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.

A mason jar seemed like a good place for the daisies. I also added a little ribbon around the jar.

Here they are on my patio table.


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


A blue pitcher for yellow daisies.


Next, I got out a silver dish.


Place a doily in it...


along with some leaves from my garden.


I placed a candle in the middle.


Then set roses all around it.




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!


A cup of roses, anyone? :0)


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



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

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."





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

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.


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


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


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


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


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


The Jasmine just started blooming.


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


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


Pretty blue springtime flowers.


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

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.


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.


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


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


~Vincas~


~Yarrow~




~Irish Moss~


~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!

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.


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


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


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


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


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


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


Pansy napkins.


And 8 of the sweetest little birds!


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!



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 "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.


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


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.


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.


A couple of keys tucked away on my teacup shelf.


Some of you may remember my Secret Garden robin.


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!


I also have some keys outside by our back gate.


And one leading the way into our secret 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!

Mother's Day Gift Flowerpots

Happy Tuesday! Mother's Day is coming up in a few weeks and I thought these mini flower pots filled with gardening tuck-ins would make sweet gifts for your mom, special friends or even teachers!



Come on over to Seasonal Delights for the how-to instructions. If you make some, I'd love to hear what special things you filled them with!

Camping Adventures

This past Friday, we left for our very first family camping trip!


Do you think we took enough stuff?!


The weather was beautiful and our campsite was tucked away in a little wooded area.


Putting up the tent.


Grace and Emily shared a bed on the left side.


Benjamin was on the left and Phillip and I were in the middle of the tent. Does it count as real camping if you use air mattresses? ;0)


Starting a fire.


Once the fire was going, our "Home Sweet Home Campsite" was all set up!


This was our view from behind our tent. There were plenty of birds to see and hear, including a Whip-Poor-Will that kept me awake most of the first night.


We also brought along two hammocks that were nice to relax in.


Off to go fishing...


Benjamin waiting for the big one.


We gave up after awhile, but it was still fun.


In addition to relaxing and fishing, there was plenty of time for eating yummy campfire food.


This was our breakfast the first morning: sausage, eggs and pancakes.


Benjamin enjoying pancakes before a cub scout meeting.


Emily was the best "biscuit on a stick" maker.


And of course we had s'mores in the evenings. Thank you for looking at a few picture highlights from our trip, we can't wait to go again in the fall!

"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.

Today I'm going to show you some of my favorite tea dishes...


This little tea set was a gift to Grace and Emily from Nana.


I love it because of the pale yellow and lovely gold patterns.


Even the lid is very detailed.


We have several matching teacups.


The saucers remind me of delicate lace.


The teacups are very delicate as well.


We display the set in our kitchen hutch, but Grace and Emily like to get it out for tea sometimes, when my friend, Revee and her girls come over for a visit.


The other tea pot that I want to show you is a new find.


It's by one of my favorite artists, Marjolein Bastin and I found it in the furniture section at Goodwill for $2.99! I especially love that this teapot takes us through the four seasons...


Spring


Summer


Autumn


Winter

Thank you for looking at my show and tell!


The Show and Tell Guidelines have been recently updated, please read them before participating for step-by-step instructions.

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

Springtime Notecard

Have you ever made a note card using wrapping paper?


I haven't, but when I saw this beautiful wrapping paper at Walmart a few days ago, I decided to use it as a scrapbook paper substitute!


This is what I ended up with.


You will need:
- 10" x 7" piece of cardstock, folded in half for the card
- 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" piece of scrapbook paper for card cover
- 4 1/2 x 2" piece of wrapping paper or scrapbook paper


These next pieces will make up the middle of the notecard:
- 5" x 3" piece of wrapping paper or scrapbook paper
- 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" piece of scrapbook paper


Glue scrapbook paper cover onto front of notecard and then the strip of wrapping paper.


Glue on the remaining pieces, wrapping paper first.


Now you can add stickers, or you could print a saying onto the scrapbook paper before cutting it out.


All ready to send to a friend!

