Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Etsy eye some...

coral.

Cockwise, starting top left:

Garland

Fabric Bundle

Wedding Garter

Poppy Seeds

Earrings

Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

French Tray...

I've mentioned that my son is getting married in a couple of months. My husband and I are hosting a brunch after the wedding. It's going to have a French country theme with broiche tea sandwiches, quiche, yummy salads, tartelettes, macarons, chocolate croissants and other pastries, etc. Yum. Because we live in Colorado and the wedding is in California, I'm shipping some items that are lightweight and can be transported easily to use as platters for the event. That's where these $7.99 wooden trays from Hobby Lobby come in. {I bought them on sale at 50% off at Hobby Lobby for $4.} These are lightweight trays, but they are definitely sturdy enough for pastries, cookies, or tea sandwiches...

My inspiration {even though I think it's a bit "much"} for this project is this $59 wooden tray from Bellacor...

Yes, that's right... $59. Mine should cost around $5. I love me a good deal.

I'll post the finished projects in a few days!

Bloomin' Tuesday...

I hope you a nice Memorial Day weekend. It was a great weekend for us. The weekend started with more rain and cooler weather, but by Monday it was a little warmer and drier, so we were able to plant half of our little veggie garden. We opted for lots of tomatoes this year -- six plants -- which should provide us with all we need and enough to share with family and neighbors.

I've notice in my garden that too much of a good thing (rain) can wear on some of the plants. The grass is waterlogged and my impatiens look a trifle pale, but the hostas have loved the rain. I love this beautiful broad leafed plant that grows well in the shade. As if their broad variegated leaves aren't enough, toward the end of the summer they shoot up a beautiful blue blossom.

The rain has also given our spruce trees a huge boost. All over town you can see the vibrant new growth on these trees.

This week I hope to show you a sewing project that has gone on for some time now. Our son is getting married in August, and his bride and I have been making some fun "picnic" blankets for all the guests. I'll share with you a few of the finished (or not so finished) blankets soon. So far... all 40 of the tops of the blankets are completed.

Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Etsy eye something...

quirky and cute!

Clockwise, starting top left:

Whale Wall Art

Yarn-Wrapped Lucky Horseshoe

Popsicle Art

Kitty Brooch

With thoughts of my father, who served in WWII, wishing

you a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Bloomin' Tuesday... errr, Wednesday

Waterlogged. That's the only way to describe my garden at the moment. Last week we had a reprieve before we got hit with the current deluge, so during that dry spell I planted containers and garden plants. Yesterday I was lugging those pots into my garage and covering up garden annuals so they wouldn't freeze to death. Heaven knows, they are already exhausted from dog paddling for days trying to keep their little heads above water. I know there are places in the U.S. in a serious drought situation. I wish we could share some of our moisture with them.

Meanwhile, my garden looks like an Irish countryside...

Our grass is kelly green and a foot long. We're going to have to bale it if it doesn't stop raining long enough to run a lawn mower over it. I was able to plant my impatiens in the circular area off our patio (bottom of photo below). They are finicky little things though, so I had to cover them with tarps last night, because it got ridiculously close to 32 degrees.

It's not raining this morning. I'm hoping for a dry spell, because we wanted to plant our veggie garden this weekend. The good news is I haven't had to turn on my sprinklers yet! That's huge because usually I've had them going for a good month by now. Anyway, I hope your garden is thriving!

Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Etsy eye something...

blushing.

 Clockwise, starting top left:

Flower Headband

Felt Flower Letter

Washi Tape

Crossbody Bag

Notebook

Wishing you a beautiful spring weekend!

 

Bloomin' Tuesday...

Last week it rained and rained, then it rained some more. Everyone around here was getting a wee bit nervous because the 2013 flood in Colorado is still fresh on our minds. I bought a few lovelies to plant in containers last week, but wasn't even able to pot them because of the downpour and the snow we received on Sunday. {Nothing says "Happy Mother's Day" like snow. Ugh.}

This week, however, is a different story. The sun is out -- 70 degree temps during the day are expected -- and I'm itching to get my hands in some dirt!

I'm mixing it up a bit on the patio. Instead of all "Thrill, Spill & Fill" containers, I'm buying some stand-alone plants for some containers. These plants don't make it through the winter in Colorado, but we will enjoy them as annuals for spring, summer and fall. Plants like: hibiscus {above}, fuchias, and honeysuckle bushes. We can pretend like we live in the tropics with a few of those beauties on our patio!

We humans felt a little waterlogged last week, but all the perennials in my garden were in rainwater heaven. 

Several years ago I planted one little succulent in my garden. I'd always loved "hens and chicks", but never had any. Apparently hens are quite prolific because at least 30 chicks have sprouted from that mother plant. You can see some of them below...

Which leads me to another planting. A couple of years ago I used one of our birdbaths as a planter. You might remember that I planted some beautiful succulents in that birdbath...

Last week I decided to use the birdbath again for that purpose. I gathered up a few of the little chicks that have grown around the base of the birdbath and supplemented those with more succulents that I was given for Mother's Day and some more that I bought at Home Depot...

It's really the perfect spot for a succulent garden because it doesn't get watered with the other plants on our drip or sprinkler system. Succulents only need an occasional sip of water, so once a week I sprinkle them and they are good to go. I'll be anxious to see how they do this summer.

Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Etsy eye... 

a Happy Mother's Day.

Clockwise, starting top left: 

 Three Mini Planters

Mother's Day Card

Earrings 

Bracelet

Doll

Wishing you a happy weekend!

Bloomin' Tuesday...

I'm back! Today's Bloomin' Tuesday features just a few blooms from my garden and some blossoms that I've enjoyed throughout the last month and a half.  Seven weeks ago I flew to North Carolina to be there for the birth of our 17th grandchild. Spring was in full bloom when I arrived. My next stop 2.5 weeks later was to my son's family in Virginia. They also had a little one (our 16th) join their family, so I helped them as well. Once again I arrived at the height of the spring season. Here are some photos I took of the cherry blossoms in D.C.

After another 2 weeks I was back home for a few days before we traveled to Utah for my son's graduation. You guessed it. Spring had sprung in Utah, so I enjoyed my third spring there...

I thought that was the end of my travels for awhile, but, a trip to Spokane for a funeral was planned at the last minute last week, so we experienced a northwestern spring in Sandpoint, Idaho along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. Now we're back home, and I'm ready to stay put for at least a month. One glorious month. It'll be nice to be here as my garden comes to life in Colorado...

I am so anxious to spend a little time giving my garden the TLC that it missed while I was gone. I have a feeling much of my time this month will be spent outdoors!

Friday's Fabulous Finds...

 I spy with my little eye some...

nature!

Clockwise, starting top left:

Succulent Plant Arrow
Coffee Table
Triangular Planter
Mini-Terrarium
Clock

Wishing you a spring-filled weekend!