Daisy days of summer

Daisy's---  love and hate 'em--

They grow like crazy and I spend a big chunk of gardening time pulling them out like weeds.

But without the daisies my flower garden would be a bit boring and certainly not as cheery and full.

This bouquet was a bunch of daisies I chopped down because they were overgrown and crowding out my lavender.  Poor lavender just needed a little sunlight!

Gotta love a flower that grows like a weed and even the ones 'weeded' out of the garden look good in the house.    And despite the extra work to keep them from invading everything, flowers growing like weeds are appreciated in the harsh North Dakota climate.....

Old favorite to new favorite...

I bet most of us have had a pair of jeans that seemed super special and then got worn and worn and worn out.  ( Anyone else remember when Zena jeans were THE jeans to own? )   And of course you don't throw them away, you reinvent.  This pair of jeans became bracelets as well as this apron.

Grab that old pair of jeans.  Cut up the side seam right next to the seam.  Cut along the waistband on the front of the jeans and leave the waist band attached to the back of the jeans.  The waistband will serve as the tie for your apron.

Cut the jeans off below the back pockets at the length that works for you.

Sew on a wide ruffle to add length to the apron.  This ruffle is actually an old valence I had made for windows in a previous house.  (Pays to save things you know you can re-use!)  And embellish as you choose.

I added a drop cloth rosette, and bits of lace to finish this one off.

And there it is, a cute free apron so that favorite pair of jeans can become a new favorite apron.  :)  Let me know if you make one. There are lots of fun variations on this apron floating around.

Sign of the times

Yep, all three children are now married and settling into their own family lives.  My daughter puts up with a lot of pressure  flack for living so far away.  ....something about the weather in North Dakota.....   My sons live about an hour a way while my daughter lives about 12 hours away.   And this all led to a project.  I have a newly expanded deck/patio that I have been busy decorating and decided a sign post would be a fun touch.  The different towns and distances represent where the kids live and where my husband and I go to work.

 
And for whatever reason, the sign brings back memories of watching M*A*S*H.   Pretty sure they had a sign of this type at camp.

This is one of the projects that was fun and leaves me smiling.  Though the pictures don't quite do them justice, I looove the way the finishes on the different sign boards turned out and had much fun playing around to get them right.

I am also very glad my husband saves scraps of wood and and other found items so there is always a ready supply of materials when I get an idea.

I also have fun playing with the power tools.   Gotta love a power saw, and sander, and drill.....

I did let my daughter know that her sign has one too many digits.....

Summer relaxation begins

June in North Dakota is most glorious.  The days are long as it is light before 6 am and lasting until 10 pm.   Daytime temps are summer warm and cool off in the evening,  And it is green and blooming!

I almost have this flowerbed cleaned up.  It was an established flower bed when we bought the home but it needed lots of TLC.  This is the view out the living room window.  The back yard is several acres and extends beyond the raise you see in the background.  I particularly enjoy the deer that have a path through our yard.

This flower bed is still a bit wild.  It has mostly late summer bloomers so I need to add some more early summer blooming plants,

Can't keep up with the daisies.  I love them and hate them.  I through away loads of self seeded daisies and still have them everywhere to enjoy.

The roses I have planted are flourishing.

And the oriental poppies are the stars of the garden at this time of year.  I have several smaller plants growing so hopefully there will be many more of these flowers in the future!

And just finished a patio/deck addition so will post once that is all completed and decorated.  Pansies are such a happy flower.  They just make me smile.

Here is to relaxing and enjoying summer and the outdoors!

Wrapping things up

This past weekend, my daughter got married.  It has been a very busy spring getting ready for a destination wedding.   It was a delightful week in Missouri with family and a wonderful wedding!

And now that my daughter and son-in-law are off on their honeymoon, I am planning on doing a bit more blogging....

So easing into to blogging with a simple post here and the simple wrapping for some shower gifts.

I like unique wrappings that are relatively easy and inexpensive ('cause they are gonna get thrown away).

Plain brown paper, wrapping twine, tags, and tissue paper used in a different way.   Now I wish I would have put a bit more thought into the tags....

Tissue paper used to make the rosettes that have been all over blog land stood in for bows.  Tissue paper leaves accented the rosettes.

Simple, unique  and quick wrapping for some home made shower gifts that pleased the bride.  Easy peasy.