Month: August 2019

Concrete Mushrooms

Working with concrete and hypertufa is by far my two of my favorite medias.

I wanted to make a few concrete mushrooms but I wanted them to be different. I knew I wanted to use the Hypertufa so they would have the rough appearance with holes, dips and scraggly looking edges. I even chipped off more edges to add to the appearance.

The tops were made with plastic bowls and the bottoms were made with large cardboard oatmeal containers. My favorite one is the yellow one because the top is tapered and to me it looks more like a real mushroom.

Painting them was fun the blending of colors, adding some metallics, adding stones and finally working on the stems and adding large fleck glitter to marine spar to get the look I wanted.

I ended up painting marine spar on the entire mushroom to weatherproof it and lessen the chance of the colors fading.

At first they would not sit up straight so I found some rocks I could glue to the base underneath and that helped.

These mushrooms took quite a few stones to get the look I wanted. I found the stones at my local Hobby Lobby and the At Home Store & I used E6000 to glue the stones on. I would say roughly I spent about $12.00 on all the stones and $5.00 on the glue.

Do I like everything I create that is a big NO but every project I create makes someone happy because I give away a lot of the stuff I create.

Creativity allows me to express myself, think of new challenges, find inspiration in everyday life and it allows me to use my imagintation for something artistic.

Creativity engages the mind and allows us to make a connection with ourself. Creative expression gives us a voice without words. It gives us confidence to know we can do anything we want to do.

It keeps our mind active which is very important as we get older noone wants a mushy mind.

Creative people are very happy people because they can breathe deeply and take in life one project at a time.

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Fall is almost here

It is time to put out those fall wreaths and decor.

I love my clearance sales and last year I hit the jackpot when it came to fall clearance.

These white pumpkins were $5.99 each the orange one $7.99 that alone was about $45.00 in pumpkins. There are triple this many flowers the stems ranged from $2.00 to $7.99 and the small acorns were 2.99 each.

I would say I was able to pick up about $200.00 worth of fall decor for $20.00.

My favorite thing is the cattails.

The trick to this is do not rush out there when it first goes on clearance be patient and wait a few weeks that is when you SCORE big time. Go by the stores 1 x a week so you can keep an eye out.

I always store this stuff in the large vacume seal bags and there is 5 XL bags stuffed with flowers I have found on clearance for all the different seasons.

I hate using the same  wreath more than once I like to change things up. I always make my mother n law wreaths plus I take flowers to the cemetary for my dad.

The clearance stuff I buy always gets used & the stuff is high quality stuff.

I love C L E A R A N C E!

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Ferns and the Shade

I love ferns they do well as house plants or grow well in the shade.

They can tollerate lots of rain or just watering them a few times a week during the Texas summers. Ferns are shade loving plants that multiply.

We have a bed full of sword fern under two old oak trees. I have several pots & containers of this as well.

Anyone need some sword fern?

I have one huge planter of macho fern which was shared with me many years ago by someone that is no longer part of my life.

Lots of asparagus fern but it has thorns and this makes me dislike it. I do like how flowy it is.

Holly fern but it is not a favorite of mine the leaves are stiff and waxy looking. I found them on clearance a few years ago.

I have one pot of foxtail fern I love this stuff its so fluffy looking.

Two new ferns that were on sale at Houston Garden Center they are Southern Wood Fern they are very flowy and light looking.

I liked them so much I went back and bought 3 more. These are pint size containers. I  planted the last ones together in 1 big pot.

I have two pots of another fern I am not sure what is but I like it because it is similar to the wood fern.

Do you have a favorite fern if so what kind is it?

 

 

 

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Garden Time

We spent the weekend weeding the garden area this included lots of pulling up stuff by hand.

We planted tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers and eggplant that were all plants we had bought.

We added manure and humus and then covered both of these 25 foot long beds with 6mm plastic to stop the weed issues. We ran soaker hoses in both beds so those beds are good to go. I had won this 6mm plastic at Auction.

A few weeks ago we planted the raised bed that is in our backyard and that stuff looks amazing. We topped it off with humus to keep it moist and give the plants a lot of nutrients.

We planted seeds in rock wool cubes for cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, two kinds of lettuce and some swiss chard those are in the house right now because they like cooler weather by the time its cooler outdoors they will be ready for transplanting.

If you love tomatoes like us it is better to stagger the planting by a few weeks. We will probably even do some in the greenhouse. We currently have about 25 suckers rooting off existing tomato plants we still have growing just for the suckers.

Now we need to decide what all were doing hydroponic in the greenhouse but that will be later next month when the greenhouse cools down. Even though we have a swamp cooler Jack thinks its still to hot.

Our 2 younger kids both love gardening.

Our daughter will be 33 in December she is 2 classes away from getting her Masters of Agriculture from Sam Houston. This is not her only degree she has a Bachelors in Exercise and Sport Science from Texas State and a Masters of Science in Kinesiology from University of Texas.

Our youngest son was a United States Marine for 8 years he will be 28 in September. He just started classes for a degree in Horticulture in North Carolina.

