my little Christmas cactus

I purchased this Christmas cactus quite a few years ago because I loved the unusual flowers.  It bloomed the first few years, then nothing.  Of course it has been dropped, picked at by little fingers, and there have been times where I have totally forgotten to water it.  Well, this summer it only had about 6 branches left, so I stuck it outside on a shelf, where I promptly forgot about it again.  It loved it out there!!! 
Sun and rain!!!
 Look at it now!

It's blooming!  
I saw the little flower buds on it while it was still outside, but now that the temperatures are dipping again, I had to bring it into the house.  These pictures were taken over the weekend.   I love the bright pink flowers, and the shape of them is so different, and I love different.  I took another picture to get a good close up of the flowers.

They have opened up even more.  I sure hope it will continue to bloom until Christmas.  Hmmmm, maybe I'll try growing an Amaryllis again this year.  Miracles can happen you know. :0)

Be blessed,

Debbi

fall flowers

Someone forgot to tell these flowers that summer is over and I am no longer gardening.
 



I found this lonely little petunia in my pot pile.  Just when you think something is dead...and has been dead all summer...well, there she is! lol  And these dainty white flowers were growing over by our fire pit...amongst a pile of dead twigs waiting to be burned.  Yes, I have many piles in our yard, and just for fun, I'll make the kids move them around every now and then.  :0)  A few summers ago, we had a pile of rocks for our garden pond, and a foster son who had anger issues.  So every time he trashed our house or got into a fight, he had to move the pile of rocks.  It was a looooong summer, but by the end of it, he had not only learned to control his outbursts (anger is ok, hitting is not) but he had some great biceps too.

  

Up by my studio is my new, and still growing, hibiscus.  We planted one on each side of the steps.  I just love the bright orange and yellow of the HUGH blooms.  I got this mandavilla to cover our not needed satellite dish.  I thought all mandavilla's were vines, but I bought a bush.  Oh well, the flowers are a pretty red with white stripes.  It's so nice to still be able to go outside and enjoy the remnants of my summer.  I pray everyone enjoys theirs.  And stop looking at the weeds! heehee

Be blessed,

Debbi

the colors of nature

Last night, after dinner, we went to Lowes for a potato fork so we can harvest the pitiful potatoes from our garden.  (The 3 digit heat this summer is not doing our veggies any good).  While there I got distracted, easily distracted, in their gardening section.  Look what I found!

It's a hibiscus...and I just fell in love with the colors...now I just need the find the perfect spot.  After taking this picture I decided to stroll thru my yard and check out my other flowers.

Some crepe myrtle, blooming a little early due to the heat...

My day lilies...the bright orange ones came from our neighbor, and the peach ones we planted last year.

My roses are feeling the heat...badly.  It's so hot, I haven't even had too much trouble with the beetles, lol  Out of my 13 bushes...I only have 2 flowers, but they are bright and happy flowers.

 Chuck "found" this bakers rack top, and so he attached it to the side of his work shop.  A great place to add some color with flowers.  Trying to find high heat and low water plants limits your choices, but I love my sunny cactus, and zinnias are another favorite or mine, and of my butterflies.

The only plants thriving in this heat are the weeds...the ground along the road by my mailbox was just cut last week by the county.  And this grew to about 3 feet high in just that week.  But the cool thing about this weed is the top....

covered with tiny yellow flowers.  The beauty of nature!

So, how does your garden grow this super heated summer?

Be blessed,

Debbi



Spring has sprung in the BESTeam

Spring officially started on the 20th of this month, but the weather has been spring for many weeks now.  And I love it!  So today I want to share with you the flowers blooming in the BESTeam.
I love having my jewelry match, and you'll find some great pieces that match, at BlueWhiteWear.  Claire has many great pieces listed in her shop. I first chose the Cabaret Pink Red Bead bracelet and then right next to it I found the matching necklace.  A great set to wear to your next picnic.  Look for more of BlueWhiteWear here

Etsy / Blog / Twitter

The next shop is one I have personally done business with (which reminds me...I need another card for another great-grandbaby, wink wink).  Empty On The Inside.

Annie is an amazing artist, and devout vegan who tried to help me bake bread...a good friend.  I love this Purple Coneflower card, I look at it and wait for a butterfly to land.  And this Daisy Chain card reminds me of the chains I used to make with my BFF on warm summer days.  Annie keeps her cards "empty on the inside" so you can write down your own personal feelings.  They are also great framed!

Etsy / Blog / Vegan blog / Facebook / Twitter

My last share for the day is Patty's Dream Design.  Here is where you'll find the prettiest and most feminine jewelry.  Pearls and pastels.

This one on my left has a colorful orange flower pendant, and Patty paired it up perfectly with green and orange beads.  And the necklace on the right has a pretty pink dogwood pendant on a chain of light pink and green glass pearl beads.  What a perfect accent to wear to a summer wedding.  Look for more of Patty's Dream Designs here.

Etsy / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Stumbleupon

I hope you like my choices for spring...and be sure to visit these wonderful shops and see all the great items there.  And if you're an Etsy artisan with a blog, or a blogger with an Etsy shop, come join the BESTeam on Etsy.

Debbi

What's new at my place?

