of the youngsters again, still in the garden. I guess I can’t blame them for not knowing where the woods end and the garden begins, as if it would matter to them.
They ate all my Trillium today, the white flower I pictured in a post the other day. I don’t have nearly the mass of blooms I’ve had in prior years. Just when I think I’ve found a flower they don’t care for, they take a liking to it. Honestly, it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. Sometimes it’s a little like living in a Disney movie with all the critters around…sigh…I persevere… Have a wonderful day!
