Wild flowers for my soul!

Wild Phlox and wild florida forest orchids. The Phlox have been growing in every willing field and most roadside shoulders. They are thick and stunning in their showy togetherness. They come up in clusters, especially now while our soil is dry. I have this old enamel ice bucket with a plastic liner in it. The flowers are a little wilted looking because they spent about 20 minutes between ground and water, while I sorted and cut them. 

 Even though the flowers were pretty as they were, I decided to sit the bucket down inside my yellow painted basket. Before I cut the grass in my front yard, I picked some of the Spuranthes tuberosa (or as we call them, wild Florida Forest Orchids.) They look elegantly understated here. And the Phlox are perking up very beautifully too!

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I call the little ceramic duck, Flufferduck. (He might be a goose, but that's okay) You never know where you'll find him! He's a wanderer!

Bottle Tree

A few years back, I created borders around my plants using beer bottles. I had everyone saving their brown. green, and blue bottles for me. I had leftover bottles I had forgotten about until Lisa and I were pilfering around the back 40 for some goodies to salvage for our Margarita Bar. It was an instant no-brainer for both of us: a bottle tree it was!

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These were some dirty bottles!

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But they cleaned up nicely!

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The bottle tree looks great next to our Out door Margarita Bar!

It looks cool at night too!

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The blue bottle border...

...I love how it looks around my butterfly bush!

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We are still working on the property and the Margarita Bar, so we hope you'll stop in for updates!

No more naked Goose

My mom has this goose on her front walkway, and she had asked me to make her goose some clothes. When I went to visit her last year, I noticed several yards in mom's little town in Missouri with these dressed geese. I don't know if it's a 'mom' thing, a 'Missouri' thing, or what. Anyhow, I couldn't let mom's goose sit naked, so I when I got home, I created this cute little patriotic outfit for Mom's goose. Shh, Mom doesn't know it, but I'm making some fall attire for goose.

Mom loved the outfit! No more naked goose!

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~May your blessings be many, and your troubles be few!~

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From a fish camp kitchen to a margarita bar!

I told you a while back that my friend Lisa and were starting a new blogsite - The Smiling LiMe. Both our families had a few glitches that changed our momentum. That happens, but I'm back at Studio 33, and we are back on track as best as we can be. And yippee yay, The Smiling LiMe is up and running! Mixed in with all the hard work, has been tons of fun and laughter! That's what it's all about folks: having as much fun as we can while we go through this journey of life.

Remember those before pictures of my husband's once "fish camp" style outdoor kitchen that had been neglected by our renters? 

Here are a few reminder 'before' pictures of the neglected and torn apart space.

YUCK!

YUCK!

And, YUCK!

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**You can go to The Smiling LiMe  blog and check out the revamped space! **

- May your blessings be many, and your troubles be few!

Don't forget to follow, add us to your circle, or G+ us! Thank you!

Pinecones and Pine Needles

Our family had a little glitch in our... momentum.  I have been at the house on the coast with my Mister and our two youngest sons. All my crafting supplies are at Studio 33 in the forest, but I really needed to stay busy and productive. (Because cleaning up after three grown men just doesn't keep me busy enough. Lol)

I really need to be working on my next book but I have had a serious case of writer's block lately, so I was perusing Pinterest one evening about 4 weeks ago, and came across some beautiful pine needle baskets. After many clicks of my mouse, I inadvertently ended up on a site selling basket supplies. I was overcome with joy when I seen that pine needles are a sellable commodity. I am surrounded by some of the most amazing Longleaf Pines, so long story short, I went to collecting pine needles. I collected, photographed, and listed my pine needles on EBay and voila! The pine needles sold!

It didn't stop with the pine needles: I began to see Mother Nature in a completely new light. Her beauty is simply mesmerizing! My creative juices just went into overdrive! I have been harvesting, cleaning, decorating, and painting: pine needles, pinecones, twigs, sticks, seed pods, vines; the possibilities are limitless!

Some of the raw and natural elements I've rounded up so far. I made the wreaths myself and they are drying nicely. I haven't decided yet if I will paint them or leave them natural, but I like the way they turned out. I washed the vines in hot water with a few drops of Dawn Dish Soap, and I made the wreaths while the vines were still green and wet. 

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I painted some of the pinecones metallic gold. I like these and will be trying a mirrored silver next!

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These are my bleached pinecones, Mister really loves the way these turned out! So do I! And I love the way the poly-urethane treatment brings out the grains, and the brown places where the bleach didn't yet penetrate. Beautiful!

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I will be bleaching more! I will be trying them with pure bleach for different periods of time, and then with diluted bleach for different periods of time. I can't wait to see the outcome, but if they turn out anything like these - I will be one happy gal!

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I also treated some natural colored pinecones with polyurethane. Just when I think I can't love these things any more, voila! Another stunning outcome!

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Preserving Pine Needles for Basketry!

Until next time!
May your blessings be many and your troubles be few!

(Don't forget to G+ and follow me!)

New Year, New Chapters!

About three years ago, my husband and I made a move to Florida's Gulf Coast. We own our little trailer at the edge of the national forest located more centrally in the state. We tried to rent it and found out the hard way, landlords we are not! We live too far away from the rental to keep an eye on things, and it's an understatement that our little place was being abused! It didn't help matters that the renters were constantly struggling to pay their rent.

So I came up with this really wild idea to take back possession of our property and turn the place into a studio. I've recently published my first book, The Rhythm of Woven Dreams. I wanted to work on my next two books, start a blogsite with my dear friend Lisa, and in my spare time, I could fix the place up! Win win! 

The only catch was that I had to make the pitch to my hubby. For the past 28 years, we've had a pretty "traditional" marriage. I had to convince my man that it was in his best interest to live at separate addresses while I pursue my dreams. I prepared my presentation, took a deep breath and went for it. It was easier than I thought it would be. He was only a little hesitant, but he was in! I have the most supportive husband in the world!

I didn't hesitate; I jumped right in: gave the renters notice, and made my lists of to-dos. My list was long, but not to worry, I had this in the bag! I've got big plans folks and I can't wait to share them with you!