Outdoor Living and Loving It

I am slowly finishing all my deck projects. The green metal planter belonged to my grandfather, all I did was spray it green and put a few plants on it. Not much thinking there. The whiskey barrel behind it will be filled with mint, hopefully this weekend. I have another barrel, just out of the picture that I filled with basil this week . I love the smell of basil. It is so nice to be able to cut a few pieces whenever I need to. I planted red and white impatience in this barrel, since they love shade they will do just fine under the umbrella. I have to cut a few inches off the umbrella stake or I will find this umbrella over the fence on windy days. At night I light the candles and it is just so pretty. In the background is our shed. Just a shed, nothing glamorous like a studio, the usual yard tools are stored in there.

I painted these shutters about ten years ago. Yikes! Seems like yesterday. They are not the best artwork I have ever seen ,but I still like them after all these years and I can not say that about very much. My husband thought the lace curtain was a little much, but it is still there.

Orchid in the House

I received this beautiful orchid as a present over the weekend. I was happy to get it of course, but I am very intimidated by it. I am not that great with indoor plants, let alone an orchid. I am going to do a little research on basically how to keep it alive while in my care. It is just too pretty to let anything happen to it. I love the white on white of this picture. It is a southern exposure window, so there will be lots of natural light. I do think it looks pretty where it is right now. I hope I can keep it looking like this. Wish me luck.

Geraniums in black and White

How would the world look in constant black and white? I do like to watch old black and white movies. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream Home , Dial M for Murder and of course It's a Wonderful Life are a few of my favorites. Watching I Love Lucy in color, I am not sure it would be the same. Most of my childhood memories are photographed in black and white. I can remember watching the Wizard of Oz and waiting for the movie to change from black and white and into color. My grandparents had a color television before we did and going over their house to watch television on Sunday nights was a treat. Today, I took pictures of the geraniums I bought on Monday. I like the color picture better right now, but tomorrow who knows?
PS I had no idea you might have to wear sunglasses to look at these pictures. They are so bright and white. I wish I could edit them but it it too late now!

Where have all the flowers Gone?

Don't you just love a before and after? I was looking at some of my older pictures and I noticed this one. I was just so eager back in April to get some color on my deck that I think I created a monster. They are all perennials in the barrell except for the purple pansies. All I have done, up until now is just water them. I took the after picture yesterday. I am going to have to remove a few of the perennials, you just can't see them anymore. I must say the second picture does make the plants look overgrown, but in real life they look much better. I so under estimated how tall that back plant would get! Now I just have to find the right place to replant the perennials.

Had a nice Weekend

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Mine was very busy. Friday I went to the Wrentham Outlets in Massachusetts bought a few things. A Yankee Candle factory store just opened that day. I spent a lot of time sniffing the different scents. They do come up with some clever names for their candles. Do you think we actually buy the candles for the way they smell or the image the name creates in your mind? I bought cherry lemonade, pound cake,mango peach salsa and peach and sweet berries. I am thinking I was hungry when I made my purchase, I see a food pattern in their names. Saturday was spent going to the barn sale and antique stores followed by a nice dinner at my favorite restaurant. Sunday was so beautiful here and we spent that day at a cookout/ graduation/birthday party. Last but not least, Monday I bought more flowers. Then we went to eat cookout leftovers at our friends home. My pansies are just doing great on the back deck, I wish I would of bought more. I looked for some this weekend but they are an early spring plant in the northeast, so they are long gone from the garden shop. A friend suggested that I make a three tier planter, so I did and I like it very much. I already had the pots, so it was so easy to do. It is the planter in the first picture. In the third picture if you look in the background you can see the little patch of flowers I planted a few weeks ago. I had a few pieces of white iron fence sections that I was not using so I put them in the back of the flowers and it really gives them a bit of a lift.

Barn Sale Revisited

Last Memorial Day Weekend my daughter, her friend and I stumbled across a Barn Sale in Chepatchet, Rhode Island. For a one stoplight town they have three antique/consignment stores and a great rustic general store that sells penny candy. This year we decided to make another visit and I was not disappointed. I found a few things that I am sure that I will use. I bought a couple bags of cloth pins, two bags of buttons , eight green like new napkins and two green vases. They also have this barn sale on Labor Day, so I am thinking there will be another trip at the end of the summer. Have a nice weekend everyone!

Pretty Paper by K & Company

This paper mache box will hold a gift card and hopefully a few little note cards that I intend to make later today. It is for a friend of our family who graduated from college last Sunday. Her bedroom is done with these colors so hopefully she will like it. The paper I used is from K & Company, I bought it at Michaels's last week. It has 36 double faced pages, they are all so pretty. Everything matches so well, you can not make a mistake. A few of the pages have owls on them and I seldom find any paper with owls on it. Have a nice day everyone!

Childrens Artwork

A dear friend's daughter asked me if I would make her a garland/swag that she could hang her children's art work from. The answer was yes, of course. I picked out a yellow ribbon to use as a clothes line. I came up with a few ideas a bird, dress, fish, apple and flower will hold up her children's artwork with pride. I hot glued clothespins to the back, so all she has to do is clip the artwork to them. I made a few more so she can change them out when she wants. I even distressed them a little in case they should happen to get dirty from any left over art supplies. I had to take the picture outside so please excuse the background. The inside of our house can get really dark, even when the sun shines. I hope she likes it.
P.S. Something about the fish has been bothering me. I now know that it needs a mouth, one will be added.

