almost instant center pieces

When you have flowers as beautiful as these hibiscus all you need are a couple of blooms in a bowl to make a great eye catching centerpiece.

blooms in a silver bowl.  These are so big, two were all I needed.

These are from the plant Ron gave me a few weeks ago, gorgeous

A stand I made from a garden statue, light shade a little paint and glue.  It's not really crooked , just the photographer  is

best pulled pork ever

It takes a long time for this to be done but the actual prep time is pretty short.
4-7# pork shoulder or roast
Put the pork in a large pan or zip bag and add
1/4C salt
1/2C brown sugar
Pour on enough water to cover.  Let it sit covered in the refrigerator over night
The next morning drain, pat dry and put into a baking pan
Rub in the dry rub and roast uncovered in the oven at 225 for 7 hours You can also use the grill.  Add water if the bottom of the pan seems dry.  After 7 hours turn off the heat and let it sit in the oven 1-2 hours.  Shred with two forks and serve with your favorite BBQ sauce.
 dry rub
1T each cumin, garlic powder, salt, chili powder, black pepper, red pepper onion powder and 1/2C brown sugar.  Just mix it all up in a small bowl.  If you have any left after applying to the pork you can save it in a sealed bag or mix into the shredded pork.

OOPS I did it again

As with every thing in my life, I'm always making mistakes.  Since I believe you learn more from your mistakes than your successes I ought to be the smartest person in town.  No such luck.
 I started this up-cycled tin can project to use as a vase for a wedding shower I was going to be providing flowers for.  Of course I wanted it to be soft, pretty and romantic.  I clean and removed the label from the cans and sponged painted two coats of white, ivory and cream acrylic paint.  Mistake one, I didn't let it dry overnight and I didn't spray on a coat of clear sealer, a necessity on metal or the paint will scratch right off.
Redo.
The first layer was burlap which I thought would be fine just tacked on with the glue gun.  It wouldn't lay flat.
Redo  Mod Podge to the rescue.
The second layer was strips of scrap book paper. The  first can strips were 2", perfect.  The second can was 4", not perfect.  It would not lay flat and was lumpy and ugly.  Peel it all off.
Redo.
I cut two different 2' strips and glued those onto the burlap.  That worked.
The rest of the project went OK with the exception of the fabric roses.  Usually I hand stitch these but decided the glue gun would work as well.  No redo, just a couple of burnt fingers and plenty of grumbling. Maybe a bad word or two was uttered, but the cats won't tell.

The cans turned out great, the flowers were beautiful, the shower was lovely and the bride to be was thrilled.  That alone was worth some aggravation and a few do-overs.

mixed media project

I made this little piece to submit to a magazine for publishing.  Hope they like it.  The focus of the entry is suppose to be, use at least three different mediums and pull it together with stitching.  I started with a square of painters tarp, I printed one of my favorite sayings " you are closer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth" all over the fabric using a paint pen.  I mounted that onto a slightly larger square of card stock as a base, which I had stamped.  I then decoupaged part of a floral napkin on top, added a small piece of vintage doily, lace and buttons .  I then stitched around the flowers and edges.  I made a tag from salt dough, painted it with nail polish for shine and hand printed the word bliss.  I tied the tag onto the piece.
Every thing on this speaks of me from the soft colors, flowers and pink to the verses and even the fabric.  That's the best way to do art, make it about what you know.  I've never done a mixed media piece before, so even if it doesn't get published I learned several new things.  Keeping your mind active is always a good thing.

pieces and parts

stamped back ground

Add caption

There is stitching around the flowers you can barely see.  Maybe it needs a few more buttons?

Now all I need to do is photograph it and send in my submission to the magazine next week..

garden visit

Most gardeners are interesting, generous and fun people.  The owners of this garden live next door to my BIL and SIL in Sun Prarie, Wi.  I don't recall there names, but they could not have been nicer when they found me wandering through their back yard.  It is so perfectly landscaped I could tell it was a labor of love.  Even though I go for a much messier, loose look in my garden doesn't mean I can't appreciate and learn from this kind of space.  The stone work alone must have taken months, let alone all the beautiful annuals and perennials.

melon secret

We love melon around here.  Unfortunately we have not been able to find really sweet melons this year.  A little simple syrup will add that touch of sweet if your melon just isn't quite there.
Mix together 1/2C each water and white sugar, bring to a boil until the sugar is melted.  Let the mix cool and pour over cut and peeled melon.  Chill before serving.
I almost didn't get the bowl away from AH in time to take the picture.  It's a mix of watermelon and cantaloupe loaded with salt a pepper.

mini magnets

I wanted to make a little take away gift for our recent family reunion and came up with these little magnets.

Here's what you need:
1" glass globs, mine came from Dollar Tree  there were 30 in the bag which makes this gift very inexpensive.
scrap book paper or any decorative paper
magnets, buy the heavy duty kind
glue I used Elmers
Encouraging words printed on the computer, printed then cut with decorative scissors, they could have been torn or cut also.
Position the words on your paper, with a tiny drop of glue.  Cover the back of the glass with glue and position over the words.  Let dry and cut away excess paper.  Brush on an other coat of glue to seal everything, let dry and add a magnet to the back.
This would make a great make-it take-it craft by using a 1" punch to cut the circles of paper.  Glue everything together, have a snack and then hot glue on the magnet.

A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friends Jeanne and Mary.  We will be celebrating with lunch, shopping and a big fabric sale later this week.