Catch Up On Recent Posts

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Labor of Love!

Pin It
Hi everybody! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. 
I love wearing jewelry! Which girl doesn't, right? Making handcrafted jewelry is one of the things I enjoy doing a lot. Besides gardening, this is one hobby that relaxes me, uplifts my spirit and makes me happy. Planning the design layout, the color, composition and the type of gemstone to be used is so much fun. A beautiful array of stones and beads transform from this :
To this ("Arizona Dreams"):
Love the mixture of red corals and turquoise:
I love amethyst! The deep rich purple color reminds me of the fragrant lavender plant. Amethyst and pearl harmonize so beautifully together and create
"Lavender Symphony":
Closeup on the bracelet:
And earrings:
The pearl is the queen of gems and the gem of queens~Author unknown:
I like using green jade and pearl together. They compliment each other so beautifully and have a timeless quality in
"Athena"
Red Corals and mother-of-pearl make music together and the lace doily pendant adds a vintage charm in "Desert Rose":
I like using lace and ribbons when making jewelry. They add so much visual texture when incorporated with colored gemstones:
Closer-view of the drop pearl earring:
I like the delicate effect of this rhodocrosite earring. Rhodocrosite, also known as the "Inca Rose" stone, soothes the heart and stimulates warm feelings of compassion:
These gems have life in them: their colors speak, say what words fail of. ~George Eliot
I appreciate you stopping by and leaving me such wonderfully sweet comments. It is a pleasure to read each and every one of them. I hope you enjoyed my labor of love. 
I would like to thank Jann @Have a daily cup from Mrs Olson for featuring my Frenchy Pots HERE
and Terri @ A Creative Princess for featuring my Wine Bottle decor HERE
Thank you so much, ladies! Stop and say hello to them, if you get a chance and you'll be so glad you did. Both hosts weekly parties that will inspire your creativity.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

 Linking to:




Sunday, April 22, 2012

Spring Fever

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

It has been an absolutely glorious week with plenty of sunshine, green grass, and birds singing, perfect spring weather that I think is here to stay a while. I'm spending lots of time outdoors and enjoying every minute of it. But with spring comes the task of mowing the lawn and we have a big yard, so that takes awhile. Hopefully, the hubs will take care of that before the weekend is over. That leaves me to do what I love doing most: Gardening.
And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley,"The Sensitive Plant"


I enjoy every season, but spring is so special. It feels wonderful to see signs of rebirth everywhere and flowers blooming. Spring to me is taking long walks, hiking, and camping with my family. I love entertaining outdoors with friends and family and watching my vegetable garden grow and reward us with its bounty in autumn. 
Spring Song by Robert Louis Stevenson
The air was full of sun and birds,
The fresh air sparkled clearly.
Remembrance wakened in my heart
And I knew I loved her dearly.

The fallows and the leafless trees
And all my spirit tingled.
My earliest thought of love, and Spring's
First puff of perfume mingled

Spring to me is hope that summer is soon to follow:
I love spring flowering bulbs! It is so rewarding to watch them stay dormant the entire winter and dazzle us with their beauty come spring. The pink hyacinth is one of my favorite spring bulbs:
The heavenly fragrance of the hyacinth will leave you enchanted. Next to roses and peonies, hyacinth is one of my favorite flowers. A few of these beauties on the window seat of my dining room entices me with its perfume every time I pass:
The morning sunshine bathes the dining room with wonderful light:
The tag was made from digital images found HERE
I simply cut out the images and glued it to a piece of cardboard (the back of a letter pad) using a glue-stick... easy peasy! I just love how the tag turned out and it was so simple and Frenchy. But I've no idea what it says though, something to do with photography I think.
This little crown candle votive was found at Michael's Craft store. Isn't it adorable?
I added a butterfly charm to it to dress it up a little:
Clay pots  casually wrapped in vintage Paris postcard image have a simple elegance:
I tied a jute twine around it to keep the paper from falling off:
 I'm loving this image of the Eiffel tower found HERE
Vintage Ephemera has some beautiful images and I'm loving it:
Brown kraft paper wrapped book make a nice riser for this vignette:

 Top-view:

Click HERE to view more books wrapped in brown kraft paper.
I like using this chicken wire basket found at Home Goods for seasonal flowers:


The same basket filled with autumn splendor. Click HERE to view the Autumn post.
The texture of the wire and the delicate beauty of the flowers look beautiful together and I love it:

Flowers make beautiful accents outdoors:
as well as indoors:


Thanks for stopping by and sharing with me my love for the spring hyacinths. I hope you enjoyed your stay here. Come back and visit me soon. I love reading each and every one of your sweet comments. Have a great weekend!


Thanks ladies for hosting such wonderful parties!
Linking to:


Cottage Garden Party - button (3)