Newest area for crafting/art

Today I made time to accomplish a few things around my house! It feels good. Cleared out the pass-thru in my kitchen. Brought in my 4.5 ft. long craft table which had been moved out into the screenroom months ago and never brought back in. I positioned it right near that one shelf that housed all my craft stuff, and started clearing it out. I threw away a lot of trash that had made it's way in. YEAH! The bottom 3 shelves are low, so the kids stuff can be there. This pic is kinda dark...I need a little more light in the area...but you can see I at least got all my thousand PENS and PENCILS onto the desk area! (I didn't realize I have regular pencils, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, gel pens galore, and Sharpies and Razor Point Pilot pens, and more. This has always been a sort of fetish of mine...pens especially!!! I can sit down and just do something quick now. I also got rugs washed and ALMOST got my bathroom floor mopped. Almost.

Here is the little assistant. I try not to take so many pics of her, but how can I resist?????

I need craft organization!

My art stuff is all crammed into a 5 x 5 shelf in my backroom...and I can't find my Gesso in it! I am mad! It's in there somewhere...I need organization. I have so much crap in there and feel hopeless in getting it to a state where the grandkids can't get into it. (And where is my sandpaper)??? Do I need some sort of thing I can lock? Does anyone have a solution as far as young kids go...to keep them out? I already have a secretary full of stuff too...the drawers are heavy and they can't pull them out...maybe I just need another one of those! Please help with ideas, if anyone has any!!! Thanks.

Starting today, I am following a new challenge posted by Carla over at More Family and Flowers to end your post with something you are grateful for! I like that idea...so here goes!

Today I am appreciative of: my husband, grown children, their spouses, and my grandchildren! The loves of my life!

Busy, busy, busy!

How many hours are in a day? I sure wish there were more! (I think)! Maybe less would be better, eh??? We have been very busy here... hanging out with the grandkids, and having so much amazing fun with them! Joy, pure, joy!

My plants are all living despite not getting the collards transplanted, and basically ignoring the succulents...especially the ones in the screenroom! Maybe I will walk out there this evening and give them all a wee bit to drink!

I am SO in the mood to make an altered journal. I found a childrens board book that has a handle built in and want to do one with my grandson...he loves Thomas the Train...and I found a Lional Train set catalog with all sorts of train sets (I bought it for 3 dollars at a hobby shop)...we could use these images to paste and he could draw backgrounds and add people and trees, etc. He loves the one on one and doing art. He is such a fun boy!

I did end up pitching the pineapple top I was going to root...I just decided it wasn't interesting enough! Hee hee hee...I know I am so weird!!! Sometimes certain plants are like that to me though...just can't get excited! Do you know what I mean???

I added a cute pic of Emily in the sidebar tonight....she had had her bath and I peiced together something for her to wear to bed...she looked adorable so I had to take a pic!

Christmas gift from Yoon See!

Look at this big happy surprise that came over the ocean from my blogger pal, Yoon See! Two sweet little puffy ornaments! Aren't they the cutest??? I feel so blessed to have recieved them from you, Yoon See! Thankyou!!!! I love this cute card too...it is two dimensional with MERRY CHRISTMAS in English and in Malay. (I think that is the other language, since Yoon See lives in Malaysia!)!!! LOL! God Bless you, Yoon See!!!!!
xoxo- Julie

What growing and showing on this New Years morning?

Happy 2010 everybody!

I woke up at 8am, started the coffee, and decided to take a few early morning pics for you from my little plot in the world...my little homestead (I like to call it)! Hee hee hee!

I realized when I got outside to my strawberry pot full of kalenchoe...that it has to take the first place ribbon for the plant that has been a continual source of joy for me throughout 2009 and beyond! It is entertaining...changes colors from green, to red, to purple, to blue. It makes new little leaves on the edges of it's own leaves, which is always a delight to see! It is a very invasive plant and still speads like the dickens, if not contained properly. Even after I moved it into the pot here, I still have to weed more of this stuff out of my succulent tires constantly. Sometimes I will leave it in with my other sux, because it will be at a size and state of lovliness, that it will compliment the tire, but when they get too large, generally, I have to go in and pull them all out (they start to get on my last nerves)! I throw the stuff I pull out, over along the fence, and it will not root over there ...too much shade and not the right soil, I suppose. That is fine with me!!! Anyway...it just occured to me that I believe if I could have just one succulent plant, this would be my choice, which is really saying something for this fella!!!


The collards are about ready to transplant now! Maybe I can get that done this weekend.

This little aloe sits outside on one of my tables with Buddha! Buddha will not give up his Mardi Gras beads...they make him very happy!

My succulent bowl I planted up about 1 year ago looks like a vision of perfection right now! I always dread when they start to outgrow and the pruning must begin! I need to take a few to the greensmarket to sell one day!

Two flowers are starting to open on the Christmas Cactus. I have a few sort of peachy/beige buds on the white one, and one of those is opening first, along with a pink! Nice show for the first day of the year, guys!!! LOL!

And last, but certainly not least...I decided to try and grow a pineapple from a top. I read online that you can trim it down and get all of the pineapple fruit off and place the stalk in a glass of water and in two weeks you will have an abundance of roots. I know, I think MOST people lay them out to dry for a week, and then plant in soil...but I decided to try this method and see what happens...plus I have the added bonus of having it in my windowsill to watch up close!

I hope you all will find so much happiness, love, hope, stress relief, and just plain JOY for this year just being around your plants!!!
xoxo- Julie