Secrets Revealed

The past month has been one of many surprises.

First , as promised, here are the pictures of the fatbook pages for this years' Art and Soul in Hampton. The theme as I mentioned is "In the Garden".  My first thought was Adam and Eve but then quickly turned to a saying I have on a flower box that says "Leave room in your garden for fairies to dance" that I thought most appropriate.

I bought a few new tools to accomplish my needs, a Sizzix which i used to cut the papers for the seed packets and the flower petals. What a fun toy that is! I know, i'm late to the party, scrapbookers and paper people everywhere have been doing this for years right?

Next I bought about 60 packets of seeds to divide amongst tiny jewelry ziploc baggies to fill said seed packets. Forget-me-nots, four-o'clocks, baby's breath, oriental poppies, larkspur, foxgloves and canterbury bells, all things for a proper fairy garden don't you think? Then I sealed the envelopes with glittery purple sealing wax and a fairy seal.  I just love sealing wax.  I decided afterwards that it was probably silly to invest in the seeds as they probably won't ever get opened and planted!

I printed and cut out vintage fairy images and used glue buttons to give them a raised effect on the page and added butterflies and the sayings to complete the front. The rule is, the fatter the pages the better.

The other saying that I have loved for about 20 years is "Bloom where you are planted" but I added a twist to decorate the back of the page. I applied the saying to flowerpots that I hand cut, attached the sizzix cut out flower petals and added a face to the centers of each flower with a clear cabochon. This is the page where you list your contact information.

 Then for a dangle ( all fatbook pages need danglies) I attached a pewter fairy charm with stretch cord through a rivet, so she can dance of course! The side of the pages need to stay blank to allow for the coil binding to be inserted. We had to make 40 pages total. I will be sure to post pictures of the completed fatbooks that we will receive after I return from A&S in May.

Then the next surprise I couldn't mention was we returned to Florida on March 5th to be there for my Mom's shoulder surgery on Mon. March 7th.

I should have taken a picture of her face when she answered the door but the story goes like this.... We had planned the trip for a month, gathered as much as we could fit in the Prius such as dishes, pots pans, small appliances ,towels and linens , Gotta love those space bags, they really work! We laid the plans for where we would be that day in case she called us on cell phones, which she did, then left at 4:30 in the morning to drive straight through.  Just before hitting the Georgia/ Florida border, the phone rang,

 Mom "where did I catch you?"

Me stumbling " Oh I'm shopping in Salisbury, just going between Kohls and Michaels, what's up?"

 Mom " I just sent you some pictures in an email, take a look when you get home and let me know what you think"

Me" Ok, what are they of?"

Mom " It's a surprise, you'll see"

Well, what she sent me pictures of was the front of our house in Florida where my Dad bought some garden bedding plants, petunias, daisies and begonias and planted them, fertilized and mulched it for us.  Love and surprises abound!

About 3 1/2 hours later, we rang her doorbell and when she opened the door I said " Do you mind if i look at those pictures on your computer? I'm kinda far away from mine right now"

Surprise!!!   Speechless surprise, then tears.

The surgery was a mixed bag, they were unable to fix the rotator cuff, the surgeon called it irrepairable, torn on both sides, but he was able to clean out bone spurs, damaged cartilage and scar tissue in the hopes of alleviating the pain and allowing for better range of motion. She has already started back on physical therapy 3x week. So the recovery wasn't anywhere near as bad as it would have been had they been able to repair it but hopefully I was a help the first week. 

It was wonderful being down in March, I had never been in that month and the oranges had been harvested leaving the trees full of orange blossoms starting anew! What fragrance!!! This is a shot over the fence behind our house, these little perfumed powerhouses filled the air for blocks! I wish I could have bottled it and brought some home with me!

The sun was warm and strong, the temps upper 70's to mid 80's, pool water 84*. Perfect.

I had arranged ahead of time to have the laminate floors installed while we were down, figuring I would be with my Mom during the day and my husband could be at the house with the installers. They completed it in one day. We had the hall, dining room, kitchen and living room done.

Since Mom was doing so well we had extra time we didn't plan on and we were able to get a lot done while there. My husband and Dad power washed the entire front porch and carport side of the house, we planted several other plants such as delphiniums, peruvian lillies, snapdragons, million bells, red sister dracaena and a bouganvillia. Replaced the shower rods and curtains, removed the shower doors in the master, hung all new vertical blinds throughout and a chandelier in the dining room and ordered some living room furniture, being delivered today, and got all the dishes and kitchenware washed and put away into cabinets along with the linens.

The living room furniture is all pulled out awaiting removal. next up will be a new dining room set. I am going shabby chic romantic, all neutrals as a decor. Isn't that a pretty sunset in the windows?

Hanging these crystals would have been good therapy for Mom had she been further along! the design of the new verticals is called "white vines"

It's hard to see here but it's the only shot I have of it, there is a white corner cabinet in the living room which had been a vintage built in that mom and dad found for us at an antique shop called Second Hand Rose. We wanted it for our dining room but it was a little too large for the corner we had in mind. Ray installed the new kitchen faucet along with a new one in the guest bath.

We still have a lot we want  to accomplish but we got a lot more done than we thought possible this trip.  We even got a trip to Webster in but i'll leave all that for another post.

Thanks for visiting!