April Flowers

April found me working on flowers. Wow what a surprise, right?

I had a custom order to fill for 7 crochet hooks. I love how they turned out. And so did the customer! Her review read "The workmanship is excellent. The colors and designs are terrific. Very comfortable to use." I love it when my customers are happy with their purchase. Yay!

Next, I decided to try something new. Plant stakes! I made 3 sets of these whimsical flowers. A great way to add some color to your green, non-flowering plants. Or arrange them in a vase for a bouquet that never dies!

I even tried my hand at flower sculpting.

I love the lily the best! In the end though I decided not to use it. It was going to be just a bit too fragile. But the poppies passed the test and so did the roses! Here is where they ended up. A flower vase given as a birthday present. I was told that Nana was very pleased! Another yay!

So there you have it. Three very different projects. Three very different styles and applications. But all of them blooming with color!

If you know someone who would enjoy receiving a flowering gift that never fades, let me know. I would love to help you out!

Spring has Sprung

March of this year found me doing less creating and more enjoying the outdoors.

The camellias were still in bloom and looking their best.

And a few azaleas were starting to show some color.

A walk through Azalea Park here in the heart of Flowertown was a must!

With all of this beauty surrounding me I can't help but be inspired!!!

Wallflowers

Here's the post I promised last week. An introduction to a new product I made that I'm calling Wallflowers.

These came about due to the fact that I had made too many patterned clay sheets (I must confess, they are sooooo much fun for me!) but I had no plans for them. I would make them and store them away for another day. Well, it was getting to the point where I had to do something with them all.

This is just a few of my sheets. Some were leftover from other projects. Others I made while experimenting with scraps.

I took out my small tear drop shaped clay cutter and started punching out petals.

These were the first in the making.

 I added two more petal shapes to the mix and made these.

Here they are on my wall. Aren't they fun?

I made coordinating flowers in groups of 3 or 4 for each pattern/color. They are all available on-line.

But of course they can be used for other things, not just as wall decor.  Here are a few other ways they can be used: decorate scrapbook pages, attach them to a headband, turn them into refrigerator magnets, decorate a picture frame or mirror. Maybe you can think of another use! If so, let me know in the comments.

That's about it for now. Until next time.....

Sunday Stroll

Here it is, Sunday afternoon.  This week I took a break from my normal spot in my studio, aka the dining room, and did some things around the house.  My backyard was beginning to look a little over grown.  And with the addition to the heat and mosquitoes one might think they had wandered into an Amazon rain forest!  A snapped a few pictures and decided to share them with you today.  So come take a Sunday afternoon stroll with me in my yard.

I don't know who planted these gladiolus but they bloom every summer.  I like their cool frosted apricot color.

And speaking of color, just look at the purple on this hydrangea!  When I was a little girl I used to love to put milk on my blackberries and squish them until the milk turned purple!  That's what the color of these flowers reminds me of.

One of my favorite flowers is portulaca.  They seem to thrive in the heat.  And their seeds spread everywhere so you never know where they might come up.

These yellow 4 o'clocks smell so sweet.  Their perfume fills the air in my backyard.  But they only bloom in the late afternoon, hence the name!

Well, hello there garden spider.  I sure wish you would catch some of these dang mosquitoes in that web of yours!

Here's another sweet smelling flower, confederate jasmine.  Hey, I'm southern you know.

I love the hot colors of this lantana.  And so do the bees and butterflies.  I even see hummingbirds drawn to these flowers sometimes.

My pineapple is getting bigger. I can't wait until its ready to eat!

We had quite a bit of rain for a few days and it seemed this mushroom popped up overnight.  I can just imagine a garden fairy sitting underneath, using it as an umbrella!



Well that concludes the tour.  I hope you take time out of your busy day to enjoy the outdoors.  And stop and smell the flowers, because life is too short!