Springtime Garden

Well spring is officially here.   We have sprung ahead and another great season of flowers and fun await..

As some of you may know, we recently purchased a mobile home in Florida.  It will be our winter home, a place to come to when the days get short and the temperatures fall cold in Ohio.  It is definately a fixer-upper, but that allows us to make it our own.  So between working on materials for my online store and doing shows, we are making small and large changes every day.

Our first call was to spruce up the front so that we weren't a disgrace to the neighborhood. We have repainted, coated the roof and replaced several windows.  I think the new color of beige on white makes the place look quite nice.

I have been shopping for flowering bushes that would work in the south.  I am familiar with gardening in Ohio, but not sure about Florida. I found that Azaleas seem to be the best bet, so I  purchased three from a fellow crafter recently; two red and one white.  I have also planted some pinks, an interesting Geranium and replaced my honeysuckle that I lost up north in the winter.  I found  two plants that  resemble daisies, and I think their yellow and purple flowers make for a nice accent.

My veggies are grown in containers this year..  This allows me to continue to enjoy them even when I go north. I have a bush tomato already with several tomatoes, some bush cucumbers and my planter herb garden.

I am enjoying  the new adventure of gardening in the south. I hope you are planning your spring garden and enjoy the joys of gardening as much as I do.

Family and work; keeping busy

Well, here I am again. It has been awhile,and it has been a busy and tough several months for my family and myself.   As many of you know, my father was struggling with Parkinsons and dementia for some time.  He lost his battle on August 10. Though we miss him terribly, we know he is in a better place and is at peace.  We think of him often with love and chuckle as we think of the special moments we had with him.  

My holiday season kept me busy, and though it was rewarding, I am glad it is over and I am now I am back in Florida.  Mike and I have purchased a retirement place in the small town of Inverness, Florida..  It is in a retirement community of 55 and olders, (yes, I qualify) and we are settling in  to our new place.  During the next few months I plan on sharing our home with you as well as all the remodeling we plan to do.  Nothing too serious but just making it our own with our personal touch in decorating.  Our delimna is, what room to start with first.  We struggle everyday with our demons to tear into every room at once.  What a disaster that would be.  Here are a few pictures of my workshop, probably the last to be worked on.

We are filling up our craft show schedule in the south, and just finished the Manatee festival in Crystal River.  It was a nice festival,  my work was well received and I met some very nice people.  This weekend we are doing a local farmers market in Spring Hill. 

I hope you will stop back often.  I will have show updates, new products, some how-tos and of course my home remodeling.  I am sure I could use some assistance. 

Later...  Karen

Working Wednesday

Yesterday I was able to spend a few hours in my studio on some new signs. I have a lot of ideas on paper, and now it is time to bring them to realization; I hope. I don't know about you, but sometimes an idea on paper just doesn't come out the way you had hoped. But that is another story. I am sharing a couple signs I got completed. My "Nana's Place" and "Gone Fishing.
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I wanted to incorporate my "nana" theme into some new signs and I want to start working on more floral work. Being self taught, I don't do well with the "one stroke" process. I once spent 4 hours at a show (not a good show) with a neighbor who did beautiful floral work. She tried for hours to get me to limit my strokes to the one stroke process, couldn't do it. Having the creative bug, I can't just contain myself. So I am working on flowers.



As well, it is springtime and I want to take some of my old tried and true favorites and enhance the work as well. I have been doing fishing signs for a long time, and it is going to be father's day soon, so here is a new fishing sign as well.


Hope you have a great day. I will talk with you soon!