Something About Nothing

My friend, Sylvia, has a great shop on Etsy . Her shop is filled with lots of great handmade products like these useful and cute baskets. . . . . . great quilt wall hangings. . . . . .and lots of other fun items! And now, just for my readers, that would be YOU, she is offering 15% off ANYTHING in her shop! Just use this code when you check out:   LFB15 Hop on over and have a look!

One of my daughters really loves galoshes  (aka puddle jumpers, rain boots & rubber boots). Unfortunately these type of boots aren't made for everyday wear and, as we found out this year, crack easily.  And did you know that hot glue and duct tape don't keep the wetness out of these cracks? Hard to believe but it is true! We had a hard time throwing out these beautiful boots so we saved them, cut them a bit shorter and used them as planters.  One pair is at our front door and the other two pair to the side. I'm excited to see how they look once these Wave Petunia's start flowing over.

I read about this great method of dyeing in  Quilting Arts Magazine  and had to try it. Take some fabulous ice. . .   . . . wear protective gear. . .  . . .add soda ash soaked fabric to fun containers. . .  . . .sprinkle with dye powder. . . . . .to get some beautiful Ice Dyed Parfaits.  This is what the dye "vats" look like after the ice has melted. And here are the beautiful pieces that come out of the vats: I really like the pieces with more colors so next time I'm going to mix up the colors a little more. Do you see a face in this one?

  I've been making produce bags for years.   I've blogged about them here and here and here . And I published the pattern in this magazine. Now I've decided to sell the bags in my Etsy store . Stop over and buy some.

A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money -.John Ruskin A mother at the craft store was feeling flustered at what she called her child's "free spirit" and I reminded her that it is a quality that we greatly admire in adults.  She laughed and said "that's true!"  If nothing else it gave her a chuckle but I hoped it helped her to enjoy her child and think of him and his free spirit in a new way. I love using my talents to help people.  Is it okay to enjoy being kind?  I think it is but sometimes it's best to remember to be kind when you really don't feel like it.  I volunteered to teach 20 young ladies how to make  pillowcases to take to camp.  The pattern is simple but it proved to be difficult for some.  I think the real kindness in this project came when mistakes were made and we all encouraged the young ladies that they did not ruin their pillowcase and that they were doing a great ...

Congratulations!  "On what?," you ask?   I don't know - you tell me. Just pick a reason and celebrate. Maybe it's your birthday?  Or you're getting married, Or you just want to celebrate the summer,  any occasion will do! Whatever you are celebrating you will want to run over to my Etsy shop and have a look at ordering these new party decorations I have just added.  There are banners for birthdays, graduations, weddings or whatever you would like to celebrate as I can customize banners JUST FOR YOU! Once you are ready to make a purchase send me an email, or leave your email address in the comments section here and I will give you your own personal coupon code good for 10% OFF!   The coupon offer is good through June 15th.

The Peonies are in bloom at my house. I had to bring a few in and let their scent permeate the house. I love peonies. The roses are blooming too. My sister bought these yellow English Roses for my birthday one year. They smell fabulous. I wonder if their petals would make a yellow dye? This pink rose bush belonged to the previous owners of the house and I dug it up 10 years ago when we moved in.  It was in the spot I wanted for my vegetable garden. It refused to die.   Every year it comes back right next to the vegetable garden fence and despite the fact that it doesn't have a wonderful scent, it is beautiful and so I have let it grow. What is blooming at your house?