The garden before night.....

 Today I was in our back yard, as always, enjoying the flowers and keeping an eye on our veggie plants. We have so many tomatoes this year and thankfully the bright yellow marigolds have kept the tomatoes free of nibbling bugs, woohoo ! Alas though, the brussel sprouts ( my husbands fav. blech ) have been invaded by crowds of aphids, boo ! We need a ladybug army. Thankfully the rest of the vegetable plants are aphid free, cucumbers & spaghetti squash doing great, big red onions, plenty of carrots and a good load of runner beans ( which I'm leaving on the vines to dry ). Our blueberries were magnificent this year, so many !! The raspberries were just okay, a nice handful was all we got but they're still quite new to the garden. The comfrey exploded with blooms again and the peppermint & chocolate peppermint filled our half barrel to the max. For awhile I was concerned about the lack of honey bees, lots of furry bumbles though, but finally by the 2nd. week of Aug. I started noticing one or two honey's buzzing among the bee balm & coneflowers, yay ! I think those bees went to give their hive the location dance and now I'm counting up to at least 20 honey bees a day, do the happy dance ! And the dragonflies, such beauties !
 Just before nightfall, around 8pm, I noticed how bright the flowers were and decided to take a few pictures. In these shots are Cosmos, Echinacea ( Purple Coneflower ), Bee Balm and other pretties. Enjoy :) Oh, I've also posted a photo of a vintage metal & crystal scale my parents had back in the late 70's. I'm contemplating whether or not to list it in my vintage shop as it looks quite nice where it is in the photo, gives it a bit of a Steampunk/Victorian look sitting on that lush maroon box & backed by the rich grey-blue walls. We shall see !

Look at what I got !! --and making a wrist cuff....

Isn't this gorgeous !? I just could not resist purchasing this beautiful Cottage Garden bracelet from here: www.kimmsmith.etsy.com Kim is the friendly creator of this & many other stunning bracelets. It even came with a free gift of matching earrings, how thoughtful :)

Just look at the colours of that bracelet, right up my alley ! And the flowers are so joyful, they'll definately keep me warm as the weather gets colder ( they're also a reminder of what I hope a part of our new backyard garden plot will look like next Summer ).

Please run over to Kim's shop, you'll love the lush variety of bracelets offered, won't be disappointed and her prices are spot on too.

Thanks again Kim for creating this stunning shot of sunshine :) ♥

Okay, so over the last 2 days I've been working on a wrist cuff. It seems they are rather trendy so I thought I might try to throw a few into my shop. But first I had to make a 'test' cuff to make sure it was going to fit correctly and close correctly.

The first cuff closure I used was a small lobster claw which would be attached to whatever jump ring necessary for comfort ( cuff goes from 6-8" ). I did not like the result. You pretty well need nails to open a lobster claw catch. Also, it was too small and I thought of those people who might have sore fingers, it would be a right off for them !

So the next closure you can see below, a large keychain ring where all you have to do is press the ring inward and attach to the other side. It could have worked had the keychain ring not been so stiff to open. But then I also noticed that if a person had a small wrist and used the keychain ring on the very first jump ring, the keychain ring would have to turn sideways which would bend the cuff awkwardly. So off it came.

Finally I chose what most other cuff makers use -- a button and elastic band closure. Off to the drugstore for a package of elastic fabric covered hairbands and then find my box of vintage buttons.

Well, it took me a wee while to sew it all on so it felt secure and the back was fully covered with a

layer of pink felt to hide all the stitching and provide a layer of comfort. Oh dear, I've gained a bit of weight and the band had to stretch just a tiny bit further than 8", but it worked, was a little snug ( a gentle reminder that I really do need to lose that 20lbs finally ! ) and definately wasn't going anywhere.

I could have used velcro but I find that after awhile it looks rather grody, besides, the vintage button makes it look prettier with a touch of 'old-fashioned' charm.

I've still to finish off the fabric flower edges to stop them from fraying ( maybe add a rim of golden paint ) and will cover the card flowers with a special glasslike gloss.

The materials used for this cuff: the base is a type of moire peachy-pink fabric ( fake I think or does it matter, will have to research a bit ), handsewn are card flowers from a greeting card, fabric leaves, beadwork, lingerie lace and a recycled glass rose pendant from one of my old bracelets.

Do leave a comment letting me know what you think of this cuff. My personal opinion: I like it but am not too keen on the wonky blanket stitching, maybe just use plain stitches instead. I need to figure out a way to attach the elastic band before doing the artwork ( did it the opposite way for this cuff, had to make sure the stitches didn't show ). Also, I'm not fond of peach, which is why this is a test cuff :)

New bRooChes for EtSy !

Woohoo ! Here are my newest fabric & felt brooch creations for Etsy: Bubble Tea, Cotton Candy Oddity, Ice, My Heart's a Flower and Blossom Blob ~~~

-My Heart's a Flower ( upper right ) was made using a slice of beautiful Japanese fabric my birthsister Angela gave to me, with addition of 3d bloom & a bubble encased single flower cut from same fabric.
-Bubble Tea ( bottom left ) consists of felt, acrylic paint & a gloss covered mix of beads
-Ice ( middle ) was made after observing the dreamlike interior of icecubes. Bits of rhinestone necklace, a chunk of local beach glass, vintage plastic beads, czech beads, sequins, glitter and real pink quartz spears.
-Cotton Candy Oddity ( bottom right ) has czech beads, pink fluff thread and a recycled piece of blue anodized aluminum
-Blossom Blob (upper left ) was made with some gorgeous cherry blossom fabric & embellished with felt blossoms, fuzzy balls & a plastic pink flower.

