pamgarrison

friday around here

I can't believe it's already Friday, some weeks just go by in a blur.

After dropping my son off at school today, I headed straight to the beach. The beach was foggy and there wasn't another soul to be seen, it was a beautiful start to the day. 

Now, back home, it's all about getting my daughter ready to move back to school for the year: laundry, packing, and even some pinterest DIYs for her room. Since my son started school already, her leaving will be our official end to summer. Sad to see it (and of course her) go. I'm wrapping up the sea glass collected this summer, and getting ready to get back to focusing on project life catch up. Still have the Spain travel journal to finish, and a few other projects I wanted to complete and cross off the list before summer was over. Well, next week the house will be quiet during the day and I can put my nose to the grindstone as they say. As for today, I'll be taking little mental trips here:

Hope you have a lovely Friday, no matter when  your summer ends!

garden flowers

 

Last post I was showing some flowers arrangements made from garden flowers and got some requests for plant names, so... providing the names of the plants became a fun little project for me this weekend. 

I got out my dip pen and ink to start drawing them, but realized I needed to look up some of the names on the computer while I was at it. Low tech meets high tech ;).

Something so traditional garden-diary-ish about dip pen and  ink illustrations, don't you think? 

I had originally intended to watercolor the illustrations, but then, got a little lazy and grabbed my Copics instead. Love coloring with them, and since you can blend them, they work well for this too. 

Yum.

Shoot, did you catch that missing letter a? Glad that's easily remedied. 

I didn't include the poor little pear, maybe next time. 

Yes, next time. This was so fun, I plan to continue practicing sketching while documenting the plants in our yard. I kept a garden journal years and years ago, (I'll have to find it and share it here), but don't currently have one. I feel a change in the air regarding that now. (Wouldn't mind a change in temperature either right about now too!)

So for those of you that asked me the names of the flowers, thank you, providing the answers was what got this whole thing started!

 

 

 

i thought there was nothing left

This morning, as soon as I returned from dropping my son off at school, I went out to gather some flowers. It's been super hot here for way too long (98˚ expected today) so I didn't expect to find much to use. I was mistaken.

Clearly ;). 

I've written before about my inability to totally appreciate orange and red flowers, and how my son, with his great love for orange, has taught me to let them grow on me.

We even bought that Lion's Ear (spikey orange velvet petals above and below) together. As my friend who knows my flower color leanings said, "that is true love".

Totally. 

I did some quick watering outside and grabbed my bundle to arrange inside. It was 90˚ already at 9am. Too hot to enjoy the flowers out there! 

Even the spent flowers have their appeal.

Same with that pear that never made it.

I had a lot of fun putting them in various vases, glasses, jars, and even a vintage wicker covered bottle (which was thrifted and I still can't believe how long I stood there thinking about the $2.00 purchase). 

This thrifted hand blown glass (rather tiny but hard to tell here), was perfect for some shorter stems. 

The very colorful roses got a hand blown glass of their own.

I love this big Italian mason jar! I was helping a friend unpack at her new home the other day and after I commented on it, she said, "I think that's yours", to which I replied, "I think it is too", not really thinking I had ever loaned it to her, and we laughed, she knows me well. She did send it home with me, and I happily accepted. Today, it's making a great vase.

Guess it took me getting out there to appreciate all that was there for the picking. Must remember to do this more regularly like I used to. I think that thought every time I spend time in the garden.

Excellent fun for a Friday! I hope you've got some flowers blooming in your neck of the woods and you're having your kind of fun on this beautiful Friday too.

It's almost officially the weekend, wahoo! 

saturday

 

I hope you're having a lovely Saturday!!!

reconnecting

 

I've been feeling a little overextended and unable to really get grounded, with one must do this or must be there after another. It's all good, just all at once, and I'm realizing that maybe sometimes, even something good has to be taken off the priorities list.

Or this summer is going to come and go and I'm going to mostly miss it.

Today, with a few big things behind me, I have a second to try to reconnect with my own life and catch my breath before the next wave comes.  Take it in. Regroup.

I've mentioned before that lately I've been using my camera as a means of slowing down and changing my focus. So that's what I did this morning, grabbed my camera and went outside into the back yard.

Today I found a lot of things that I need to I'd like to do, to tend to- break down the props from yesterday's photo shoot, clean up the table (bring the candles and tablecloth inside so the sun doesn't fade/melt them), put away the garden tools, cut some flowers, and love on some plants- but I also found some of the sweet spots- the spots that bring me happiness each and every time I see them - the miniature Kumkwat tree, the pretty, pretty fruit it bears, the overall backyard living area itself, the $1. thrifted handmade vase in the prettiest color, blossoms on the tomato plant, and I'm glad I took the time to breathe.

I know it's something most all of us have to work on, to not "over busy" our lives, and that some seasons are more challenging than others, and I'm just the same.

