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Clematis for a Texture Tuesday

 
{Magic layer from the Kim Klassen Ben Collection}

The theme for this week's Texture Tuesday Party at Kim Klassen's Cafe is "garden"...something near and dear to many of our collective hearts. Although my gardens {mostly of the flower variety} have been severely neglected compared to the time I typically enjoy working in them, I am forever grateful for those dear friends we call perennials.

For the past month, my purple clematis vines (grows in a variety of colors) have been strutting their stuff. Each winter the vines go dormant and anyone who didn't know better would most likely think the plant was a has-been.

      {3 layers of a Kim Klassen May Magic texture, one as an overlay-27% opacity}
I started this one from a one foot little root...and now a few years later, it has filled out quite nicely with very little encouragement on my part. The key is keeping them well watered as they establish their root system as well as an ample pile of mulch around their base. So don't be afraid to start with a little guy as the cost is much more affordable compared to buying a potted plant with a big long vine already growing. 

 

{Kim Klassen textures applied: Magic scratches, May magic on color burn}

Despite their delicate appearance, these little flower heads have been through whipping winds, pelting rains, and yet they've held their ground.

 
{Kim Klassen texture: Sonnet Magic}

 In fact, for a whole month the large clump of flower heads have been smiling sweetly in my gardens. Ample time for me to play around with my vintage amethyst bottles, or whatever else catches my fancy.

Gardens, to me, are a magical place...hence, my choice of applying magic textures to all of my photos today. Now I'm off to see what magical photos everyone else has shared today!

Be blessed! Xo, Sue

Why God Made Mothers

 

...how time flies...blink, and we're now well into May.

My days have been jam packed with fun, and the not-so-fun...in other words, life. One of the funs is my continued love of taking photos.  Today, to wish my sweet bloggie friends a Happy Mother's Day, I'll share a few of those photos taken of my flowers.

But with a little humorous twist...

You've all probably seen this somewhere along life's path, but it's just too stinkin' cute not to share again. It's entitled: Why God Made Mothers. The answers were given by second graders. Enjoy...

 
WHY DID GOD MAKE MOTHERS?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

HOW DID GOD MAKE MOTHERS?

 1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
 2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
 3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger 
parts.

 
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE MOTHERS MADE OF?

1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in
the world and one dab of mean. ha ha ha
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use 
string, I think.

 

WHY DID GOD GIVE YOU YOUR MOTHER AND NOT SOME OTHER MOTHER?

 1. We're related.
 2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

 
WHAT KIND OF LITTLE GIRL WAS YOUR MOM?

 1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
 2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty 
bossy.
 3. They say she used to be nice.

 

 WHAT DID MOM NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DAD BEFORE SHE MARRIED HIM?

 1. His last name.
 2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk 
on beer?
 3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to 
chores?
{{having been a former elementary school teacher in one of my lives, i can attest to the fact that these answers are mild compared to what many teachers hear!}}

 
WHY DID YOUR MOM MARRY YOUR DAD?

 1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot
 2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
 3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

 
WHO'S THE BOSS AT YOUR HOUSE?

 1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof 
ball.
 2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the 
bed.
 3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

 
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOMS AND DADS?

1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work. 

2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause 
that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine..

 
WHAT DOES YOUR MOM DO IN HER SPARE TIME?

 1. Mothers don't do spare time.
 2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

 
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO MAKE YOUR MOM PERFECT?

 1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of 
plastic surgery.
 2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

 
IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR MOM, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

 1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid 
of that.
 2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did 
it not me.
 3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of 
her head.

 
Here's sending out loads of gratitude to all the mothers of the world, and those who practice the gentle art of mothering {a trait found in many women who never had their own biological children}, the world is a sweeter place because of you.

And special hugs and whispered prayers for the precious hearts that for a number of reasons, find this day extra hard. May grace give you the strength you need...

Xo, Sue

p.s. Joining Miss Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday today!

Hippity Hoppity....

