Around Here....

It seems that this time of year I have really big plans but practically zero follow through. There are so many things that I want to make, sew or redecorate however summer time is not cooperating with me. Wedding Cake Toppers are eating up most of my creating time too.

Remember all those wooden hoops I picked up at the thrift store? Well I finally did something with them. I filled them with Good Folks fabric by Anna Marie Horner and then hung them randomly above the lamps flanking the couch. I am just loving the fresh pop of color they are adding to the living room.

And how about this burst of color? Yellow really is a very happy color don't you think? These are large Lions Mane Marigolds that are very tall (3-4 feet). We had a bit of rain and those big blooms ended up face first in the mulch. The problem with this type of flower is that if you cut enough stem for a regular vase you loose a lot of flower buds that will never open. When I have this problem I use my antique rose bowl to contain the flower clippings. I am so crazy about this vessel that I thought I would share a few pictures of it. It is a Victorian piece meant to hold a mass of short stemmed garden roses. There are many flower varieties that if you cut a long length of stem you are wasting a lot of unspent buds.
If you ever find one of these at a flea market or antique shop pick it up. You will never regret the purchase. The lattice pattern on the top acts like a flower frog making any short stemmed flower cutting stay securely in the bowl. Talk about a quick flower arrangement. Nothing could be more simple. And I love how modern the arrangement feels.

On the sewing front I managed to wip up a couple simple drawstring backpacks for Soren & Dunn's mornings at summer camp.

Dunn wanted a military themed back pack. His first fabric choice was army men with guns but I had to put the kibosh on that. I didn't think the summer camp nature center crowd would be appreciative of this type of fabric. So after much negotiating he decided on this camo helicopter print.

For Soren's I used a vintage gingham pillowcase that had white work (embroidery) along the case opening. I am crazy about this one! And better yet so is she :)