Vegetable gardening has always been a very big part of our lives and I guess it always will be.

 

 

 

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The sounds of the ocean

This is a repost from my old blog August 2015.

The sounds of the ocean cleanse the body, mind and soul and let it seek balance.

The waves that come crashing into the shore represents my life, love, joy, tears, grief, stress, pain, and anger.

Life is all about the love, joy and happiness you have in your life that is what makes it special. It is also about the many tears you have shed over those who have let you down.

Many people in your life will come and go, but those who matter the most will always be there by your side. 

When the waves go back out that represents letting everything negative go so I can find inner peace, relax and most of all just breathe. Life can be quite suffocating at times letting go of all the negative people and clutter in my life gives me space for more happiness and joy.

Never let others bring you down be strong enough to withstand the wind from their storms.

The sand that is behind me represents my life and the footprints I have left behind on this long journey called life. I have been a daughter, sister, wife, mother, and a grandmother. Those things define me, but they are not who I am. Somewhere while on this journey of life I lost me.

The sand in front of me represents the future and it is only about the two of us again.  Our life together has done a complete circle.. We will do the things we want to do when we want to do them without planning around anyone else. While on this journey, I will find me again, discover who I truly am and figure out why I lost me in the first place.

The sea shells behind me represent the people’s lives I have touched and those who have touched mine. There have been so many people who have touched my life over the years family members, friends, and acquaintances.

It is great to be there for everyone else but sometimes you need someone to be there for you.

The sea shells in front of me represent the people who’s lives I will touch or who will touch mine. This gives me the inspiration for the future, where we’re going and what we’re doing with the rest of our lives. The future is bright, beautiful and full of new experiences.

I sit silently, listening to the ocean, watching her waves come crashing into the shore, feeling the sea breeze as it surrounds me, tasting the salt water as it sprays me in the face, and I breathe and then I can relax and find the inner peace I deserve.

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Game Camera

I asked our son Jeremy to tell me what game camera we needed to purchase to find out what is eating the watermelon rinds we throw in the pasture.
He suggested the Campark Trail Game camera it is $69.99 on Amazon.
120 Degree Motion, Night Vision and 1080P with 14MP.
There was a $10.00 coupon so it was now $59.99 but I had $ 10.00 in points so it ended up being $49.99 with free prime shipping. I love a good deal!
It will be here on Friday and we will see what is in the pasture at night.
We know there are deer, armadilla, possums, squirells and lots of birds. Something was eating it at first but leaving the rind. Now there taking the entire thing.
It could be several different things but my moneys on Deer or Hog.
The mystery will be solved soon enough and hopefully I can figure out how to post some pics from the game camera.
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The Clearance Queen

No matter what store I am in IF there is a clearance I am going to see whats in that section.

Recently we were at one of our favorite garden centers about to check out when I spotted these cans of flower seeds. Regular price was $16.99 a can and I paid $1.00 a can for 7 cans.

I will give my sister two of these since she loves flower seeds. There are two different kinds as you can see from the back of the can.

This was my DEAL of the day 2 weeks ago.

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The greens have it

I started following this young green Anole lizard with my macro lens on Friday morning.

This was a tiny lizard maybe 4″ total in length.

When I was editing that was when I noticed this picture consisted of mostly greens.

Try taking a picture outdoors that includes mostly one color. Make sure there is a foreground and background.

Sometimes thinking outside the box can be a way to show off your creativity.

 

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All together now

This is our daughter Jeanelle’s herd of cows at their family farm.

The Miniature Herefords are on the left side. The Jersey milk cow and calf in the middle, the Belted Galloways on the right.

Left to right is Cecil the bull, Penny the youngest heifer, Scamper who is Pennys mom, Cadilac, Blue Bell, Sirloin son of Blue Bell, Oreo and Darla.

I love cows they have such cute personalities this group is very friendly and very photogenic.

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Another leaf

I currently have 3  concrete leaf bird feeders hanging in our yard.

Two green, gold and copper ones in the back yard. They look different but similiar.

One orange, red, gold and copper in the front yard.

My husband and I did a flower bed for my mother and law last mothers day. I had made her a few small concrete pots and one Extra large one. We bought plants and shared some of our plants with her, weed killed the bed put down mulch and it turned out amazing.

We take turns going by there to water the stuff so she does not have to worry about it.

Since she mentioned then that she would like a bird feeder I figure we can surprise her with this one.

My mother n law has always been more of a mom to me than a mother n law she is the most wonderful person you could ever meet. She has been an amazing influence on my life I feel so blessed to have her.

We have been hanging these bird feeders up with brass chain and they look amazing. The holes are for the chain and drainage holes in case it ever rains again lol.

I painted the bottom of this one greens and copper to look like aged copper.  It is so much fun to play with the paint on these to get them like you want.

This one is roughly 22″ x 18″ they are big I have used all my big leaves and have to wait for some more to grow lol.

I have yet to capture the true beauty in my pictures of these leaves.

When you can create something with your hands and give it away to someone special that is what LIFE is all about.

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