Oh, the things you can do with a faux cabbage!

How I love faux cabbages...their colors are so vibrant, the leaves so soft and they are a really nifty craft element. The baskets I made for Easter were a big hit (Martha ordered 6 green ones for her own Easter table!) and were fun to make. Yes, your fingertips do get a bit scorched but it's worth it because the little baskets are so sweet.

Now I've gone a little cabbage crazy and made one into a lamp shade. Waddaya think? Cute, no? I just used a small lampshade and hot glued the cabbage leaves onto it, starting at the bottom and overlapped them. I trimmed the top ones and wrapped them around the top of the shade and glued them in place. I dry brushed a bit of glue on the leaves, dusted with you know what and voila, a lampshade even Peter Rabbit would love!

Dabbling with artichokes...

Started messing around with one of my faux artichokes today, and instead of making an ornament for the Christmas tree or window, as I usually do, I made it into this sweet little basket with a twig handle. My cabbage baskets were such fun to make so I thought I'd try with an artichoke. It would make a great place card holder at a Spring dinner party or it could hold some candies or chocolates. ( My brain is in a "chocolate" mode today! )
After disassembling an artichoke (ouch!) , I painted the inside of a small papier-mache box green, then glued the artichoke leaves around the box in concentric rings. The handle is just honeysuckle vines cut into 12" lengths and twirled around a bit and hot glued in place. Couldn't be easier. Of course, I dusted it with a bit of fairy dust for that little extra something! Let me know what you all think...

On a scale of 1 to 10, today is a 20 !!!!!

I am soooo glad I decided to take a lunch break today. The lilacs are at their absolute peak, the wisteria is bursting its britches and it is one of those "great-to-be-alive-days". As I stroll thru my yard, I can't help but realize how incredibly lucky I am to be surrounded by such beauty. I intend to drink it all in...

Lunch was reasonably satisfying. I devoured a nice, sensible turkey sandwich and a glass of milk. Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I remembered a dark secret lurking in my freezer. A David Glass "Ultimate Chocolate Truffle Cake" was screaming to me, pulling me into its velvety web. For one, fleeting moment, I thought of my wonderful Weight Watcher's Leader, and how she would have advised me to redirect myself, reign myself in, and forget the cake demon. I, of course, put away a sizeable hunk along with another sensible glass of milk. It just doesn't get any better than this...

Days like this must be etched in one's mind...this peak of perfection might not come again for at least a year. Not too hot, not too cool, no bugs...and chocolate...heaven in my garden.

And this is one scene that CANNOT be improved upon by adding glitter!

Hope you can stroll thru your garden, whether in the flesh, looking out a window or just in your mind!