31 Days Blog to Biz / Day 17 - forever flowers for your staging

One trick to making your staging attractive is to add flowers. However once your garden stops producing fresh blooms, you need to either purchase store bought flowers or go without. Here's a little trick that will have you in blooms all year long.

One of my favorite seasons is fall. And one reason is because of the amazing yield that can be had by one hydrangea bush. Hydrangeas bloom all summer, however fall does something special to these guys.

I can't take credit for inventing this tip. A reader (I don't remember who!!) read one of my posts of frustration on why some hydrangeas dried all crumpled up while others stayed looking freshly picked all year long.

I'm glad she explained it, because now we ALL can have beautiful hydrangeas within our reach any time of year!

How to dry hydrangeas

1. Pick hydrangeas in the fall. Leave the blooms intact on the bush until the blooms start to go slightly crispy and some even brown. You want most of the moisture out of the petals.. this is key.

Tip: if you pick your hydrangeas in summer, they're generally one color. Wait till fall and you end up with an amazing rainbow of soft hues. The above yield was from one bush!

2. Cut the stems as long as you can so you have more variation with them later.

3. Leave them in water until they completely dry.

May as well make that drying time pretty. :)

I love how the sun came out right at this time, casting a beautiful late afternoon highlight.

Here are a couple shots with my new micro lens.

And today's quirk: there's only one bad thing about micro close. Look quick if you're squeamish. Ech!

I left that critter in there so you realize you cannot hide a THING with this kind of lens.

Free flowers to play with for the rest of the year - priceless. Literally.

Know why I picked these? They're for the 'She's Got Guts!' reveal for this Wednesday's link party.

Two more days to go... got the guts to be ready as well? :)

Other flower related posts:

Preserving real flowers

A unique dried flower / shutter centrepiece

All 31 Day posts to date are HERE.

Visit Day One for each listing HERE.

The 'change my mind' bistro table

I had a rough Friday. My last firetruck of the day didn't go quite as planned (a post on my line of work is HERE) , so after filling up an entire garbage can of destroyed striping, I was ready for an easy weekend. You'd think 20 years in the business would have me a pro at what I do, right? You're never too good to improve it appears. :)

And then Saturday morning arrived. A week's worth of 6:30 am's totally caught up with us leaving us in zombie mode.  I looked over at my zonked out son and decided we'd enjoy a lazy Saturday to recoup. And head to the library to pick up my new weekend read that was on hold. Yipee!

I also took a little time to play with my new toy. This mini metal bistro beauty was at the neighbour's curb a couple days ago. I lurched my truck to a stop with rolling eyed son in tow, giggled and let out a whoopin' "SCORE!" as I heaved it into the back of the truck. Tell me this isn't cute!

I thought of all the fantastical things I could do with it as I silently recouped and read my book on the patio.

"I know... many would repaint you to clean you up. But I rather like the warm white color you are AND your rusty imperfections...." Figures. I can't even seem to MAKE an excuse to paint something these days. Why must I fall in love with everything as is?!?

So I played a little '"What's different about these pictures?" And totally took advantage of that little center shelf.

Hmmm... the fake ivy in a clay pot would be VERY easy to care for... 

Well... then again a little punch of freshly cut purple blooms is pretty too. And add the throw blanket in for good measure. And I'll just remove that bench...

Wait... maybe I ought to be flaunting some ice water instead of coffee...

Ah... right. And my ever present little girl. 'Bout time you showed up.

Oh cool! The sun makes a nice impression to the left...

Done!

The purple (and the cat) won. With the promise of the green stepping in when the purple is a done deal. Or maybe something else will transpire before then. Who knows.

The little bistro table in front of my pallet sofa is perfecto. It's regular table height which makes a great addition to a sitting area for when you wish to bring out a meal.

 As for the 'change my mind' shelf? TOTAL bonus for someone that can't make up her mind. :)

Pallet sofa reveal is HERE

Pallet sofa tutorial is HERE

The pallet that turned to the dark side (of Canada)

me - "I wanna make a Canadian flag out of this pallet."

son - "Why?!?"

me - "Because my party is patriotic themed this weekend. Grandma had flags all over so we need one too. But I don't want this big huge red and white thing on the mantel..."

I had big plans. I was gonna make me a wood and black Canadian flag. And have every one of you wishing you were a Canadian. I could vision all  of you humming our anthem and running out for farmer jackets after this blockbuster. This was gonna be BIG.

Please. Someone remind me to get a real sander. This clamp and sand variety flips these things off like my dog sheds hair.

Tool sponsors would be wise to contact me. I can't stop sanding these things it appears...

My decal/stencil worked!

(I made the decal myself on my sign making apparatus. I'm not selling cut decals at this time)

Brilliant, right?

Not really. But I tried it anyway. Here and there and everywhere. And hated it. It reminded me of someone painting their own car with a sloppy paint brush. During a dirt storm. In the dark.  With their eyes closed. It depressed me on the mantel and was even too... whatever for my son's room.

me - "Why isn't this working?!?"

son - "Mom, it looks like the dark side of Canada."

Oh. That's why.

Well, I'll have you know, I shall have no pallet do me in! So I messed up made up my bed with my new sheets I haven't shown you yet and got to work.

The new look is a crisp splash of creams, tans and blues....

...  because of the cute sheets I scooped up for $5.

