Amelia's Baby Shower

It's been a few weeks since we threw a baby shower for Amelia but . . . better late than never, right??

Kim had asked months ago if we could throw a Garden Tea baby shower and . . . since that's right up my alley . . .  of course I said yes!

We hadn't counted on all the other things going on though. Or thought about the fact that summer would be rapidly approaching, so the day of the baptism found me scrambling to find a date that would work for as many people as possible.

 Which turned out to be only four days later.

Oh my. The garden hadn't been properly cared for in weeks and weeks and it had been raining much more than we were used to here on the prairies. It was desperately needed mind you, so no one was complaining,  we just aren't used to getting rain nearly every day.

The weather held though, and I spent 3 days in the garden, weeding, pruning and primping.

The shower would never have happened without my dear friend Joyce's help, because by the middle of day 2 in the garden, I was pooped beyond belief. (Joyce and I have organized countless events together over the years and it was such fun to work together again.)

Joyce and I brainstormed the menu, decorations and games and Joyce did the majority of the shopping, leaving me more time to work in the garden.

She also made some lovely, delicious cookies! (I must admit I hid most of the leftovers from Henry and Jesse so I could eat them all myself!  ;D)

 On the day of the shower Joyce got here early and we went right to work, decorating the garden and setting up an extra canopy (thank you to Linda A for lending it and bringing it to the house!) and arranged seating for 25 guests. There was a chance of showers but we figured as long as everyone was under cover we'd be alright.

We did make one big concession to possible bad weather. We had originally intended to have food and seating areas sprinkled throughout the garden but decided to decorate the covered deck that leads into the house and have all the food served there, just in case.

The weather held until the guests began to arrive.

It started showering, but that was okay, this was a baby shower after all . . .

More guests arrived.

It started raining a little harder and the skies just kept getting darker.

The wind began to blow. There was some quick rearranging of the food tables as the end closest to the edge of the deck was starting to get wet.

 There's nothing fancy about soggy food!

I held out hope that it would blow over and we would still be able to get into the garden.

The rain showers turned into a deluge. So much rain came down, that even if it did blow over, the gazebo, which is on the lowest spot in the garden, would have water coming up over the floor.

So . . . we crammed into my teeny, tiny house. All 25 of us. Just like sweaty sardines. The clever, brave ones sat out on the deck where it was cooler, and damper.

And yet. . .

We all had a wonderful time. Because in the end, it's all about the people. Pretty decorations are wonderful, but if all you have are family and friends to visit with . . .

That, really, is all you need.

*(Of course good food and some fun, funky drinks help too! ;D)

So, without further ado, I give you Amelia's baby shower:

It's wet out there!

Kim's sister Jaclyn made this beautiful baby carriage with her wonderful cupcakes.

The brave ones . . .

Crystal helps Joyce with last minute preparations

It's present time!

Close friends of the new mom.

Great Grandma checks out the loot.

Great Oma and Mrs.V check out the loot as well!

Once a secretary . . . Joyce keeps track of the gifts and gift givers.

Kim's mom and sister-in-law do some ooohing and aaahing as Great Grandma and Aunt Evelyn look on.

Kim's niece, Miss O, approves of this one . . .

Amelia hangs out with 'Aunty' Brienne

25 people will not fit in my living room. Some of us hung out in the hallways . . .

A fabulous time with family and friends

 And of course, once Grandpa got home, he had to have a little Amelia snuggle time too!

The guest of honour's ready for bed . . .

God has richly blessed us with this new, darling addition to our family.

*****

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14 NIV

Decorating the Front Porch for Fall

Looking at the snow on the ground, I'm thinking winter is here to stay.

I've decided to show you how I decorated my front 'porch' for fall anyways.

I tend to be pretty traditional, using hay bales, gourds, dried cornstalks and scarecrows to beautify my front porch.

This year I decided to try something a little different and I love how it turned out!

