Kaseys Korner

Fairy Garden Terrarium

Finally a home for my ever growing stash of fairy garden products ~ the white wrought iron terrarium I bought several years ago at Hobby Lobby:

It's primary function has been a home for seed starting but setting it up as a fairy garden will make it infinitely more useful. 

My initial idea for setting everything up in the garden got nixed when the wind & snow tore up my fancy gazebo & tossed its itsy weather vane into oblivion.  These tiny little pieces are too expensive (and cute!) to leave to the elements!

Encased in glass is a much safer way to go.

Notice the adorable Martin house! 

Now, if the terrarium were only bigger!  or could I possibly have too many pieces??? 

Not a chance!

The little bee skep (above) is one of my favorite pieces.  Along with this tiny obelisk:

Why is everything SO much more adorable in miniature??!!

Like the parrot in a cage (above) and sweet seating for two (below):

I've gotta say Pinterest really inspired me to set up my own fairy garden.  There are so many incredible pins on this subject. 

One of the pieces I've really admired (and secretly coveted) is a fairy garden greenhouse.  Maybe that's because I want a lifesize one so bad!  Check it out here ~ it's pricey but a must-see!!!

I purchased most of my products at local greenhouses but there are many websites to order from if you don't have a local option available.  Amazon, Miniature Garden Shoppe, Faire-Ality Style are a couple that have cool products.  You're also welcome to check out my Pinterest "Fairyland" board here and follow any interesting link (there are 150+ pins) ~ it may just inspire you to create your own wee garden. 

Beware tho, it's another potential addiction ~ just a friendly warning!!!!

 

Flower Pot Garden Party Invites

or placecards ~ from your prodigal blogger. 

My apologies for the long unexplained absence.  My niece arrived on the 18th & left last night (28th) ~ it's been a whirlwind!  I should have given you some advanced warning but I got caught up in party planning beforehand and ran out of time. 

For so many years I've had the dream of hosting a garden party.  Partly a romantic notion but mostly because why do all this work & keep it to yourself???  Might as well share the labor of love with friends & neighbors, right??  A month ago, I decided THIS was the year (can you believe it??  Our hottest, driest year & August to boot!)  Call me crazy but host one is exactly what I've been up to!

It started a couple weeks ago with the invitations ~ flower pot assemblages created to hand out with the details:

Not too many supplies required to pull this look off. 

Here's a detailed supply list:

1 1/2" Clay Flower Pots (pkgs of six @ Hobby Lobby), Small styrofoam balls to fit inside pots, 'Chartreuse' Spanish Moss, Pkg of Memo Pins (by Tim Holtz also found at Hobby Lobby), Paper Flowers (these were by Akasha, purchased at JoAnn's), 'You're invited' Stamp (Martha Stewart), Black Inkpad, Cream cardstock, Styrofoam Glue (by Beacon)

Begin by gluing the Styrofoam balls into the flower pots:

Next, glue the spanish moss to the tops of the balls.  (I let the moss dry overnight before continuing to the next step.)

Poke a memo pin thru a paper flower then insert pin into top of moss-covered ball:

Ink the 'You're invited' Stamp using the Black Inkpad & stamp images onto cream cardstock.

I used a scalloped edge square punch around each image for a fancier look but you could also just cut the stamped images out. 

Insert stamped squares into tops of memo pins!! 

So simple I made 42!!!!

and approx 40 guests showed up!!  That was a BIG turnout for my little garden but it sure was FUN.

Party lights were strung from a gutter to the birdhouse tuteur & back to the arbor:

"Aerial" view above.   (Discovered this view totally by accident when up on the ladder clipping the lights to the gutter.)

Here's a look down the main pathway with the lights draped above the yews:

The lights were the perfect festive touch for evening (party was from 6 to 9 PM.)  People wandered about between the front & back gardens.  We served Peach Bellini's (fresh peaches pureed with Italian sparkling wine) & small finger foods. 