I hope I can keep my calm feeling the walk with my camera brought going, as I head to the Apple store for what I fear may be a long session at the genius bar...

Hey, maybe it'll all go surprisingly smoothly, you never know...here's hoping!

saturday shots

I never ever regret spending Saturday morning taking in the garden. Bringing a camera with me helps me really notice things I might otherwise overlook, like the rose petals above that change from yellow to crimson even though the rose is spent. 

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday too! Don't forget today is the last day to leave a comment for the No Excuses Art Journaling give away (see previous post below)!!!

saturday study in lines and shapes

 

new office storage

Meet my new office storage system!

 I've mentioned before, I chose the word "order" for my word of the year, what I want to welcome into my life. Setting up this piece feels like a nice big step in that direction.

Here's the inside:

When I originally saw this piece, I dreamt of getting it for use when painting. It seemed like perfect storage for paintings in progress to dry, since I tend to work on many at once. I also thought about it for the office (technically my husband's office), where I keep all my products and shipping for my etsy shop, but I was worried it was too grungy for in there.

But after a good scrub down, I couldn't resist giving it a try. The office was very much in need, as this before pic demonstrates:

Here's how it all ended up:

It feels really great to have a sense of order and cleanliness.

As for my office/studio/room, I know I promised you shots long ago of the studio switch...it's still not done, I operate out of there, but moved in such a hurry and in a non smart way- (brought everything in vs. one bit at a time as needed), that it's in no way photo ready. I'm working on it slowly but surely. I've shown some recent progress on instagram, and will show some more here soon.

Here are a few more shots from the traditional office (There's no way I could get all my products and shipping supplies in my art room/office!)

That's my Dad's fraternity paddle from college up top with some photos (yes, I did receive a spank or two from it when growning up) and a pottery barn cubby.

I feel so much better when I walk in there now! I know order is the answer to a lot of what frustrates me, but it seems a slow process.

One bite at a time, right? As for my etsy shipping/products? done!

sunday

We spent a nice slow Sunday picking up after the celebrating. It seemed like rain was coming (it's here now), so I figured I should go ahead and cut and enjoy the roses that were in full bloom before the rain took all the petals away. 

If you don't care for pictures of roses, this is going to be a boring post, because I just couldn't stop taking them.

The Abraham Darbys...no words needed. 

Thank you for all the birthday wishes for my boy too, he loved the orange rose support and had a good day too :)

xo

saturday ramblings

Today we're celebrating my son's birthday. I woke up happy just thinking about him. I love how much kids enjoy birthdays. 

When we moved into our house a few years ago, I made some comment about wanting to take these roses out. He stopped in his tracks, "why Mom? I love those roses".  Through his eyes I'm learning to love them too...not quite there yet, but walking by them and knowing he loves them makes me happy. He has taught me to love the color orange, just not orange roses, yet.

I was very happy we had some to cut for his day today. 

Birthdays around here means the banner I made years ago comes out. 

Still have to clear my debris from the entry table though...

Time to clean up last Saturday's cuttings too.

And do some general pickup (always). (I hear they have Kantha's for $30.00 at HomeGoods btw.)

Had fun cutting out his home made b'day card.

And a few other things...hoping to catch up a little on project life tomorrow!

and spend some more time on my friend's painting too...

Here's to a lovely weekend! 

i love to repurpose

I love this little planted wooden bowl so much. 

Thought I'd share this in case you want to make one too. 

I found the serving bowl at HomeGoods, it had a big crack in it all down the side and on the bottom. Which meant it was super marked down. I couldn't resist getting it to use as a planter. I had already gotten some succulents from Home Depot that were in need of a home, so I just tucked some dry moss in the crack to keep the dirt in but still let it drain, filled it with a little succulent fast draining soil and tucked the plants in. 

Really couldn't be easier. I love it on our outdoor dining table. I think it would make a great gift to bring to someone's home too.

I thought it was a fluke, but then a friend mentioned she saw another cracked wooden bowl at a different HomeGoods, so maybe they bought a whole lot of the damaged ones. I know I'll be checking the clearance isle first the next time I'm in one! 

weekend creative goings on

I hope you had a lovely weekend. 

Mine was pretty full, lots of different things on my creative to do list. I made good progress on some, no progress on others...the way it often goes, right? 

I did stop to smell the roses and photograph them too. I love the photo above of the beautiful bloom in the early morning. another flower from the same rose bush later in the day below. I wish I knew the name of the rose! It came over from the old house and lost it's tag in the process. It's not an Abraham Darby, but it is an antique rose. 

I've been remembering to pick up my big camera (vs. my iphone or little camera) a bit more these days. I am happy about that. Not sure if it's due to learning to document from a different angle (project life), my rededication to my blog, or the desire to work on taking better photos, but I'm happy about it, whatever the reason. 

So here's a little of what I captured of my weekend in photos:

I went out and cut some flowers first thing Saturday morning, which starts the weekend off right for me. Something so grounding about time in the garden. 

I have always loved flowers and flower arranging. I miss it, I used to do it so much more often.

There  seems to be a paint jar near the kitchen sink more often than not, so this time it was put to use as a vase: 

Found it hard to stop taking photos. Love that pink paint spot too. 

Let's see...what else did I grab photos of?

I washed all the various quilts/quilt tops that I've collected over the years (and that arrived from my Whatever Craft Weekend shopping- pics soon). I've got a bunch of various projects going on quilt wise and wanted to know that everything was clean and ready to use/sort/figure out what I'm doing with. Been thinking about an insta-flash sale, they seem so poplular these days. 

I started cutting out some octagon shapes so I can create some quilt flowers to match the vintage ones I already have. The plan is to add them to this quilt top in order to cover the fabric paint areas I'm not fond of. One of the many quilt projects in progress mentioned above. Of course, I'll blog all about them eventually. 

A girlfriend came over with a giant canvas that she wanted to replace in her house. She bought it years ago and it was very dark. We figured I could lighten it up. Even if it needs a little restretching (painting over it is making the canvas wrinkle a little) she's ahead $ wise, and will lighten her family room a lot. Not sure where I'm going with it, but it was fun to start and visit with her at the same time. 

She doesn't want any bright colors, but I couldn't resist just a little Nova Paint on there in Fluorescent Red! I had to reassure her many times that these were just the beginning layers :).

Since I was already in the garage, I started on a little stool I recently bought in need of some TLC. I coated the rotted parts of the top with wood putty and am in the process of sanding it smooth (ish). I don't think I'll try to match the color, might be fun to have it be a stripe of something else. 

My new daily use printer arrived. I had hoped to set it up, but never had the energy or focus I knew it would require from me. Hopefully today, as soon as I finish this post. Which should be now. :) As you can see, many projects in progress, none complete. Here's hoping this is a very productive week. Sort of feeling a bit behind and it's just begun. Hate starting Monday that way, hope your week is off to a better start!!!  

bits of my weekend

 

Hope you had a good one! 

 

first cuttings of spring

 

I went out this morning in search of flowers and found the first rose buds and even some fully bloomed flowers for the picking.

It felt so good to be out in the garden enjoying them.

The David Austin's have (and most likely always will be) my favorite roses for their scent and shape and overall antique English garden appeal. Some almost look like Peonies, a favoite flower that I am unable to grow in our climate.

My favorite of those is the Abraham Darby. A close second is the Cecile Brunner bush.

Just look at the detail of the sweet blooming bud:

What's not to love?

I'm not as crazy for the hybrid tea roses, but there were some here when we moved in, and so we have them too.

The Iceberg floribunda rose bush is a favorite in Southern California because they do so well in our climate. For awhile there they were the go to bush for every landscaper it seemed. After growing them, I know why; they grow like weeds, super hardy, thriving even when not in ideal situations.

Always nice to arrange them and have them in the house.

I know Spring has not yet sprung for many of you, this year the weather seems to be particularly weird. In the meantime, I'm sharing this bouquet with you. Close your eyes, burry your nose in them and enjoy...soon, soon, it has to come soon to you too! xo

a little more garden love

 

For some reason this spring is making more happy than any other I can remember. For those of you in colder climates waiting for Spring...hang in there...this is right around the corner for you too!

in & out today

 

 

spring on the way

I woke up the other morning and it was warm and sunny and felt like Spring. This view of the sun streaming in made me head outside:

I just love Spring and it's warm (but not hot) weather.

The first signs of spring:

blossoms on fruit trees. {This is a dwarf plum.}

I've been wanting a dwarf kumkwat tree for years, and was thrilled when I popped into Home Depot garden section and found them.

I bought two.

It was so warm out, I brought out the outdoor cushions too. Everything just looks prettier in the light of spring. Loved the light on this blue chair and the mix of green, rust, blue and that one little yellow leaf under the chair:

Noticed this notch on the tree for the first time, almost looks like someone was carving a heart...

I guess I got a little overzealous in my Spring Fever planning, because the weather calls for rain this week. I'll have to cover the cushions again, and exercise a little more patience. If I'm ready for Spring, I assume those that live where the winter has been rough must really be ready! Shouldn't be too long now for all of us....

doily table runner

 

Here's the completed doily table runner I was showing you yesterday. As soon as I saw this photo here, I wanted to make one of my own. Ashley Ann's blog is new to me, but man, she's awesome! Next creative pursuit of hers I'd like to copy is her studio wall; love it.

Anyway, back to the doily table runner. She mentions that a Country Living photo was her inspiration, so they may have instructions, but I think Ashley's are easy peasy if you want to make one like it.

