Beaded Wool Alliums

I'm working to prepare for my upcoming May sales. Darn - I have to be very honest and say that I haven't been working anywhere near hard enough and am now starting to feel the dreaded panic. Guess that's just something that me and my blood pressure have to work out on our own.

But one thing that I've been doing is creating more beaded wool bobbles (see my last post about them here) and I'm now transforming them into punky and funky beaded alliums. I tell ya - they are quite fun and addictive to make - not to mention a great way to use up scrap strips of felted wool!

Flowers are a-Blooming

What? I don't think that November is typically the big blooming season in Wisconsin - but, believe me, flowers are a-blooming at my house!

I've been making wool flowers magnets and they are multiplying (and rather addicting to make!)! Here's just a few...

The Red Bowl - Version Hydrangea

I love a beautiful hydrangea all the through the summer - but, what beauty it has in the fall - and in a Red Bowl!

Stayed tuned, I can't wait to show you what I did last weekend! I'll be posting about it in a day or two...

It's Planting Time

I got some beautiful new perennials at one of our local Farmer's Market last Wednesday - for only $3 each! I was gone all weekend, so I do really need to get outside this evening to get some things planted, but in the meantime, they look awful sweet waiting patiently in front of my shed...

In My Sisters Garden

Oops!  My computer was acting goofy - so this post went out without being complete!

Well, here goes the real post...........

This weekend I was at my sister's house for our family/friend party. I gave my sister and her husband their anniversary blanket. I think they liked it.

It's always such great fun visiting my sister's - I thought I'd take you for a little stroll through her garden/yard. Come on....you'll like it. The first few photos are of the cutest flower basket on their barn and the rest are from flowers throughout the yard.

No Time for Fools

Guess I've been the fool lately.  I haven't been very good at all about keeping up on my blog postings. My apologies. It seems I've either been too busy, too tired, too lazy, too unmotivated, or just too absent. I promise, I'll try to improve, too-day!

Today I'm kind of in that "too jumbled" place - so I'm going to just try to unjumble my head with some simple, uncomplicated beauty from my garden. So sit back, take a deep breath, and enjoy the garden tour with me.

It's Getting Close

Remember those little cup-huggers I made for an upcoming activity that I would be hosting?

Well, the event is getting close.  This Saturday I'll be hosting my annual Garden Party.  Friends are invited to come and enjoy a Saturday morning in my garden and chat with old - and new - friends.

I always try to have a nice spread of goodies prepared for them - which includes things like dips, bite size sandwiches, fresh fruit, pastries, salads, and the ever popular baked sweets made by my sister. When I first started having my Garden Party, both my mother and sister would bake away for weeks prior to the party to supply party-goers with some irresistible treats. Now, since my mother has passed, that part has become the full responsibility of my sister. God bless her for continuing the tradition on her own.  (Sure, I suppose I could make some sweet treats of my own - but these two were masters at it! So, why not enlist the masters?)

Anyway....the geraniums are all planted and waiting for the weekend. I'm happy to report that all four of them have happy little blossoms just waiting to pop open for their new owners. They will be just a few of the prizes that I award my party-goers. I wouldn't be surprised if a little bit of wool goes home with some lucky guests as well!  Well, at least I hope they think they are lucky to win some of my wool creations.  :-)

$5.00 at WalMart

A friend/co-worker potted a big-ole amaryllis bulb a few weeks ago and placed the lone pot in a nearby work window.

After the proper God-planned time, this beautiful bloom awoke.

She said "Not bad for a $5.00 bulb from WalMart.".  I say - I do agree!

Recycled Bottle Caps

I love to reuse things. Now, I can't go on and on about what a perfect recycler I am - because sometimes I really stink at day-to-day recycling. But I do enjoy including newly recycled items in with my wool creations to add just a little more umph to my goodies.

I recently created a flower pillow that included a recycled bottle cap. I smashed the dickins out of the bottle cap on my front-yard cement steps (also where I do my grommet work), created two holes with a large nail, coated it on both sides with spray primer, applied a couple coats of lilac spray paint, and finished off with a couple coats of poly spray. WaaLaa....a metal button!

I liked how they turned out - and would also like to try some decorative rub-ons on my next batch.  My only problem is I don't drink anything out of bottles that have metal twist caps. But I've asked a few of my friends to keep their eyes open for any!

Oh....funny story - recently when I was in San Diego for a work conference, I was waiting in line in the hotel gift shop when a gal opened a bottle of soda that had a twist cap. She was kind of looking around for a waste basket and I offered to take her bottle cap. She looked at me with this quizzical look and I briefly explained about my new "button" adventure. She laughed, offered me her bottle cap, and then proceeded to ask me specifics about my process because she said her husband would love to try it himself! I wonder how many he's made by now??   :-)

Too Much?

I was out on my back steps the other day snapping some shots of another rock I covered with wool. I had brought with me some miscellaneous cut-out pieces to perhaps scatter around the rock in the photos. (You know - kind of like props - pretending that I'm a professional photographer.)

As I sat next to my little birdhouse, I wondered what it would look like with a wool flower doorway.

Tell me the truth, do you think it's too much?  :-)