Tropical Garden

The elusive night flowering cactus

Nothing better than napping in the palms

I think this is Jasmine. It's right by the pool and smells heavenly

Frangipani.....one of the most delicious smells ever in a flower

The bloom of a pygmy palm

We planted a hedge of hibiscus for privacy

Neighbors cactus

This one grows in the vacant house next door.

The Florida garden is a constant surprise and delight. Since most of the plantings were here when we bought the house, we have been lucky to just arrive and enjoy the gorgeous mix of native plants that are growing in abundance. We placed a hammock in a shady corner and can look up into the giant cactus that hovers over it. The cactus has many buds, but I never see the flowers open and often see the dead heads on the ground. The lawn guy told it it flowers at night and upon night time inspection I did notice it was in bloom. The blooms lasted into mid morning when they closed up again. It has the most gorgeous flower. The hibiscus continue to bloom, as well as jasmine and Frangipani-a flower I have only recently discovered. The garden is always full of birds and I've just hung a birdfeeder full of sunflower seeds. My neighbor has many wild parrots at his feeder, and I am trying to entice them over the fence.

Mexican Tiled Windows.

Mexican Tile added to inside of windows.

Guests use the blackboard wall to record good meals out.

I split a trim piece to add a border to main tile

yes, it's wonky!

Counters changed to Carrera Marble....a good way to age your house quickly

Old science class stools.

I've had a little hiatus from blogging for the past few weeks. We've been away in Florida and I used that time to put my kitchen and house back together after the big leak. Now were are back home, I thought I would post some photos of our Florida kitchen now that the water damage and mold has been remedied. I only made subtle changes since the cabinets were rebuilt and the faces re-used. The counters were changed to Carrera after the granite got broken. The jury is still out on that one. Lots of etching despite being sealed and the good part is, I wanted it to more authentic to the age of the house and I should accomplish that in about 3 weeks. 

The most noticeable change is the window tile.I decided to tile the inside of the windows because they are 5" deep and I wanted to add some Spanish touches to the house. The downstairs of this house has been all re-done and no original features remain. So I added some that are authentic to me. I bought authentic handmade Mexican tile that is literally set out in the sun to dry (the dog prints will prove that) and that means it is pretty wonky.....Tile Guy was patient and very accommodating and he dis a very nice job, given the wonkiness. We split a trim piece in half to edge the hand painted main tiles and we left the window sill in marble. TO me, it looks like it could have been original to the house and because we don't need a blind there, the whole window shows nicely. 

We extended the counter on the island by 11" to made room for bar stools. These we bought at Paper Street Market on Central Ave in St. Petersburg. They are old science stools. One was orange and one was greenish. I sanded them down and sprayed them white. 

While I was there, I visited a little beach side apartment my friend has just bought. I will post photos later this week. 

While the cat napped in a patch of early Spring sunshine, I popped a few pillow covers into a Rit bath to freshen them up. I think I preferred them before Oh Dear!

Catch up

I hope everyone had a good Easter break and enjoyed the long weekend. Easter 2013 will be one to remember for the Razmataz family. Our first meeting with beautiful baby Emma was just wonderful. We just couldn't get enough of her. We spent a good deal of the weekend staring at her and cooing at her. DIL is a relaxed and intuitive mother and I just loved to watch her get to know her little one. We have many photos, but the would prefer not to have them on the blog, so I will have to resist. After 3 days of admiring how beautiful she is, we departed Montreal with a new sadness. Although we try to see each other frequently, just a few weeks is a long time to miss in the life of an infant. We will be skype-ing to keep up. 

I visited my jewelry (Sno of Sweden) supplier today and stocked up on some Spring and Summer pieces. Lots of white this summer and a return to gold and rose gold. I stocked up with Mother's Day in mind. New items will be loaded this week. Thank you to those who have already supported the shop. I hope no one minds the product posts, but I really do need to optimize SEO and that means having mentions on the blog now and then. I won't be offended if you quickly hop to the next blog. 

Clay Tag Tutorial

Custom name tags

The Easter Bunny doesn't get any cuter

Custom for a salon called Evolve....

Festive tags

My days work.....

I love to craft, and clay tags are one of my favorite things to make. I made 100 for my son's wedding. We tied them onto pots of homemade jam for wedding favors. They make a great craft project for older children too. There are a few tutorials on the internet. Some you pay for like this one HERE and some are free HERE. If you want to buy tags there are many on Etsy. You can hang them on wine bottles and gifts and also hang as decorations. See below for photos of my tags on gifts over the years.

Today I made some Easter Bunny ones, some for a hair salon called Evolve, as they are having a special event, and some for Baby Emma to give her aunts and grandmother(s). For Emma's, I hung ribbons and pompoms from the bottom as well  because I was feeling very FESTIVE today. 

You need. 1 tub of Crayola white modelling clay (kids clay) About $9.00. A rolling pin. cookie cutter, Rubber stamp and ink, parchment paper, a skewer to make the hole and doiley, fabric or anything that can leave an imprint.

• roll the clay out onto parchment paper about 1/3- 1/2 cm thick...any thinner and they wil crack and be very difficult to handle
• cut your shape with cookie cutter
• stamp your design, or press whatever you wish to imprint into the clay gently
• poke a hole for the string or ribbon in the top
• leave to dry overnight on cookie sheet
• you can put them on a cookie sheet in a 200 F oven for a couple of hours to speed things along.
• tie on a pretty ribbon

THAT's IT...Easy and fun. HAPPY EASTER.

Wedding jam

100 heart tags for the wedding.

Bridal shower tags.

Hand dipped marshmallow treats.

Cookbook wrapped in a tea towel for birthday gift

A Celtic cross for my Irish friend's birthday

A pack of handmade cards embellished with a clay tag

Robins..my favourite

Wine tags

For your love......

Rumpled.

My flowers are looking a bit rumpled.

Bits by my bed

I wanted to thank everyone for the lovely best wishes on the birth of our Grand daughter Emma. It's very touching to receive so many heartfelt congratulations from the people that read my blog. Over the years it does seem that we all get to "know" each other, and share the ups and downs and daily grind with each other. I really do appreciate the friendship. Working for myself and primarily by myself, can be lonely at times. Although when shopping for clients I have come to know the Decorating Center staff, the upholsterer and drapery work room etc, most of my day is spent alone. Calculation quotes, sourcing stuff, paperwork and of course the online shop. I have no co-workers to socialize with and chat with at lunch because I work at home. So, I take breaks and when I do, I visit my favorite blogs. Over the years, the people i have met and chatted with have become friends. They email if I am missing for a while, they confide things, they share and give advice. I've cried with some of their news and been elated at others and had good belly laughs with several. I couldn't live without my blog friends. They are my coffee break pals.Thank you for that.

I'm am having my website redesigned. I am being asked by the designer my preference for fonts, graphics, layout and overall feel. One designer that I interviewed got the impression that I was very Art Deco and 1940's which surprised me. Not the look I want at all. When I had to finally put on paper the overall feel of my new site as a reflection of me, I told her I was part Shabby Chic, part vintage, ethnic,bohemian, with a bit of a colorful rumpled feel. We shall see how she interprets that.