So... can that ugly pallet look nice with all this fluff?

Sure... if you cover most of it up. :)

Hoity toity design talk...

"The depth from the feline tone aids to marry the rustic flag accents, anchoring the room so the components don't have a tendency to float within all the dreamlike features."

Are ya buyin' it?

Awww... look. A message... (I swear it was there)

And a little Jeanne Oliver handbag on a sawhorse just sweetens the deal, doncha think?

My new messy bedroom gone to the dark side. Of Canada.

"Teddy! Are ya buyin' it?"

I think Canada just froze over.

Linking to where the GOOD patriotic projects are HERE.

Join Funky Junk in these other fun locations!

My $500 Jeanne Oliver windfall... (giveaway now closed)

This giveaway is now closed. Thank-you for entering! A winner will be announced Monday.

I remember this day very well. My beloved kitten had just been put down and I was feeling pretty low. I was passing some time away on Facebook when I noticed a post on a magnificent giveaway event over at Jeanne Oliver Designs. 

I didn't expect to win. I just wanted to share a new creativity that I immediately fell in love with and appreciated. So I entered and bragged about it on my own Facebook to draw more crowds Jeanne's way.

And then... I won.

But this wasn't a little win. This was HUGE. It amounted to a $500 shopping spree! 

Well, let's just say my little depression immediately lifted and I was giddy for a good long while. :) It was the most difficult shopping ever because I loved it all! I'm a tomboy at heart so a chance to girl up my image a little was on order anyway. This just sealed the deal in the most exquisite of ways.

I eventually made my choices and when they arrived, it felt like Christmas morning!

Wanna see?

Each package was carefully wrapped in delightfully eclectic layers. Vintage book pages, scrappy ties, shredded music sheets, post cards, tags, beautiful photos...

and tiny burlap sacks only added to the receiving experience and became instant additional gifts.

And here's what I did with some of the wrappings. :)

So what did I pick out? Get ready for the longest post EVER.

The Linen Line

When I saw the ruffled pillow covers, I knew exactly where it would land. My favorite place to sit is now prettier than ever thanks to these little additions!

A little burlap sack landed as a self made tassel on one of them. How cute is that?

I also ordered up one of her to die for ruffled aprons but they were sold out. (go see them!) But no matter. I was positively delighted with....

The entire bag collection

My must have grab on a daily basis is the amazing ruffle messenger bag. I adore the long handle which gives you plenty of hands free shopping and a place to stash most anything on a trip out. The ruffles are on the stiffer side, keeping their shape perfectly. And the flower is a pin and clip so you can use or remove it as desired.

I tend to dress a little tom boyish so the ruffled touch kicks up the girlie touch just a notch without going overboard. It is PERFECT.

How spoiled am I? I also chose these two ruffled totes. They're a bit smaller in size with shorter handles, yet long enough to sling over your shoulder while you shop.

All the bags have the most charming of liners along with Jeanne's signature tag. Top notch designer quality all the way.

A hot hot item for me was this camera bag. The bag was designed to be a camera bag and purse combo so you didn't have to bring both along for a ride.

But what surprised me even more was using it for my laptop instead! It fits perfectly. The padding and amount of pockets are both ample and everything is easily accessible. And I'm going to be right proud waltzing into Starbucks with this cutie pie on my shoulder this fall when my son goes to basketball next door. :)

The Jewelry Line

Ever since my watch bit the dust about a year ago, I replaced that bare arm with bracelets instead. So when I saw Jeanne's jewelry line, I whimpered and knew I had to have a few things.

Two leather cuffs landed on my lap immediately, one labelled 'artist' and the other 'dreamer'. And I haven't removed the artist one since the day it came home. It reminds me of what I'm attempting to strive towards and to never give up.

See? I'm even stylin' while lettering up my firetrucks! See that cream colored button one? That's another I'm head over heels in love with from Jeanne. (the others are thrift store finds that I also never take off)

And when I saw this black vintage button variety, I knew it would look incredible for a dressier event, especially with my little black dress. The button details are so gorgeous! Who needs diamonds again?!?

The Vintage Line

I also ordered up this adorable vintage black scale from the vintage section. I can't wait to play with it!

And do check out Jeanne's blog. Her writings and photography are absolutely charming. She sent me the above photo that I will share with you as soon as it's done. :)

New fall line

Some of the above items will no longer be avail once they're sold out as Jeanne is moving over to her new fall line slated to be out by late October! However my very favorite item will still be available for purchase and we're giving one away!

 ~ Giveaway ~

Would you also love to have this amazing ruffled messenger bag? 

Such a silly question. :) Go for it!

How to enter to win:

Visit Jeanne's online shop, share a favorite item of yours in comments and you're in!

Online shop link is HERE.

"Like" Jeanne Oliver Designs on Facebook and tell me you've done so in comments for a 2nd entry.

Facebook link HERE.

Facebook, tweet or blog about this giveaway event and tell  me you've done so in comments for an additional entry.

(1 entry)

Giveaway is available WORLD WIDE. (you rock Jeanne!!) Winner must have email available in profile or on blog. If you don't have a blog, please leave your email in each comment you make. Winner will be chosen next week by random.org.

Good luck friends!

And Jeanne, this one's for you.

!!!!!! xo

This giveaway is now closed. Thank-you for entering! A winner will be announced Monday.