The Great Divide

I've decided to divide the walls of the garden center into sections of interest. This is one wall idea.

On this wall there will be an area for tropical plants and a birding center that wraps around the back corner.  These cute little bird houses were purchased from Katie at Katie's Clay Corner on Etsy. I ordered two more items from Katie today. Can't wait to show you. :D The bird cage was an Ebay find.

I will add shelves to display products that relate to each area. There will be a section for fairy gardens (1:144  scale) and one for garden art. I hope to have room for tools and supplies and space for pottery?

I'll be working on the tropical plant area first. Hope you have a great day!

One Palm On Deck

Good morning from the deck of the Adelaide Beachy beach house.

This tree won't stay here, but I wanted you to see something that is finished for a change. 

The little orange tree, the wreath and calla lily as well as the roses were all handmade. Sorry for the blurry photo. The sun is just coming up this morning and I have only had one cup of coffee...

I like making plants and flowers. I had an idea yesterday to make one tropical plant for each letter of the alphabet each week.  After 52 weeks I weeks I would have 52 different plants!  A for Amaryllis, B for Bromeliad, C for Calla Lily etc. Okay, maybe 26 weeks? That would still be a lot of plants!

See how easily I get sidetracked?!

Back to work on the palms. P is for PALMS. No more excuses. Hope you have a great day!

Baby Botany

I've been working on more baby plants. They still need a little work but I wanted to show you what I've done so far...


There is a wealth of information on the net with photos and information about plants. Here is one site I found. I find it helpful to look at photos of the plants I am trying to make. Making them this small is the real challenge!

Time to go to work. My eyes need a break!

Hope you have a beautiful day!

My Green Thumb

Here is what I've been doing today...


Not only painting my thumb, but all of these!


Now I can get out the pink and red and yellow and paint some more!

These guys have been watching me with great interest. I have five of them now. These are the three I just bought. I guess that means I'm a "collector" of Nicky's wonderful birds? :D


Hope you are having fun today too?
Blessings, Kathi

10,000 Stitches

I just realized that the rug pattern (Bird of Paradise) I was going to try has 10,000 stitches!

I think I should do something smaller!

I found these free patterns at Brooke Nolan Cross Stitch. Cute cute cute!

I've packed up some of my mini supplies to take with me to Florida. I'll be stitching and making more plants. That is, when I'm not at the Winter Park Art Festival, the beach or in the pool!

Everything fits nicely in my new tote bag.

Do you remember this pattern? It's from Villa Lagoon Tile at Cafe Press. I love it!

Hope you have a beautiful day!
Blessings, Kathi

More Plants in Progress

Since it's cold, dark and dreary here today I thought I would make some more tropical plants.

I bought some pretty pots from BeautifullyHandmade on Ebay and they arrived this week. She really has some nice minis!

Here are some leaves that are waiting to be planted...

These are the little wooden hanging baskets I made from matchsticks. I can't decide if I will paint or stain them? I want to make some fern plants for them. I'm going to try using the coffee filters I painted. Wish me luck!

This is one plant that I finished today. It will probably go in the conservatory or on the deck.


I'm really itching to cut the holes in the house for the french door and new window. I bought a Craftsman set of saws. Now I'm armed and dangerous!

Hope you are having a nice weekend too. It's so much fun to have mini time!

Blessings,
Kathi

Baby Bromeliads

I did get something accomplished today.
I made three little bromeliad plants.

Tomorrow I really should take down my Christmas tree...

Sweet Dreams!
Kathi

Potted Plants?

I'm still making leaves and looking for something to "plant" them in. Here are a few things I gathered up this morning...

I found this cardboard packaging that might work too?

I'm wondering what to use to hold the leaves in the pot? Clay? Florist foam?
What do you use for potting soil? Dried coffee grounds? Painted sand?

I hope to have at least one plant finished today? These leaves are for a bromeliad I'm working on...

It's so cold here today! I'm staying inside and dreaming of a stroll through Linda's tropical garden!

Photo from Lime In the Coconut
Thanks Linda! I love visiting your garden!

Back to the masking tape and wire with a gorgeous photo on my desktop for inspiration!

Blessings,
Kathi

Inspiration Plants

I Googled "tropical plant images" and found this great web site - Don Robb.com. They make real size silk plants. There are lots of tropical plant images there and they are even kind enough to list the size of their plants. Makes it easier to copy in 1:12!

These two are the next plants I'm going to try.



A robellini palm and a fan palm.



I had both of these palms in my yard in Florida as well as many other tropical plants. Here is one of my Christmas cactus in full bloom!


This is a rubber tree plant next to my garage. I had to keep cutting it back because it got so big!

I brought a couple of my bromeliads here to Alabama. They aren't doing too well but are still alive!

This photo is from LiliputGardens.com but my bromeliads looked just like this in bloom! Aren't they pretty?

My plants are tucked away in my frozen laundry room now. I have a small electric heater in there now so hopefully they will survive the winter?

It was much easier to garden in Florida. The sunshine and sandy soil made it a joy to dig and plant! Here in Alabama the soil is clay and hard as a rock. I do like planting bulbs here though. Spring is beautiful with all of the daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips! I couldn't grow those in Florida...

For now I'm gathering ideas to make more tropical plants for my dollhouse and conservatory. No need to water them and they won't freeze! Hope you enjoy the links and are inspired to make some plants too.

Hope you have a happy day!
Blessings, Kathi

Colored Pencils

One of the benefits of waking up at 4:30 am is having some time to make minis!

I decided to try some colored pencils over watercolor. I like the look. My little pencil sharpener broke so I'll have to add more detail later. I think they will look cute once I make some frames for them...

Sure wish I didn't have to go to work! Mini-making is way more fun than taking blood pressures and giving flu shots!

Hope you have a creative and happy day!
Blessings, Kathi