Hearts a Bloom

 I'm having so much fun re-purposing broken china and flatware! As I continue to get ready for Chief Joseph Days, which is this week, eeeeK! I have windchimes and jewelry bits and pieces all over my dining room and laundry room.

Luckily Nature Guy has been visiting his sons so I have been free to create away. If you happen to live in the NE corner of Oregon, come on over to Wallowa County for the happenings this week. You won't be dissapointed! LEt me know if you are a visitor to my blog and I will give you a 25% discount on any purchase.
This necklace, created using copper elements and pearls to complement the colors of the pendant, will be available at my booth, unless someone let's me know they are interested otherwise. I hope you have a happy and creative Monday!

Roses....the many colors of love.....

 YELLOW

Joy, Gladness, Friendship, Delight, Promise of a new beginning, Welcome Back, Remember Me,  Jealousy,

"I care"

PINK

 Appreciation, "Thank you", Grace, Perfect Happiness, Admiration, Gentleness, "Please Believe Me"

YELLOW WITH RED TIP

 Friendship, Falling in Love

 ORANGE

Desire, Enthusiasm

PEACH

Appreciation, Closing the deal, Let's get together, Sincerity, Gratitude

RED

Love, Beauty, Courage and Respect, Romantic Love, Congratulations, "I Love You", "Job Well Done", Sincere Love, Respect, Courage & Passion

Speaking of flowers and Fiats......

 

It's funny how my mind meanders during Sacrament meeting as I listen to speakers share their thoughts on a subject. Today the topic was our pioneer heritage, and the sacrifices those folks made. One speaker compared their daily duties, to what he does each day, bringing up in particular the 10 minute drive he made to church in a truck sitting out in the driveway waiting to go, instead of having to groom and hitch up a team of horses to a wagon or buggy for a 45 minute ride to cover the same distance. 

Recently my husband bought a new car, a Fiat 500 to be exact. Cute little cupcake isn't it?! The payments aren't too bad although it does take premium gas the mileage at 46 mpg on average more than compensates for that. We have been struggling with being a one car family due to circumstances beyond our control. With my needing to be in Tooele to help with my in-laws and Kent needing to travel back and forth for the same, having one car has been a difficult situation. So we bought this little car to help. Sure, we could have purchased a used car, but with the distance and travel we do Kent wanted to be safe. Kent was worried about how we would handle the payment with Annie going on her mission in about a month, but two days after he bought the car he found out he was getting a raise, almost enough to cover the payment amount. Why we are being continually blessed in this way is beyond me, but it shows that Heavenly Father loves us much more than we understand at times. 

Now to the flowers. There are always two vases of fresh flowers on the podium in the chapel so of course what I see I think...lol... which took me to my flower beds at home that are in desperate need of tending to. I got to thinking about that, and how I seldom take the time to sit and enjoy them. Perhaps that's why we need to constantly weed and tend to our gardens, to put us where we can enjoy them once in awhile. Heavenly Father knows us better than we realize doesn't He?

Girlie Girl Headbands

My youngest granddaughter had a birthday recently so I found her this adorable outfit. I love the colors! They are so fresh and Summery! Well feeling guilty for not having more to send, I decided to use a new technique for making flowers out of ribbon scraps of fabric. Luckily I had matching ribbon already in my stash so here are the results of my efforts.

I'm hoping she likes these!

Gardening for pleasure and food

I have become a fan of the square foot garden method by Mel Bartholomew. I followed his advice on putting boxes together using 2 x 6 boards, and corner brackets. I placed landscaping cloth under the 4x4 foot and 4x8 foot boxes and then filled them with weed free compost, peat moss and top soil. I marked off the soil in a foot by foot grid and planted according to space recommendations and now have seedlings happily reaching for the sun. I can see how efficient this will be, and easy to maintain. And, I'm getting much better results with plant growth already. We will be planting most of the side yard this way, to utilize our not so otherwise useful yard space and cut down on area that needs to be mowed. I'm still in the planning stage as far as what to put down in the pathways to cover the cloth. I would love to put brick or stone, but unless my friend and I can find an amazing supply of flat rock somewhere out and about I will probably have to settle for mulch or gravel. Anyway we do it, after all is done, this will make a pleasant garden full of wonderful veggies, herbs and fruits to enjoy year round. Oh, and if you're wondering why the chicken wire boxes, I am stingy and don't want to sacrifice my garden to the deer. They graze on my flowers as it is, so they get plenty. If you want to learn more about square foot gardening here's the link: All New Square Foot Gardening .
Just for giggles I threw my flower garden photo in. This will be a wildly wonderful flurry of flowers soon.