This is a beautiful fast motion/time lapse flower video!

This, to me, confirms there is a God. WOW! It arrived in my e-mail today, and I found it on YouTube to share with you!!!

Halloween sugar!

Zombie transformation!

My normally beautiful DIL was transformed to a 50's housewife zombie by my daughter...she is heading out to a costume party tonight. Pretty cool...and a lot of fun!

Beautiful mosiac work!

I walked into the main county library in PB, and they had recently refurbished it. When you first walk in, these absolutely stunning mosaics greet you. They appear 3D too!!! My phone whipped out immediately to share it with you all. WOWZERS!!!

A cute gift bag...

Perfect for slipping someone a new smart phone or tons of cash!!! I just made this from a junk envelope. Dang...this is fun!  This one has a window on one side and a lovely sailing scene on the other!  Now to win the lottery so I can buy more gifts!!!  :)
See my previous post on how to make these, if you missed it.

A sweet pumpkin carving...

Donovan and I outdid ourselves this year. We threw in string lights, and Viola!

Turn your gosh darn junk envelopes into gift bags!

Oh my gosh...last night I stumbled upon this video (below) on how to make a gift bag from an envelope. Well, I had a 5x9 envelope, so I just knew I had to try it! I made a tiny bag with not much depth to it, on the first try (the one in front that I stamped with dragonflies)....and then today I got a really big junk envelope in the mail (with a window in it), and I tried again. This time I made deeper folds and it turned out a great size! I did some simple doodling on it with my new cranberry colored calligraphy pen. I stuck some gold and silver tissue paper inside to show off the window, but I think a solid color would really be great! Now I am gonna be obsessed. I think I need to start buying gifts for everyone I know, so I can keep pumpin these babies out from my junk mail. Just open those junk envelopes carefully, so you can re-glue down the flap. Oh dear...I am wondering about my mental health now!!! :) If you dare to watch the video, you better be worried about your mental health too!!! (You are welcome)!! Hehehehe.

The YouTube video on how is HERE!!!

Grandson learns to sew!

Today my grandson and I were both not feeling well. He and I were both home, and to keep him occupied, and to teach him a new skill, I taught him a basic stitch. We drew out our design, which was to be a pumpkin, but he thought it looked more like an apple, so he chose red. I think it turned out so cute. I helped by sewing it onto fabric, then making it into a little 5x5 pillow. When we got all finished, he asked "Do you think I  can sleep with my head on it"?  I looked at him and answered "...well, maybe an ear"!!!  We both had a good laugh! He really loved making something out of nothing, and deciding what design to make. I might have a new sewing buddy. YES!!!

Cactus and Succulents for ya!!

I went over to the college garden the other day and found cactus in bloom, some multi-colored Crown of Thorns, Stapeliad in bloom, and how about this plant that has green and yellow on the top of the leaves, and the undersides are blood red!!! It was I.D.'d for me by the one and only Mr. Subjective over at Plants Are The Strangest People, as Excoecaria cochinchinensis. One of the common names is "Chinese croton". Thankyou so much, Mr. S!! This plant is really cool for a little blood red Halloween touch too, don't you agree???

My birthday!

Today was my birthday and I recieved many surprises and cards, calls and e-mails. Thanks to all of you who KNEW about my birthday (although I usually try to keep it a secret because I don't feel like celebrating much anymore, being 55!! Anyway...I just wanted to show you what my friend, Karen brought over and surprised me with. You can go Here, to Karens Kale to see! She made a really pretty hand made card, and stamped and used her new Copic markers to color it. It is so pretty!!! Check it out, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Another year older, fatter and happier!
xoxo- Julie

A few fun things...

We went to the Fall Festival at Mounts Botanical Gardens, in West Palm Beachon Sunday, and of all the 6 photos I took...these 2 were most interesting to me. They had the Poultry Fanciers out there...and they are very nice people with a very strong interest in turkeys and chickens, quail, etc. ONE LADY HAD HER ROCKING CHAIR OUT THERE HOLDING AND ROCKING, AND PETTING HER CHICKEN. This could be a strange group to take up with. I considered it for a few minutes when I saw all these beautiful eggs...but the Turkey wearing a bandana and ribbons on his ankles made me pause.  (Wish now I had gotten a picture). Seriously, though, these were some really nice poultry loving folks!!!

The other photo is of a Rainbow Eucalyptus!!!  Have you ever seen one before??? I don't think I had...isn't it just too cool. From afar it looked like Army fatigue. Really beautiful trunk.

Gigantically fat okra!

Here is a few of this years okra variety of which I do not know. If I wait one (only one) day too long to pick,they are huge!!! I just had to take a photo, to remember them by, because nextsummer I will be growing red ones!!!!

A Night Walk!

Well...the fingernail art needs more practice (by me)...not photo worthy yet. I had talked about this in my last post.

The grands and their Mom and I went for a walk tonight.  I saw the tree my next door neighbor keeps lit year-round, and I noticed it was draped with vines...it was glowing, and had a beautiful, veil provided by nature. She doesn't have her Halloween decorations on it yet...but I almost hate to see this loveliness disturbed.
The other pic is my front Halloween garden that my DIL surprised us with her addition of the pumpkin lights.  The orange marigolds have filled in quite a bit already and should be perfect in another week or so!
Happy cooler Fall, ya'll!
Xoxo Julie

Carving and fingernail fun!

