Inspiration blues...

April showers, May flowers...or so the saying goes.  There has been an abundance of precipitation around here of late, so I am expecting a plethora of flowers this year.  With so much rain in the forecast, it makes the little bursts of sunshine even more desirable.

I think that along with the sun, my inspiration is also hidden in the clouds.  For the past few days, I have been waiting for inspiration to come...

...but it hasn't.  Perhaps it's the rain and the dark clouds that are making me feel a little blue and uninspired.

I have created these little clay Hydrangeas and am hopeful sharing these pictures and my thoughts will get me out of this 'funk'.  Your words of wisdom always touch my heart and make me smile.

So here they are ready for their close up.  I went searching for some milk glass for Mother's Day and was lucky to have found several pieces.

I also found a beautiful vintage frame which I painted white, and bought some gorgeous smelling soaps from a little boutique near by (shopping therapy often works).  I plan on making a sweet little package for my mum for Mother's Day.  She loves Hydrangeas and these items will look great in her bathroom.

The necklace was a gift from hubby and the ring is his Nan's wedding band.  It was given to me by my sweet Mother-in-Law.  Nan, who is going to be 90 years old this fall, lives in England and is the epitome of a posh English lady.  Unfortunately, she suffers from Parkinsons and dementia, which is a heart-breaking disease for everyone involved in her life.

I managed to take some photos of my clay Hydrangeas resting upon some real Hydrangea leaves.  I think they look lovely and could pass for real.

I had originally prepared a tutorial using polymer clay and a different technique, but found it very complicated to take pictures of the steps.  Then, I came across a tutorial - courtesy of Martha Stewart - that I found was much simpler and you can even watch a video of it here.  So I combined the tutorials and hope you like the results.

You will need:

White Crayola Model Magic (air drying clay)

blue food coloring

toothpick

floral wire

floral tape

scissors

You could use either the Model Magic or the Polymer clay.  For this tutorial, I decided to use the Model Magic because the material is similar to the one used on the Martha show.

But here is my little secret...you have the ability of making any color you want by adding a few drops of food coloring to the clay.  It does not change the consistency and you save some money in the process.  For this particular color, I used approx one drop of blue and less than a drop of red.  I had originally written the steps on my pictures, but feared they are too small, so I have also written them below. 

1. Make an oval shape of approx 1.5"
2. Cut the top part in four as shown
3. Flatten each petal with your fingers and round the tips
4. With a toothpick, make the indentations for each petal and make a little hole in the centre.

5. Roll a small piece of yellow or blue clay for the stamen
6. Apply it to the centre of the flower with the toothpick
7.Allow to dry (approx24 hrs or if using polymer clay bake as per package instructions)
Note: If you are using polymer clay, insert wire at the bottom of flower prior to baking.
8. Once dry, pierce floral wire to the bottom, secure with a little hot glue.
9. Wrap wire with floral tape and group into bunches of 4 or 5
10. Wrap all stems together with floral tape.

I think they look very sweet sitting in the milk glass.  I placed some of my coffee filter roses to go along with the display.

I also bought these gorgeous Hydrangeas at our local nursery.  I bought some for my mom and some for my mother-in-law.  Let's hope someone buys some for me as well (honey?).

Thank you once again for stopping by.  Knowing that you are here always makes me feel better.  I look forward to hearing from you and finding out how and where you find inspiration.

much love,
Lucy




I will be linking

here  and here, thank you for taking the time to host !

Blooming in the rain...

It rained all day, but while I was painting, the sun peeked through the clouds just long enough to allow me to snap some photos.

 I'm sure you have heard it several times before but natural sun light is the best light for taking pictures. Although some times if the subject is placed right under the sun light you might get an overexposed image so you have to find the 'sweet spot'.

 I am not a photographer  but I have a passion for photography and hope to become a little more savvy on the subject.

Gorgeous Hydrangeas even in their lifeless form...

It wasn't until editing the photos that I realized I had placed the flower beside the word 'home'.  It was also then that I realized that the words 'Holy Spirit' and 'Holy Ghost' are both on this page.

I'm working on a Mother's day gift...

...and these Hydrangeas are the perfect inspiration.

They bloomed in my mom's garden last summer.

She had cut and given them to me...

And it only seems fair that I return the favour.

I have a couple of Mother's day ideas that I want to share and hope you will join me in the days to come so I may do so.

Sending you warm hugs,

Lucy

I will be linking to Tricia's new Photo Feature Friday

Our day at the circus...

"Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW! It is fun to have fun But you have to know how." - Dr Seuss

As you might remember, we had been preparing to celebrate my little nephew's 1st birthday party.  And even though the weekend was extremely busy, it was all worth it.  There is nothing more beautiful than families coming together to celebrate life!

 The yellow and red served as the perfect
backdrop for a 'Big Top' kinda photo shoot.

Here is the circus cake we made

 Meet Leenus

 Bonkey-bonk

Clap

 and you already know Ely

It was so much fun making this cake.  A few stumbles along the way (we're new at this) but such is life; we experience obstacles, we work through them and most of the time things work out at the end.

 Weeks of planning, hours of sculpting...gone after only a few minutes...

Take a bow ...

I hope you had a great Easter weekend and your week ahead is one full of laughter.

much love,

Lucy

He Is Risen.......

Have a blessed Easter

much love,

Lucy

A cake 'poppy' kinda day...

I hope you are having a beautiful weekend.  Just a tiny little post to show you what my sister and I made for Easter today.

 I am sorry if the quality of the pictures is not very
good; they were taken at night and with my iPhone.

 We made a few little cake pops in shapes
of birdies, bunnies, tulips and eggies...

We made two little baskets...

 We are just learning the ropes when it comes to working with chocolate...

We have a lot of laughs every time something goes wrong.  It's interesting and beautiful how this little endeavour of ours, brings us together as we cheer each other on through our 'flops' and our 'yays!'

Tomorrow we finish our circus cake.  I have made some other friends to keep my little elephant company and can't wait to see it all together.

Sending you a chocolatey hug,

Lucy

A gift for Mother Earth

I'm giving Mother Earth a little gift....

These little containers once held berries and cherry tomatoes...

 I painted them and added some pretty scrap paper and some ribbon...

Our mail usually comes bundled up and secured with these elastic bands, but unfortunately, people dump them on the ground as soon as they pick up the mail.  Hubby knows how I feel about that and he makes a point of picking them up and brings them home to me.  I have hundreds of them, but they now have a sweet home in their own recycled berry box.

I prepared this one for the kiddies.  I attended my cousin's baby shower this weekend and these were given to us as a party favour.  They came in a sweet box, but I think this little box is just as pretty.

We recently watched a documentary about the landfills in Brazil and the many people who survive by picking recyclable items from the dumps in order to resell them.  I was so moved by the story, but there was one particular line that stayed with me - " 99 is not 100".

This line is repeated by a man who has been 'picking' for almost 50 years.  He views himself as a hero, a protector of Nature, and I understand his view.  There will be 3 less plastic containers in the landfills today.  It's small, but it's my gift to the Earth.

I wanted to share a poem I had written a while back, shortly after the Oil spill disaster.  While I usually always look for the silver lining, I remember feeling anger and great sadness at the time.  I feel it's appropriate for today since it is that passion for a greener and cleaner Earth that inspired me to write it...

Another day is upon me and my sheets holding me ever so softly and warm don't want to let me go.  I too, hold on to them and try to send this new day away. "You've come too soon", I say.

I begrudgingly arise from our bed, my legs barely wanting to move and start the day.  I walk over to the window and see clouds grey and cold, full of sorrow and sadness.  Rain coming down like tears upon our earth.  Why do you cry? I wonder.  Tears slowing down telling me the sad story.

"The oceans, once beautiful mirrors of the earth, now dirty and smudged.  The forests, once lush green carpets,  now sparse and bare.  Beautiful landscapes, now landfills of human's greed.  Children's sweet songs of laughter, now cries of abandonment.  White doves symbolizing peace now hide under the shadow of hungry vultures looking for leftovers of war.  The poor are forgotten while the rich boast under the reflection of their gold.  Rain coming down forcefully now, clouds sobbing."

What can I do?, I asked. " Don't turn your back." they said.  " Don't forget the poor...don't ignore the cry of the children...don't litter your lands.  PRAY hard for justice and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE as hard and as deep as you can, as passionately as you can.  APPRECIATE what you have because you have more than many.  Don't forget, but rejoice they said.  Tomorrow we'll feel better because people are cleaning the oceans; people are planting trees.  White flags are being raised.  Children are being picked up and held; the poor are being given bread to eat; the rich are sharing their wealth.  The people of the earth are praying and they are loving one another.  Be thankful for a new day, no matter how grey it is."

I sigh, close my window and slowly walk to wake my children from their slumber as I embrace this brand new day.  

Here is a bright and cheery picture to
wish mother Earth a happy green day.

I hope you find the time today to do
your part in renewing our earth.

much love,

Lucy