I used my concrete leaves, left over live moss, plants marked down to next to nothing at the end of the season, birch bark from Audrey, the awesome cedar boxes Henry and Morgan made me, mums from Tamara and my favorite little gargoyle. I've had him since the kids were small.

And of course I used my moss wreath as well.

How about you? Do you decorate outdoors for the seasons??

We do Nothing in our Own strength . . .

It's exciting, crazy times here as Holly and I get ready for this Friday's Ladies Night Out.

We are teaching two classes, Terrariums and Clay Tags, as well as having a table filled with concrete leaves, terrariums and an assortment of other items we've been working on for all the ladies to peruse.

I am blessed with a husband who just wants me to do what makes me happy. (with the occasional load of laundry!)

However, if I only did what makes me happy, which is to create beautiful things, our tiny house would be filled to bursting in no time. This gives me a reason to create beautiful things for others to enjoy and if I was able to just give these things away, it would make for a simple and rather laid back life.

Since we aren't independently wealthy, I have to find another way to do things.

That's how my gardening business Growing Wisdom and now Whimsey Design's vintage and garden inspired goods came into being. If I can earn money sharing my garden knowledge and pretty handmade things I can dream and create everyday without resorting to mac and cheese for supper every night. 

Running a business requires a pretty extensive set of skills, several of which do not come naturally! Organization and consistent bookkeeping being at the top of the list.

Stuff like that can keep me up at night as I wander around online or hit the library searching for the knowledge I lack. I have become acutely aware of my strengths and weaknesses.

 Every so often the enormity of what I'm trying to do causes me to break out in a cold sweat . . .

How thankful I am that I'm not doing this in my own strength . . .

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

And then there's my family . . .

They cheerfully pitch in and help out with whatever mad scheme I've got going. Most of the time.
Frequently Once in a blue moon they'll roll their eyes, sigh, turn off my computer and lead me to bed, reminding me that tomorrow's another day.

Every once in a while I'll listen to them.

Concrete Pumpkins . . . I mean Apples . . .

I thought it would be fun to branch out a bit and see what else could be done with concrete.

With the arrival of fall my thoughts turned to pumpkins.

Hmmm. . . concrete . . . Pumpkins???

How would I go about that? Time to google.

I found a few concrete pumpkins tutorials but they all used the plastic trick or treat pails. Which works rather well, if you don't mind the face and the fact that there is only one size.

Since I do mind, I made a trip to my local art store to quiz them on what I might use to make my own mold.

I left with a jar of latex mold maker and a mind filled with possibilities.

I decided to act sensibly for a change and start small. The fact that there were no pumpkins in the store to try this out on had nothing to do with it. . .

Ahem.

My niece Clara had dropped by with her Grandma and left me a tiny apple. I was supposed to eat it but, well, it was just the right size.

I had a granny smith left in the kitchen so it was the perfect opportunity to try two different sizes.

Ten layers of latex later I brought them to the outdoor workshop for a test run.

Hmmmm. . . not quite what I had in mind. Back to the drawing board.

I found these Styrofoam pumpkins and squash at the dollar store. I'm on layer four of fifteen. Now all I have to figure out is how to support the mold so the top doesn't get all squishy and flattened out. I don't think they'll be done in time for my upcoming sale at the Ladies Night Out. . . .

Oh well, maybe next year. 

This year they'll enhance my fall display in the front garden.. At least, that's the plan.

Decluttering My Basement . .(Shudder!!!)

I am a small time hoarder.

Most of our married life we have been on a tight budget and each new (to us) thing we brought into our home was precious because we had so little to start with.

Both Henry and I look at stuff (i.e. junk) and see potential for . . . something.

The thing is, we will be celebrating our 29th (gulp) anniversary this fall and after 29 years we've seen a lot of junk coming  in and not a whole lot has going out. After all . . . what if I need it???

