Sweet Dreams of Summer Bliss

                                                            Hello everyone,
                   I know it is still winter for awhile yet but while going through some of my garden photos from past years I thought you might be in the mood for a little garden reminicing. So my theme for today is some of my favorite garden spaces to relax in our garden.
 The photo above is our screened in porch in summer where we enjoy our meals and just hanging out.

           Sometimes the balcony above is our space of choice however, where we have a great view of the garden and pond.

          Our garden terrace is also a lovely shady spot for a meal or a chat. For more views of the terrace in summer click here or for Breakfast in the Terrace with friends click here.

       This little hideaway is enclosed with rose bushes and a beautybush with clematis to grow over the arbor. The vintage chaise is a very comfortable place to read a book and smell the roses. If you would like a better look at this romantic hideaway click here or for another look click here.

          Our enclosed garden called Martha's Garden is also a quiet place to enjoy the song of the birds and the soothing sound of the  water fountain.The Deutiza bushes put on a great show in early summer.If you wouldlike to see Martha's Garden in all it's splendor click here.

     Not quite as secluded but surrounded by the beauty or the garden enclosed by the picket fence and has two arbors with vines. There is another water fountain with tinkling water in the centre.If you would like to take a Garden Stroll click here.

                  What could be better then relaxing in a hammock with the pond on one side and the garden on the other.

                              You know how I love my garden teas. This one in by several lilac bushes.

This past summer I enjoyed watching nature around our pond as well.

                           Some lovely old green wicker offers a comfy place to sit as well.

                         Another part of the garden that is surrounded by beds and borders.

  Now,if I have made you tired maybe you would like to enjoy sleeping out under the stars.If you would like to see more of the terrace in the twilight hour click here.

Sandra at  Country Cottage Studio  is new to the blogging world and she has honored me by doing a  feature on my post yesterday-hope you can stop in and welcome her to blogland.

  Hope you enjoyed this little reprieve and can now have sweet dreams of summer bliss.

I am joining My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

Thank you for visiting me and allowing me to share my dreams with you!

Carolyn

Indoor Spring Garden

                                                               Hello everyone,

                                I am sure you have heard the Chinese saying,  when you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily(flowers) with the other. So when I go to the grocery store I seem to spend more time picking out a few flowers then I do groceries. It seems so uplifting to see the spring bulbs etc. all out in bloom now.

                              I always love our locally grown tulips in the various colors.

                           This week they also had some cheerful little primulas that I couldn't resist, and they can be planted out in the garden when it warms up.

                             I bought these old milk bottles and the carrier a few years ago and they work nicely for various flowers but today it is pretty yellow tulips.

                                        A little bit of spring cheer is good for the soul-don't you think? It has been so cold here lately, but tomorrow our temps will be more spring like, but of course, Spring is still several weeks away here, yet but a break from the cold will be nice.

                            I bought this amaryllis a couple of months ago and it was supposed to be appleblossem pink but for the second year in a row it surprised me by being a vibrant red/ orange.

               No matter, I have enjoyed watching it grow and bloom.

                 That is my little indoor spring garden for now, but I have taken some of my geraniums up from the basement, and cut them back, so hopefully they will soon be putting out some blooms.

 What about you , do you have some spring blooms in your house too ? or maybe you live 'down under' and have lots of outdoor blooms.
 Well, I better go to the kitchen and get some of that' loaf of bread' now, that came home with the flowers!

Enjoy your day!

Carolyn
   

Scrap Wood Art Using a Cricut

I started this project several months ago and just finished these decorative scraps of wood today.


I found them in my art supply box.

I always seem to have small scraps of wood around the garage and I like to make use of them. One tool that helps me do that is my Cricut. This is actually my second one in 6 years. I used them a lot while decorating for others in Connecticut and these days I just have a little fun with it on my own projects. Mine is the Cricut Create - the small version that does a lot. It retails for $129.00 but I have seen them for less on ebay, etc.

A big part of the investment goes into the fonts/Cartridges you want. Each one gives so many options.They run between 29.99 to 59.99 retail and one will come with your machine. A video comes with the Cricut to show you how to use it, too. Very useful.

The Cricut cutter and the fonts, print pads and tools are available in craft stores and even Walmart. I have attached the Cricut website link here. I buy my vinyl by the yard on-line at Ordway Sign Supply. The vinyl I like best is FDC 6" or Oracal Intermediate. I don't see 6" as an option on the site today but I have found it in the past - you can special request your desired width. I have also cut the rolls down myself with my table saw. =/

This is transfer tape, the sticky stuff that goes on top of your words or design that pull it off the backing paper and allows you to place your design on the wall as it is measured out during the printing process.

For this design I just placed the sticker on the wood with my little tools.

If you have a business where you might use words and designs a lot - I recommend this little machine but if you just want a couple of designs or words - go for stenciling or check out Etsy.

To hang my 6 inch square art pieces, I used bronze hooks attached to the center of each - one at the bottom and the other at the top.

Then hooked them together. I like seeing hardware and this makes it so I only have to make one hole in the wall instead of two.

The top is even hung with a hook on a matching bronze drywall screw.

A simple project! I can hang these on a skinny wall in the bath or hall.

Even if you don't make this design...I hope you are inspired to make something similar out of your scrap wood.

I also used my Cricut for this early Trash to Treasure redo.

and this one...

One year I made super cute Christmas ornaments with scrap wood - you can see those HERE

.

For sign making instructions using a Cricut see THIS POST.

Happy Creating!

Make a Topiary

For a while I have had these little angel vine balls (from Rod Works in Utah).

I broke a stick down to the height I wanted my plant to be.

Tried putting it in dirt...wasn't that sturdy - but OK.

Found a large enough hole in the vine ball and topped the stick with it.

After a day or so I decided to switch pots. This mini white urn has craft foam glued into the bottom of it and moss on top to hide the foam.

I used the homemade topiary in this post.

While shopping at TJ Maxx I found this cloche for $14.99.

The tall artificial plant fits perfectly.

If you don't have little angel vine balls lying around you can make your own.

This is a good DIY Topiary tutorial to start from scratch.

Topiaries are expensive but I love them. I have purchased these type of plants at TJ Maxx, Homegoods and Target (Smith & Hawkins). Ballard Designs has some cute ones, too, The most beautiful ones are the preserved boxwood type. Restoration Hardware is one place that sells them. Floral shops do too - maybe for less than RH.

I'm starting to think "Spring". (NO more flu season, please!)
If you love plants and green things around your home - you might enjoy my Greenery Pinterest board.
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Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday