Easter

The Easter long weekend was lovely and I enjoyed having some time away from work.  I had been busy making cards, using lots of different dies and making some Easter egg stamps which I used to decorate some of the envelopes.  The Tree of Life was a newish die set which also included blossom and leaves as dies too. I am looking forward to creating a four seasons tree picture.

Snarky cats made their appearance for a few friends who I knew would appreciate them.

I bought a couple of bunches of daffodils and we enjoyed their happy colours.

The paler ones were very pretty...

...I liked the apricot pink tones of the trumpet.  They lasted pretty well and gave the sitting room a nice splash of colour. Of course we treated ourselves to some little chocolate eggs - it had to be done!

In other news, much to my surprise, my Sansevieria (Mother in Law's Tongue/Snake plant) plant decided to flower.  Apparently, this is relatively rare but due to either stress and poor conditions and its roots being crowded, or the opposite.  As this particular plant is in a small pot and really needs a bit of care, I am assuming in this case, it is the first of these!  I really must take pity on it and pot it on.  The flower was very sticky but sweetly scented while it lasted.

Deja Vu - Storm Dennis

 In between the rain and winds currently outside, thanks to Storm Dennis this time, I noticed more exciting things in the garden.  Above is my bargain camellia (I don't know the name, but it came from 'the range' - one of my favourite shops - a couple of years ago).   I'm sure this is early, but very welcome.

 My first little Tete a Tete daffodil in the border.

 Another hellebore - I think this may be Picotee again.  I do like the delicate green and pink shading on the petals.

Snowdrops in a pot (and needing to be divided again, I think, once they have finished flowering).

 Storm Dennis has given us a lovely rainbow this afternoon though.

Yet again, we have been really lucky, which I am so thankful for.
I feel so sorry for those around the country where Dennis has wreaked havoc on houses and businesses - farmers being hit once again too with flooded land.  I hope that there will be a respite soon.

Making collage papers and Daffodils

I have been busy with my second art journal over last year and into this and will share some of my favourite pages shortly.  I was looking at collage papers with a view to buying some and suddenly had a brainwave - I could make them myself!  I have tissue paper and a myriad of suitable stamps so what was stopping me?  I had a very happy time trying my stamps and  deciding what to use... 

 ...and here are some papers ready to go.  The good thing about these is that they add pattern to a page but you can still see the background colours peeping through.  I think they will work well.

 I couldn't resist buying some daffodils on Saturday as I was wanting some brightness in the house.  They started to open on Sunday...

 Here they are later on Sunday (excuse the flash - my camera does not like low light levels at all).

Here they are today - all open and very scented.  Even if they don't last long, they have given that shot of colour I needed and are very cheering.

Just when you think it's Spring...

 There were definite signs of Spring.  Crocuses...

 more crocuses...

 the last hurrah of the snowdrops...

flowering away with the cyclamen coum...

 more crocuses...

 and more...

 Hellebores...

 and daffodils...

 then, last weekend, this (again!)

 Those poor plants - they wouldn't know if they were coming or going.  Luckily, the snow had gone by last Tuesday and today...

 anemone blanda...

 camellia flowers...

 cardamine quinquifolia (I bought this last year, so this is the first time I have seen it in flower - so pretty)...

a self-sown sweet violet...

 bright and bold primulas...

 lovely blue scillas...

and a blue hyacinth (Blue Magic).  Is it Spring now?  Well, it looks like it today but there have been mumblings about a cold snap over the Easter weekend, including more snow.  I am really hoping they are wrong!

Happy Things

I thought I'd share some things currently making me happy and thankful.  A yummy Victorian sandwich cake...

 ...and flapjack.

 Some cheerful yellow daffodils.

 Crocuses coming out in the garden.

 Buds of Prunus Incisa 'Kojo-no-mai' starting to green up in the sunshine.

 Silky flower buds of Magnolia 'Susan' against a beautiful blue sky.

Snowdrops in the garden - this one is a double.

 Tulip buds hopefully promising a colourful Spring.

Flower buds from Blueberry 'Blue Pearl'.  

 A little china pot bought for £1.00 in a local antiques shop.  It was so pretty, I just had to buy it.  It will look lovely with primroses and grape hyacinths in it.

 My seasonal tree, full of wintry-coloured decorations.

Finally, a pretty mug from my friend Alison.  Lots of happy things.

Happy Easter

 Here is my Easter celebration 'tree' which has been a joint 'Foster' creation.  I decided I wanted something to hang felt (and other) decorations from and found a simple tree design in a craft book (Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle - details on amazon, here), showed the picture and instructions to Chris, who then went off and made it and I love it.  He is great!  I then had the fun of making decorations for it.

 I found the little bird and rabbit pegs at Paperchase and thought they would be perfect for securing the decorations and for looking lovely by themselves.  I made the felt eggs and flowers using my own hand made felt (of course) and hand embroidery.

 I have made several decorations in different colours.  I also spotted some commercially made egg decorations so added a few of those too.  The lovely daffodils were provided as an Easter gift by my work colleague, Leanne, (a big thank you to her)and have made all the difference to the display.

I feel that I need more flowers though, and then there are chicks and rabbits to make - although I probably need to make some more felt first. (They'll perhaps be ready for next year!)  Of course, my 'tree' will be useful at other times of the year too, so may well appear in other posts.
Happy Easter!

Gardening Plans

 I have been busy making plans for my little garden this year.  I have decided that I am going to attempt to grow a few more edible things so have bought two more blueberry plants (compact and designed for pots) called Blue Pearl, from Marshalls, which arrived safely and are waiting for the weather to be a bit warmer before being planted in their larger pots.  I have also been inspired by the RHS book Grow your own crops in Pots (which I bought very cheaply from The Book People ) ...

...and also ordered three autumn fruiting raspberry canes (variety Joan J) which arrived yesterday and I am considering braving the cold to get them in a pot too.  Apparently, according to the book, autumn fruiting raspberries will grow well in a large tub and should last about ten years, which is fantastic. 

 I am also going to have a go at growing beetroot too, because I discovered that I really like raw beetroot grated in a salad (but I do not like pickled beetroot at all!). 
Not forgetting the flowers, however, I have ordered phlox plants as I have two in the garden which did really well despite the awful summer last year.  I have also treated myself to an oriental Poppy, Plum Pudding, from Thompson and Morgan.  There will also be cosmos, sweet peas (my first time growing from seed) and a multitude of other things which are in my seed box.  I pruned my clematis and roses last Saturday, on a gloriously sunny afternoon, so got things underway.

I am really looking forward to this growing season and I hope it will be a successful one for all of us gardeners. 
In my excitement, I nearly forgot to mention the photos - the top one is a double snowdrop from my garden and the daffodil and hyacinth planter was a belated but extremely welcome birthday present which is reminding me that Spring isn't too far away.  There were also some Lindt chocolate rabbits and a Lindt carrot nestled in the moss as well! Chocolate and plants - does life get much better than this?