flowers

Today was every bit as beautiful and Springlike as yesterday, so of course, I had to plant more flowers.  And waste not, want not, I couldn’t throw away the flowers that broke off in the flats!  So I gathered up the few little stems and placed them in a vase that that one time was a salt shaker, and added some leaves from my St. Patrick’s Day shamrock for greenery.

Here is a group of pots I filled and sat by my breezeway door as a welcome to guests.  I like to top off the pots with a handful of moss as a finishing touch. Especially this time of year, when the flowers are tiny and seem a bit lonely in a big pot. 

Earlier this week, I had a good junking day with good friends.  I found this lost little lamb and decided he needed to be a part of my Easter decor. 

When I stopped at the craft store to get the moss for my flower pots, I saw this little chick in the 50% off aisle.  I thought she should come home and be part of my Easter decor too.  Over the years, since my boys have grown and gone, I haven’t set out anything for Easter.  But now that I have a grand baby, I am excited to get back into the habit. 

When my boys were little, I used to paint hollow eggs.  Here is one with a little chick on it. I used to date them on the back, this one says 1989. 

On the junking day, I found a few bunnies too.  Here they are in a glass compote nestled in yellow grass.  The tallest one with the violets on her back is one that I made about 25 years ago and hand painted.

What a beautiful day here in Lawrence, KS.  I made the most of it by doing some much needed yard work, and then rewarded myself by planting some pansies.  I drove around town to see who had the best bedding plants at the best prices this morning, and I hate to say it, but I bought a few flats at Wal-Mart.  I usually think their flowers are saggy, but they were certainly pretty today.

Here is a photo of the front of my studio with a few pots of violas, pansies, and snapdragons.  I also saw petunias for sale and thought that was odd, didn’t realize they were hardy enough to be out this early. I didn’t risk it, just in case.

One sad thing, while cleaning up the yard, I found a dead bluebird.  Not a bluejay, which are pretty common, but an actual, pretty little bluebird.  Even dead, he was a vibrant beauty.  This might sound gross, (but if you know me you won’t be surprised that I did this) I plucked out his wing and tail feathers and saved them.  The little guy will live on in a future craft project.  Maybe I will make fairy wings for a vintage doll from his feathers.

My junking day find, the old piece of ceiling tin, was calling out to me yesterday.  I covered it with a fresh coat of white, then added a garland of bright pink roses and blue hydrangeas with acryllic craft paint. 

I never get tired of old ceiling tins, I love to paint on them, add mirrors to their center, or just display them as they are.  I have plans to list this one for sale on Ebay sometime in the next couple of weeks.

PAINTING TIP: For building up color and getting depth in an acryllic painting, apply a layer of clear acryllic top coat over your base painting.  let dry thouroughly ( I get impatient and use a blow dryer), add some detail, then clear coat again.  Keep repeating, with layers of acryllic paint and layers of clear coat, ending with a finish layer of the clear coat for protection.