Waiting to Fill In

I took another trip to the garden shop to get more flowers. They looked so pretty until I put them in the ground. I spaced the flowers as stated on the package, so they will fill in over the summer. However, they are looking a little sad right now. I am going to buy a fertilizer that I used last year. The local garden shop uses it and their plants get so full and colorful. So far the flowers I planted outside are looking good, so I will be hopeful for these. This weekend is Memorial Day, so I will plant all the annuals that I like and sit back and enjoy. Oh yes, and water , weed and fertilize and water, weed and fertilize.

Have a very nice Weekend

I spent most of Friday at the kitchen counter making owl cards. I am going to use a few of them for graduation cards. One envelope has already been addressed and I attached a little owl clip to it. I really like decorating the outside of the envelope with a few little flowers. I wish I would of had more time to make a few more cards. I did find time to meet friends and see the movie "Maid of Honor" and get a bite to eat at Ruby Tuesdays. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Lilacs are so Pretty

I thought I would share a picture of some beautiful lilacs I received on Mother's Day. They are one of my favorite flowers, they are so pretty and so fragrant. I am not sure why I do not have a lilac bush, I just don't. These fit in perfectly on this chest in our kitchen. I love how it all came area came together without much effort. Sometimes I can spend way too much time trying to make things look good and other times everything just falls into place.

Folder and Easel

I am happy to say that I finished my folder today. I think it came out rather cute. I just can not stay away from the cut out flowers with little buttons glued to them. They add the little bit of detail that I like and use up quite a lot of scrap pieces of paper. Below, is an unfinished chalkboard easel that is about 6" high. I have had it for a few months. I never knew what I was going to do with it, but today I had an idea. I do not have a piece of chalk or I would write a message on it. It might be cute to write happy birthday on it and give it instead of a card. I love the paper that is under the easel , it is my favorite. I try to buy some whenever I go to Jo Anne's . What will I do when it is discontinued?

Chores and Paper Crafting

Okay, the to-do list is still going strong. Outdoor chores were on the list today. I had to take a few minutes to be creative tonight. I bought this folder at Target a few months back. I covered it with paper by Martha Stewart. Tonight , I cut out the bird and other pieces. I am going to use the folder to get organized. It will hold patterns I make, use once and never seem to be able find again and pictures I cut from magazines for inspiration. I may even put the to-do list in there because it is cramping my style, only kidding. The folder should be finished tomorrow. Yikes, I have a few projects to finish. I also want to make some graduation cards this week . We have five friends graduating from college this spring.

The to-do List

My daughter gave me a to-do list notepad for my birthday. I have mentioned that I tend to have a small attention span for anything to do with housework. I have a feeling I am not in the minority here. I can sit and cut and paste paper for hours. The sewing machine can also amuse me from sun up to sun down. I have things that need to be done which I do not consider to be to much fun. Cleaning the basement, the pantry, sorting out old clothes and just general spring cleaning. The to-do list has a few entries for today. The first is a trip to my daughter's college for books for summer classes and the dreaded cleaning of the basement. No paper crafts today.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing everyone a happy Mother's Day!

Waiting to be Painted

I love a good make over. It could be on a person, a room or in this case a three tier flower holder. I am not sure what to call it and I have not had my coffee yet. Maybe something will come to me later. I found this in my parents backyard. My father has so many things in the yard it is like a visit to a small flea market. I always seem to come home with something. Remember the iron headboard? This was my Grandfather's. I took the picture yesterday and planned on painting it today. However it is raining and this will have to wait until the weekend.

It is all about Me

Quick post, since today is all about me. It is my birthday. The sun is out and it seems like it will be a nice spring day. I think I am going out for lunch and maybe a little shopping. I do know that I intend to sit on my swing and enjoy an iced coffee and maybe read a magazine. Have a nice day everyone.

Cell phone Holder

Still working on things for the Etsy shop. At the rate I am going it should be open by the end of the month. It is funny how housework and errands and life can get in the way of sewing and paper crafting. I wish that I could go away for a weekend and just be creative. I am thinking maybe a tropical location. Well, that would be another post. This is a cell phone holder that I made. I made a few of these last summer and gave them to friends. I love making the yo yos and adding the buttons. Okay, I am easily amused. Off to finish the dishes, have lunch and run errands. Sewing, will have to wait until later this evening.

Lovely to look At

It is funny how during the spring you wait for all your plants and trees to show signs of blooming. Sometimes the blooms are gone before they can even be appreciated. We planted the bush and tree about 22 years ago. Others were not so lucky and had to be removed last fall. I am looking forward to a few new plants in the front beds. After a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia in 1984 and loving all the brick walks, my husband and I layed the bricks for our front walk. Talk about not knowing what you were doing. But 24 years later they are still in place.

Have a nice Weekend

I have been very busy making things. I am trying to build up some inventory before I set up my Etsy site. I like to add yo yo's to some of the things I make. I like to sew them when I am watching television at night. Well these must be sewn on to the tissue holders. Have a nice weekend.

I have been tagged

I have been tagged to list seven randon things about me. Yikes! Here I go.



1. I read a lot of fashion magazines and yet all I seem to wear are jeans and t shirts

2. I love Nascar

3. I sleep with the television on

4. I love to read romance/mystery books

5. I live in Rhode Island, but I would love to live in the south, near the ocean.

6. I am very unorganized and see no change in that, no matter how hard I try

7. I would love to own a coffee shop/ consignment store. Where creative people could sell there creations.