Easter Blessings

 

To all my peeps! 

baking day

Strawberry Swirl Poundcake, can't wait to show you the inside.



Lime Cheesecake Bundt...it will have Lime Frosting!


Giant Sugar Cookie base for fruit pizza! I made some small cookies for a small sweet p. who will be visiting.

Everything is in the freezer or refrigerator. Wednesday already,,, Hope you are having a great week. Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Penny

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Four Robins

 

Sure it may feel like winter, it might be snowing, there are still snowdrifts in the parkway...but there were 4 robins in my yard yesterday...and it gave me hope.  Spring may be taking it's time, but it will come.  Enjoy this beautiful day.

Weekend Update

 

Guess where we went this weekend... No, not the rain forest or some exotic local...Who is this, the wild man of Boreno?  No, Just my sweet hubby who needs a beard trim! And the rope bridge?   We went to Ikea!  This is one of the large canvas photos that are for sale.  I saw a photo opp, and the customers around us all had a good laugh.We purchase a area rug for the family room.  Just a little spruce up for all who are gathering for Easter at the Farm in the Willows.  (The actual meaning of our name, Willoughby!)

 

Our shopping also took us up north to Lake Geneva.  The last time we visited the lake (January 20th) it was open water.  This time on March 23rd there are ice shelters on the lake.  Go figure...

 

I don't think this is normal.

 

Though there were some signs of spring on a walk this week.  On the south facing homes we saw these snowdrops.  Perfect since it is snowing yet again as I write this.  This has been the craziest winter/spring in my memory.

We watched the movie Les Miserables and it was very dark and not what I expected.  Hugh Jackman was amazing as Jean Valjean.  I was familiar with the music, performed outside of the story.  Seriously, what was I thinking, the French Revolution would be a happy setting?  I love musicals but I would not watch this one again. 

Just for posterity, I'll report that the little bird, now almost five,  fell asleep in my arms on Sunday.  We were just hugging and I started to rock her...we were listening to Andre Bocelli's new album Passione. (Romantic, soothing, did I mention Romantic? Check it out on PBS, Andre Bocelli in Portofino...)((I couldn't find it on the PBS app but maybe your local channel will air it.)) I was surprised and delighted to have this sweet moment.  Not sure how many times this will happen again.  I have been blessed with the sweetest great nieces.  Now Grandma Penny is so looking forward to our sweet p. filling my arms later this week!

I'll check in as I prepare for Easter with progress reports.  Take care my friends, thanks so much for stopping by.  Enjoy this beautiful day.

Remembering...

Easter Sunday, 1959... Mom and me!

Do you have a new hat and gloves for Easter Sunday? ;-)

A busy day ahead. Enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Penny


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thrifting with Melanie



I found a cool sugar bowl, an a embroidered linen,
a beautiful lace pillowcase, a garden dibble and a what's it.

Melanie from Comfy House and I went to the

local Goodwill for a bit of get acquainted thrifting. 

 We had the best time, and learned so much about each other

in a couple of hours of shopping. 

 

I loved the unusual pixelated picture on the sugar bowl.

 

I had to get this Holly Hobbie plate. 

It reminded me of the sunflowers

the little bird and I planted a couple of years ago.

 

An Italian magazine actually asked to

 publish photos of my garden that year.

My photos were not up to stuff, but oh the memories...

 

What is it?...hubby's guess is some kind of

filing device, maybe for bookkeepers.

 

It's almost a yard long. 

 

Somebody donated sets and sets of stampin up stamps.  I could only justify one purchase.   We looked at just about everything.  Melanie got the sweetest lamp, some little pitchers I kept finding for her.  We both bought books.  Melanie is a bookaholic and I am not far behind.  We talked about our favorite books...Mel has a huge collection that she is always adding to.  We talked and laughed the whole time. Thanks Melanie, for a great thrifting experience.  Next month?  Hope so!

Almost forgot, I found this tupperware shape sorter for Penny.  It was one of Kristen's favorite toys and now we hope Penny will like it too.  I took it all apart and threw it in the dshwasher, I even restrung the elastic, good as new.

If you don't hear from me for a while, I'm cleaning , shopping, baking, filling baskets, planting wheatgrass, changing bedding, washing blankets all in preparation for a visit from my family and Easter Sunday.  Have a great weekend my friends, and thanks for dropping by and for all the kind comments. 

 It means so much to me.

Paper Source Peony Wreath

 

Our first day of Spring felt like January.  The low temperatures and piles of snow still on the ground did not make for a springlike feeling.  I got out my kit from the Paper Source and started to make my peony wreath, until Mother Nature is ready to let the seasons change.

 

The kit comes with all the precut flower parts just ready to punch out.  Almost everything you need is included except...a bone folder, check...scissors...check, double sided tape, check...so I started.

At first it's a little overwhelming, so many pieces of paper.  How in the world will I ever make a lifelike peony from these pieces?

 

But following the directions, yes that's a first for me...

pretty soon I had a table full of beautiful blooms!

 

These flowers took me back in time to our yard in the city.  In fact every yard had peony bushes.

Every year, my dear Dad cut the first open peony blossom for my Mom, and after my sweet Mom passed, Dad always brought the first blossom to me.

 

The wreath came together in several hours. 

