Greetings lovely friends & readers
And Welcome to my favourite season of them all ... π Spring
Although it is raining today, the first few days of September have been beautiful weather & I have spent lots of time working outside - although I have spent many hours out there, there is always much to be done still . . . . . . A sweet smelling vase of spring bulbs picked before the rains came.
It was back in May, in *this post* that I planted this pot of Peony Tulips - I'd never grown this variety before but these were gifted & I absolutely adore them with their frilly heads. In early August my dear friend Jane posted me a belated birthday gift - a set of 3 gorgeous cross-stitches, not Jane's work but some she'd purchased. I took one in to the Framers & then decided to make this "Dear Friend" one into a long plump cushion for my bed as I felt the colours would go well. I backed it with a cotton linen fabric, made an inner & stuffed it really tightly.
This took me less than an hours work & I am so delighted with the finished article. I just LoVe it sitting on my bed.
I've put a lighter weight quilt on the end of my bed now it's warmer & the colours all blend together perfectly (I think).
I'm still deciding what to do with cross-stitch No 3 so I'll keep you posted.
We had our craft get-together last Monday at Joyce's but unfortunately I was unable to attend - I'd still completed my catfood tin challenge from * this post *.
I took 3 of the remaining catfood tins & painted them with cream chalk paint, then I poured soy candle wax into them & fragranced it with orange/clove oils. I had this lovely festive serviette so I decided to decoupage some of it onto my tins using mod podge.
I thought they turned out so pretty ... then I decided to make a swing tag using the same serviette offcuts.
This (thrifted) tray has been in my stash for years a very long time. I painted it with 2 coats Forrest Green Chalk paint - Yes I was going for a Christmas theme here. π
As the candle tins sat too low in the tray I glued 3 circles of firm quilt wadding to the underside of each one - this just propped them up nicely to the right height.
The addition of some greenery & berry pips & I thought it turned out rather well.
Only one other lady had done her challenge so we are going to show them next month - I shall try & get some photos as it's always interesting seeing what the others come up with.
I have no idea of the name of this houseplant, it has a variegated leaf & pink stems, but I love it. It was very potbound so I found this old pot of Mums under my house & chalk painted it Vintage White. I added a leftover transfer & waxed it well.
From the one plant I was able to divide it up into 4 houseplants - some I will gift. Should you know the name of this plant, please do leave me a comment below as I'd love to know it.
It is very tricky to get good photos of Little One as he is rarely still. Last night I clicked this of him on the dining-room couch, the fire is going beside him. He is improving but still will scratch & bite - more playful than attacking. He likes his eyes & side of the face gently patted & will be very still when I do this. This is for all those of you that ask for more photos of him. (Shhh don't tell the other two)
Thank you as always dear friends, for your welcome visits here today,
Wishing you all a wonderful rest-of-the-week, remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,
With much love & friendship to you all,
The pillow is lovely. Works quite well on your bed. Love the cat cans, tray & how you've decorated them. Not sure but the plant is possibly ctenanthe or calathea. Awww beautiful photo of Little One.
ReplyDeleteI love your Christmas tray - great use of those tins and you wouldn't know! Lovely cushion too. xx
ReplyDeleteThe top verse of course is from a 1966 song by the Byrds....
ReplyDeleteCalled 'Turn Turn Turn'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKP4cfU28vM
Were into ten days of Autumn over here, getting a little
colder, and certainly wetter...Though managed to cut
the grass before a downpour at the weekend...!
Said it before...many times, l love September, it's my
Burfday month...on St Mathews Day...leading up to a
busy weekend...Two days l look forward to, my Burfday,
and Christmas...."Dashing through the snow.....No! Not
now Willie.....HeHe! Oh! Sorry....! :O).
I seem to have a lot of things on my bed...so much so,
there's little enough room for me...! :(
A few cushions, a pink octopus, made by my daughter,
and a tiger with it's cub...Yes! True! A full sized tiger....! :).
HeHe! Bless!
Think l'll pop off and see if l can find that plant's name,
does'nt come to mind...though l have seen it before....!
And..Yes! Nice to see the little one, on his own again...
He's lovely...But...then so are the other two rascals....! :O).
π·πΈπ· π·πΈπ· π·πΈπ·π·πΈπ· π·πΈπ· π·πΈπ·
Plant.....Calathea Triostar....
DeleteThey need to be kept in humid conditions,
but not too damp or dry, otherwise their
paper-thin leaves start to curl and crisp....
https://plantura.garden/uk/houseplants/calathea/calathea-triostar
And safe for cats (we have a lot of them). But maybe yours aren't plant shredding specialists!
DeleteCalethas not cats!
DeleteThank You Barbara - I thought you meant the plants, not the cats π Its good to know they are safe for them.