 
Sometimes a little whim has me chasing rabbits...

...or bunny ears...specifically felted bunny ears....

...with wires in them so they can bend!

 
...and might as well make a hat to stick them in....

...and don't forget to hand sew some vintage bias tape around the edges so you can tie it on to someone's head...and add some vintage pom pom balls too!

Easter's on its way you know....

 
...and he could sit on a glass jar filled with chocolate eggs covered in pretty pastel foiled wrappers! {or jelly beans!}

But don't buy them just yet because you know you'll eat too many of them...

 
Those little pom poms made from tulle would sure make a sweet bunny tail...

 
Another one of the dollies thought she should have a chance to have her picture taken in the new hat as well. Have you ever noticed the tendency in curly-haired folks to stir the pot of life just a tad more than straight-hair folks do? That's why I religiously take a flat iron to my curly hair...it improves your personality. Seriously.

Since this little hat I made reminded me of this Ralphie scene from A Christmas Story...

 
I'll leave you with one last picture of a "Ralphie" version of my new hat!

 
Just being silly today.

But also wanted to share the scrumptious ground cover phlox that is showing off in my flower beds right now. Wish it would bloom all summer, but it doesn't....such a hardy perennial to plant that will naturally spread over the years.  

Hope you're finding some time for silly too. It's important too you know!

Xo, Sue

p.s. AND speaking of time, And of PS {PINK SATURDAY} I'm linking to my fellow Duke Blue Devil's fan, Miss Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to play in her weekly Saturday event! Saturday's are typically not a good day for me to play on the computer so it's fun to HIPPITY HOP back aboard for today!

Pressing on...

The first time I saw the pressed version of these little guys I immediately thought to myself...Van Gogh! These are the inspiration for his suns! Oh, if only I could hunt down my teacher in high school who used to say I was too busy talking to learn anything during the art appreciation section of class.............ha ha ha!

Obsession can overtake me when it comes to preserving many of my little flower friends. I don't know why...but I just love paging through the albums I keep them in, especially during the winter months.  

My little noodle is always scheming and dreaming of ways to use these pressed flowers....

These adorable little creatures bloom the entire season....they've filled out so much since they were first planted about five years ago...

They make adorable little wreaths...or maybe multiples of them could be woven together to form a sweet birdie's nest...or just for fun put them around a napkin for a picnic lunch? The current occupants in my household might not fully appreciate such a special touch as I am the lone female in a pack of males.

But I'll have to put my scheming on hold as I am in the throngs of moving the contents of my daughter's apartment into our garage. But before the movers could deliver it today, I had to MAKE ROOM for it all. Do you know what the temperature is inside a garage in the thick of a heat wave in Atlanta, GA?  

Tomorrow I get to drive the hour plus to her old apartment and tidy up. But before I could do that I had to buy her a new vacuum cleaner as she casually mentioned that hers didn't work anymore. Since we have a central vac system at our house, I don't have a mobile vac of our own to take with me.  I'm a little nervous wondering how long that vacuum cleaner of hers has been inoperable....!!!! What will I be walking into???

For a multitude of reasons, she legitimately can't help and hubby is away on business...and sometime in the next month all the stuff gets moved out of our garage and into a new apartment several hours away from this apartment....

So I'm running behind on answering emails...I'll catch up in the next few days...and since I've had to work so hard, I thought it only fair that while I was out hunting down the best bargain on a new vacuum cleaner that I should be allowed to make a quick dash into one of my antique stores.................and tomorrow I'll be driving by another one...oh my!

More on that later....and eventually I hope to post some fun little uses I'm thinking about for all these pressed flowers.

Xo, Sue
 

 
  
An on again, off again, rainy day in Georgia. Since hubby decided to work from home, I had the perfect excuse to skip a little housework in an effort to not make any unneccessary noise. Not that it takes much coaxing to do so especially when each new day outside holds some new surprise.