The time has come, however to look my hoard in the eye and get ruthless. Free myself from all the stuff that jams up my hallways and leaves me feeling like my house is never, ever truly clean.

The time has come to stop cringing inside every time the kids head downstairs with their friends and wanting to shout down after them "I'm not really a messy person!"

So I've decide to call in the Big Gun. To enlist the help of the most organized person I know.

My good friend Joyce has volunteered to give up a few days of her precious holiday time to help me conquer the beast.

We're going at this Peter Walsh style. Everything in the basement hallways and storage cupboards will go onto the driveway where it will be sorted, condensed and organized within an inch of it's life before going back into the house in an orderly fashion.

And because we are crazy like that, both Joyce and I independently thought about painting the hallways and cupboards (outside only) before putting things back.

I think we may just go for it . . .

I have the best friends ever! If it weren't for Nicole my kitchen would still have ugly brown wood cupboards and without Evelyn the rest  my upstairs would be in even worse shape. (and that's only painting . . . if I had to list everything else friends have done for me over the years, this post would never end.)

I may not blog much this week. Projects like this tend to be all consuming so I expect most of the week I'll be doing quick updates on Facebook rather than here. Feel free to stop by my Life of Whimsey page to check out our progress.

Have a great week everyone and wish us luck! And if you have some free time . . . many hands make light work . . .  ;D You know where to find us!

Also a big thank you to the sweet ladies who offered their hosta and rhubarb leaves so I can keep sculpting this summer. Thank you so much! I'll be by next week . . .

I Need YOUR Help!

As some of you may know, I have put garden classes from Growing Wisdom on hold for this year as I recover from my surgery.

That does not mean that nothing's happening in this area however!

I am hard at work coming up with new class topics and materials so I will be ready to go come next February.

My plan is to offer a class in my home once a month from February through November as well as giving people the opportunity to book a small class either here or in their home at a time that best suits them. I want the topics of these monthly classes to be relevant to the garden task of each month.

February would possibly cover simple aspects of design both in the garden and in regards to planters using annuals you can start from seed. (I'm pretty sure an inspiring power point will be included. After all what's better than gazing at beautiful garden images in  snowy, cold February while sipping coffee/ tea and munching homemade cookies?) We would cover the best places to obtain seeds, how to fill out a seed starting chart (provided by me) how many plants you would need to implement your design ideas etc.

 March might have a class on seed starting for both annuals and perennials, and cover topics like the best places to get seeds, different strategies for starting various seeds (some seeds require special treatment to germinate) what types of lights and light bulbs to use to grow plants in your home, different ways to set up your lights, transplanting seedlings into larger pots and so on . . .

August could be a hands on class as we put together various elements that can be used to throw a fabulous garden party. Lighting, banners, flowers, food, table decor and the like.

Perhaps you would like to learn how to create simple hand tied bouquets . . .

Or discover what design principles will bring your garden to the next level . . .

Maybe you've always wanted to grow plants in a backyard greenhouse but aren't sure how to go about it . . .

So, where does your help come in?

I can come up with tons of topics that I think you will all like and need but if you don't actually like and need them they won't be worthwhile.

So here's my plea for help . . .

What would you like to learn about when it comes to plants or gardening or even interesting ways to experience the garden either inside or outside your home??

I want to know!

As a thank you for  taking the time to share your ideas with me, I will be holding a draw next week Friday from everyone who responds. You don't have to live close by to help out. Just enjoy a pretty garden and it's flowers.

The winner of the draw will receive a special gift.  Just make sure you leave a way for me to contact you should you be the lucky winner.

*** update. It was such a bummer that not everyone received something from my last draw that I've decided everyone will receive something, with a draw for an extra something on the Friday. . .

You can leave a comment here or on my facebook page or even email me by clicking on the envelope icon at the top of my sidebar. (just put garden class ideas in the subject line so your email doesn't get lost in the crowd. ;D )

I can hardly wait to get started on your ideas!