I have to say it was a wonderful time & I encourage any of you (who've thought of doing the same) to just do it!  You already have the beautiful gardens.  You won't regret it & I know you'll inspire your guests as well.  I'm hoping I've turned some of mine into new/more serious gardeners!! 

 

Valentine Phalaenopsis orchids

Yesterday was one of the nicest Valentine's we've had in a while (weatherwise).  It was warm enough to do a few gardening chores which makes me a happier person all the way around.  I'm hoping to get back outdoors today to cut my grasses back (and work off some chocolate!)  My daughter received a beautiful arrangement which brightened both our days too:

I also managed to squeeze in a trip to my local Lowes store between chores and errands.  My Mom has been talking about orchids lately but she doesn't have the best track record for keeping them alive.  (sorry to "out" you Mom) When I spotted two beautiful Phal orchids for $7.49 each (on the clearance rack), I figured they were perfect to help her try again.  I better get them out of here soon tho before I get attached!

The yellow spotted one above has two bloom stalks, one of which hasn't developed buds yet and the other just has these two flowers open (with eight more buds to go).  I couldn't figure out why it was being clearanced?

The other Phal was pink:

and a bit more "bloomed out" than the yellow spotted one.  Since the blooms last a long time I'm guessing it will still be beautiful for quite a while too.

See why I'm worried about getting attached!? 

I don't think I've ever gone in that store without visiting the clearance racks and I'm certainly glad I stopped by yesterday.  All the patio furniture was out too which got me even more excited for spring.  Every year I think outdoor furniture styles get better and better.  Some of it is now so nice looking I'm tempted to redo my patio.  We'll see tho.  I'm not buying anything yet!

One last thing to share, in honor of Valentine's Day, some "guilt-free" lollipops I recently had published:

I think next year, I should just stick to these and leave the chocolate alone!  How fun would that be tho???

 

 

Halloween Mirror Ornaments

I realized last night it's been the longest time since I've posted any type of paper craft or general crafting project on the blog.  Maybe you haven't missed them (if you aren't into that kind of thing) but since the garden is winding down, I am thinking it's high time to diversify more and get back to a few crafts!  Like these mirrored Halloween ornaments I made last fall:

I am honored to have them currently featured in the October issue of Crafts 'N Things magazine.   Besides being fun to make, they are pretty nice to have hanging around too.  In my house, they are on my small black (coffee-table size) Halloween tree where the purple and orange mini lights are reflected in the mirrors making them all the more magical.

Recently I've been working on Halloween cards for my niece and nephew (ssshhhh, don't tell them!) which I'll post soon too. 

There, that wasn't too painful,(getting back into crafts), was it?!! 

 

neighbor appreciation day

Recently I was gifted with an Oriole feeder and several jars of grape jelly compliments of my newest neighbor.  She said she'd decided feeding them was not her thing.  I applaud the fact she recognized she didn't have the time, inclination, energy, whatever, to feed them.  It sometimes feels like a part-time job even to me ~ and I enjoy it.   During peak oriole season you'd never believe how many jars of grape jelly they go thru ~ I should keep track next year!  They eat so much the feeder has to be refilled three or four times a day ~ that takes dedication.  If you aren't ready for that kind of commitment, it's probably best to do nothing then to feed sporadically/randomly.  At least that's how I feel ~ what about you??

Anyway, back to the gift, because I benefited from her realization, I wanted to do something nice in return.  I thought a card with one of my oriole photos was appropriate:

It's very simple and so was the message inside:

Accompanying the card were a couple of Rhubarb Walnut muffins, made from homegrown rhubarb:

The very same recipe was whipped up & served last Friday (the 13th ~ which was not unlucky at all) to Gail of Clay and Limestone.   That's the day I had the privilege of hosting her in my garden.  She truly is the warm, kind, gracious person you perceive her to be when you read her blog postings.  As you can imagine, it was a very pleasant way to spend a couple hours and something I never expected when I started blogging (meeting people thru the Internet).

