WOYWW #417

Happy Wednesday everyone...big celebration of WOYWW year 8 was awesome last week.  I am working on ATC today and will hopefully get them sent out by the end of the week!  What is WOYWW?  Check it out on Julia's blog...

Not a lot going on on my desk...it is a mess at best again today!  It seems like I just manage to shuffle things around on good days...Needs to be reshuffled so I can find space to work!

I have been sorting through some boxes and have come across a lot of interesting stuff...some too good to throw away and some that I wonder why I have held on to it!  2 boxes of stuff is on its way to a new home!

The garden it going great guns.  I will try to get out this afternoon and take some pictures.  Chuck picked some more Chard and we processed it this morning so I guess that is my active desk...  Tried a new way of processing the chard...in plastic bags in the microwave instead of boiling/blanching the leaves.  Seems to have worked and a lot less messy!  

Chuck chopped up some onions, garlic, and chard stems and tossed in on the greens I had processed.
The greens have stayed so bright.  I wonder if they retained more nutrients in this process?  I hope it works and they stay well in the freezer.

I chopped up all the stems into bite size pieces and plan on using them for soups and stews this fall.  Chuck planted a colorful type of chard this year...I am seeing a journal page in my future using this picture as inspiration!

I love love the color, contrast, and texture in this photo....

Okay that is it for me!  I will try and make it around to a few groups when I get back from another appointment this afternoon.  I went to the neurosurgeon and he says there is no question of if I need surgery on my spine or not but when I am willing to lay down and let him do it.  Hmmm....that is going to take some long hard thinking!  Anyone had a decompression laminectomy and spinal fusion done?   

WOYWW #416 And how my garden grows!

Happy Wednesday friends!  I am so glad I remembered and got my post in earlier today!  Will miracles never cease!  If you are wondering what I am on about well...today is Wednesday and it is WOYWW!  What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!   Julia started the group 8 years ago this month and we all get together every Wednesday to blog hop and renew friendships from around the world...I  started following WOYWW in 2010 and have interacted with people all over Europe, Africa, the Middle East, USA almost everywhere!  Click on the link and go check it out.  Julia has put up directions on how you can play too!  Normally not such a big introduction but hey I thought 8 years deserved it!

Okay on to my desk for today...not much of a change...maybe a little more picked up...had to cleanup and put away a bit cause it was becoming overwhelming!  Thought today I would show a little wider view...I have my desk half way cleaned off

As you can see I have cleaned off a bit of the desk so I can work and make some more cards this week.  I need to get caught up on birthday and graduation cards!  Here is a wider view...and I can see the floor now!

I did manage to make one card this week for an inspiration challenge...they gave an image of a wedding cake and this is what it inspired!

I was going to add some Washi tape that said all you have to add is ice cream but it didn't look right to me so this is what it ended up looking like!  Do you like Washi tapes?  I love them.  See that big box that says dance?  it is full of the stuff.

Okay that is it for the WOYWW post.  I am making some ATC when I get home from the doctors to today if you are interested in swapping contact me.  

Now on to the garden for the people who want me to post pics!  The first picture is of Chuck's native/wild plant garden by the front stoop that he has been working on for years...It looks like a wild patch and blooms constantly all year!

These are some of my favorites.  I love these cosmos he planted several years ago.  These have mutated from just the purple color to a combo of purple, purple and white, and just white.  They are awesome!

Shasta daisies, Gallardia, and yellow primrose

Spider wort...blue on the left and purple on the right

I like flower pot and more structured....my flower pots.

In the backyard there are a lot of changes going on!  So many things growing and we have started harvesting.  Chuck dug up all the potatoes and replanted. Total of 14.5# of Yukon gold potatoes out of a pound bag of seed potatoes.  That is significant considering they cost $3.99# here in the states.

Ever see an artichoke growing?  We never had so Chuck decided to plant some.  He  tried bed and flower pot and this is definitely better!

The cabbage, kale, and chard are doing awesome.  We have planted cabbage in the past but he is experimenting with the kale and chard.  The kale is the least favorite of the two.

 Onions are starting to produce some are really getting big.  Chuck harvested all the Garlic a couple days ago!  Some of the bulbs are as big as an onion!

The brick flower bed is really coming along nice...here are some photos of that! 

 Chuck planted the pansies and the flowers in the next pick came up volunteers.

 

Corn is still having some issues with equalizing their grow.  Chuck planted and thinned plants all at the same time then all of a sudden they started growing at different rates!

 Tomatoes are starting to bear...the plants have been having issues with curling and deformed leaves but they are still bearing fruit!

Did you know different beans have different color flowers?  I didn't.  Beans on the left are just blue lake bush beans and the ones on the left with purple flowers are black beans.

We were given this plant as a wedding gift 42 years ago.  It is over 7 feet tall today!

This is one of many babies I have cloned off that tree.  I can't keep much of anything growing but this plant loves me!

