Flowers

I love flowers.  I love taking pictures of flowers, even if I'm just using my cellphone.  When I lived in the Midwest, I remember being tricked into thinking spring was around the corner by the end of February, only to have winter roar back in March.  These pictures are for you who are still subject to the cruel spring trick:

This is a calla lily from San Juan Capistrano.

Mexican poppies from my backyard (a sure sign of spring in Arizona)

Peace rose from the backyard

Hydrangeas from Mississippi.

Lilies from Louisville

As you can see, flowers give me great joy.  I love to take pictures wherever we go.  I hope today with spring coming, these give you joy too.

cindy

DIY -Crepe Paper Roses

This is a great craft for a Valentine's Day decoration.  I was able to recycle materials I already had in the house.  I like the idea of using what I already have.  It's one of the ways I'm trying to be frugal, which is my New Year's Resolution.  I used some old styrofoam ornaments that I used for a holiday candle craft.

Because these balls are small, I had to put them together to make the larger ball.  I used toothpicks and then reinforced them with glue.

I then used some pink crepe paper I had leftover from this candle project.

Cut (or tear) a strip about 24" long and take one end in your hand, pinching it between your fingers.

Begin winding the crepe paper, continuing to pinch one side.  Wind the entire strip, forming a rose.

Use a little glue to attach the end of the strip to the rest of the flower.  Hot glue guns are the best.  Use the hot glue gun to attach the flower to the balls

Continue gluing the flowers onto the ball, covering all of it.  You can also glue the ends of some ribbon onto the ball, making a loop for hanging.

I'm embarrassed to say I ran out of crepe paper before finishing.  (You will need several packages for this project.)  Because I didn't want this to end up as an other incomplete craft, I'm showing it here.  These could have a number of uses, including hanging or placing it in a bowl.  It could also be used as a flower ball in a wedding for your flower girl or even as a bouquet if you cover the base.  They are so pretty!

cindy

Roses in Winter

I love Arizona.  When we moved into our house, I noticed the previous owner planted about 25 rose bushes.  I'm not as good at maintaining them as I should be, but they are very forgiving.  It's the time of year when the roses come out again and I couldn't resist.  This is Peace:

I wish I could remember the name of all of them:

I do remember this one - it's a Tiffany rose:

God is good!

cindy