The hydrangea patches are so loaded with blooms this year. I'm wondering if it's because of the colder winter we had this year. Each day the newly emerging clusters change from their greenish-yellowy-creamy colors to their grand finale color of blue...

 Plucking armfuls of them, I bring them in and stick bouquets everywhere.

Just off our kitchen is a small upper deck we use for grilling. I've had my eyes peeled for years to find a reasonably priced, smaller-scaled table and chairs. Sometimes things just find you when you aren't looking. I just happened to be driving to the grocery store and there sitting outside one of my favorite thrift stores was this little white wrought iron set [table + 4 chairs]. At a fantastic price, no less... Needless to say, I was thrilled!

Let me also introduce you as well to my newest "dress form"...a man one! Paid $26 for him...did I pay too much? I've got some plans brewing in my head for him...

The base is painted such a great color and has just the right amount of shabby, chippy beauty.

What I'm thinking about is to mount a steel collar plate around the metal pole and to that attach a galvanized steel washtub, or an old oblong enamelware pan. In other words, use the new "manny" as a base for something purposeful. I also think you could mount a tabletop of some sort if you wanted as the base is quite heavy and could handle a little weight. Wouldn't he be a fun, unconventional, end table?!

 I guess we'll both have to wait and see who he grows up to be...

Oh and by the way, look at the one I found currently for sale on Ebay at an asking price of $1100+....yipes. Too rich for my budget, but still quite gorgeous.

 

xo, sue

Needed: A Case of Magic Bandaids!

This photo of our oldest still makes me laugh. She's now 21, so those magic band-aids that could fix all of life's boo-boo's way back when, most likely wouldn't have the same effect today.

But if they did, I'd be buying a case for me!

Seriously...it's almost been hilarious. My life, that is... I just shake my head and say, okay, what next?!!!

Life was rocking along with me working like a mad woman digging in the dirt. Dragging home and planting lots of flowers. Finally feeling a bit of motivation to tackle some of those projects that have been needing some attention and finding any excuse to work OUTSIDE instead of INSIDE.

[ pink perennial yarrow...new additions to my flower beds]

Then it started.

DAY 1: Bent over while vacuuming to pick up a dog toy and whammed my forehead into the sharp corner of the fireplace mantle. Cute lump and bruise in middle of forehead! While bringing in the meat I had grilled on the rotesserie spicket it slipped and I seared the chubby pad area on my hand creating an awesome blister. An hour later as I hid behind a french door [teasing my dog who likes to play hide and seek] she comes around the corner, sees me and in total excitement, jumps against the door. My little bare piggy toes act as door stop. I am now missing the first 4 layers of skin on two toes.

[let me interject that these band-aids are the best...]

 
  Saying good-bye to that day...I woke up the next day with a frozen shoulder. Very painful.   

I had this same condition four years ago and after months of physical therapy it took almost 6 months until I fully recovered. So you can imagine the downer I was doing...

On the bright side, the bump on my head and band-aids on my hands and toes from the previous day didn't seem like such a big deal. LOL! 

And besides, things were bound to look up as I did plant some HOPE in my garden this year...

okay. maybe it can get worse. because it did.

Day Three: breaking out in a terrible rash all over my torso that over a week has continued to spread like wildfire...

Can you say miserable?!!!!

Which caused me to doodle this in one of my journals i keep...

FINALLY, after too many nights of fitful sleep due to the intensity of my rash, yesterday I went to the doctor. I have a nasty case of poison ivy or oak. Have no earthly idea how...but given the severity of my case, I rec'd a big old shot of steroids in the cheek, and will now do a prednisone taper over the next week.

But things are looking up...my shoulder is 90% back to normal...enough to get back to my garden therapy. For it to unfreeze in less than two weeks was nothing short of a miracle in my book.

 I also couldn't help but think during this time how much I take for granted. There are countless souls who would trade my eetsie-weenie [in comparison] physical setbacks for their chronic conditions in a heartbeat... 

So skip that part about me wanting a case of magic band-aids, instead, I hope this latest rash of challenges will cause me to be more grateful...