 The potted plants on the deck! 

 I bought a blueberry sprig a couple years a go and this year it looks like we are actually going to get some berries!

Well that is it for me this week.  Hope everyone has a great week!

 

Watercolor Travel Tins

I saw an idea on Pinterest a while back that really seemed like an awesome idea.  A watercolor paint box that fits in your purse and is easily portable.  (Just search for watercolor paint boxes) I like little art...ATC (artist trading cards), twinchies,  or inchies and this would be a perfect size watercolor palette to travel with to do this type of art... There isn't a whole lot of water color to do larger pieces but...hey enough for what I want it for.

What you need for this project...

1. A box...The box can be any type of metal or plastic box that you want that will fit your needs.  I bought these little metal gift card boxes at Michael's to use and they are bigger then an Altoid tin but that would work too!
2. Some Sculpey or Fimo clay...something that hardens up when baked or left to air dry.
3. a pen or pencil or something to press holes in to the clay
4. an assortment of watercolor paint
5. watercolor paper.

I had started this project and a day or two later ran across a video by Effy Wild on the paint box she made.  I have gotten so much inspiration from the Journal 52 class and wasn't surprised when I saw this video.   I love it when it all laid out for you in easy to follow instructions.  Effy has done a great job of it with this video.  

Check out the Sculpey Watercolor Palette video here

These are the boxes I found at Michaels.  They are 6"x3.5" were $1.29 each.  I like the lid designs so I am not going to have to decorate the tops.

One of my finished tins...

I made a total of four tins for a less then $20.  I think you could get by cheaper if you didn't need to use the sculpey clay.  I saw one set done using a modeling clay and the crimped soda caps in a tin...might try that next.  

 Fun stuff!  

I like DIY projects and I like art and to combine them is just fun!

Wednesday musings and WOYWW

Well I am beginning to think that my memory is even worse then I think it is.  I think it is a problem of no time constraints and urgency of purpose.  I am feeling better and actually have been doing some more card making but...Well I just forget it is Wednesday until it is way too late to post!

For the WOYWW deskers here is a picture (or two)!  I am putting out a warning that this place is a pit!  The desk is an absolute mess to say the least.  My attention span seems to relate to making cards not cleaning up so I am piling stuff all over the desk and on the floor around it as evidenced by the second picture.  I like having my stuff I use close at hand cause with my back issues having to get up and down out of the chair makes my life living hell some days.

I know I shouldn't use that as an excuse but excuse or not that is the truth.  I promise to get it cleaned up soon!  Want to see some card pictures.  

A Mothers Day card!

These next three are  same but different.  I left the inside of the cards blank so I could put whatever sentiment in them I wanted before I send them off!   I love this paper and stamps.  The backside of this paper has popsicles and ice cream on it that would be fun for summer birthdays and I think I see some more cards being made with it!

Don't you love the colors on this card?  I used washi tape and pearl tapes to make the "paper" at the top of the card.

This is a fun tag and thank you card!

Pinwheel card!  Love these colors too!

These two cards were fun to make and I felt they were unfinished but couldn't figure out what I needed to do to finish them up!  Definitely have a Southwestern feel too them.

Love this hedgehog die and stamps!  they are from  one maker and the paper is from another!  I have had the hedgehogs for a while but the papers just came out.  Love how things come round!

Well that is it for the WOYWW post.  Go check out Julia's blog and learn what WOYWW is and maybe come play along!  

Thought I would share some photos of the garden and pool this year.   Chuck has been super busy in the garden and has planted all sorts of fun stuff...some we are already harvesting!  

 First up is a view of the garden along the fence line...We have a new bed in the center of the lawn that has peppers and tomatoes in it...  there are 6 raised beds in the background, 2- 8ft x 8ft and            4--6ft x 6ft

Garlic and potatoes are almost ready to harvest

This is a mixed bed of onions, potatoes, and chard!  Kind of interesting how that comes about sometimes!

These onions are getting big!

Next bed over is the tomatoes...something seems to be going on with them and we are thinking about pulling them out and buying new plants.  I grew these from seeds so I hate to do that but...        

 The corn seems to be having issues this year too!  They started out with a fantastic germination rate but everything has been wacky ever since.  The plants seem to be growing at such different rates etc that when it comes time to pollinate they will have issues.  Trying a high nitrogen fertilizer in hopes of bringing them around!

Beans and Okra are looking beautiful and we are hoping to get a lot of beans to can and eat!

The last raised bed is loaded with cabbage, kale, chard.  It is an experiment that seems to have worked out!  Chard and kale have been so prolific producing so far this spring...I just love the colors!

I love these Chard plants...so colorful and tasty!

We have a single artichoke growing at the end of the garlic planter...two more in a pot on the deck that we are hoping with produce for us this year...kind of an experiment of sorts!



I opened the pool early this year and glad I did because I have already been in a couple of times.

my view from my deck chair!

Have a great week everyone!