DeleteYou work so fast, Julie! The cushion looks so very well with everything else.
ReplyDeleteI love the cat food tin project - they are so very pretty. The tulips looks more like paeonies to me, but so gorgeous.
Here you are having lovely beginnings of Spring and yet I see pine bows and cranberries with candles for Christmas. An odd mix for me on the top side of the world. The candles look so cute and I do like the decoupage designs. And I am planning on buying tulip bulbs as soon as they come out here, soon I hope, and plant in pots as I have seen others around the world do it. If I plant them in the ground, the grey squirrels will dig them up (hope they leave the pots alone as they do plant walnuts in them) and the deer and rabbit will eat the leaves and flowers. I actually have 2 flowers pots now that the walnut tree sprouts have to be cut off every week and when the flowers are finished, I'll have to empty the dirt and throw out the tree roots, lol. They've already predicted our trees will simply turn brown soon and drop leaves early because of the drought. Hope the farmers can save their corn and soy. Oh, I did see some baby Holstein calves at a dairy farm the other day. Of course, penned up away from the working moms. Lynn and Precious XX
ReplyDeleteI see another commenter has given you the name of the plant - I was going to say Calathea! Your cat food tin project worked so well. You are really good at repurposing things and making them beautiful. I love, love, love the photo of Little One. He is such a beauty! ((The others are too, of course!) Have a lovely week and enjoy the Spring flowers and blossom.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Ellie
Tus objetos pintados han quedado muy bien y el cojΓn bordado de la cama❤️❤️BESICOS.
ReplyDeletefrom google translate .....
DeleteYour painted objects have turned out very well and the embroidered cushion on the bed ❤️❤️BESICOS.
Thank you so much Arish - I am really pleased how the cushion turned out. xx
DeleteLovely cushion Julie, it looks fantastic on your bed. Great job with the cat food tins too, it will be interesting to see what the others make with theirs. Wonderful work on the tray - oh dear do not want to think about Christmas yet!!! Lovely photo of Little One, we wont tell the other two!!
ReplyDeleteas always lovely make overs, I especially like your new pot... sorry can't help with the name of the plant but we have something similar but green stems...
ReplyDeleteHugz
Love all your crafty makes Julie, and beautiful flowers, the cross stitch cushion is lovely as well, I never thought I would say this but roll on summer, and that's shocking for me, its gone back to the Winter chills for us atm, I'm sick of being cold.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful trio of candles Julie - and great re-purposing of the tins and tray!
ReplyDeleteThat is a very pretty plant - initially I though it may be a prayer plant, but it has been correctly identified - I suspect the prayer plant is a distant cousin!
What a lovely cross stitch, and I love the way you have used it by transforming it into a cushion
Little One really is a handsome boy... but shhh, I won't tell the others..
i could almost smell the freesias - mine are in a pot that was in the 'wrong spot' this past winter, so there is a lot of green on them, but no flowers - ah well, next year - at least they are still alive!
Blessings
Maxine
Yes! The Calathea family is related to the Prayer Plant...
DeleteHow wonderful everything looks Julie. Its great to see spring in your area as we are getting heavy Fall here now. Have a lovely weekend. Sarah USA xx
ReplyDeleteBless little one, he is so lucky to have found you.
ReplyDeleteClever...you are so clever. I love to see how you transform the ordinary into something quite lovely and unique, Julie. And I love that cross stitch pillow too!
ReplyDeleteHappy spring... xxxxx
Dear Julie, the painted silver tray with addition of the decoupaged pots are so beautiful, love it. Love how the pottery pot that was your Mums turned out as well. Looks like your little furry friend is coming to you more, that is so lovely. He may always have a bit of caution in him. Hugs
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, I just love the cat food tin makeover, so very pretty and must take extreme patience! I would like to have a go, maybe will during the cold winter months, I know you emailed me a recipe some years back for your scented candles, will have to try to find. They look very professional and I think they would sell, if you had time to make a lot! Little one is a very pretty little cat, our cat, Mollie, likes having her cheeks and eyebrows stroked too. Betty
ReplyDeleteI put a heavier quilt on the bed last week but had to take it off again yesterday when Summer returned.!your Spring reminds me that our Winter approaches and I'm not looking forward to it. I think it's going to be the winter of our discontent for sure.Absolutely love your new cushion. Your so talented Julie.xxx
ReplyDeleteI love your idea with the cat food tins (we call them cans in the US). Your tray really turned out so pretty and Christmas-y. LOVE that stitchery, too. It looks wonderful on your bed!
ReplyDeleteI love Spring too! Even though our Winters are mild. Love your Spring blooms. Your cushion is delightful and the cat tun candles....inspired!
ReplyDelete