Thursday "This and That"

Hello! Thank you to all who commented on the butterscotch bars. It was hard, but I made them right before going to a church picnic and set them out for everyone else to eat!


Isn't this a pretty scene of some springtime fruit?


I found this acrylic tray at Tuesday Morning and thought it would be perfect for when we ate on our back patio.


There are little pictures on the sides...apple pie.


A bird and a jar of jam.


I also found some matching plates and bowls. The red gingham reminds me of summer, so we'll get plenty of use out of them this year.


Speaking of new things, the girls talked me into getting this small butter churn the last time we were at the resale store. They've always wanted to make butter like Laura and Mary Ingalls.


Does anyone have any tips?


And finally, the last Mourning Dove update for awhile, I promise! I happened to have my camera close by while drinking a cup of tea this morning.


The birds are quite tame and come drink from the water garden a couple times a day.


The baby Mourning Doves have been sent out to Emily's garden box until they get bigger.


No empty nest syndrome for this family...they are already preparing the nest for new additions!

Thank you for reading a little "this and that" from my house! How is your week going?

Chocolatey Butterscotch Marshmallow Bars

Hello everyone! If your sweet tooth has been acting up lately, I have the perfect remedy for you.

All you need is a little chocolate, butterscotch and marshmallow! Come on over to Seasonal Delights for the recipe!

Enjoying the Colors of Spring

Hello everyone! I thought I would start the week off by sharing a little spring color from around my house.


My Joseph's coat climbing rose is just starting to bloom.


Each rose surprises us with different shades of pink, red, orange and yellow.


Fern fonds or as Emily says, "Baby ferns being born."


We recently got four new goldfish for our water garden.




Tiny yellow flowers.


A small pitcher that was lonely at the resale store...


isn't so lonely in my kitchen window.


I also started an embroidery project last week, completely inspired by Tracy's beautiful work. Thank you, Tracy!


A bundle of bleeding hearts to celebrate the first blooms in my garden.


I was going to use pearls, but decided on white french knots at the last minute.


My first homemade hankie.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some colors of spring!

Weekend Chit~Chat

We've had a busy weekend so far. We've been cleaning and organizing our garage for the past few weekends and after spending a couple of hours out there today, we are almost finished.

Afterwards, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to our local nature preserve.


It was a beautiful spring day and the girls and Benjamin enjoyed exploring the creek.


Coming out the other side.

I thought I would give you an update on the Mourning Dove family that lives on our back patio...


Tuesday~The babies are getting bigger everyday.


Thursday~Mom is leaving the nest for longer periods of time.


Thursday~Maybe because she is running out of room!


Saturday~"I want to learn how to fly!"


With one baby in the nest patiently waiting for his flying lesson...


The other baby has had his lesson and is enjoying the evening sunset with mom.

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

"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.


I've been looking for a small wooden item to decoupage, so when I spotted this cabinet at the resale store for $2.00, I brought it home! It's a nice creamy yellow, so I didn't need to paint it.


I got out some sheet music, scrapbook paper and the various flowers and fern leaves that I dried a couple of weeks ago and got to work.






I also dried a couple of my bleeding hearts which I added to the top.


I hung it up on my back patio. Sorry about the crooked picture!


I decided to put some of my nature treasures inside...


A small bottle with a geranium bloom.


A couple of fall leaves that my sister sent me, and a pine cone from our neighborhood.


A mourning dove nest (we found it when our broken cable box was removed), with several blue jay feathers.


Seashells from the beach.


Acorns from my friend, Brenda.


All filled up with treasures! Thank you for looking at my show and tell!


Show and Tell Friday Guidelines:

What: For Show & Tell Friday, you show something to an audience, and then tell them about it. Your Show & Tell Friday item must be something that you own, and in your home or garden. Put thought and care into choosing your item. Is it something you would take to show a group of friends in real life?
Why: Many of us have special things that we may have forgotten about over time. Show & Tell Friday is a great reason to look around your home or even dig through those boxes in your closet. Of course, it's always more fun to share our treasures with friends, and that is what Show & Tell Friday is all about!

