Here's the Dirt on WOYWW

My potting bench is one of my treasures, and this summer it is often my workdesk! This is "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday" so I'm giving you a walkabout from my potting bench and through my garden. If you would like to share what's on your workdesk today, visit here for WOYWW no. 160. Your workdesk might be anything from your neatly organized scrapbook table, to your kitchen table, to your sewing nook--it's up to you, and that's why it's so fun to visit everyone!

My husband made my potting bench about ten years ago, and my daughter and I stenciled it.

My potting bench is right out on my greenhouse sunporch, and it's where I keep my seed packets, bags of soil sitting around, little pots, and garden tools. I start planting seeds as early as February for things like my tomato plants, and I plant herb and flower seeds all summer long. I love cute little herb pots.

My mom gave me this little duck planter. Vintage!

So let's grab a watering can, and Minnie will join us and we'll go check on the backyard kitchen garden.

 
The tomato plants are loving the new big raised bed area.

I have basil plants all around the tomato plants--they are companions.

 

The tomato plants are really starting to load up with fruit, and the spaghetti squash and cucumber plants I started from seed are getting huge.

I've had the watering hose running because here in the Ozarks it is hitting the century mark and no rain in sight! I want plenty of juicy tomatoes to can this year, so I'm watering every other day. I plan to make salsa and I'm thinking of venturing into ketchup! That's so "Meet Me in St. Louis" of me! (they're making ketchup in the first scene of the movie...I love that)


So, after soaking the backyard kitchen garden, we're off to the front to water a few flowers, including a couple of areas where I planted tons of rose moss.

Then it's back to my potting bench to pull a couple of plants that didn't work out and plant some new zinnia seeds. I'm going to Zumba Gold class in about an hour, and then when it's too hot to be outside, I'm back to my latest stitching project. Happy WOYWW everyone! That's my Workdesk Wednesday! 

Never stop growing.

 

My Little Sewing Box - 1960's House Beautiful Mags

I like boxes...lunch boxes, flower boxes, jewelry boxes, and my new sewing box. I had a 40% coupon, an extra hour to make a craft store run, and a craving for some sewing goodies--so this is what I ended up with! The coupon saved me over $8, and I found a shelf full of this cute new stuff from a brand called "Sewology." I like it! I picked out the cutest sewing box I saw.  I do have quite a bit of my own organizationology when it comes to my sewing and crafting stuff--but when I saw this little box, I realized I needed a cozy, handy place to keep a few often-used items. PLUS: it has a handle!

Also, it has a built-in pin cushion in the lid! In my mind, that's a perfect place to keep already-threaded needles. I couldn't wait to load it up with some sewing goodies that had been laying around and I was not ready to put them completely away. 

I tucked in some of my favorite threads, one of my pairs of stork scissors, a needle book I made, and my favorite Chinese store pin cushion in a mini version to hold extra straight pins.

Aren't they cute? I love these little guys.

I think part of what makes anything you do fun is enjoying the process and even the tools you use to do it. Like in the kitchen, I love using orange, pink, and purple spoons to stir with, and I even have the cutest purple chef's knife! I have fun mixing bowls and cute pans too--love it!

My cute sewing box reminds me of when I was little, and my mom gave me an old jewelry box--in my mind it looked just like a treasure box. So that's what it became. I kept my sea shells, crayons, Barbie shoes, necklaces, pop bottle tops and anything shiny in it. My teenage sister tried to trade me out of it one day and she managed to get it away from me for about half a day one summer--but I got it back and she could not bully it out of my clutches ever again! I loved my little treasure box, and I think I held onto it for years and years. I guess you could call that "boxology."

Sew.....with my cute little sewing box all loaded up now with tools and some project pieces, I am moving along with my little knit dress project. And from there--I've got to do a cross-stitch quilt this summer, and I must get back in the writing mode--I've been playing too much! That's why I love summer.

Joseph says "Hi" to everyone. Here's his summer schedule: get up when Mommy does. Eat  breakfast. Play in the back yard and watch for bunnies in the garden until it's too hot. Come inside and lay on the cool tiles for about half an hour. Lunch. Have Mommy comb me. Nap under Mommy's desk (she put a pillow on a footstool so it's my hideaway). Get up. Stretch. Play on the greenhouse. Nap on the Greenhouse. Dinner. Hang around Daddy. Nap on the big bed. Hang with Mommy. Have a territory issue with Minnie. Take a bath when Minnie does. Watch a little TV. Nite-nite. Midnight snack.

Oooh...I have another find to share. I visited my favorite flea market and found some old House Beautiful magazines! So fun--they were a dollar, so I snatched up a couple of them. It's not only fun looking at decor from the early sixties when I was little, but it's fun looking at those old ads too.

I hope you enjoy every day of summer!

Inside a 1967 issue of House Beautiful

A flowerbox of dreams, in my own front yard.

Last Day of Vacay

We have arrived and landed on Friday of a vacation week. A little bittersweet, for sure. I love it when our family can be together for several days in a row, and all the other obligations and appointments in the world fade into the background, and we have time to just enjoy life together, talk, make family decisions, and not be in a hurry about anything. We made it to the lake, a nice hotel, the pool, shows, dinners and shopping, but none of it seemed in a hurry, like life can be, and that can renew your spirit.

I do feel renewed. I am newly inspired in my writing, crafting, and even in my housekeeping, organizing, and working out. The coupon binder is all caught up and full of coupons--which means more money for threads, papers and fabric! My latest thing? Glue dots! I loves me some glue dots! So I used coupons and stocked up.



