What a gorgeous Santa!

Here I am hangin with a Santa gourd made by my DIL's Mom. She is an excellent decorative painter and she doesn't even use patterns! I got to supposed intermediate level tole painting in classes, but I always needed a pattern! 

I love my Santa, Geani!!!!!

Rescued plant from my Aunt!

When my sweet Aunt Dot passed away last year, I found this little pothos plant in her kitchen window. It was already withering away from either too much water (there was no hole in bottom of pot), or too dry from lack of watering after she died. I'm sure, when she was alive, she knew exactly how much or little water to give it and it was happy in the kitchen window! My Aunt Dot was a great gardener, inside and out! Anyway, after she died, I could not bear to see her little plant neglected, so my cousin let me bring it to my house! While I get her pretty ceramic pot cleaned up and a hole drilled in bottom, I decided to transfer it to a temporary home in a plastic planter with new Miracle Gro soil, and I popped it into a gorgeous yellow pot I found at the thrift store that was brand new from IKEA! I printed a label with dots on it, since her name had to be DOTTIE! Isn't she just so pretty in her new temporary home! I'm thinking she looks happy!

You just gotta see this, even in (? language)

Here it is the eve of Christmas eve, and I came upon this, which I just found to be amazing.  I will probably never try these things, but I feel just seeing it will blow your mind!  I can't understand a word spoken on this video, but it is clear he is making the coolest stuff from green soda bottles!  WOWZERS!!!  Have fun!
ME RR Y  CH RI ST M AS !!!!!!!!!  HAPPY HANUKKAH!!!  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

3 finished ornaments

Here's a heart I was doing with my 5?year old granddaughter. Of course, her contributions were minimal at this age. I put a red heart inside (although I think I missed a stitch over on left edge), and she wanted half the ornament edged in silver and half in gold!  I really love this patchwork look!

Here is my finished snowman! I ended up doing background in a blue cause I think it looked most like frozen ice????? It was what I had on hand and I think it turned out cutely! Thanks for all your suggestions!

This one I just sort of sat down and started free handedly making this evening. It's kinda weird, but if you use your imagination, it can look like something! I've heard possibly something Scandinavian or if held a certain way, a Christmas tree of sorts! :)

These are just too much fun to sit down and do.  I like designing them myself. It's just much more relaxed that way. I hate having to follow a pattern where counting is involved!  It hurts my head! Hehehe.

Happy Holudays to all!

Julie

A rose explosion and update on size of butternut squash!

This morning:

This is how we make snowmen in south Florida!

I drew him out on plastic canvas with a grease pencil, filled in the details first, then filling in snowman last. I use a #16 plastic canvas needle, and worsted weight yarn and specialty yarns, which are my gold and silver ones, for details. I first thought I would fill in the background, but now think I will just do an edging in a color and have it be cut out more like you would imagine an ornament to be. What color should I use to do that? Any good ideas?????

Xoxo-Julie

Beautiful butternut squash bloom!

Well, here it is this morning! WOWZERS! I didn't expect to see blooms like this, and in such a vibrant shade of my new favorite color!!!!!!!

Check out my last post to see the tiny squash!

I've got butternut squash!

Here are my butternut squash plants! Lookin good!

Check out the flowers!

Can you see the tiny butternut under the flower bud?

This is fun!

I really thought the plants would vine down all over the ground since they are planted two tires high, but they haven't and I am wondering what I can do. There are a ton of buds popping up, and no room in a tire to support big ol butternuts!!!  Does anyone know if I can transplant them into the ground at this stage?

I have a party dip to share with you.

I took it to a party last night. I got this recipe when I was in Iowa a few weeks ago. This was the third time I've made it since I got back, if that tells you anything!!! Hehehe.

Mix one block of cream cheese with very finely chopped green pepper and either onion or shallots. I used about 1/5th of a green pepper, and a very small bit of sweet onion (maybe like equivalent to a 1 inch square. Then you take the smallest can of crushed pineapple and put it in a strainer and squeeze the crud out of it until you can't squeeze any more juice out. Then dump the pineapple in with the other ingredients and mix well. It tastes better if you make it a few hours to a day ahead so everything has time to marry together. I just love this stuff and it has been a hit wherever it goes! I serve with Wheat Thin crackers. 

Happy Holidays!

Julie

Highlights of the last few weeks!

I'm making some plastic canvas holiday fun!  This gingerbread man looks crazed and evil. Hehehe.

Last week I went to Iowa for my Aunt's 90th birthday and look what was running around everywhere! Deer! So sweet!

The night we got there it snowed! Here are my sister and I outside the front of the hotel posing by the snowy bush! Lol. I am the short one!  I was especially excited since I had not seen snow except one other time when I was about 15.  

We had icicles hanging all around the bottom edges of our vehicle the whole time! Pretty neat!!!!

Meanwhile the grandkids were having a sunny day at the park in Lake Worth, Florida!!!!! 

When I got back home we had dinner at 5 Guys Burgers, went shopping at Barnes and Nobels (DIL, and grands seen here in kids department there), and then we hit up Gelatto Gratto for some delicious cold stuff!

Emily wearing her chocolate Gelatto!

Daughter and I visited a nature center and wildlife refuge in Hobe Sound, Florida. I cannot recommend it highly enough! It was exceptional. The staff, the animals, etc. here is a cute little 5 dollar wire and bead ring I just fell in love with and had to have!

Here is the most outstanding creature we saw there: an Eastern Spotted Skunk!

I did not get a photo there, but here is a photo of one courtesy of Wikipedia.

