kermit the frog

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Rainbows and Dreamers, Gardens and Rain

We’ve had rain, sun, wind, and California cold this month, but nothing compared to Canada and the Midwest. I’m sending warm vibes to folks who are enduring -40 C/F.

My San Jose garden enjoyed the recent rain, a gentler version of last year’s repetitive atmospheric rivers. Slow and steady wins the race where rain is concerned. I’m grateful.

Without further ado, and In rainbow order, here are a few January garden gems:

Red abutilon is starting to reappear. I like to imagine a garden fairy trying on this beautiful dress.

Orange stocks have appeared for the first time on a pair of succulents in a pot on the deck. I transplanted these plants a few years ago, so seeing this new development is exciting.

Like a child at a candy shop, I can’t tell you how exciting it’s been to have a towering yellow sunflower in the middle of January.

Green is everywhere, but I’m featuring geranium leaves below. I love the multi-colored leaves.

Blue is tricky in the garden, so you have to play along here. This hydrangea flower has shades of blue and arrived well past its season’s prime, as evidenced by the faded brown flower by its side.

Violet is a garden favorite. I’m featuring another hydrangea, a Serbian bellflower, and what I thought was a salvia, but I’m no longer sure. Please let me know if you know differently.

Finally, I’m featuring black and white, not “colors/colours” at all, but I can never resist sharing what I refer to as fluff: The spent seeds from last summer’s Anemone. When I trim back the plants in early fall, I like to leave a few for the hummingbirds. They collect the Dandelion-like fluff for their nests. Aren’t they dreamy?

With a hat tip to Kermit the Frog’s Rainbow Connection, “A lover, a dreamer, and me.”

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Scrap-Happy March: Paper Greens

I’m joining Kate, of Tall Tales from Chiconia, for her monthly scrap-happy blog post. The challenge is to use scraps from other projects to make something useful, beautiful, or both. Several bloggers post once a month showcasing a project made entirely from scraps.

This month I’m using green paper scraps and pages from an old wall calendar.

I started with this pile of paper scraps…

green scrap paper

Green just happens to be my favorite color

Assorted pages from an old gardening calendar…

Old Farmer's Almanac Calendar

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Calendar

And a green Christmas tin.

Swiss Miss chocolate tin

Swiss Miss chocolate tin

I made three greeting cards…

Green strip quilt card

Card made from scraps of green paper and a calendar cut-out

calendar page card with vintage ribbon

Calendar page card with vintage ribbon rests near deep purple hyacinth

Tri-fold card

Tri-fold card

…and about 30 bookmarks. Here’s one made from the center of a calendar page.

calendar page bookmark

Calendar page bookmark with vintage seam binding

I also made a sign for our Little Free Library in honor of St. Patrick’s Day this coming Monday, and I covered a hot chocolate tin to hold the bookmarks.

four leaf clover lore

A bit of four-leaf clover lore in our LFL

Little Free Library with green books

Books with green spines and a covered Christmas tin full of bookmarks

All three cards incorporated bits of the calendar and paper scraps. I like creating like this, with a small pile of bits and bobs and no real plan.

I used a small bird drawing from the calendar for the first card

Scraps of green paper
Lovely bird drawing on side of calendar
Bird drawing from calendar
Completed card

The trifold card incorporates the center panel from one of the calendar pages on the cover and on the inside of the card.

Finished trifold card
Inside panel uses calendar cut out of bird
I cut the third flap at an angle and secured at the bottom so you can insert a note or a gift card
Tied closed with a bow

The third card is simply a photograph from a Nature Conservancy calendar, tied with vintage seam binding. I used a die to cut a note of thanks from a green paper scrap.

Photograph from a Nature Conservancy calendar
Into the woods
Completed card

The bookmarks are an eclectic bunch. I used several scraps of green paper, bits of vintage seam binding, Washi tape, and again, parts of my Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar. Lexi, my artistic friend, designed her own Washi tape. You can see it here along with several of her other creations.

I cut the center of the upper left calendar page
…folding it into thirds…
…notched the top and added vintage seam binding.
Here’s another bookmark made from a calendar page
I layered rows of Washi tape across this scrap of green floral
I cut the strips, then rounded off the top
Red Riding Hood Washi tape from a friend, Lexi’s Washi tape on the left
When you’re really tired…just cut strips of pretty paper into 2 x 6 strips
My friend Lexi designed this Washi tape. She sells it on her Etsy site
Tin of green bookmarks with the LFL in the background

The green theme won’t last long in the Little Free Library as books come and go, but it has been fun playing with paper and ideas. Thanks for inspiring me to slow down, Kate, and to take some time to play.

Do you like crafting from scraps? Why not join us for the next round.

Little Free Library with green books and bookmarks

Little Free Library filled with green books, bookmarks and a note about four-leaf clover lore.

It *is* easy being green! (Sorry, Kermit).

From Kate’s blog:

“ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? You can email Kate at the address on her  Contact Me page. You can also contact Gun, via her blog, to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long-term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.”

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St. Patrick’s Day Whimsy

St. Patrick’s Day means different things to different people. For me it was always an excuse to wear green (my favorite color) and to act silly.

Image my delight to find another gardener in our neighborhood who feels the same way. I discovered her clever shrubs last fall on my morning walk. She prunes the plants into orbs, then gives them different haircuts. In October they had a Halloween theme. My one regret was not getting back there with my camera. Then last week, I saw this:

Neighborhood garden

Neighborhood garden

This is a gardener with a fabulous sense of humour. I popped over there Sunday morning when the light was still good, and took some closeups of these delightful merry-makers.

Happy go lucky

Happy go lucky

green hedges with faces

Too much green beer?

Back home I spent a few hours greening up the fairy garden while visiting with my sister.

I may have to stay up all night to see if I spot fairies *and* leprechauns in the wee garden.  Wouldn’t that be great fun?

fairy garden

Fairy garden

Creating fairy gardens is a wonderful way to relax.  It blends creativity, a bit of gardening and the challenge of using what you have on hand.  If you’ve never tried it, why not give it a go. You’re in for a pleasant surprise.

Even Kermit the Frog eventually agrees, it’s okay to be green. ♣♣♣

hint of a rainbow

Just a hint of a rainbow

green glass path

Follow the path

fairy garden

Can you see the pot of gold at the “end” of the rainbow?

frog on the path

The path offers a bit of camouflage

What’s in the Fairy Garden?

  • Miniature white cyclamen
  • Baby’s tears (transplanted from the back garden)
  • Miniature ‘trees’ (name escapes me)
  • The tiny frog and deer flew in from Canada (gifts from Boomdee)
  • The craft foam fence is a cast off from my son’s craft kit
  • I made the pot of gold from left over gold leaf, paper and a small clay pot
  • An old string bracelet is now a rainbow ‘flag’ near the pot of gold
  • The ‘flag pole’ is a piece of dried Hardenbergia vine, once wrapped around a trellis.
  • The shamrock buttons and green glass were a splurge from last year. Honestly, how can anyone resist shamrock sparkle buttons at eye level in the shop?