I Wish I had a Wishing Tree

 This past weekend in order to avoid a block party I took a drive to Stockbridge Ma. I happened upon the Berkshire Botanical Gardens which are beautiful & I came away with a ton of photos & a very long "wish" list for my garden. In the children's garden was something I had never seen or heard of; a "wishing tree", it stopped me in my tracks. I absolutely loved it. It was magical. The wishes ranged from silly to serious. I added several myself, I hope they all come true especially the one about wishing I had a wishing tree!

Galvanized Garbage Can Planter

Lots of new things in my garden this year & this would be one of my favorites. I was inspired by where else - Pinterest, you know how it goes one link leads to another & I came upon the blog  ilovethatjunk which featured a vintage garbage can planter & the minute I saw it I knew I had to make one. I didn't have acess to a dented old can which I would have loved so I went to Home Depot & bought a new one.
1. I drilled several holes in the bottom of the can for drainage. 2. Cut a circle of filter fabric & put that on the inside of the can. 3. I filled about half the can with empty water bottles to take up room & keep the planter from getting really heavy. 4. Because my yard is hilly I used a level before adding the soil - I used Miracle Grow Container Mix. 5. Add Plants, I used Elephant Ears, Calladiums, Colieus, & several different Sweet Potato Vines.

I love how it turned out!

Project Linus

Another Project finally done. Years ago I made enough squares for a queen size bed, put them in a large plastic container to put together another day & the years started rolling by...as usual. In Janurary I decided this is my year to finish up some of these projects & the squares were on the top of the list. I also decided I didn't need another huge afghan so I divided the squares up & made 3 smaller blankets to donate to Project Linus, a non-profit organization that provides home made blankets & quilts to children in need. Click here if you'd like more info Project Linus/http://www.projectlinus.org/

This Little Piggy Went to......

 I cut the shape out of 1/4" plywood using my scroll saw, sanded it,

painted a couple of coats of chalkboard paint, covered it in chalk

& then erased & it was ready for hanging. I used the Commad Velcro to hang it,

& for the finishing touch I tied bakers string to his tail to hold the chalk.

LOVE how it turned out!

Re-purposed Planter

I've wanted to make a tire planter for the longest time & I decided this was the year.

Before doing a big tire I decided to try out an old wheelbarrow tire I had.

 I marked the zigzags with chalk & cut. Now Ive read some people say that tires cut easy, this was not my experience, I got a huge blister on my hand & my arms were sore for days!
Turning the tire inside out was no easy task either. I've learned a lot depends on the individual tire.

This tire had a rim making it a perfect fit for an old birdbath base I had hanging around.

A can of black spray paint & its perfect!

Zucchini Pie X2

I hate to cook...except if its something from my garden.

As soon as I spotted the zucchini yesterday I knew what was for dinner!

Zucchini Pie!

Callan was coming to visit so I made an extra one for her to

take home to share with her roommates.

Here is the recipe I use with the exception I use only about 1tbs parsley flakes

& I use a pie dish instead of a quiche pan.

It is absolutely delicious!
Click here for recipe

Exciting Times in the Garden this morning!

 This morning a Beautiful Black Swallowtail Butterfly Butterfly was born.

There were a ton of the parsley caterpillars (below) so I hope to see

more butterflies soon!

 Also picked the first zucchini of the season.

I think I'll make zucchini pie - a family favorite!

A Decade or More in the Making

I bought this jewelry / music box at a yard sale with the intention of painting it & then the years started rolling by, 1...2...5...10...15..., life really has a way of getting in the way of the fun stuff sometimes doesn't it! I have so many projects that have been on the years long waiting list but I'm hoping to knock some of them off the list this year. I have a dresser that I have wanted to paint for probably 25 years & I thought this would be the perfect practice for that, inspired by pinterest I went with an ombre look. I love the way it turned out & now Im psyched to do the dresser! Stay Tuned

1st day lily of the season

if you'd like to check out my instagram & pinterest

I added buttons

Fabric Crayon vs Dye Stick

We've been using fabric crayons for projects forever, it never gets old! Our favorite thing to make with them is pillows. The only "important" thing to remember is because you draw on paper & then transfer to fabric your image will be reversed which is important if your doing any letters or numbers. I obviously forgot this rule despite my many years of using them, the date in the corner is backwards!

The other important thing with these is its best to use a poly / cotton blend.

Dye Sticks Crayons

I LOVE these even more than traditional fabric crayons for several reasons.

You draw right on the fabric, you don't  have to worry about mirror image &

the colors are nice & bright. 

S&H Green Stamps Curio Shelf Re-do

Back in the day, way back, probably close to 50 years, there was something called

S&H green Stamps. They were like the original rewards program.

You'd shop where stamps were given & collect enough to get the item you wanted from their catalogue. This is one of the items my mom got. I've had it in the basement for years "collecting dust" as they say & now I'm delighted to have it in my studio!
I sanded, primed & then painted using Behr premium paint.
The colors are; Cozumel, Dragon Fire & Lime Pop

Yoke Plant Stand

This weekends project was to make a plant hanger from this old animal yoke. 

I LOVE the way it turned out!

For Callan

If your a friend of Callan's you can expect a great portrait for you birthday.

So for her birthday I decided to leave my comfort zone - "I don't draw people"

and made a portrait for her. I think it turned out pretty good, looks like her

which is always good & I added one of her little monsters to show her personality.

Old & Rusty

Joe went to visit some old friends today & brought me home a 3ft rusty saw;

my day couldn't get any better!

Virginia taking cover from the 90 degree heat wave as I trimmed the shrubs Saturday.

Monster Pillow Making with Callan

I Love fabric crayons! Always have always will!

How awesomely creative is that kid of mine!

"M"y HEART is in my Studio

It has been several years since I had time to use my power tools & it felt good to get back in the saddle!

Sanding & priming, tedious but it does make a difference in the end.

I tried the much pinned about "floetrol" & I'm happy with the results. I went to my local Benjamin Moore for paint but much to my surprise they said due to contract disagreements they were no longer carrying Benjamin Moore... Rather than doing 2 years of research ( my usual mo) I went to Home Depot & bought Behr Premium Plus Interior Satin paint paint. I did 3 coats of paint. For the Chalkboard Heart I used Krylon chalkboard paint.

What a mess, I transferred the dots with graphite paper, need a better way next time.

I hung both using command velcro. This is my first time using it & so far I really like this product. Because I was hanging shapes instead of a frame I taped out the shape in the spot I was going to hang it. PS this should give you some insight to my personality....