Foodie Friday

This goes out to the foodies. This is a delicious gluten-free spread from New Cascadia Bakery in Portland, Oregon. My favorite stop anytime my family heads north and even my gluten-eating counterparts love their sweet and savory goodies.

- Cerise

Tiny Terrariums

My sweet mini deer terrarium. Of course, no deer were harmed in the making of this. The little deer was a sweet find at Goodwill. I love finding new old stock.

- Cerise

Pinterest

Are you following me on Pinterest yet? I warn you, it's eclectic and somehow full of cupcakes. Get pinning my pretties.

Pin it

- Cerise

Mother's Day Gifting

Mother's Day was so much fun this year. 9 hole, 3 par golf, dinner, and family time. My mom also enjoyed her gift I made. Last minute touches were painted on Mother's Day morning but fortunately acrylic paint dries really fast and I didn't wast time sleeping in too late. Here is the final project. Look forward next week to the how-to for this project and a similar one my friend made the same day.

- Cerise

Saturday Cupcakes

One of my favorite things to do after yoga on Thursday is head to the store around the corner and take pictures of all the pretty baked goods. Here is your first Saturday cupcake. Enjoy.

- Cerise

Monday Wildflowers

Happy Monday, thought you might enjoy some lovely wildflowers to make your Monday sweeter.

-Cerise

Add Color To Your Planters: Part 2

Well I didn't really get the photos up that I wanted to post on Wednesday. I realized too late that the pictures I used were already posted! Oh well. Here are more spray-painted creations. Oddly enough I got both these from a neighbor a LONG while back and have been toting them around all ugly so I finally spruced them up. I used terracotta pots in the hanging planter and spray painted them. Terrible quality spray pain. Did I mention this is the summer of spray paint?

Happy Color Sprucing,

- Cerise

Add Color to Your Planters: Part 1

Pretty pots are my favorite for flowers and herbs on the deck. But price is always a factor and since I find a lot of freebies and cheap pots for planting they can be ugly or drab. This is the summer of spray paint and I'm starting early by revamping some old garden pots and plant stands that have been lying around growing ugly for the last few years. My favorite color so far is a sweet ocean blue turquoise paint that I happened across at the hardware store. It looks amazing with the yellow I picked up and is going to look fabulous with pinkish red carnations.

Painting pots is super easy and fast. I used old and new terracotta pots and some grubby plastic planters. To keep it looking good all around, I painted terracotta drainage dishes and old plates I use for drainage dishes. The spray paint is easy to scrape off slick plates so be aware that this won't last forever on your fancy china. I still need to find some chalk to label the plants in my chalkboard painted pots. I also went crazy on plant stands that I will post about tomorrow in Part 2 so stay tuned.

Here are the pots and plates I painted. I'm going to hunt for red and a better quality yellow this weekend and more pots so I can mix and match the drainage dishes and experiment with patterns. Check back next week for Part 3 to see how it goes!

(Don't forget to do this in an open area away from pets and plants)

Happy Painting,

- Cerise

Bird Cage Garden Tutorial

Spring is here and since it's grey and cloudy most days here, I wanted a sweet little table-top garden for my patio table to bring a smile. Here's the step-by-step for making your own table-top bird cage garden.

Supplies you will need:

- small thrift store bird cage (Make sure you can fit your hand and pots in the cage opening.)

- 3 small terracotta pots or any other small container for planting with small drainage trays or rocks in the bottom of the pots for drainage (You may need more or less depending on the size and shape of your birdcage.)

- spray paint (I used chalkboard paint but you could do a fun color instead.)

- potting soil

- little plants, at least one for each pot (Succulents are the easiest for transplanting and surviving and really easy to find.)

- floral decor moss (There are different kinds and colors, use which works for your taste and colors. I used the dull grey moss and some found brown hairy natural material in the bottom for fluffing.)


Now to put it all together!

Step 1: Paint Your Pots
Put your little pots upside down on cardboard or other surface you don't care about getting painted. If you have drainage trays you can paint them too but they won't be visible later. Spray your pots well. Let dry and repeat if a second coat is needed. Flip and spray the top and inside of the rims of the pots. Repeat with your drainage trays if you have any. It's okay if they are painted all through the inside. Let dry. The pots pictured are not the ones I used but an example of how I paint my pots.

 

Step 2: Add Soil and Plants
When you pots are completely dry, add little rocks or broken pottery chips to the bottom of your pots. You don't need much and the rocks/pottery chips should be small but not clog the drainage holes. Add potting soil to the brim of the pots. Pop your little succulents or chosen plant firmly into the soil. Repeat with all your pots. You can add little pebbles or sea glass around the plant but it may look to busy or get hidden in the moss. Thanks mom for potting the little guys!

 

Step 3: Assemble Pots and Moss
If you can't fit your hand or pots into your chosen bird cage very well, this step will be challenging. (Can you tell I'm emphasizing this from experience?) Your pots are not heavy so it may take an octopus hand maneuver to achieve the following steps. Place some moss on one end of the cage and hold in place with your first little pot. Put some moss against the opposite edge of your bird cage and slide in your second pot to hold in place. Put some moss around your first and second pots and slide your third pot between them. Add or remove moss in order to see your plants well but have them snugged in with moss. Add a little mushroom bird or bug and lightly water your plants.

 

Voila! Bird cage mini-garden for your table or hanging.

If you make your own, please email pictures. I can't wait to see your bird cage garden designs!

Happy Planting,

- Cerise

Sunny Saturday Gnomes

Saturday was sunny and with the first Farmer's Market and Garland's Nursery's open house I was inspired to be outside and in the dirt. I have been wanting to make a gnome garden for quite a while and Garland's has a menagerie of miniature garden accessories. They are not very inexpensive though. Fortunately my craft room always has gnomes, hedgehogs and miniatures running around and I have jar fulls of pretty little rocks and marbles. The only thing I needed were plants gnomes would enjoy in their new garden pot homes. My mom helped with laying garden paths and "lettuce" planting. The little gnomes are hand-made and painted. They still need a door to their house so I will be on the hunt for one. Here's how it all turned out.

Happy Magical Gardening,

- Cerise