A Dolphin in the Garden?????

This weekend is the wonderful Art in the Gardens Show

at the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center.

My DH and I went today before it got too hot and crowded.

It was just starting to get crowded when we left a few hours later.

Yep, we wandered and wandered through the

Bromeliad Conservatory,

the Butterfly House,

the Orchid House,

and most of the grounds.

I got a few photos,

but mostly we just forgot ourselves in the beauty!

The grounds are right in the middle of some wetland marshes,

so there is lots of wildlife.

There is even a family of raccoons in a group of tall palms,

right when you go into the gardens.

When you are in the back of the gardens

you are in the 'wild' area

where there is an observation platform

for you to watch the wildlife.

Walking paths wind all over the place.

Now as for the art...

there were lots of vendors...

pottery, metal art, jewelry,

mixed media,

paintings

and much more.

This is a watercolor by

Bill Scott, artist of nature.

He does watercolor on papers such as this.

Some of the paper he uses is papyrus,

very fragile paper he said,

but it looks wonderful.

These orchids below are named after a moth,

and the Orchid House was full of them.

They are probably 3-4 inches across.

Some orchid flowers are as big as plates

and some as tiny as pinheads.

Orchids come in all colors of the rainbow.

This shows some of the vendors booths.

Like I mentioned, we were there before the crowd.

These pots were in the Butterfly House.

Love how they stacked them up.

A section of steel rebar goes through the holes of each pot,

then each one is tilted opposite of each other.

I thought it was clever

and a great vertical piece to make for my garden.

I'm standing on the plumeria platform looking through

the plumerias here.

You can see some vendors in the background.

The platform enables you to get up high

for the best viewing of the flowers of all 100

plumeria trees that are around it.

This is a close up of one kind of plumeria.

Now we are back in the bromeliad conservatory.

Aren't these just beautiful!

Mature bromeliads produce a brilliantly colored flower spike

in the center of the plant

and the spike will last several months.

After the flower withers

you can propagate from lateral shoots.

This dolphin used to be one of about 100

that were around the city of Corpus Christi

 a few years ago.

Now it resides in the

bromeliad conservatory.

They are presently having the

Flamingo Fandago.

Everyone picks up a vintage pink flamingo

and decorates it however they want.

Then they are placed around the garden

and judged.

Everyone really enjoys this.

I will try to get some photos

of the finished ones.

Last time I got in on the fun,

my 2 flamingos were mentioned

in the newspaper.

I turned them into

"Empty Nesters".

So you see,

 there's more than one way to...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

The Flamingo in the Garden: American Yard Art and the Vernacular Landscape (Studies in American Popular History and Culture)

I Love Color!

COLOR....

I love lots of color in most things,

but sometimes I like things very neutral.

These paintings are full of color

and although they are not "great" art,

I just love them.

They were created by a doctor friend of mine.

He paints for relaxation he told me.

They are all scenes from the local area.

Please enlarge to get the full effect,

by clicking on each picture.

Do you like color,

or neutrals?

What is your favorite color?

There are lots of theorys about color,

and how it affects our

mind, body and spirit.

The color red makes us eat more,

blue is cooling,

yellow is happy, etc.

I love the Italian and Mexican color palette.

Neutrals are soothing to me,

but color makes me happy,

makes my creativity leap,

and also is very exciting.

I am redoing my studio,

and I may choose a great color for the walls,

or I may go neutral.

I think there is a need for

 both color and neutrals in my life.

For instance,

in my bedroom,

the color pallette is neutral and very soothing and restful.

But in other areas of my home

I love the colors of a sunset!

I've been known to have terra cotta colored walls.

So, how does color affect you?

What are your favorite paintings and why?

What color is your studio?

What color do you wear most often?

Adding color to your life

 is one way you can....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Color your life (A fascinationg introduction to color therapy, and how you can use it for healing and harmony in mind, body, and spirit)

Quilting Bee

                                                             Last week my quilting bee,

the Out to Lunch Bunch,

 got together

for show and tell.

We didn't draw for the

'funky rooster' blocks yet,

as not all of us were there.

But we had a fun meeting,

and lunch,

anyway.

Shirley loves to do bleach discharge and

here are 2 of her pieces she is

working on now.

My friend Shirley made this beautiful quilt

for her granddaughter.

It is made with an African theme.

Here is a close up of some of the blocks.

Shirley used all batiks

putting African designs in the center of each block.

She sent the quilt to a friend

to have quilted on a long arm machine.

If you could see it up close you could see the great workmanship

in the piecing and the quilting.

This is Joyce with her Cat Quilt she made

for a family member.

Joyce makes quilts in record time.

I do not know how she gets so many made.

She does wonderful piecing and also

beautiful embroidery work.

These quilters know how to....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Full Flower Moon

This month for the Native American full moon project,

hosted by Bea at Dog in the Hole Studio,

I decided to create a little brooch.

She is made from poly clay,

painted with acrylics,

and is about 3 inches tall.

