Ranunculus and Pink Narcissus

Hi! Forget the rain and fog---I just had to show you all my spring flowers! Earlier this week before the rains started I received a Trader Joe's (grocery) flier in the mail....

and it said that the Ranunculus were in!

web photo, via Google

So I hustled over to get some, just can't resist them.

I guess no one else can either because there was only one bunch left! White, hmmm. Usually I buy the pink or orange but white is nice. And there were pink!!! narcissus from Ireland, only 1.49 a dozen.

"Pink" daffodils aren't very pink, of course. They are creamy white with peachy centers. But they are a favorite of mine too.(You get it, right? Lizzy loves flowers, lol!)

Sarah, who writes one of my fave blogs, A Beach Cottage, is always writing about "foofing about with flowers"...she is English-Australian  and has a real way with words!

So this is me foofing with my ranunculus and daffodils......

My small white hearts look cute tied on the pitcher, don't they. This one was too prim, the old quilt bit just too, well, old (grungy) to offer for sale...so I kept it.

Love the putty suspender button!

Does anyone remember a fun little toy, from years ago...Chinese or Japanese tissue paper flowers that came in teeny tiny clamshells, sealed shut with the tiniest bit of Chinese newsprint tape? You put them in water and..

Oh...

so...

slowly...

a flower appeared!

Magic!

My mother always brought them home from New York or San Francisco Chinatowns, along with those crepe paper balls, like rag balls, filled with charms, trinkets, and a fortune. And tiny wooden nodder dolls? Oh I loved all that stuff! They'd be in my Easter basket some years too.

Anyway, ranunculus [-es? ranunculae?) look just like those tiny water flowers.

And they are one of the few flowers that even in this modern 24/7/365 world, are only available for a few short days in April.

Well worth a trip over the bridge and 4 dollars!

BTW, those little flower toys do not seem to exist anymore. But a similar craft and magical transformation can be found in "Blooming Teas" .

The flowers are, I think, real tea leaves though? Very pretty if somewhat unusable unless you have glass teacups or mugs? Fun for Mothers Day brunch?

Have a good weekend!

love

          lizzy

                        

.......gone to the beach

Rainy Tuesday

Hello, everyone! Is it drizzly by you?
Do you like a rainy day now and then?

I have to say I enjoy a grey day with a bit of rain, especially if I have an "in" day on my schedule.

I like waking up to the rain--not a storm, just Rain---plopping on my windows.

No bright sunshine to entice me to busily run errands or go spring shopping...(I was good! I grocery shopped and cleaned on Monday. Reeeally!)

On the other hand this morning when I checked my computer for messages and the weather report, I found my monitor had gone wacko during the night and was now all stretched out horizontally! More on that fix later...

By the time  I got things back to normal I was ready to get out and headed to the deserted grey beach to clear my head and refocus my eyes.
Back home I finished some new all-lavender [no polyfil] white hearts...

Some for my etsy shop,

some to fill orders....

And then I dug out fabric and laces for a new idea I have...

Beachy-primitive?

Now as I write this the rain is truly pouring down my windows here. Maybe I won't have to wash them? Lazy old me.

As for the monitor I fixed it myself! by googling the problem and reading suggestions online, here. NO need to beg my kids for help, yay! I feel so proud...and am no longer cross-eyed. btw, it was totally easy to fix but you'd never know how unless some kind tech-soul didn't walk you/me thru it.

On a fashion note, these totally cool wellies from Hunter (cool slideshow on home page) now come in duck egg blue! here 

To die for! They were featured in Martha Stewart Living's blue issue for April '11. Have to sell a LOT of hearts to afford a blue pair.......

love

     lizzy

gone to the beach

Neutral Corners

An old pencil case, now filled with spools of thread...

I love the dry old wood, the inner brightness, the craftsmanship to make a small utility object attractive..

 And how it is functional and useful after all these years...

Did it hold a student's pens and pencils? Artist's brushes?

For years it has held my quilting threads...now it will be shared, time to move on. In my etsy shop and/ or eBay.

I love threads and yarns, the perfection of a new spool or skein...

I think one of the main reasons I  knit is that my hands---and eyes---so enjoy the the textures of the yarns. And oh, all the possibilities!

I love this hemp yarn from etsy seller Hemphouse.

...so appealing, I just had to have some.

And don't you just love the sepia pansy tureen? I found it when I closet-cleaned a few weeks ago!

So...shall I make an open weave [knit] market tote?

Or attempt a sophisticated tote like this one from J.Jill?

Attaching the leather handles and looking good has me stumped! I figure I can find a belt or two to recycle, but the rivets? Hmmmm...

Off to the beach---the sun has peeked out at last. Mexican dinner tonight (taco salads, yum!).

Hope your weekend was good?

love

    lizzy

ps I made you guys this cool waves vid! Check it out!

gone to the beach