My Happy Anniversary roses



My favorite yarns went on sale--I was in the mood for lots of pinks! I also wanted plain ecru...but by the time I got there someone had bought ALL of the ecru! So, I thought someone must be making something special with that yarn, so blessings on them and their wonderful project, and then I bought the color-speckled ecru! I came home, watched a great movie with my daughter and rolled my sugar and cream yarns into balls and put them in a cute bowl. They look so yummy!

Last night my husband and I went to the ballgame, and I got to sing the National Anthem with a group of co-workers--that was so much fun! It was our third year to get the privilege of singing it, and we love every minute of this event! It was a perfect, cool, breezy night. We ate bratwurst and popcorn and enjoyed the game. Ahhh summer.

This week of June included my mom's 86th birthday, my daughter's 18th birthday, our 23rd anniversary, and here comes Father's Day this weekend! It was great time to take a little vacation, but when is it not?

Happy crafting to you--I hope you stay renewed and inspired! Eat good food, write a little each day, dream up some creativity, stitch on fabric, paper, and plastic!

WOYWW - A Little Vacay

Happy What's-On-Your-Workdesk-Wednesday everyone! I do so love seeing what's on everybody's workspace--but I didn't make it to nearly enough desks last week! We left on a mini vacation yesterday, and I snapped a quick pic of my very clean worktable. The only thing waiting for me is a little knitting project featuring cute little knit dresses that will be embellished and sewn onto knit squares and then the squares sewn together for a wall hanging. Yes, this is the same table that was covered in card-making the week before with my little nephews, so it is multipurpose! The current light orange square I am knitting went to the lake with me--so even though my worktable is clean, the project continues. I love knitting by the water. So peaceful.

Visit our WOYWW hostess here and join in on #158!

Eat, write, dream, and stitch happy wherever you are!

Summer Goodness

The Goodness and Freshness of Summer...Fresh Steamed Veggies...

Freshly cooked yukon gold potatoes...yum...

Fresh from the grill...thank you honey!

Freshly tossed salad....

And a weathered flower box of fresh flowers to look at every day. Love, love, love.



Happy Eighteenth Birthday Card - Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

I am not the most experienced or fanciest cardmaker in the universe. But, if you have enough scrapbooking goodies on hand...you can definitely make some magic. I wanted to make a special card for my sweet daughter turning 18--something more personal than a store-bought card.

I started with just plain white card stock...scored and folded it...and then had no idea what I was going to do. But she loves photography and film, so I drew a picture of a camera, and wrote "eighteen" on it...I found some stickers and even the really cute "Love You" tag--I love cards with tags hanging on them! And I added these sparkling photo corners which I also carried to the inside.

From some gorgeous scrap pad paper I found one that highlighted Shakespeare's 18th Sonnet--perfect for the inside of a Happy Eighteenth Birthday card! Then I added a picture from her senior photo shoot.

A closeup of my camera!

The back of the card reminds her to not stress out, but relax and enjoy her eternal summer before college!

Shakespeare's Eighteenth Sonnet:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed,

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed:

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,

Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,

   So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

   So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

What a dreamy sonnet for your eighteenth birthday!

What's On My Workdesk This Week--Which Workdesk?

Yesterday we watched my little nephews all day, and pictured here is the remains of what was a very busy, very fun card-making session. I had the leaf up on the table, and let them have a go at fun scrapbook papers and cardstock, glue, stickers, stamps and wavy scissors (they are 7 and 9 years old) and they had a blast making birthday cards for grandma and my daughter. The cards were creative and beautiful--so proud of their work!

 

This is exactly what my creative corner looks like today

 In the meantime, I had to enjoy a sunny nook on the deck this morning (I'm going back after I post this) and I'm working on my "June To Do List" project, and knitting some little dresses that will be embellished and will hang on a little clothesline. It's yet another great way to use scrap yarn!

What's on your workdesk today? Blog about it and join in on the WOYWW blogparty here.

My new laptop station is looking nice--it's where I can now stand to work on my computer, instead of sitting so much. I've also made my ribbon board above it more accessible so that I can use it more, and change it up more often.

I have so many workspaces going on this morning--so I have to stay focused on what I'm doing next! I have some birthday cards to make, myself, and then it's back to the paperdoll project to get that finished up because my mom wants one!

Little knit dresses



Minnie hanging out with me

Eat, Write, Dream, and Stitch what you love today!

My Life in a List

I love making to do lists--and the other day I realized that of all the things I do every day, I always make some kind of list! I also keep a creative journal, but I certainly do not add to it every day. I gave up on just straight journaling years ago! I simply don't like it because I feel too "oh it's all about me!" and yet I know that some people are very talented at their journaling--just not me. BUT, writing down ideas, drawing pictures, and having a thought or two suits me fine! And I enjoy journaling an event or a trip in my scrapbooking.

But, back to my to-do list idea. It crossed my mind that if I just added a little more to my daily to do lists, they are a real snapshot into my day. If I make a list every single day in June, and scrapbook it into its own little journal,  that could be quite fun! Plus, I have so many of those lists pads, so I can use a different one each day. And eventually when this all gets put together, they will be inked on, torn, punched and colored.

I have already noticed that stitching is on my list pretty much every day. I like that. Happy Monday! Oooh! I get to put on my list that I blogged today! Albeit a short one--but a blog is a blog is a blog!