Have you made a Tussie-Mussie lately?

A Tussie-Mussie is a little nosegay of flowers and herbs.

 Traditional Tussie-Mussies always have a rose in the center.

Fresh herbs surround the perfect rose.

Sage leaves, Oregano blossoms, Dill and Fennel blossoms, and Ammi Majus complete the arrangement.

Gather a few herbs and a perfect rose. Build the nosegay in your hand, beginning with the rose in the center.  Place herbs all around.



 Add a lace doily and a pretty ribbon.

I purchased quite a few lace flower holders while in Italy. 
They are made especially for Tussie-Mussies. 
Mine have a plastic coating so that they can stand up to a little extra moisture. 

You can make your own Tussie-Mussie holders.
Here is how: stack 2 round paper doilies together (2 for extra strength) and fold in half.  Repeat folding in half until you have a fan shape.  Cut a small hole into bottom of fan.  Unfold, place on top of vase and start filling with flowers and herbs. 
 

Give to a friend as a token of affection.

Have a lovely week my dear
Blogging Friends.

And don't forget to solve the flower puzzle of my previous post.
It pays off handsomely if you get it right.  

Gina

Mon Bouquet du Jour

Mein Sonntag Strauss am Sonnabend.

And a gift to the first three lucky visitors who can identify the very last flower.

My Sweet Peas and the last of my Icelandic Poppies.

So many lovely flowers blooming in my garden right now.

Is it because they are such a challenge that they are my favorites?

The Salpiglossis.

Can you identify this flower growing in my garden. 

Please leave your answer by going to my Etsy shop. 

(All you have to do is click on Maiolica, at top of my blog in the Etsy box)

The first three visitors who leave the correct answer will receive one of my

famous hand painted "Fancy Feet"

Wishing you a beautiful week ahead my dear

Blogging Friends.

Gina

Paint or no Paint

To paint or not to paint.

Life sized figures, one painted one not.

I painted one to see if it would give it more "Life".

What do you think?

I painted the life-sized statue on the right. 

Because they are placed on either side of my fountain, they should be the same color, don't you think? They are made of a strange material, some kind of plastic and very lightweight.  The wind could blow them over if they were not in a protected alcove.

All of these urns were cast from the same design.  One is fairly new, one much older and given patina by weather. I painted two urns with acrylic paints.

Pineapple, the symbol of hospitality, on the left not painted and on the right, the same cement Pineapple design,  painted and left out for years in all kinds of weather.  Both paint and weather have done their job.

Cement and acrylic paints are made for each other.  Painted my hall fireplace almost 20 years ago.  No sign of peeling or damage from intensive heat.

Acrylic paints and gold leaf  were directly applied to raw cement on my upstairs fireplace. Both treatments have lasted many, many years with no sign of wear. 

You might want to give it a try.  It's one of the easiest paint treatments around.

So here is the question:  Do you think that paint improves cement pieces?

Wishing you a great weekend ahead my dear

Blogging Friends.

Gina



Culling Sunflowers

Survival of the fittest.

Natural Selection produces the perfect Sunflower.

Culling the imperfect.

Like this one.

When seedlings first appear I keep those with darker stems.  They usually produce darker colors.  That is true with most flowers.

This one looks very promising...you can tell by the outer leaves. 

Same Sunflower as above only a day later, this morning.
The verdict is still out.  It's a Tarahumara, my favorite but the petals will have to straighten out. The plant itself is sturdy and strong and has many side shoots.  All good signs.  It may be a Keeper.  

When this Sunflower first opens it has a green center.  An offspring from a cultivated Tarahumara Sunflower. 

This sunflower is ageing nicely.  I will have to save it before the birds beat me to it.

Only the best are invited into the house.

Have a great remainder of the week my dear

Blogging Friends,

Gina



Create your own

Personalized Drawer Pulls from ghost nest

First published February 5, 2011

The oh so very talented decorative painter and designer, Theresa Cheek of Art's The Answer! recently wrote a very interesting post about a San Francisco based company called ghost nest.

Theresa's Drawer Pulls show classic designs embedded within. 

I wanted to try something different and chose images from my hand painted ceramics.

You provide the image and ghost nest will do the rest.  Each personalized drawer knob costs $8.  You can expect to receive them in 2 weeks.

Other shapes are available.

 Note: Because of the Lucite, images are difficult to photograph.  In real life they are sharp and clear.

How to:

Create an account with ghost nest

Log in with password

Next to ghost nest's logo click on Dreamerator.

Select square or round.

Go to top right of screen and click on Image

Go to left side of screen and click on Select Image

Then select Choose File or Flickr or Facebook or Google

(My images are filed in my computer, so I select Choose File)

Double click on your chosen image

Select Upload and wait for image to appear

Make slight adjustment by placing your image within the dotted red outline

Go to right of screen and click on Buy this Item.

Done

You have now created your one-of-a-kind , your very first decorative, custom designed drawer knob. 

Repeat as often as needed. 

*Note for Mark, I can see some of your antique button collection embedded within the round designs.

What a great way to personalize an object.  Give them a try and have fun.

Gina



http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/

Is this when I panic?

When my Garden goes into overdrive.

Invert plate over thinly sliced cucumbers and place heavy weight on top of plate.
Let stand for a few hours, pour off liquid,  then season with salt, pepper and a little honey, and chill for a refreshing summer salad.

Beets, Cabbages, Cucumbers and Peppers are ready.

I planted Dill and Fennel on either side of my cabbages to keep the dreaded cabbage worm away. 

It's not working too well.

 Blanch each cabbage leaf for a few minutes to make Cabbage Rolls.

Fill leaves with ground beef and onion mixture.

Saute in a little unsalted butter and olive oil.

Make a flour gravy and pour over cabbage rolls and bake in oven for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Peppers are ready to be stuffed and put away for winter months.

Blanch for a few minutes to soften skin.

Then stuff with a mixture of ground beef, onions and rice, flavored with home made tomato sauce. Bake in oven for forty minutes at 350 degrees.

Charlie has seen it all before.

Lucy is ever hopeful that a morsel or two will come her way.

 Gene  helped our neighbor by taking the sheep wagon to the high mountains.  Then he had to move the cattle to a new pasture. The new pasture has three territorial bulls on all sides just waiting for a little excitement.  A temporary fence was installed.

 Apricots were waiting for me and made into preserves. 

My reward?

Flowers from my Garden.

Wishing you well

my dear

Blogging Friends.

Gina

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