All I have to do now is

glue the pin back on.

The Native Americans have many names

for every full moon of the year.

I chose

Full Flower Moon

for this May creation.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

The Queen is Done!

The Queen is Done!

She is the last doll

for me to work on

 in the

Art Doll Cool-aberration 2009 project.

The Queen received some

added embellishments such as,

beads on her skirt and underskirt,

hand stitching here and there,

sari yarn in her headdress,

a string of faux diamonds added to her headdress,

hearts here and there,

an "Alice" backwards clock,

lace bits to her waistband,

and a few other surprises.

It's really hard to add to the dolls

once they have already gone through

8 other artists.

Here are just a few pages of the journal addititions I made....

 includes a poly clay "backwards" clock,

and famous quotes from the book

by Lewis Carrol.

The quotes are really truisms and filled with

philosophical meaning.

She actually has a smile on her face here,

because she loves the cowboys here in Texas.

(This cowboy models for the King Ranch mail order catalog).

I think she is even blushing a little bit!

 It's time to........

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Abundant Little Garden

"The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies."
 -- Gertrude Jekyll

  I love this time of year!
warm days
flowers
afternoon naps
quiet time
contentment
hope
home
butterflies
fresh vegetables
hands in the dirt
green grass
bare feet
sprinklers
iced tea

I love to get outside

and dig in the yard

and work in the garden. 

The mornings are,

 in the low 70's,

and then it warms up during the day

to the upper 80's.

We have had rain off and on,

so everything is green and growing.

                                     

My little garden here is really putting out the produce!

We have good drainage in this sandy soil,

and I add plenty of homemade compost

for an organic garden.

My cucumbers are climbing,

my tomato plants are about 6 feet tall now,

loaded with tomatoes.

The 3 sisters (corn, beans, squash)

 are coming along well.

The okra is about 2 feet tall now.

I have harvested 7 heads of cabbage,

lots of swiss chard, onions, a few potatoes,

a few carrots, basil, thyme and green bell peppers.

We are loving our salads!

 This is a newly planted banana tree,

  beside the patio.

I always wanted a banana tree!

We are putting in a new bed with a walkway

that is going out to the future labyrinth.

This is the first plant to go into that bed.

More photos later.

Beautiful Hibiscus isn't it!

I planted 4 of these beauties this week too. 

I just love the color! 

 

 Here is some swiss chard and bell pappers

that I harvested yesterday.

There is nothing like fresh vegetables.

The summer calls for more of a balance

between my studio

and my garden.

But whatever I do

I will remember to....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

 

Bricolage Class

On June 1st

I am going to start an online class

 given by Caterina Giglio
of La Dolce Vita. 

The class is on bricolage. 

This will be my first

online class,

so it is exciting for me.
I have always been in love with
the collage technique.
Above is a copyright free picture
I wanted to share with you.
It would make a good addition to a collage.
  I am gathering up all my supplies,
tools etc. from the list Cat sent me.
As I am gathering,
I am learning already...
about the different products and tools used.
If you are interested in taking a class,
check out the ones that Cat is giving this summer.
She is offering several different kinds.
She is a wonderful collage artist and
you can see her work in her Dolce Shop.

Learning something new is one way to....
Savor the Day!
Yvonne

This and That

Todays post is about

 "this and that".

Some are  gifts  from friends,

and some are just

interesting and/or fun projects.

 This little doll tassle

(sorry the photo is a bit bright)

 is what Mary Anne sent me

for winning the "thingie" doll challenge.

We had to make a doll out of a spool,

so I made my March Full Crow Moon art doll

using the spool as a base

for the shape of the doll body.

So, that was 2 challenges done in one shot!

 Thanks MA, I love it!

A handmade notebook cover 

made by Laura. 

I love the fabric

and I use this all the time.

Thanks Laura!

I took this picture at the Quilt Guild the other day.

It is our opportunity quilt...

well part of it anyway.

What you see here is

one of the many ladies

that are appliqued

 on a queen sized quilt.

Each lady is about 3 feet tall.

It is really gorgeous.

Not really my style,

but gorgeous no less.

I couldn't get a photo

of the entire quilt this time,

but will try to before

or during the quilt show.

This month for the Out to Lunch Bunch group

we decided to make

Funky Rooster blocks

for the drawing.

This is my block.

My funky Rooster is doing

the Funky Chicken!

I used my own hand dyed fabric

and a bit of other prints.

I have won the blocks the last several times,

so maybe I won't put my name in this time,

OR

maybe I will!

The 19th is the drawing!

Good luck everyone!

What do you do with all of your empty spools of thread?

Well Mary Anne sent some of hers to everyone

for the "thingie"doll challenge.

Here is another idea for you.

I got this from the Quilting Arts newsletter

awhile back.

It's a random poetry spool!

Unroll it and there is your random poem
from words you cut out of an old magazine.
Sew a button and ribbon on the end to tie it up.

