I was in need of a quick craft to keep my hands busy while the kids napped today. I am trying to limit the amount of (somewhat wasted) time I spend on pinterest/facebook/flickr ect ect ect ect ect. I just get sucked in and a couple of hours later I am zonked, have accomplished nothing and now have to go attend to the babes. Bleck!
So here is a cute quickie. Good for either you or your lady-ettes in training....
You will need the supplies above. Fabric scraps, thick baker's trim, scissors and hair pins.

Start by snipping sections of the fabric. About 6-7 of em @ 1"x3". Or thicker/thinner/longer... whatevas

then stack all the pieces on top of each other, fold in half and snip a tiny hole in all of them in the approximate center.

Snip off a piece of the bakers twine, about 6" long and tie a big knot at one end. Then thread the twine through the pieces, with the knot landing on the top of the stack.

wrap, thread and knot the twine through/around the end of the hair pin. Snip off any excess.

Simple, cute and done in under two minutes. You can play with the type of fabrics, pinking shears, length/size of pieces, thread a button or jewel on the end....all sorts of adjustments could be made. Would make a wonderful little girl's bday activity right? No hot glue (or any messy glue for that matter), no sewing and you could prep all the pieces ahead of time, so all they have to do is thread and knot.


Little miss Lou was pleased to wake up from her nap to find a new hair accessory. A girl after my own heart ;)

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Why stick to plain-o-jane terra cotta/plastic/concrete plant containers when literally your imagination is the limit to what flowers and plants can live in. Think wheelbarrows, wagons, old chairs, teapots and in this case... one of my thrifted lanterns. While visiting my favorite barn sale this past weekend, I had my eye on garden things. In particular birdbaths, but no luck there. So instead, I scooped up a couple of beat up lanterns w/o their glass with the intention of planting them with succulents. Not much instructions here and it's pretty self explanatory. Read on for tips and tricks....

I find that succulent gardens get a major boost in wow factor from the addition of found objects. Like sea shells, wire, twig or moss balls, bits of broken glass.... anything that grabs your eye. I added burlap underneath the pot to add a bit of softness to this very architectural/hard line 'garden art'. Then I played with the arrangement of the succulents, planted them in my aqua pot and then added my 'extras'. With succulent plantings you gotta remember to have at least one plant that gets fuller/taller and then one that trails out of the pot...



I'm not sure where this lantern will live. But for now it's on my front steps. Fun greeting right?
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Thought I would share a little tour of my yard. I have shared snippets here and there on facebook & instagram, but never a full spread. If I'm not DIY'n you can find me here. Gloves and wellies on, face smudged with dirt and sweat and a shovel in hand. I started out knowing nothing and now I feel pretty confidant in my gardening abilities. What was once a dirt patch is now something pretty special (at least to me!). And I guess I must be doing something right cuz the neighbors stop and say they love it (personally I think they are jut glad not to be staring at the weed haven/dirt disaster it used to be.) Hope you enjoy! If you have any specific questions send them my way. This post is mostly images.
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First a few before pics...


Then KA-ZAM!




I have a new love of succulents. So architectural and beautiful!

Dusty Miller

A mix of California sage, rockrose, golden euynamus, century plant and African dasies.

Can't be a southern California garden with out a few agave.

A variegated century plant



Some aloe (great from peeling and putting on sunburns)

Told ya I was shoveling gravel lately...

Can't have enough blue pea gravel. I just love the stuff.

Ornamental grasses.

Mix of flax, honeysuckle, sage and grasses

A San Diego fav... bougainvillaea

A gift from a neighbors garden.

Iceberg roses

A canna lily. Yes, I know it's not waterwise, but a few won't hurt.

Stattice and asparagus fern.

My growing collection of succulents. Which will be planted in a bit.

I hope to have many more of these soon.... like the garden tour I took a while back.


Thanks for stopping by and taking a gander at the garden. Hope you have a fab weekend