(http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_spotted_skunk)

Looks so much different from the skunk I know of that is black with a white stripe!

So that is all of most of what has happened around here over the past few weeks! Still working on plastic canvas projects with the grandkids and we are all enjoying it very much! I think it is much easier for little hands to manage, for sure.

Had a nice Thanksgiving at my brother and sister in laws place, and celebrated daughters birthday yesterday! She turned 24. That is my baby too! I don't like this getting older business!!!!

Happy holidays!

Julie

It's a coconut world, and a new wreath for Christmas!

I was out driving and touring the island of Palm Beach, where all the rich and famous live, and upon driving back to the mainland, I discovered this row of 8 palm trees filled with coconuts!  They looked so pretty all in a row like this!  I had to pull over and get a picture!

And a few close-ups!

All I can think of now is a Pina Colada!!!  hehehe.

Here is an old wreath I've had, made beautiful once again!  Created for Christmas, to hang on outside of daughters new art studio!  The room that is destined to become my husbands office when he retires, temporarily became daughters art studio until then. She has only a couple of electives left to take for her AA degree! Smart girl got all the hard, mandatory classes out of the way first!  She has the biggest interest in art as her degree, but she loves designing houses! Sounds like an architect to me!!! We shall see.

Sorry it turned out to be such a small image.  The lighting wasn't the greatest either.  The basic wreath I had made years ago by wrapping an artificial vine of white flowers around a grapevine wreath.  I've probably had it 20 years.  I have loved it so much, as it was sweet and simple.  I stuck in pink Christmas piks, and attached pink butterfly clip-ons.  Wrapped some gold ribbon all around, and voila!  A lovely PINK decoration for my sweet daughter!  

HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON EVERYONE!

Julie

Discoveries, gardening, flower drying, and embroidery!

I was walking around the neighborhood tonight I found this amazing vine growing on my cousins fence. You get the idea of the size of these "fruits" hanging on the chain link.  They are so pretty!

They open up when ripe and these beautiful red beans are inside! Just gorgeous!!!!!

I have no idea what it is. Any ideas??

Look at these sprays of a Bougainville down the street from me! The white to light pink coloration is spectacular!

And the last thing I wanted to show you is my first set of 2 dried Mum flowers that I kept in my mini flower press for three weeks.

I peeled the blotting paper off and a few of the delicate petals fell off. I will Mod Podge them to some handmade paper to send out my next handwritten letter.

My gardening 5 year old granddaughter picked so many flowers to dry on our walk tonight, that I had to use the blotting paper and stick them all into the middle pages of a big thick book! I have some small weed flowers to put into my small press. It will be fun to see them all in 3 weeks!!!!!

And a few pics from the tire garden!

And the little coaster I made with embroidery on felt, then attached to cork underneath. I have the matching cup cozy to finish. This was a gift from my son and his wife. It's so cute!

So these are some things I've been doing, and I hope to show you my butternut squash crop that I started from seeds, from a squash we ate from the grocery store!  This was fun! It has been raining, today and then it got dark before I could take a photo of the seedlings!!!

See you again soon!

Xoxo-Julie

Loss of a dear blogging friend.

For many of your cactus and succulent enthusiasts, you are familiar with the blog ,http://waterwhendry.blogspot.com, written by Aiyana.  Unfortunately we just heard of her passing in September due to complications from surgery.  She had just moved from her large, beloved home due to health issues, and now this.  She answered everyone's questions and has a blog that is so knowledgeable. She sent me a card one time with her fav cactus bloom on it, we exchanged ATC cards, and once she just mailed me a pack of Mary Englebreit stationery and stickers cause she just thought I would like them!  I think of her so often over time. She was a bright, shiny spot in my life.

Her sister, at http://pudgeduck.blogspot.com, posted about this.  If any of you talked to or followed Aiyana's blog, and would like to leave messages for her sister, please go to her blog.

Here is the poem Aiyana had/has on her blog. It just shows her heart.

OUT OF THE VAST

There's part of the sun in an apple,
There's part of the moon in a rose;
There's part of the flaming Pleiades
In every leaf that grows.

Out of the vast comes nearness;
For the God whose love we sing
Lends a little of his heaven
To every living thing.

August W. Bornberger

I will miss you very much Aiyana.  You were a wonderful friend to me.
Hugs for eternity,
Julie

My new sitting area with succulents and flowers!

I was so fortunate that I had two daughters go with me to pick out flowers for a new area outside.  I recently had the bottom of my screen-room enclosed and the back concrete power-washed.  The weather is cooling down and I was inspired to empty all my 5 gallon buckets, and fill with flowers. and one daughter thought a mix of pinks would be nice.  So voila, pinks!  I am thinking of ways to wrap something around the buckets to make them pretty and unified so if anyone has any good idea, feel free to share them with me!  My one idea is to buy short twig fencing- like stuff that comes on a roll and wrap each bucket with it. Another idea would be to wrap each one in burlap.  I even thought of getting pink tee shirts and placing them over the buckets (from thrift store or garage sales). I would prefer any mildew proof ideas, though!!!

I need a new table.

Starting small with this cinder-block succulent area.

The TIRE garden is mainly going to be flowers now.  These bits were transplanted out of the tires.

I found one chocolate soldier underneath some overgrown area, so it is relocated to the back right corner of the front right block below!  Can't wait to see it grown, as I had lost track of it before.  Nice surprise to find some!

Front yard Halloween touches!

Enjoy the cooler air everyone!  I know I am!
Love, Julie