Flower Power :)

Hello....hope you are all having a lovely Sunday....and Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads :)

Well I don't know about you...but I'm glad for a little daylight and no rain!!! What weather we have had! I hope you have all be safe and have not had terrible floods wherever you are in the country...I'm so glad our weather did the right thing for the Queen's birthday celebrations...I really did enjoy every bit of it...made me feel very proud...we do put on a great celebration don't we :)

This post looks like its going to be a flower fest...a bit of flower power...I adore flowers (even though I suffer with hay fever!) I just have to have them all around the home...and more so in Summer I find...and I have been very glad of them over the past couple of weeks...they have been a little bright spot to cheer up the gloom of grey skies :)

I met one of my "besties" at the local garden centre for coffee and a catch up and spotted a very pretty little crate with two mini milk bottles inside on my way in right by the door...it stopped me in my tracks...once I had picked it up it was sold! I fell in love with it...on the afternoon walk I picked some wild rose buds...it just looked perfect on the little shelf in the kitchen :)

Now I'm not an impulse buyer...but it has happened twice in the last few weeks...my family will testify that I can see something that takes my eye and I can carry it all around the shop and then on the way out put it back...I way up whether I can live without it or not...if I can it will probably go back on the shelf haha...but this little beauty...it was definitely coming home with me!

My Best "Bestie" came to lunch last week as I couldn't get out to meet for lunch...we had a lovely catch up and put "the world to rights" as you do....she's so lovely, she arrived with a gorgeous bouquet of beautifully fragrant stocks ( in my fav colours) and a pack of new tennis balls for Puppy Dog...and I can happily say we were both thrilled :)

Although I no longer really do any floristry work...I do still have just a couple of customers who I do flowers for...they have been regular customers for some years now and its good to just keep your "hand" in :) So this week because of Fathers Day they always order two posy arrangements to take to the cemetery...whilst I was making them...I thought that maybe a very quick little photo tutorial might be nice to share with you...so you can have a go yourselves.... :)

No1...make sure you soak your oasis foam thoroughly and I always add some of the plant food sachet neat on top of the foam to feed the flowers...source some greenery...I used the new shoots from the Laurel bush...add this to oasis around the lower edge all the way around and some in the middle to determine the height

No 2...cut your flower stems to the required height...you are aiming for a rounded domed effect...and we always work in odd numbers...place your first choice of focal flowers all the way around the base...middle and top in odd numbers  (as an example 9 around the base, 5 around the middle and 1 in the centre)

No 3...add the next colour flowers you've chosen in the same way...between the first lot of blooms

No4...lastly add your filler flowers (in this case I used spray carnations and Gyp) again in odd numbers to highlight the main blooms and fill in any gaps...you don't want to see any oasis foam

And there you have it a lovely little posy...just keep the saucer topped up with water so the foam doesn't dry out and they will last as long as if they were in a vase... :)

I love spray carnations in arrangements as there are so many colours and they are very long lasting...but when you buy them in the supermarket they are usually in quite tight buds and don't really make the impact that they should...a trick is to gently...but firmly circle your finger tip over the flower bud and the petals with open up...but last just as long :)

flowers before being opened...

this is same stem afterwards...

Well just to complete this trip into flower power...I had some beautiful pink peonies on the kitchen counter this week and they have been splendid a real pick-me-up first thing in a morning...gorgeous "blousy" flowers! :)

And haven't we needed a bit of a pick-me-up...with all these terrible things going on in the world...it really does upset me and affects my mood terribly...I find it so...well quite unreal...that people can behave so appalling...with such hatred for human life...my heart goes out to all those affected in the USA shootings and to the family of Jo Cox...and don't get me started on those idiots at the Football...how on earth are they getting the flare guns and flares into the grounds??? you would think the French Authorities would be very strict...especially with what's been happening in their country? It just seems the world is not a nice place at the moment...just all so very upsetting :(

So...with that little rant over...I will retreat back into "my world" its nice and safe there...and show you some little crafty bits n bobs I've been up to...

I mentioned in my last post I had made a card for my daughters birthday...well I can now share that with you...I'm not really a very good card maker but I do enjoy having a go...so here it is...

she loved it and has framed it... :) which made me feel quite chuffed that she thought it was worthy of putting on the wall :)

Crochet...thankfully is back in full swing :) I finished the blue granny square blanket I was making in the last post...and made a little "useful" blanket to compliment it with the left over wool....

And my next blanket is very near to completion...in fact it should be finished later on today....

I am soooo in love with the colours in this blanket...I wanted a sort of faded, vintage look...I only said to Hubby last night...I just adore this blanket and I don't think I can bear to sell it! :)

Not sure what the next project will be...but I'm thinking about trying to write a pattern...one for beginners who just want a first project to complete...so we'll see...I'm not sure I will be able to do it but I thought it might be nice for someone who has just learnt the stitches...I know there's a lot of very good patterns and tutorials out there and do we really need another one?

I have been doing some "colouring in" too...when we re-decorated the bedroom one piece of furniture had 2 "cubbies" at the top and I have been looking for some vintage suitcases to fit...but as the spaces were not very deep it was proving difficult...when last week I got a phone call from my Mom and Dad who had spied some small cardboard "suitcase" style boxes what would fit perfectly...they were from the charity shop which was even better...so for £5 my room is now complete :) they were actually keepsake boxes for babies...but they were unused, shop soiled...and lines were printed on to look like straps...

So I got out my trusty pens and coloured them in...it has given them a fab little lift :)

My second impulse buy was from the charity shop again...I spied a plastic bag...and the contents filled my heart with glee (I'm easily pleased haha) and it was only £3.50...I have no idea what to do with the contents but I had to have them :)

There was no putting these back on the shelf...the contents were...19 mini cream buckets, 3 gold/silver pens, silver and gold thread, loads of min pegs, 14 wooden heart pegs and about 100 cream labels of 2 designs...a bargain I thought!

Finally my trawling's around Pinterest I came across these lovely items...

the first is these genius key holders...painted vintage door knobs and the door key is your key fob...I just love this idea...middle picture I think is a great...use an old or cheap shower curtain to take on holiday and make a water pit in the sand...hours of fun for little ones...thirdly...call me a sentimental old fool...but for the worn out teddy whos a little too play worn but you cant bear to throw away (how could you!) mount him on a frame and keep him forever...lovely for a grown up child to take with them when they leave home :((...lastly another one for me...I cant get rid of pretty broken tea cups or tea pots...these make a lovely display planted up... :)

Well there we have it...a round up of the last couple of weeks...I only said to my daughter yesterday I have no idea what I'm going to write about I don't seem to have done much...but me being a chatterbox...she didn't have any doubt I would have something to say haha...I hope you enjoyed the bit of flower power! :)

This weeks vintage photo....

isn't she adorable...I have felt a little discouraged...so now I know the answer...I need a Tutu! Goodness that would be a sight to see haha

And this weeks quote...

It really is true...this is in honour of Major Tim Peake who arrived back on earth yesterday with a massive bump! Some of his first words...."the Earth smells so good...and its great to breathe fresh air"

Till next time my lovelies...have a great time...enjoy everything you do...xxxxxxxxxxxxx