I'd say it's been my lucky week. 

My thanks to both of you ~ Gail for taking the time to stop by and Dora for the Oriole gifts and being such a nice neighbor.

a fox and easter eggs

Thursday night I wandered into my office (without turning the light on) looked out the window and what do you think I saw??  A small red fox sitting on my front flagstone patio!  I've never seen a fox that close before.  Of course it would be night time so I couldn't take a photo.  I've been cursing myself for not trying anyway  ~ I should have at least attempted one.  The yard & garage lights were on so I might have been surprised at the outcome.  He/she did not linger because the neighbors dog was on the loose.  Now that I have confirmed we do indeed have foxes in the neighborhood, I will be watching for another sighting (and have my camera ready!)

Onto the Easter eggs.  We've been busy dyeing batches around here just for the fun of it (and because the weather has been too lousy to do much else).  They make so many cool egg coloring kits these days ~ marbleized, pearlized, swirled, etc. ~ it's impossible to resist playing.  Maybe we should hide a couple for the fox??   hmmmm, think not.  I'll let him scavenge for himself. 
Anyway, because of our egg dyeing and the Easter holiday tomorrow, I thought you might like to see some garden-themed eggs I made this time last year:

How cute are they?  (if I'm allowed to say so myself?)  More than anything I'm especially partial to the vintage egg carton that I lucked upon at the flea market.  I keep thinking how amazing it would be to have your eggs delivered in one of these (right to the door). 

These eggs are not the hard boiled variety tho, they're paper mache (so they'll last forever).  I painted them with acrylic paints, also a very fun medium to play with and added the garden words using rub on lettering.  The tag was stamped and colored using watercolor paints.

I will probably not be back to posting until Monday so I hope everyone (who celebrates Easter) has a great Sunday.   Maybe it will be nice enough where you are for all those adorable dresses they sell but are never warm enough to wear here.  That's okay ~ you can eat chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps in any kind of outfit, right?!!!

Thanksgiving wishes

Thanksgiving 2009 dawned clear, crisp and bright.  A good way to start the day.  Our dog has already taken up a prone position in front of the oven where he will "stand guard" the entire time the turkey is cooking.

The birds are feasting at all the feeders ~ I made sure to spread the "love" since we'll be doing the same later today.  There is an assortment of black-capped Chickadees (pictured), Mourning Doves, Flickers, Robins, Finches, Goldfinches & sparrows.  They keep me company distract me, while I'm deep in the midst of food preparation.  I hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving.  I have lots to be grateful for this year so there will be many messages going into our gratitude jar.  Your what????  Oh, doesn't everybody have a gratitude jar??  This is one I made years ago:

It's very simple ~ just a ribbon, Thanksgiving cut out (get one from a card, whatever.  This one came from Crafty Secrets) and a jar.  I also stamped a "Thankful" message onto the side of the glass (using a StazOn ink pad) but that is 100% optional.

It works like this ~ before (or after ~ we're not hung up on the order) everyone who shares our Thanksgiving meal with us writes on a piece of paper something they are grateful for.  You can write as many messages as you'd like (it's my job to cut new strips of paper to fill the jar each year).  The messages are then put into the jar and someone reads them out loud.  It's fun to guess who wrote what.  Sometimes it's obvious, but other times not so much.  We even read last years before emptying the jar and filling them with new ones.  It's a fun tradition & great way to stay focused on the meaning of the day.  Blessings to all ~ may your day be filled with peace, love, family, friends, happy moments and full bellies.

Thanksgiving tree

Back-tracking a bit this morning to say how great you all are!  Here I thought I wasted a bulb by "dissecting" it and now (after all your great comments) I'm encouraged that daffodil could possibly survive the severing and bloom another day!  So, the experiment is not officially over, it continues until spring.  (I can hear my Mom groaning now ~ she didn't "get" why I would do such a thing in the first place). :-)

Meanwhile, indoors instead of out, I decorated my first ever Thanksgiving tree and thought you might like to see it. 

