Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Flower Bouquets

Hello everyone! Thank you for your sweet comments about my tussie mussies! I had plenty of flowers leftover and for some reason I don't have a lot of vases, so I had fun with some different arrangements.
Daisies
A mason jar seemed like a good place for the daisies. I also added a little ribbon around the jar.
Flowers
Here they are on my patio table.

Flowers
I also had them in my kitchen for a little while.

Flowers
A blue pitcher for yellow daisies.

Dish
Next, I got out a silver dish.

Doily
Place a doily in it...

Leaf
along with some leaves from my garden.

Roses
I placed a candle in the middle.

Candle
Then set roses all around it.

Candle

Roses
Some of you may remember the luncheon sets I got at a yard sale last weekend. As you can see, they aren't just for tea!

Roses
A cup of roses, anyone? :0)

Teapot
And last but not least, the remaining roses went into a teapot.

Teapot

Thank you for looking at my flower arrangements! What are some unique containers you've used for flowers?

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

May Day Tussie Mussies

Have you ever celebrated May Day? It takes place on May 1st and is a lovely way to celebrate springtime and to surprise your neighbors with tussie mussies filled with flowers.

Louisa May Alcott wrote about May Baskets in Jack and Jill:

"The job now in hand was May baskets, for it was the custom of the children to hang them on the doors of their friends the night before May-day; and the girls had agreed to supply baskets if the boys would hunt for flowers, much the harder task of the two. Jill had more leisure as well as taste and skill than the other girls, so she amused herself with making a goodly store of pretty baskets of all shapes, sizes, and colors, quite confident that they would be filled, though not a flower had shown its head except a few hardy dandelions, and here and there a small cluster of saxifrage."

Completed Tussy-Mussy
Completed Tussy-Mussy
Completed Tussy-Mussy

I had lots of fun making these tussie mussies and the girls and Benjamin will make some of their own on Thursday. We give them to several older neighbors who remember celebrating May Day as children.

Come on over to Seasonal Delights if you would like to make some tussie mussies of your own!

Oh, let's leave a basket of flowers today
For the little old lady who lives down our way!
We'll heap it with violets white and blue,
With Jack-in-the-pulpit and
Wildflowers too.

We'll make it of paper and line it with ferns
Then hide - and we'll watch her surprise when she turns
And opens her door and looks out to see
Who in the world it could possibly be.

~Virginia Scott Mike

Monday, April 28, 2008

A Weekend in the Garden ~ Part Two

Thank you for coming by and visiting me this weekend! The weather on Saturday was perfect and I accomplished more than I thought I would.

Garden
I got all of the weeds pulled in this small area.

Book
I'm going to attempt to make a Sunflower house.

Seeds
I will fill in the spaces around it with various flowers.

Tree
I also did a little rearranging. A birdbath found a new home under our tree.

Birdbath
And a small birdbath now hangs under a canopy of ivy and jasmine.

Jasmine
The Jasmine just started blooming.

Table
Before I started gardening this weekend, Grace and I went to the library and happened to see a yard sale on the way home.

Dishes
I couldn't pass up these tea luncheon sets! I got all three for $2.00.

Dishes
Pretty blue springtime flowers.

Plates
Thank you for looking at more pictures of my weekend in the garden. I hope you have a wonderful start to your week!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

A Weekend in the Garden

I'm so glad the weekend is here! Thank you for your lovely comments about my new gifts from Anita yesterday. I always enjoy seeing your special treasures, too.

Garden
I'm going to be working out in the garden this weekend. I had this spot dug up last year and we planted morning glories and moon flowers, but as you can see most of the grass grew back, in addition to plenty of weeds. My goal is to clean it out and get flower seeds planted by the end of the month.

Book
I've been reading my favorite gardening book for inspiration. It is filled with lots of fun and creative ideas.

Flowers
We've been having warm spring days, which makes the flowers happy.

Vincas
~Vincas~

Yarrow
~Yarrow~

Flowers

Irish Moss
~Irish Moss~

Fish
~Lunchtime at the fish pond.~

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden."
-Ruth Stout


I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Show and Tell Friday!


Welcome to “Show and Tell Friday!” Do you have something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, or a treasured collection. Look around your home for something to share; dig through those boxes in your closet if you have to! Share photos and the story that goes with your special item.


Gifts
Happy Friday everyone! Today, I'm sharing some new gifts that my wonderful friend, Anita from My Country Cottage Garden sent me.

Heart
Many of you have drooled over Anita's beautiful lavender heart sachets, so I was very happy when I unwrapped this one.

Heart
"Fill your life with sunshine and your heart with love."

Heart
Anita's handiwork is always beautiful with lots of special details.

Shelf
I hung it on my mini tea shelf, along with the other pretty heart that Anita gave me last year.

Tags
She also filled the package up with other lovely things: an assortment of gift tags.

Napkins
Pansy napkins.

Birds
And 8 of the sweetest little birds!

Shelf
I decided to tie them to a garland of ribbon to hang on my patio shelf. I spend a lot of time out there and will be reminded of my special friend in Germany whenever I see it. Thank you for the beautiful gifts, Anita!

Garland

Thank you for looking at my show and tell and have a great weekend!


Please read the Show and Tell Guidelines for step-by-step instructions on how to participate.

If you would like to join in, please leave your *permalink* below, along with your first name (this makes the list easier to read). If your link has been removed from Mr. Linky, please re-read over the guidelines before re-posting. Have fun!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Thursday "This and That"

Hello! Our internet has been down since yesterday morning, but everything seems to be back to normal now. We have been busy with everyday things: schoolwork, laundry, and gardening.

Card
Yesterday, I received a beautiful notecard from my friend, Farrah at Light in the Sphere.

Key
She also sent me this lovely key. Of course this got me thinking about my favorite book, The Secret Garden and some other special keys I have around my house.

Keys
Four keys for a spring display in my kitchen window. I found them at an antique store last fall, but the rest of my keys are from Hobby Lobby's decorating/garden section.

Key
A couple of keys tucked away on my teacup shelf.

Bird
Some of you may remember my Secret Garden robin.

Bird
It was hard to see the key, so I replaced it with the one that Farrah sent me! Thank you for the lovely letter and gift, Farrah!

Keys
I also have some keys outside by our back gate.

Key
And one leading the way into our secret garden.

Garden
Everything is growing nicely and I'm hoping for some more Bleeding Heart blooms!

My bloglines are full, so I will be by to visit soon. I hope you all are having a great Thursday!