Wow, it has been crazy at my house lately.  First I've been super busy with the Besteam, and then I joined the On Fire For Handmade Team, plus we decided that this was the year we are going to enclose our back deck and make it our living/family room....by Thanksgiving.  Is that even possible you say?  Well, here is what my back deck looked like this past Friday.  As you can see, it had become "the junk room".  Do you have one?  Growing up, my mom had a junk drawer which was suppose to be for those items you're not sure where to put?  But our junk drawer consisted of a whole dresser, plus the top, and the table next to it...you can see where this is going.  My mom hated to throw things away.  She once joined a club called the "messies club".  It was suppose to help her organize and sort her stuff, but instead she just started a new pile for the "messies club" newsletters. hahaha.  Well, the deck is now cleared off except for the glass top picnic table, the grill, and the "bowflex" machine. (I have no idea where to put that thing, Owen is the only one that messes with it, sheesh).  So that leaves me 3 1/2 weeks to move the electric meter, add windows, doors, walls, and a new floor.  Hmmm,  we shall see.  Now I also want to share with y'all some new items I finished and listed in our Etsy shop, just in time for fall/Thanksgiving home decorating.

We have this cute little scarecrow just relaxing amongst some bitty yellow flowers in a vintage basket, and a straw wreath wrapped in a rust ribbon and accented with yellow and orange silk flowers and a little pinecone.

And just yesterday I listed this little straw hat just brimming with fall leaves and little pumpkins.  Great for your front door, or you can wear it if you have a small head. :~D
When I found this vintage straw basket with a little scarecrow in front, I knew it just needed some bright flowers to bring it to life.

You can learn about these items, or the aforementioned Etsy teams by clicking on their links.  I'll see you tomorrow with my Besteam finds of the week.
Debbi

Besteam feature on youaremysunshine

"you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey,

 you'll never know dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away"

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found that I get to feature Nina from You Are My Sunshine on Etsy...again.  I love this shop.  Everytime I see her banner, I start to sing this song.  I used to sing this song to my youngest son when he was little (he's now almost 28, gahhhh), and what a pleasant surprise to read on Nina's profile that she also sang this to her boys.  Great minds, and all! haha.  Here are just a few new items she has added since my last shopping trip.  Yes, I am a satisfied customer :) .

She is know for her fabric flowers, but how she incorporated them into jewelry is wonderful...

like this elegant flapper bracelet.

She also upcycled this mini purse, and dressed it up with, you guessed it, a beautiful flower.

And my all time fave is this "dazzling, calling for attention" brooch.  And it certainly does that!

With 907 sales, and 555 feedbacks, all 100% positive, you can rest easy that your money is being wisely spent in Nina's shops.  And speaking of shops, I don't know how I missed this the first time, but Nina has a second shop on Etsy...My Sunshine Vintage.

I would have finished this feature long before now, but I literally got lost in this shop searching for just the right items to share with you.  With 913 items to choose from, I was happily lost in this vintage world.  I love all things old...at least older than me...haha.  When they first started playing my songs on the classic station, I cried, and while antiquing with my hubby, I used to say "I wonder what it was like back then".  Now I say "hey, I remember those". 

Like these bright and colorful vintage tinker toys.

Now, I didn't play with these myself, but my kids would have. 

And these potholders would have been something my granny would keep in her kitchen.

Way too pretty to use.....and speaking of granny, check out these glasses!!!  My "much older" sisters used to wear glasses like these, HAH!

And for one of my favorite memories ever...Alice in Wonderland.

I grew up in an old farmhouse, and my mother (who was a great artist) painted an Alice In Wonderland mural on the wall in our back breezeway.  Remember breezeways???  So this mural was the last thing we would see going out, and the first thing we would see coming home.

My Sunshine Vintage is also an established shop with over 1500 sales, and 100% positive feedback.  You really must check it out, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there.

You can also find Nina on facebook and twitter, and follow her blog for more shopping fun.

~Debbi~

If you are an Etsy seller that blogs, or an blogger that has an Etsy shop, check out the BESTeam for fun, support, and promotions!

the BEST colors of the BEST team treasury

Today was my turn to make the BESTeam treasury.  Now, I'm not much of a treasury maker, it just gives me the urge to go shopping.  Plus it's so hard to choose from all the great shops on Etsy.  So to get me into a treasury mode, I signed up to make a BESTeam treasury.  You know, make a commitment, one that would force me to get into the treasury habit.  Well, my turn is today.  Most treasuries have a "theme" but I still did not have one during our team chat last night, and I told the others that they would just have to be surprised.  Like me, lol.  But when I peeked into the first shop, You Are My Sunshine, and I saw this big, bold, beautiful, blue necklace it hit me.  !BAM!  Color!  That's my theme, and my team did not disappoint me.  So, without further ado, here are my choices for the Best colors of the Besteam.

'the BEST colors of the Besteam' by ourhometoyours

I love color, and here are some I found in the shops of my BESTeam buddies.

Shabby Fabric Flowers ... youaremysunshi... $50.00	Bright Orange Mod 1960/... wayfaringmagno... $128.00	Antiqued Brass Flower C... Plumbeadacious $17.00
Personalized Bib and Bu... pecanieregirl $20.00	The Ocean Tells Me a Th... OnBehalfOf $10.00	Springtime Kool Aid Eas... redemptionart $20.00
Vintage Fascinator msformaldehyde $15.00	Adorable Baby Beanie mamitabella93 $11.00	Handmade Prehnite and ... JewelryByJayne... $630.00
Handmade Lamp Work Flow... HeadpinWear $60.00	Sunrise on the Lake Tur... cksilver $59.00	Little Purple Octopus n... FlutteringFlow... $6.00
Fuschia Pink Adjustable... ElizabethMD $13.00	Coral Sticks Teal Round... DesignsbyMayan... $24.00	Vintage Jessica Howard ... RDeSant86 $26.00
Gold Burgundy Green Fir... creativitybugs $2.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.