Etsy Garden Party - Part 2

Well, after reading the blogs that joined the Etsy Garden Party, I felt that I should include some pictures of what I actually do have outdoors around my "desert dwelling" house or "garden".  I don't garden.  I hire someone to do that.  But I do have some items to share with you from the yard that are real pretty right now.

Here is one of the lavender bushes that are in the yard.  They are so pretty right now and full of visiting bees!

 

The birds have built nests in the sweet acacia tree.

The succulents are blooming in the warm sun.  Such tiny pink flowers.

And this is the bougainvillea at the end of the patio!  Pretty spectacular, even if I do say so myself!

Thanks to the other bloggers on the Etsy Garden Party, I went out and took these pictures to share as well!  I hope you don't mind!

The weekend finds . . .

I can tell that spring is approaching here in the Sonoran Desert.  The temps have been in the mid-70's, it has rained more than usual (thanks El Nino!), and now my lavender is in bloom.  The bees are also busy getting pollen from the blooms.  I need to pick some of this and dry it!

Last week I met some friends in Mesa for coffee and conversation.  Afterwards we wandered down to Domestic Bliss to see what goodies they had on sale.  Domestic Bliss is rearranging their store and getting rid of some old items at great prices.  Check out their blog here for the latest news and items.  Here is one of my purchases:

Speckled eggs!  And these are real eggs.  The insides have been removed -- remember how you used to blow out eggs for Easter dyeing??  I do!  I think they may be quail eggs, but am not sure.

I found this tiny wood cage several weeks ago and decided to add a small nest, some of the speckled eggs and tiny roses trim.  Cute spring display!

Here's a peak inside to see the eggs I tucked in there.  This little display piece will be on sale in Merchant Square in a day or two.

Lavender

I planted this lavender in my front yard two years ago. Since our winter has been relatively mild, with lots of rain and not much below freezing temperatures, the lavender has really flourished!The lavender was full of busy bees, too! Do you see the one in the lower center of the picture? Next blog I will share with you the doll parts (heads, arms, legs) that I discovered yesterday at Merchant Square. You're gonna love 'em!

Rose D'Amour Book

The Rose D'Amour Book that was published in the latest issue of Sew Somerset arrived back in my mailbox today. I promised to take picture of it for you and put them on the blog. So here goes:

Rose D'Amour was actually the name of the fabric. It was printed on the salvage edge of the piece of vintage fabric, so that is how I arrived at the name for the book. I cut out the flowers from the fabric.

This was such fun to do! Cutting out the various flowers freeform and then sewing them to the prepped canvas paper page. They make great pockets for tags and cards!

This picture shows a plastic pocket that came from a daily planner that was my DDH's. I cut up a page that would be for business cards. The smaller size was perfect for a small pocket and I really liked that you can see what is in the pocket.

This pocket is made from tulle. It, too, is transparent and you can see the contents of the pocket. Also, this picture shows you the tab details at the left. The tiny bottle is full of lavender.