Sweet sweet summer...

I drove by the garden nursery the other day and on the sign post it said..."June is the NEW May!" and I really chuckled. We have had more than our share of cold, rainy, nasty, hate-this-cold, drippy spring...and then summer came upon us in a hot, swift wind. BLEH...

But things that were growing sat up and either withered and died or began blooming with haste.

And there are fewer things I love more in my garden than Sweet Peas. They remind me of my mom massive fence of blooms, my scraggly garden in Florida, my blooming garden wall in Washington and now as my little beginnings here in my new garden signify that I am really home.

I found some of my favorite pictures and now just sit back and enjoy them. Too bad you can't smell them....they are REALLY ummm SWEET!

Ruffle, ruffle

Okay, so what happens when hubby is out of town on a Friday night? Oh, fiddling around in my studio...not in the mood to clean up any other project and then remembering an idea to add to my oh-so-black and boring summer sandals.

I had seen some cute ones with ruffles but of course, they were out in MY SIZE....

so I came upon this plan.

MAKE MY OWN....and standing in the big W the other day on a completely different project saw the vinyl tablecloth on the roll that is REALLY CHEAP.

Bought a bit of black and yellow. Started cutting it up and sewing it back together.

Here is the right one all finished.and the boring left one "before".

I cut a double length of the black fv( faux vinyl) and double the width I wanted.

I then sewed a seam down the side 1/4" from edge. Repeat on other side and across both ends. Be sure and leave the middle free so you can hand sew a running stitch to gather. (see red marks).

Trim excess of the end as close to the stitching as possible.....Apply a bit of tacky glue along edge next to red dashed lines...this is so the edges will stay down when you gather.Using button hole thread and a large eye needle, sew a gathering stitch down the center through only thickness (see red dashes above).

Using heavy duty hook and loop tape apply to ruffle and matching on the shoe. (my shoes are leather and it stays put but can still be pulled off...)

Now apply to both shoes and voile'...ruffled sandals....so much MORE FUN...

You gotta have skills.....

Dad and Mom,

Art is a funny creature. I have been thankful so many times that I had the chance to go to college and study with the grownups. I have used my education in lots of different avenues over the years. BUT until this year, I didn't get the chance to be quite this diverse.....

I am now an artist of FOAM....yesssssssssss, it is a state thing here in the UTAH...a big deal for some reason.

I knew you would be SO PROUD...

I have attended "foam cutting and glueing" classes. I learned there are many different densities of foam and suited to multiple projects. AND there are magical tools that melt and seal the dimemsional creations.

I went to a "how to make flowers and glitter for high impact". I learned there are many sizes of glitter and a special way to get it on the foam. I learned that white glue would be purchased in gallons and which brand was best. (good ole ELMERS is still the king)

And GORILLA GLUE is a staple of life for us "foam artists"!

And that my time of late would be wound around cutting, glueing, painting, shopping for fabric coverings, hauling and delivering and even performing surgery, albeit "foam" surgery.

I would get the befores and and work them into the afters....

The "engineer" guy did the initial carving on these rabbits and I did the finish work....

(Don't these two look they sniffed a bit too much glue in the workroom....)

The guy behind the initial design was the one with the fancy heat carving tool and I was left to "sculpt" with my trusty

kitchen electric knife. And then I used good ole sandpaper to even it all up.


I was a little worried at this lamb stage...must get the spots on....

And let us have a moment of silence for my ever reliable glue gun....

But then I spotted a real problem......poor FLO had a major defect...too many handles in the "UDDER" area. This farm girl could not let THAT go.....no sir. Out came the knife and off came the two extras...WE BOTH FELT BETTER.

There is this code on the side...think "oh, when the Saints came marching in"....

Once she was done, Emma donned her pioneer garb and posed for a shot...

Then they came and strapped her on the wagon and off she went. And I looked around and there was MORE FOAM. And more instructions. AHHHH. And still supper to make...

These were to become two heads "oversized and cartoonish". A woman in the garden who is surprised when "FLO" comes through the roof of her dug out. And her spouse farmer in the garden. Back to the foam mess.

We had a deadline....our Stake Float needed to be done for the South Jordan Days parade on June 19th. Our maiden voyage to see what it looked like and if anything fell off.

It was a little unnerving to see it bounce around on the rutted road headed to the parade staging.

But kinda cool to see the two steeples in my lense.

I made my family get a good spot for viewing and it was tough being patient through all the other entries....those Shriners really know how to entertain. And Emma has her years supply of Sweets taffy. BUT FINALLY....we could hear the cow bell and see ole FLO shaking her head....

Everything worked...the rabbits pulled the carrots out. Flo fell on one knee into the dugout and shook her head and Polly Pioneer swung around and stared at her with her hand swinging up to her mouth! Nothing fell off...but Pioneer man didn't get finished yet so he is sulking somewhere in the dark garage...and we could see we need more sparkly flowers...Ah, man. MORE FOAM....

Easter eggs and Birthdays..

I know...it's been a long stretch in between posts....seems like my marrieds do such a great job that I don't think I have much to tell...so I will get with it.

Easter was a great treat with getting a full weekend of laughing and dyeing and music.

I had my cute little helper making rolls with me on Sunday morning...they were the best I ever made!

Aunt Emma is really popular with the younger set....Ella follows her everywhere....Grandpa wants a dance....he tried very hard to get a partner....
Too soon and it was time for them to leave.....bah for leaving...

Hearts and Soup

Decided it's time to make a big ole batch of soup and invite some girls over for some
"Girlfriend Soup". There are no actual girls in the soup....just my Minestrone recipe. I am hoping to get to know some of the ladies in our ward better....
So, I have been decorating and glueing and cutting and all that-

In Utah you have to "KEEP UP",.

And look at this cute garland my very clever, cute and fun daughter in Kansas made for me!

Decorating done, favors made....groceries bought, chairs borrowed....check! But as I am vacuuming right on schedule up stairs comes Belle and she greets me as usual-wagging her long sweeping tail and what is this?! Blood dribbling from her back foot....oh, boo. Sure enough she has cut herself on a piece of broken glass in the basement. ( And there is a sketchy story from the smallest playmates that came over!) So, we start mopping up and bandaging her leg and I can see that it needs major stitches. Off we go to the vet and hope to make it before the "ER" hours kick in...oh bother! Belle is just excited to get yet another truck ride and actually get out of the truck. We go inside and I got a pit in my stomach looking at the REALLY nice office-that usually means that it is a few notches up from the farmers vet that smells like cow manure when you step in...this place even had "Modern Cat" magazines to read. Long story short---8 stitches, antibiotic shot, pain killers, wrapped wound and 378 bucks later- we got home.

It was a rude interruption to my well calculated order of preparation...but on to soup day!

After a 8 minute emergency trip to Smiths for butter (you HAVE to have butter for new bread!).I got my mojo back and in sync. Here are the party pictures:

So that's it....I am toast. But I do think I will go and get another cookie.