May All Your Weeds Be Wildflowers

Do April showers REALLY bring May flowers, or just lots of weeds? As I look out my kitchen window and see all my garden areas that were covered in landscape fabric and then barked, I have to wonder how those pesky weeds still manage to come through! It seems in my case, the only thing Spring rain does is grow weeds. Sigh….   So between gaps in the weather this weekend, I got going plucking the weanling weeds while the soil was moist and the pulling was easy.

 
Even if it’s still cold and frosty in your neck of the woods and too early to plant, it’s never too early to plan. I’ve had a great run with the Meadow Sage I planted a couple summers ago. Every year the plants get bigger and never fail to produce lovely purple flowers through September. Between the sage and my lavender plants, I’ve not only got gorgeous color going on, but the smell is heavenly!

I read somewhere that daisy's were weeds!

Or how about working on some yard art while the weather is gloomy outside? Fashion a gate or a privacy screen from an old door. My partner-in-crime of all things creative, just removed a couple of old rustic doors from inside the loft of her barn. Perfect for repurposing. I’m sure she’ll do something totally fantabulous with them! And recently, I got to deconstruct an old house from 1937. I took out all the old panel doors and hardware, odd architectural bits and pieces and even the old sink. I've got plans!  

 

 

 

 

Idle Hands are the Devil's Workshop

One of my mom's favorite expression when I was a kid. Guess I was always into something. LOL!

These hands have not been idle lately. I've been enduring a grueling schedule in my "technical" class at cosmetology school and I'm plum worn out! Last week was days of "foiling", this week it's been nothing but perms, perms, perms. This Saturday is another test, then I've got finals in another week. Non-stop I tell ya!

Good news on the craft-front: I do have some Halloween items in the works, a swap in September with Rabbit Hallow Prims, and I'm planning on doing a local holiday craft bazaar in November as well, so I will be creating shortly. And once finals are over, I'm going to start busying my hands in clay and paint, instead of perm rods! LOL!

Mostly, I just wanted to touch base with my loyal following who have been so patient with my non-creating lately. Thanks for staying with me and checking in. I'm lonely not creating and hearing from you, so please drop by anytime to just say "Hi!" Take care, Jeannine

A Fun & Frivolous Gift or Craft!

And Happy Friday to you all!

Since I haven't had a whole bunch of time to create my sculptures or detailed pieces lately, I've been dabbling a bit with a fun craft I discovered while in Tennessee earlier this year.

I was in a little gift shop in Franklin, TN, a most adorable place called "Shops on Main" that was just filled with all sorts of really neat craft-type items. Anyway, I saw these little blocks of wood that were painted up so cleverly, and I hadn't seen anything like that before. I loved the simplicity of them and wanted to try my hand at creating something similar. The possibilities really are only limited by what you want to embellish them with. The ones I saw had nothing on them at all, just basically paint, so I "glammed" mine up more and added my own quirky spin to them.

Basically they're just blocks of wood - use whatever kind you want. The one above is a pine 2x4, that I cut and painted. Then I added "stuff". That's the fun part! Just add whatever you want! I did glitters and then added a saying mounted on some scrapbook paper, antiqued it a bit with a wash of ink, popped on a crown that I got from a scrapbook store, and there you go! A simple and easy gift, or craft item ready to go in about 1/2 hour or so.

I did a few of these earlier for Halloween that I just love too!

Think of these for dolling up your desk at work, in a little niche somewhere, in a Halloween vignette, a shelf-topper, on a nightstand, a gift for a girlfriend, as an addition to a gift basket...just so many fun and frivolous uses!

A Touch of Whimsy

Just to get the creative flow going for the day, I painted a cute little quote block perfect for Valentine's day, a special friend, or just to brighten up your favorite girly-girl room!

"The Recipe for a Good Life: Love, Laughter, Red Lipstick"

Available on Etsy today. Now back to painting......

Somethin' New & Different

On one of my road trips, I spotted something in a darling shop on Main Street, and got a "spark" for an idea. Simple and fun! I set them amongst my other Halloween decor, and voila! They fit right in!