Here are a few ideas to get you started:
-Family heirlooms
-A special collection
-A piece of jewelry
-A new (or old!) gift
-A project or craft you are working on
-Decorative items
What doesn't work well:
-Posts with no photos: They have no "Show."
-Photos of events (trips, vacations, celebrations, etc.)
-Photos of things you are selling or planning to sell.
-Giveaway posts: The idea is to share something from your life, not something you are no longer keeping.
-Photos found on the internet, graphics or screenshots: Please use only photos you take yourself.

Where: There Is No Place Like Home is the original home of Show & Tell Friday.
1. Do not host your own Show & Tell "Mr. Linky" on your blog. Readers use the list here at There Is No Place Like Home to visit each blog that participates.
2. If you are participating in other themed blog carnivals or memes, do not sign Mr. Linky. Use a separate post to participate here.
When: Show & Tell Friday takes place each Friday. I usually post Mr. Linky at 12:00am EST.
How: It's easy as 1-2-3:

1. Publish your Show & Tell Friday post on your blog.
~Offer a link back to the main page of my blog. This is a courtesy to me, as well as your readers--they will know where to join in the fun, too.
~You are welcome to use the Show & Tell Friday picture. For the linking code go HERE.
2. Copy the "permalink" from from your Show & Tell Friday post, not the link to the front page of your blog.
~People will be looking through these links all week long. It you link to your main page, it will be harder to find your Show & Tell Friday post. For instructions on how to do this, go HERE.
3. Add your permalink to Mr. Linky.
~Do not sign Mr. Linky until you have your Show & Tell Friday post published on your blog. This is only fair to the other participants.
Inappropriate links will be removed at my discretion.

Please sign only your *first name* to Mr. Linky, this will make 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!

Meet in the Middle Notecard

Hello everyone! Today's homemade notecard project is called "Meet in the Middle." They are quick to put together and would make great birthday or even Mother's Day cards!


Materials:
-5" x 10" piece of cardstock
-4 1/2" square of patterned scrapbook paper
-2 1/2" square of cardstock
-Ribbon
-Stickers

Tools:
-Scissors
-Ruler
-Glue
-Hot Glue


Take the large piece of scrapbook paper and fold in both sides at 2 1/2 inches. I used a ruler as a guide.




Get your square of patterned scrapbook paper.


Cut in half.


Glue pieces to front of card.


For this next step you will need wide ribbon or a long strip of paper would also work. This pretty vintage ribbon was a gift from my friend, Heather!


Using hot glue, attach one end to the inside of card.


Wrap ribbon around back of card securing with hot glue.


Continue around to the front and secure other end of ribbon to the inside of card.


Add stickers or stamps to small square of cardstock.


Hot glue the square to the left side flap.


Send to a friend!

Back Porch~All Cleaned Up

Some of you may remember this "before" picture of my back patio.  We got to work by putting everything away, organizing the gardening tools and moving the furniture out onto the lawn.


We even pulled up the old carpet!


Phillip spent Saturday morning putting down the new carpet.


It's always a big job because of the odd shape of our patio.


When it was finished, we moved the furniture back.




This shelf used to be black, but I gave it a quick coat of cream spray paint. It holds various baskets, a seed cupboard and candles.


I also made new cases for all of the pillows.




I had a square of fabric leftover, so I hemmed it up for a small tablecloth.


Now all I have to do is put my feet up and enjoy the spring weather! Thank you for looking at my patio makeover!

Quick Chicken Cacciatore

I love quick and easy dinner recipes. I was looking through my recipe binder last week and found this Chicken Cacciatore recipe that I hadn't made in many years. It was as delicious as I remembered it, and I plan on making it again soon!



Come on over to Seasonal Delights for the recipe. If you make it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Different Ways to Use Baskets

Hello! I hope you all had a great weekend. We got a lot accomplished around the yard on Saturday, then had a relaxing Sunday.

Katie has a wonderful blog called Harrington House, and she recently shared some of the ways she uses baskets around her house, so I thought I would copy her. :0)


This basket of ivy is on the top of my bedroom writing desk.


A small basket overflowing with tea boxes in the kitchen.