Just a few simple supplies and you're off and running. Thread, needle, scissors, some straight pins, and doilies, of course. I stuck with white and cream, but wouldn't it be fun to dye your doilies a few diferent colors? They really are so pretty.

I decided to stick with the thinner variety, and not use any duplicates, so these were the rejects:

They'll be great for something else.

Yesterday, I had it laid out just to make sure I had enough (I used 25), today I tacked them together by hand so I can move it about. I just know I'll be using it on different tables, like the kitchen island, buffet table, outside, etc., so it had to be stitched together for that.

Start to finish? Less than an hour.  I consider it time well spent!

playing catch up

I've returned home from teaching and am shocked to realize it's mid November already! As you can see from this photo taken in my living room moments ago, we are still living in October. {Darling pumpkins by my super sweet friend Mary Stanley} I seriously need to catch up. The fact that  organization and scheduling don't come naturally to me leaves me feeling constantly behind and I hate that feeling. I worked on it hard this year, but it seems teaching an old dog new tricks takes awhile. I have big hopes for continued improvement in 2014!

So...even though I returned home from teaching at Spellbound late Sunday, I still have much to unpack:

Everything is still in the living room where my son and husband put it after unloading the car for me. I did start to unpack my finds from the Rose Bowl flea market, which was part of the Spellbound event (gotta love a craft weekend that ends with a flea market!) Here's an IG taken when entering late Sunday morning:

It's always fun to revisit what you bought once home:

So there's unpacking, and the laundry of course. Added to the trip laundry are the guest towels I ran in and bought yesterday after dropping my son at baseball.

We've got a house full of guests coming next week and towels were on the list. Heather turned me onto these on sale at Cost Plus, in case any of you have company coming too and like them. Much less than the Anthropologie version, although in all honesty, I think Anthro's are prettier and thicker, but I'm sure my brothers won't notice. Thanks for the tip Heather, {and by the way, love the new Souvenir issue!}, you can see a free preview here. 

But before I completely unpack and recap the event for you, I've had to get on a stitching assignment I'm behind on. To show you some snipets of the work in progress, I had to move the belt I made in Amy's class (that I sadly forgot to pack-argh!. Another frustrating result of disorganization.) I am still madly in love with it and still can't wait to make another.

Here's what it was hiding though, some of my gathered materials for the stitching project:

My notes:

A bit of inspiration found in an old crochet sampler book:

A fresh start:

And a work in progress IG:

And now, since it's almost time for my son to come home and I'm still in my pajamas, I've got to shower and get at least a quick trip to the grocery store in! Where does the day go?!? Hopefully, you are managing your time better than I am today! More tomorrow I hope...

studio move update part 1

 

Hello blog world. I'm sorry it seems you get the short end of the stick from me of late. I was on such a good posting roll before my life got out of control again. Each day that passed made it feel harder to catch up and fill you in. I'm weird like that, wanting to start at the beginning and be thorough with my update and because of that, fall farther and farther behind...anyway, enough of that...I'm here reporting in with all the latest craziness going on in photo version. :)

Above is a photo of my new "studio", "art room", "office", whatever you want to call it. Still a work in progress, and this is an Instagram photo, so of course, it looks better in the photo than in real life. Cropped close too...but I'll show you the uncroped version, don't worry. That's where you, blog readers, don't get the short end of the stick. On Instagram, I may keep up to date more with going's on, but on the blog you get the full scoop.

Here's where the trouble all started. This is another instagram, showing me putting together a sewing cabinet that I bought (I do not enjoy putting together furniture, but now that I've done it a lot lately, I'm coming around to not despising it.) I bought this cabinet, and really love it. Here's why:

I tell ya, that Martha sure does know her craft storage. I put it in the downstairs guest room, because the truth is, I want to use my sewing machine a lot downstairs for different things, as well as my handstitching supplies, so I wanted easy access to it. And I had the room for it, as it's a pretty big cabinet.

Truly love having a place for all my sewing goodies...all but fabric that is.

And that started me thinking, wouldn't it really be better if all my art needs were downstairs vs. some up and some down? Which led to these three journaling pages:

I say help me because I knew how very much work it would entail, and how much resistance I would be met with by my family, especially husband, about all the work (help) needed, and also because he built out that sweet closet for me in the room I was using upstairs. Remember this post?

Am I really that lazy that going upstairs makes a difference? But truly, I think so, mostly because 1. I like to be with my family, where my family is, and 2. I really want all my various interests in close proximity to each other. The computer, painting, sewing,art journaling, paper arts, etc. and I never ever brought paints up to the art room, just brought supplies down to use. The other concern was that the guest room set up was very nice for guests. But really, if you only have a handful of guests a year, not even every month, is that worthy of sacrificing the every day living?  I decided I had to do it, flip flop the guest and art rooms. ugh.

And so it began...

part 2 in next post...