...more grateful for all those things I take for granted.

 

The Lenten Rose

 
The Lenten Rose. What an undemanding little beauty who will readily adapt to drought conditions, too much rain, thrives in the shade, loves the cold, and is a perennial to boot. In reality, it is a member of the the buttercup family. However, because of the appearance of its flower buds, it was given the distinct honor of bearing the name rose in its given name.

They are hardy in zones 4-9, and sometimes you can even get away with success in zone 3.

While their colors are quite diverse...from a deep maroon, to pink, to white, to yellow, and more, my favorites are the following....

...these little freckled face darlings. Seriously. Don't they put a smile on your face?

 

 A mature plant can have about 50 flowers per plant. I doubt if mine will ever do that well as the soil conditions where mine are planted is not good. In my yard, the Lenten Roses started flowering in Feburary. Eventually, all the flower heads, regardless of their original color will turn a green.  
 

I recently read that all parts of this plant are toxic. So probably not a good choice for anyone with little ones or a pet that likes to chomp on garden plants. Sometimes I wonder if animals "know" since the deer and rabbits that normally feast on local gardens don't touch these flowers.

With Spring well underway in our area of the world, everyday it seems there is a new bush, tree, flower peeking out to greet all who will take the time to look. Despite the fact that this is our 8th Spring in this area of the U.S. I am still in awe of the beauty that comes to visit this area. So much so, that despite the fact that I can't wait to get to the ocean for our spring break, there is a piece of me...

....that hates leaving this area for a week...

...because I don't want to miss a single day of soaking up the Spring beauty. 
 
 

Pink Roses

 

Timely words for me, indeed. You see, the first photo features a dozen beautiful pink roses I found at the grocery store on clearance. I look for them all the time in order to do this to them. But my time ran out as I was busily preparing to fly away for a week and visit my mother in another state. But wouldn't you know it...while I left these behind, I discovered these growing outside a restaurant back in the northern woods of Wisconsin where my mother lives.

 
  After I placed my take-out order, I asked the young gal helping me who planted all the beautiful roses outside. This look came across her face as if she were thinking, "Beautiful roses? I've never noticed any roses outside." Seriously. I kid you not. But she turns to this man sitting behind her who she identified as the owner of the place, and asked him my question. His whole body shifted and he visibly sat straighter as a huge smile crept across his face and he proudly announced, "I planted them." Well, I only further made his day when I asked him if I could take some photos of them. 

He might still be smiling for all I know. That would only be fair because everytime I look at these photos, they sure make my heart smile.

I hope you'll enjoy their little faces as much as I have...

   
 There's lots more pink to be seen by visiting Beverly at How Sweet the Sound where you will find a complete listing of all of today's participants in PINK SATURDAY! But before you do that, I wanted to share a blog I've enjoyed visiting of one of our newer Pink Saturday Ladies. Her name is Tammi and the name of her blog is Visions of Vintage. 

Thank you for stopping by! I always enjoy my visitors and your sweet comments.

xo Sue 
 

Pink Saturday...Autumn Joy

 Welcome to Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly, at How Sweet the Sound. As an avid flower lover, I wanted to share my Sedum 'Autumn Joy' plants. From about late August and continuing through the next two months, the blooms on this succulent plant will go from green, to pink, to a coppery brown color. 

This is a wonderful perennial to add to your gardens if you like a hardy, dependable plant. They tend to tolerate drought conditions very well and will attract butterflies and bees to your garden. Plant them in large clumps for the most drama. I've had these in my garden when we lived in the Midwest and they also did very well in that cooler climate like they do here in Georgia.

In closing, I would like to introduce a new blog {to me} I paid a visit to last week. Hop over and visit Melony at Whimsy Daisy. She has this adorable craft cottage her husband built for her {we'll call him Mr. Wonderful} and it is decked out in a delightful vintage style. So much eye candy for the vintage lover.

Wishing you all a lovely day..