Spring Blossoms: Bring ’em Inside

March 2, 2016September 19, 2016 spcountrygal Decorating, Flowers, Home Accessories, Home Sweet Home, Spring Craft Decorating, Flowers, Quick and Easy, Spring Craft, Spring Time

Cover Pic Spring Has Sprung

I know that it is only March, but we have been seeing signs of Spring for a couple of weeks now. Crazy, isn’t it?

Spring blossoms are even gorgeous at night time:

Believe me, I’m not complaining about Spring coming early at all! This year I decided to bring springtime to the inside of my house by bringing in blossom covered branches. I am reveling in Spring inside and outside!

Pink blossoms arrangement

White blossoms arrangement

These have looked good for a solid week! Not bad for something that cost me nothing more than 5 minutes work of cutting, gathering, and displaying. I’ll admit that my white blossoms kind of stink a bit, but the pink ones smell divine. Like Spring has sprung right there in my dining room. The scents seemed to diminish after day 3, though. For those of you who are allergic to spring blossoms, I am SO sorry! Maybe you can have a loved one cut and display a bunch, leave them outside and enjoy them from indoors.

After day 7, my pink bouquet is looking a little sad. No problem, I’ll venture outside and gather more. I’ve got an extra couple of minutes! The white bouquet, however, looks just as good as it did the day that I brought it inside.

So, what’s the weather like in your neck of the woods? Has spring sprung yet? If not, you have that to look forward to…don’t worry. It WILL come. And, when it does, make sure that you grab some blossom-filled branches and bring a bit of Spring inside.

Cover Pic Spring Blossoms Arrangement

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Autumn Colors: Peacock and Pumpkin

October 29, 2015October 29, 2015 spcountrygal Autumn, Decorating, Flowers Autumn, Decorating, Flowers, Home Accessories

As of last month, I have a new favorite fall color combination:

I came across it by fluke, really. First I purchased this shower curtain

I bought it for $10 at Ross with the intention of turning it into decorative pillow covers, but I threw it over my dining room table to get out the wrinkles and it morphed into my new table cloth instead. I must say that L*O*V*E it. The above pic reflects its true color. I call it Peacock Blue. I wish that all of my pics reflected this color correctly, because, sadly they don’t. I’m not sure why. Hmm. Anyway…when I brought my Fall décor in and threw my regular Autumn flower pot in the center of the table…magic happened.

I admit that I had to manipulate the hue in order to get the true Peacock Blue for the above image. It looks a bit oranger than it should. But I still love the color combo. More pics

New Favorite Autumn Color Duo

Yummy color combo

Peacock Blue and Pumkin Pie Orange

Peacock Blue and Pumpkin Pie Orange…my new favorite Autumn color duo.

What colors are you crushing on this Fall?

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Orchids: Silk versus Real

May 4, 2015January 12, 2016 spcountrygal Accessories, Decorating, Flowers, Home Accessories Accessories, Decorating, Flowers, Home Accessories

How do you feel about silk plants? Are you a purist who will only allow fresh flowers in your home? Do you frequent the silk flower section at Michaels, Hobby Lobby or Dollar Tree? Or, are you perhaps somewhere in between? I place myself in the latter category and in just a minute, I will show you why. Before I do, I wanted to show you an article that I found from Architectural Magazine. Let me quote just a little,

“Mention fake plants to most people and the response will be outrage—artificial flora is a soulless simulacrum, they moan, a horticultural travesty, and just plain tacky. John Updike, the novelist, called them an “obscene mockery”. Yet no less a design authority than Mario Buatta swears by potted silk orchids, saying they look like the real thing and are godsend for clients who travel so frequently they can’t keep real ones alive.”

I couldn’t agree more. Case in point? This little natural beauty:

Stunning, isn’t it? Ahem. Actually it looked great for about 2 months I would say. I made sure that I didn’t water it too much. I made sure that no water ever touched the leaves. I made sure that it wasn’t in direct sunlight, yadda, yadda, yadda. I was quite proud of my little orchid and of my apparent green thumb. But, like all good things, the blooms came to an end. I was left with just that one little bloom. After some research I learned that if I continued to care for the “plant” with just the right amount of watering, right placement, etc. it could bloom again! In about a year. Hmmmph. The phrase, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” comes to mind. Into the trash it went.

And check out the orchid that I have had for almost 10 years:

It is still as beautiful as the day that I bought it. The only upkeep is a light leaf-dusting every couple of months. The only thing that I have changed is the pot color. Teal spray paint with a bit of Minwax Ebony stain to age it.

Here is my mom’s fake orchid:

It’s a beauty, isn’t it? It has been looking this fabulous for 3 or 4 years now. When my sister gave her the orchid, she started messing with the branches to reshape them, and Mom finally said, “I’m afraid that you are going to break it.” My sister then answered, “Mom, you do know that this is fake, right?” She didn’t.

Which makes my point perfectly. Is it really such a travesty to have fake plants, in this case orchids, if they can forever be in bloom, looking vivid and fabulous? My answer? An emphatic “No!” Of course I do still love real flowers, as well. I’m pretty well-rounded that way.

So, what do you think? Are silk plants/flowers allowed in YOUR home?

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Raid Your Yard: Lovely in Lavender

April 11, 2015September 16, 2016 spcountrygal Accessories, DIY, Flowers, Quick Project, Spring Craft DIY, Flowers, Home Accessories, Quick and Easy

What is growing in your yard right this very minute? If you don’t know, run and look. I’ll wait. At this spring time of year it seems like everything is in bloom and looking beautiful.

Here are some areas in my yard that I am absolutely loving right now:

Azalea

Iris

? Only yellow in Spring

Lavender

Rock Rose

Today I decided to get all Martha Stewart-like and bring some of my outdoors…indoors. Some people like to gather a bit of every kind of flower that they have in bloom and put them in a vase. Me? I prefer only one type of flower in each arrangement. That’s just me, though. I decided to gather lavender since we have absolute TONS of it in our landscaping.

Let me share a story that I always think of whenever I see lavender: My friend was wearing the color lavender when she was approached by a guy who, in what must have been his best “designer guy” impression, said to her, “You look lahv-ly in lah-vender.” Cracks me up every time. Just trust me when I say that this stuff is buzzing with bees. Buzzzzing like crazy

Since we have absolute oodles of lavender, I decided to make a few arrangements with items that we already have on hand. Ready to see?

I think that this is an actual Martha Stewart pitcher. I like it. I like it a lot.

This is a tall, modern vase that I like to keep in my kitchen window above the sink.

This funky, modern looking vase was purchased at Michaels a couple of years ago. My daughter likes to keep it in her room.

And lastly, this one:

Just a simple jar that everyone, and their neighbor’s dog, has. A drop of blue and a tiny drop of yellow food coloring makes the perfect aqua water. A touch of raffia completes the look.

I’m loving having the outdoors, indoors today! Four new arrangements and it didn’t cost me a dime. Love that, too! My home is lovely in lavender. (Snicker!)

Now, why don’t you grab some scissors and a vase and go raid YOUR yard! I promise you will be glad you did! (Just watch out for bees!)

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