 

Here is the finished product.   I added the moss green grosgrain ribbon.

It is so pretty on my Tiffany blue door. I will display it inside until Easter,

since it is paper and fragile.

Thanks again to my new friend Sharon Wexroad who invited

25 bloggers to her store on Saturday. Though I missed the make and take,

without her invitation I would have missed the beauty and fun of making this wreath.

The Penny Report...It was an infection, and Penny is being treated with antibiotics. 

She's still not 100%, but is starting to be her old cheerful and silly self. 

It's just a few days Kris and Doug and my sweet p. drop in for an Easter visit. 

Nothing makes me happier than having all my chicks back in the nest!

Thanks for dropping by my friends, and for your kind comments.  Enjoy this beautiful day!

Peat Pot Favors

 

I wanted to share with you the peat pot favors I made for the Midwest Meet up swag bags.
These are so easy, and if I might say, cute.  I added a peat pellet and some wheat grass seeds so everyone could grow their own wheat grass as a little bit o spring.

 

Here's the wheat grass after one week!

I stamped some images using StazOn, a permanent stamp pad on natural tissue paper.  This is an old as the hills technique, possibly from Carol Duvall, back in the day.  You can transfer a stamped image on pretty much any surface you can mod podge, even fabric or burlap or anything you will not wash.
(Make sure the tissue you stamp on matches the surface you will be attaching it to, then it disappears)

 

I used the MP (Mod Podge) matte, that's what I had and I actually used a wider flat brush, not the tiny one pictured. 

 

Apply a good coat of MP to the peat pot.  They are absorbent so be generous.

 

Place your dry stamped image on the pot and gently cover with another coat of MP.

 

The paper if fragile, but as long as your brush is wet with the MP
 you'll have no problems making it as flat as possible.


Hide any ends of the paper inside or under with a bit of the MP. That's it, easy... right?

I added  some covered wire I found in the floral section at Michael's, to make handles. When the pot is completely dry, punch holes on either side of the pot.  I used pliers to twist the wire

so there are no pokey ends.

 I included this sheet I photocopied from this cool seed packet I bought.

Too much information about wheat grass.

I thought it explained things better than I could.  Then I had a couple of questions from the girls I gave them to...SO here's what I should have said...

 Take the peat pellet and put in in a container with about a half cup of water.  It will expand to about 4 times it's size.  Line your decorated peat pot with plastic and plant your peat pellet with wheat grass seeds. Just sprinkle them on top, the opened side, more than you think you might need....place in the pot...keep moist and in a few days your wheat grass will sprout.  I use a spray bottle to mist mine...Enjoy.

I placed it all in a cello bag, with the directions and a little shredded dictionary paper, tied it with some bakers twine and a decorative tag.

This would make a great favor for the adults at your Easter feast, or any Springtime event. 
The kids love to watch stuff grow too!

Easter is sneaking up on me...I had so many home improvement plans...  They may have to wait till our next big event...Penny's first birthday, OM Goodness!

Thanks for stopping by my friends, I so appreciate your kind comments, but especially your friendship!
Have a great day. 

Midwest Meetup, Part Trois

 

This is what I actually bought at Room 363.  This old looking ledger sheet and the baby tears faux plant.

 

Thanks again to Mark and his great shop for hosting us.

 

This was the inspiration vignette from 363.  I purchased the baby tears and came up with this...

 

My tray is aluminum, I didn't have a succulent, so used a peony and a nest, moss and eggs for a pop of color.  That feather I found on a walk in the neighborhood last year.  I think it might be from a Horned Owl that scared the #$% out of me one night, swooping off my roof.  One of those terrifying and exhilarating moments.  It's wingspan was 4 maybe 5 feet! I think the feather was a sorry
 I scared the stuffin out of you gift!

 

This was the gift I added to the swag bag.  It is a decorated peat pot with wheat grass seeds to grow. Tomorrow I will show you how I made them.

 

After the festivities at Room 363, Lynne, Barb, Melanie, dearest hubby (who had been sitting working on his computer next door at Barnes and Noble while I played) and I sat down for a quick lunch. After a great visit, we sadly parted ways...Barb and Lynne headed back to Michigan, Melanie a little north of me, with promises to meet again soon.

 Dearest and I headed to Paper Source for a quick look.  I don't get to a Paper Source very often and didn't want to miss the chance.  I talked to one of the associates there and mentioned that I was one of the bloggers from the Midwest Meetup.  There was going to be a make and take later in the day for all the girls who attended.  They gave me the group discount on the wreath kit I bought.
It's a paper Peony wreath.  I'll show that to you when I make mine. They gave me the cards from the make and take so I can do them myself at home.  Very nice staff.  It was so kind and generous of Sharon Rexroad to make this available to us all.

 

Lynne, my generous friend brought me two old (the best kind) of clipboards.  They were used at the hospital where Lynne worked. Thank you my dear friend.  Love the pop of green;-)

Well, that wraps up the Midwest Meetup.  Now the fun, new friendships, new blogs to visit, favorite friends to visit again and again.  This blogging thing, unless you do it yourself and know how cool it is, you can't really explain it. 

Tomorrow my favors and back to real life.  Thanks for stopping by my friends.  Enjoy this beautiful day.