This is a silly, yet entertaining APP for you. Since it carves what you write or draw, the results can be strange...yet I am enthralled and keep experimenting. Hope you can try it.
It is called "Halloween Pumpkin Carving".
I am also trying out some fingernail ideas. Have you seen how you can transfer comics or newspaper words to your nails by dipping the image in alcohol then pressing on your nail for 30 seconds??? I have found that words from my printer work better...you just have to do mirror image to make them transfer correctly. I may do a second post today showing some of this. An overcoat of clear polish will keep the art protected.
A really great set of cute fingernail tutorials is on YouTube. Go there and do a search for "Cute Polish".  Fun for girls and teens, and even old 55 year old grandmas like me!!!

Purple lantana???

I planted 5 of these plants behind the orange marigolds in the Halloween garden...are they lantana or what? I can't remember the name! What a dummy...I should have written it down. I think the leaves are different from the pics I see online of Lantana. It looks pretty with the orange...they are all blooming again now after the rains had washed all the flowers off. They seem kinda fragile.

Haunted house additions

A skeleton, just hangin around...

A huge spider web with glittery purple host...

A cute banner made my moi...

We are continuing to add things...I need furniture and a few zombies I think! If you missed the post that told about our making this house out of an empty diaper box, you can go HERE.

Surprise nighttime visitor in the Halloween garden!

Oh, gosh...I went out to take some nighttime pics of the Halloween garden, with the addition of some cheap black fake roses and spiders from the dollar store (since my dark purple lantana blooms all fell off)...but ya know...I kinda like the look of the black in there for Halloween ( think I will go get about 10 more), and then eventually we will have some new lantana blossoms!!! Ceramic bunny's gotta go....and be replaced with a witch!

I can't wait to see it all filled in! As I was sitting there, my cat, Baby, ambled into the picture! He looks all innocent in this picture, but then....

He became possessed.....(Hey, this is the REAL flower color...they are orange marigolds...the other pics don't do them justice)...

And started to scare me with alien glowing eyes! Hehehe.

You never know what we happen when you plant a spooky Halloween garden!!! Baby cat...are you seriously possessed???????

It's time for Doozey Tuesday!!!

I love my human sisters new pink sherpa blanket...so jump back jack...it's mine. Do not touch!!! Well, I will share if you are very nice!!

Crassula clavata!!!

I did a post already featuring my new succulent (found at Walmart)...Crassula clavata! It has red edges, and much more delicate leaves than Jade Plant. I love it!
HAPpY cACTUS MONDAY everyone!!
Xoxo-Julie
To join Cactus Monday, please visit our leader, Teri over at www.painteddaisies.blogspot.com

Saturday Yard Oct. 2011

Some random yard plant photos from yesterday...finally go tthem uploaded to Flickr and what a difference! Thanks Flickr...
Pretty orange daisies that just suddenly took off this summer in one tire.

saturdayyardoct2011 035, a photo by xmasgirl43 on Flickr.

My one and only semi-decent looking pepper on two bushes!!! Darn.

saturdayyardoct2011 033, a photo by xmasgirl43 on Flickr.

The yellow marigolds also started taking off all of a sudden mid-summer.

saturdayyardoct2011 031, a photo by xmasgirl43 on Flickr.

I have only two eggplants hanging on the remaining three plants. They are looking very sad, and I think I will pull them after these two are off...time for some new cool weather crops!

saturdayyardoct2011 038, a photo by xmasgirl43 on Flickr.

My newly planted orange marigolds HALLOWEEN garden near the front door. All along the back are these very pretty plants that have a ton of dark purple blossoms, but we had hard rains a few days right after I planted them, and they all fell off.:(

saturdayyardoct2011 043, a photo by xmasgirl43 on Flickr.

And last...my windowsill African Violet. It had a few month period of no blooms, and then it really started up! I love this dark purple (they look pinker in the photo, I suppose due to the flash, but they are really much darker)...I think I am in a love of dark purple phase right now...!

saturdayyardoct2011 046, a photo by xmasgirl43 on Flickr.

Tonight, I will have a few pics for CACTUS MONDAY posted for tomorrow!!!! Yippee!!!

A bud on my Golden Rat Tail cactus!!!

I have spent a whole day trying to upload pics from my camera. Again I got them too large, and my daughter was able to resize them, bu they are now being uploaded onto Flickr. I have tried to upload to Photobucket and also set up a Picasa account, and tried there, and it has just turned into a nightmare. To the point of my thinking I would give up blogging. Gone are the days when I would snap pictures, and easily upload to Blogger. Gone, I tell you. I am at my wit's end. It is midnight now, and I started all this crap around 9am. Well, I did take a long break to go shopping in another city...AND that is the good part about my day!

Mom, daughter and I drove to Jensen Beach to visit a Hobby Lobby! There are, I believe, 14 stores in Florida, but none south of this store in Jensen Beach. That is a cryin shame! We have to drive about 35 minutes to get there. We have been to the one in Ocala, Fl...and the one in Stone Mountain area, Georgia. That was a fun time...that store was right across the parking lot from our hotel...oh...what fun!!!

I am trying to get three pics of the Golden Rat Tail Cactus my blogger pal, Claude, from Random Rants and Prickly Plants sent me back in 2009!!! It is finally branching and flowering! It seems happy out in the tire in full sun! Yippee! The flower is a gorgeous salmon pink too! I am watching the bud closely to catch it when it opens.



Today was my husband and my 22nd year wedding anniversary. We did not realize it until we were driving to dinner, and I started checking e-mail on my phone, and suddenly I see an e-mail from my brother and SIL titled Happy Anniversary! I had to really stop and think "anniversary of what"??? Then I turned to my husband and said Happy Anniversary to him...and we burst out laughing because we needed someone else to remind us!!! Hehehehe...I guess we are getting old.