All with blanket stitching, all handsewn, lots of love and, as always, that wonky touch of whimsy :)

I'll be making a lot more, but I'm also thinking about trying my hand at painting ! Nothing huge, maybe 5x7 size. Images of things with flowers, maybe some collaging....let's wait and see what the gods of whimsiness place in my heart ♥

Upcoming Felt Thing :)

Can you guess what this is ? Hint: it flies :) I had this piece of glittery black fabric and am simply handsewing it by sight only --meaning, no drawn picture to follow. So hopefully it will turn out the way I see it in my head.

And here are the last of the Spring blossoms. They came with the house when we bought it last Sept. Not my personal choice of color but they still look rather pretty and I love the smell of tulips. The wee 'tree-bush' is a great spot for hummingbirds, they rest there and then fly over to our feeder on our deck.

Now on to the Summer stuff, woohoo ! Oh what should I plant there ?

New ACEO on a Beautiful Day

Hello again :)

It is a gorgeous day here in Brentwood Bay British Columbia. The sun has been shining warmly, the birds are tweeting everywhere, there's a gentle breeeze, ahhhhhh. I send warm rays to those who are still having to endure snow !

And here's a couple pics. of my first planters. They were made last week and are not only pretty to look at, but wrap the brain in a happy blanket :)

A few of my fav. flowers, violas, pink roses, hyacinths, carnations and even grasses. There's also a little fairy enjoying the view, and a few pieces of vintage beach glass:

This golden pot holds more violas, a funky glass globe, a wonderful twisted piece of beach wood and a glittery blue piece of broken fake carnival glass:

And here is my new ACEO of the day, called 'Fly My Love'. It's all about letting go of those you love, so they can grow into their own beautiful self.

Our son is 13, and already in the last few months since his birthday, I've noticed subtle changes in him and have had to adapt and learn to let go some of those things he once enjoyed as a child. It's a little sad but we are so excited for his future.

He still enjoys having mom and dad put him to bed tho, still enjoys the tickle fights and wrestling with dad.

So this ACEO uses my markers again but now I've added some paints --my fav. being the Halo Pink by Lumiere, love the glow it gives ! The bird is a rub-on by K&Company. Finished off with aurora borealis-style gemstones. It hasn't been decoupaged to the box backing yet, will get that done shortly and have it listed in an hour or so ( been a beautiful day but I've been sneezing up a storm, must be from all the new blooms and the ground drying out, so working has been a stop-sneeze-sneeze-sneeze-paint-stop-sneeze-sneeze-sneeze day lol ! ).

I hope you like my ACEOs :)

Happy Valentines Day !

Shouting out a "Happy Valentines Day !" to all with joyful thoughts and love ♥

Our day has been quite quiet but with a surprise at the door this morning. 4 lovely red roses sent from my birth father Terry, his wife Donna and my 2 half-sisters Sunshine and Angela, plus a cute teddy bear and a pretty box with a bag of delicious chocolate truffles. THANK-YOU ! ♥
My dear husband Jacques gave me some gorgeous peachy-pink roses and a decadent strawberry chocolate cheesecake oh my !
Him and I usually don't go all out on V.Day, maybe homemade sushi or a simple restaurant without the need to get all dolled up. That's the way I like it and Jacques is quite happy with that lol ! The flowers were totally unexpected...and it was nice I'll admit.
Okay so this is going to sound mushy, but Jacques is my Valentine everyday ♥

For dinner tonight I'm going to surprise them with Chinese food from a fab. restaurant not far from us. We'll do the lazy thing and enjoy it in front of the tv woohoo !

Wishing you all a beautiful day....♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Getting back on track

Hee-hee ! Those chicken legs have nothing to do with this post but I felt that something goofy was needed :)

It's been just over two months since my moms passing and today I finally began walking again yay ! Brought my new pedometer and off I went, but only walked up the hill and back so as to not shock my body too much. I walked just over 6,000 steps, that just over 3 miles. You can see where I walk in a previous post, pics. and all. It was really lovely today, so many birds and lovesick crows lol !

I'm supposed to be cleaning out my art studio today. Interesting how you gather so much stuff, thinking it will be used, and then something happens to take you away from it --when you get back to it, it's not the same. I have a bunch of boxes, some vintage silverware, some sturdy gift boxes, etc...was going to alter them into jewelry boxes, etc...covering with my various bits and pieces of papers/broken jewelry/computer bits and more. But now they just look like too much work and I'm really not in the mood to take on larger projects. Plus with all the 'stuff' from my parents home, I really have to be more realistic and just get rid of the boxes. It doesn't sadden me because I can always get more from the thrift shops if I want. So far I prefer creating smaller items, like my pendants posted earlier, and plan to stick with those. Of course it could all change again, that's the beauty of being artistic, not having to stick with one style. But that can get a bit frustrating...sometimes I would like to find one style ! Anyway, I'm not going to go on about that because my studio is getting filled with the smaller 'stuff' from my parents, it's beginning to look like a thrift shop and I just don't feel like creating when the room has other stuff than art. For now, I will be listing some of my parents things on Etsy. When that will happen I really can't say...anytime I guess.

Ah, it's good to be able to write about things other than ' a death in the family'. The flowers are blooming, the garden is calling to be dug and turned. I bought a few packages of seeds, hoping to grow something different this year:

The corn is because I've always been a curious type. Our son has his own small plot and so we're going to see if we can grow a few stalks, just to see if it is possible and what they will look like ( healthy, tall...?? ). Our backyard is small but gets lots of sun, so why not. I have lobelia and Echinacea, just wanted to add more. The daisies are new, love the colors ! I've high hopes it will all bloom.


Thought I'd toss in a pic. of our deck. We just power washed it yesterday so it's still in the "where am I going to put everything" stage. I like to move it around so the flowers get the best light and we get the best views.


Well now I'm hungry, so off to munch something. Have a great day !