 

If you don't mind looking at terrible photos that is.  Sorry for the sun glare ~ any other time of the day, it's too dark in this spot to get a good photo and I hate to use a flash (and I'm feeling too lazy to try again).  The base of the tree is grapevine (I took apart a grapevine wreath and wound it around a post).  The rest is Thanksgiving-themed garland (with all the fake pumpkins and gourds on it), some orange ornaments (used on my Halloween tree), a little gold "ting-ting" and big ribbon bow.  Fun and easy, right?  I also wrapped gold lights around it ~ which makes it really warm and inviting at night.  I was thinking a partridge would fit really well with this theme instead of on your traditional Christmas tree ~ whadda you think?  If I have time, maybe I'll search one out...  Or maybe not.  Who the heck decorates for Thanksgiving anyway?  It seems like anymore we skip straight to Christmas from Halloween. 

In other positively riveting news, there are lots of these starting to push up from the new Amaryllis:

 

which means it won't be long before we have some gorgeous color brightening our lives again.  It's going to be especially nice since we've been cloaked in winter brown for a month already (because of the lashing Mother Nature gave us with that earlier than normal hard freeze & snow).  Now I better get busy hauling the remaining tender tropical containers into the basement (that have been stored temporarily in the garage).  Then I think I'm ready for winter (if that's ever possible)???  I'm relieved to say I got the last of the bulbs in the ground yesterday.  I was beginning to wonder if that would happen this year!  Aren't you so glad you've caught up with the mundane details of my life?!!!! 

fun fall project

If you're like me, you'll want to fire up your drills when you see this project.  I wish I could say it was my original idea but it came from the pages of last years (2008) Southern Living special issue called "Fall Decorating."  I found the issue too late in the season (last fall) so I saved the idea to re-create this year.  I'm so glad I did.  I love the results and my neighbors are asking if I'll make them one too so I think it's a hit.  Southern Living used real pumpkins for their project but I wanted mine to last a lot longer so I bought 3 fake ones in various sizes ~ that way I can use the project next year too.  The plastic pumpkins were very easy to drill ~ I used two different sized drill bits (this is what I was working on last week when the weather had me in such a bad mood).  You also need to cut the tops out of the two bottom pumpkins & the bottoms out of the two top pumpkins.  Clear as mud?  Good.  Now here's a look at the finished results (all duded up) during the day:  (I still plan to add a few more real pumpkins around the base)

The pumpkins were stacked together after a 100 count string of white lights was spread evenly throughout all three (which is why you need to cut the tops & bottoms).  I pulled a bit of the light string out of the bottom pumpkin to weave around the grapevine at the base of the urn but you could also just add another string of lights instead.  Isn't that the best project ever?  As gardeners, you most likely already have any number of containers handy that you could use as a base.  Or you could also use a pedestal instead of a container, just a thought....  Want to see the night-time effect?  I thought so. 

oops.  Looks like I had my camera turned at an angle.  I didn't realize that when I snapped the picture.  It really isn't crooked as you can see in the daylight photo!   I'm thinking I'll leave this up right thru October because it would be nice for Thanksgiving as well, don't you think??

Edited to add:  That crooked photo was really bugging me so I just went out and took another one.  Here it is not leaning!!

I'm happy now!  :-)

Garden Shadowbox

One of the most enjoyable craft projects I've created this past year has to be the shabby pink shadowbox below with (what else?) a garden theme:

 

I found the cabinet at a flea market (as well as the vintage hand rake) and the idea was born.  The rest of the "ingredients" are a compilation of garden artifacts I collect whenever I see them.  After I took these photos I added natural shred to the bird house opening (for nesting material) and three small blue eggs to the nest.  Here's a side view of the same project:

I'm honored to say, this project is currently featured in the June 2009 issue of Create & Decorate magazine.  I thought you wouldn't mind me sharing it with you today.