Bread basket.


Favorite gardening books on our back patio.


I love magazines and I like to keep a basketful under my living room end table. Right now I'm reading various past spring issues.


I also use a basket in my laundry room for storing tablecloths, but as you can see, it was a huge mess. I was very happy to read Katie's post on how she solves this problem.


I re-folded all the tablecloths.


Then rolled them up! Hopefully they will stay like that for awhile. Thank you for the inspiration, Katie!

I would love to hear the different ways you use baskets around your house!

Weekend Chit~Chat

Thank you very much for entering my spring banner giveaway and your sweet comments. I used Random.org to pick a winner and I'm here to announce that GinnyBerry from Blackberry Blessings has won! Congratulations GinnyBerry!


I have been working on my back patio lately. This is what it looked like a few days ago. Since then, I have cleaned and organized my gardening tools and removed the old carpet.


Our BBQ went a little crazy last year.


I am working slowly and quietly since the mama mourning dove is close by. If you click on the picture you will see her feeding her babies.


Along with working on my patio, I'm been making progress in my gardens.


I got my water garden cleaned out, soon the surface will be covered with green water lilies.


The goldfish are happy to have the fountain working again.

I'm off to get to work and enjoy the weekend with my family. I hope you all have a good one too!

"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.


Hello everyone! Today I'm going to share some of my old books. I love everything about old books, especially how they feel and smell. I got these first two at a yard sale for 50 cents each.


A 1913 edition of Little Men by Louisa May Alcott.


I love the little scenes on the front cover.


It was a gift to Danny, from Joe Buckles in 1961.


This 1920 edition of Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. Burgess isn't in the best shape, but we will still enjoy reading the story.


Unfortunately, the illustrations have been ripped out, but the inside cover shows a very busy day at the pond.


The last book I have to show you is this 1906 edition of New Testament Primer by J.W. White. It was a birthday gift from my mother-in-law this past February.


It goes through the alphabet, sharing a bible verse for each letter.


It is filled with stories and sweet pictures.




Short lessons are also included: Slate Exercise and Writing Lesson.


Drawing and Stick Laying.

Thank you for looking at my show and tell!


The Show and Tell Guidelines have been recently updated, please read them before participating for step-by-step instructions.

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

How to make a spring banner and a *giveaway!*

**Please scroll down for new posts!**


Some of you will remember this spring banner that I made a few weeks ago.


Two pink birds announce the arrival of spring. Well, I had enough supplies to make *two* banners, so I'm giving one away!

I'm also sharing how you can make your own spring banner using various decorations and phrases.





Come on over to Seasonal Delights for the easy step-by-step instructions!


This is the banner that I'm giving away today:



To enter the giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment before Thursday, April 3, 08 at 10:00 pm EST. You don't have to have a blog to join in, just leave an email address, so I have a way of reaching you. Good luck and thank you for joining in!

Homemade Spring Notecard

Hello everyone! Every Thursday I share a card making project at The Homeschool Lounge's letter writing group, and I hope you don't mind me sharing it here too.

I'm using springtime rainy day paper that I found at Jo-Ann Fabrics, but you can use any paper that you like.



Here is what you will need:
-Solid cardstock
-Patterned scrapbook paper
-Ribbon
-Scissors (straight and decorative)
-Hole punch
-Glue


1. Cut a rectangle from cardstock.
2. Cut a slightly smaller rectangle from scrapbook paper.


3. Glue scrapbook paper onto cardstock.


4. Cut a square from scrapbook paper and then cut in half, corner to corner.


5. Glue pieces into top left corner and bottom right corner of notecard.


6. Cut two small squares from scrapbook paper.
7. Cut a circle from cardstock using decorative stickers.


8. Punch two holes at the top of cardstock circle.


9. Thread ribbon through holes and tie a knot or bow.
10. Glue circle to notecard.


10. Glue small scrapbook squares onto cardstock circle.


Send to a friend!

I hope your week is going well. It's going by quickly for me, I've been working in my gardens and cleaning up my back patio. I hope to show pictures next week!

How is your week going?