Cut out circles of text or fabric

and glue on the ends of the spool

if your spool ends are not pretty already.

The wooden spools from days gone by

would look great,

but these old plastic spools are not so pretty.

This would be good for quotes too!

I'll bet you can't guess what this is....

it is the end result from my

Erosion Bundle Project.

If you want to see

what I put in the bundle go here.

I left the bundle out for several months,

as directed.

It mostly rained on it,

then it got very hot.

So, I brought it in,

and I forgot to get a photo of it

when I opened it.

But really all that happened

was a bit of color running from the confetti eggs

onto the fabric,

some things dissolved,

some things crumbled apart,

some things stayed the same.

The fabric and cheesecloth were

changed the most.

The paper was all stuck together

and mold was starting to form.

So, I used what I could to create

what you see above.

I mainly collaged all of it,

(it is very textured)

applied some paint

and then added the metal.

Thanks Kris for letting me be a part of this project.

Visit Kris to see other bundles.

It was interesting, but I know what I would do different next time.

The May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors

 has Seth Apter's article giving hints on this type of project.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Every Quilt has a Story

Hawaiian Quilts

"Every Quilt has a Story!"

The quilt guild this month had a great demo by Fae B.

She told the history of,

and showed the how to,

of Hawaiian quilts.

Fae states that they are fairly easy to make.

The design is sewn as a one piece applique.

They are symmetrical in 8ths

(you cut 8 layers at one time

using snowflake method),

they use 2 contrasting colors,

and the quilting is in the echo style.

 The inspiration for these simple

yet intricate designs

comes from nature...such as botanicals.

Their superstition plays into which

design they choose.

Really the sky is the limit in designs,

but it must be "important to you".

Negative shapes are as important as the positive shapes.

An example of a Hawaiian quilt pattern

and it's quilting lines.

Fae with a small Hawaiian wall hanging,

with a popular breadfruit pattern.

 

This shows the (1/8th) breadfruit pattern...

if you cut this out using the

"snowflake" method,

you have the design shown in her wallhanging.

This quilt is one of Fae's original designs.

She explained how each thing in the design

was meaningful to her

and to her family.

She always says,

"Every quilt has a story."

----Tips for a great design that works----

• Keep track of the center and folds when making your paper pattern and cutting the fabric.
• Place a design element of each fold and connect them
• Avoid excess detail
• Plan for a turn under allowance as you design
• Separate closely spaced elements with a narrow slit
• Leave a design-free zone along the outer edges...2 inches for a clock, 3-4 in. for a wall quilt and 5-6 inches for a bed size quilt.

NOTE:

You can do needle turn applique or do it entirely on machine...any way you wish.

The quilting can be the traditional echo style or any way you wish.

Just enjoy the true spirit of Hawaiian quilts!

and....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Eat Your Green Vegetables!

My garden is producing lots of healthy green vegetables.

This photo shows my kitchen table with

 two baskets filled with

what I picked yesterday morning.......

Swiss chard, 2 heads of cabbage

and mixed lettuce.

(the flowers were from my son for Mother's Day)

We ate some of yesterdays harvest with salmon last night.

Ummmmm it was so fresh and good!

We are getting fresh veggies every day,

and it's getting to the point

where I may have to put some away

by freezing or canning.

I found a book by Judith Benn Hurley

called Savoring the Day.

Savoring the Day, Recipes and Remedies to Enhance Your Natural Rhythms

It is wonderful!  I think it is my new favorite book.

Did you know that cabbage encourages the stomach lining

 to release stomach mucins,

 which protect the stomach itself against acidity?

So, stomach ulcer sufferers may wish to add

this vegetable to their dinner menu.

Here is a great recipe from the book to try...

Coleslaw with Roasted Peppers

2 cups shredded white cabbage

2 roasted red bell peppers, chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

(including leaves)

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

2 scallions, finely minced

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon vegetable stock

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

In a Salad bowl, combine the cabbage, peppers, celery, parsley, and scallions.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, stock, and mustard.  Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss well.

Makes 4 servings

44 calories per serving, 1 gram fat, 21% calories from fat. 

If the Weather is Hot and/or Dry

Serve the slaw slightly chilled with grilled foods such as fish or tofu.

If the Weather is cold and/or damp

Add a pinch of cayennne pepper to the lemon mixture before whisking.

There are many ways to...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Mural Art--Walls that Sing

I went to see the Harlingen murals for Mother's Day

with my DH, along with my son and his girlfriend

who were visiting.

They say that murals are

walls that sing!

This mural above was my favorite of the 30+

murals that is in the historic district.

This mural is made with dots....

large dots, but they are dots.

Here are a few close ups of some of the detail...

Here are some of my other favorites...

This one we found in South Padre Island.

There were many many more.

I enjoyed looking at the wall art.

Hope you enjoyed the pics.

Below are some great books,

if you are interested in reading more

about Walls that Sing!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne