read aloud

V is for Pumpkins!

Date: October 26, 2013
Author: sweetwaterstyle
Categories: books, crafts, decorating, fabric, goodwill, Halloween, kids, read aloud, sewing

“Q is for Duck An Alphabet Guessing Game” is a great book to get kids thinking “outside the box”!

It is pretty obvious why Q is for Duck…..because a duck Quacks of course!

After you read this book to your child….don’t be surprised if you are inundated with all the other possible alphabet guessing ideas your kid thinks up!

 So….. Are you wondering WHY the title of this post is “V is for Pumpkins”?
Well…..because Velvet makes the prettiest pumpkins!
This year I made a couple of really large brown velvet pumpkins…..
The smaller ones in the photo are made from silk…and they are pretty too!
Source
Source
Source
I did a Pinterest Search for Velvet Pumpkins and found some amazing examples that other folks have made….  CLICK HERE TO SEE LOTS MORE  VELVET PUMPKINS 
How to make Velvet Pumpkins!
I am sending you to this post that Trina Holden did with a super tutorial for making these. 
Her instructions  are way better than any I could write!
Her technique is pretty close to what I did to make mine!
I think the collection of fabric pumpkins on the hearth looks really nice!
 I took a close-up shot of the mantle….because for once it feels like I got the proportions right!  It is simple but interesting…..and considering that everything is DYI or from Goodwill it was also CHEAP….I mean THRIFTY!!!
I guess I will spend the rest of the day outside clearing out the planters on the front steps and front entry!  We have been hit with some pretty hard freezes this week..so no more flowers to pick!
Have A Great Day!  And don’t forget to save your pumpkin stems for next year!

V is for Pumpkins!

Date: October 26, 2013
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: books, crafts, decorating, fabric, goodwill, Halloween, kids, read aloud, sewing

“Q is for Duck An Alphabet Guessing Game” is a great book to get kids thinking “outside the box”!

It is pretty obvious why Q is for Duck…..because a duck Quacks of course!

After you read this book to your child….don’t be surprised if you are inundated with all the other possible alphabet guessing ideas your kid thinks up!

 So….. Are you wondering WHY the title of this post is “V is for Pumpkins”?
Well…..because Velvet makes the prettiest pumpkins!
This year I made a couple of really large brown velvet pumpkins…..
The smaller ones in the photo are made from silk…and they are pretty too!
Source
Source
Source
I did a Pinterest Search for Velvet Pumpkins and found some amazing examples that other folks have made….  CLICK HERE TO SEE LOTS MORE  VELVET PUMPKINS 
How to make Velvet Pumpkins!
I am sending you to this post that Trina Holden did with a super tutorial for making these. 
Her instructions  are way better than any I could write!
Her technique is pretty close to what I did to make mine!
I think the collection of fabric pumpkins on the hearth looks really nice!
 I took a close-up shot of the mantle….because for once it feels like I got the proportions right!  It is simple but interesting…..and considering that everything is DYI or from Goodwill it was also CHEAP….I mean THRIFTY!!!
I guess I will spend the rest of the day outside clearing out the planters on the front steps and front entry!  We have been hit with some pretty hard freezes this week..so no more flowers to pick!
Have A Great Day!  And don’t forget to save your pumpkin stems for next year!

Cut Flower Conditioning Tips

Date: July 27, 2013
Author: sweetwaterstyle
Categories: art, decorating, flower arrangement, flowers, garden, read aloud, tips, tricks
The trick to making cut flowers last as long as possible is conditioning, conditioning, conditioning!
I visited the local Farmer’s Market on Thursday….I pledged to ONLY buy vegetables!!!!                                                                        
And then I spied these gorgeous bunches of Zinnias! Big bunches…..big flowers….and the lady in the stand kept nodding and telling me how freshly cut they were….and only $7….
What would you have done???  

With Zinnia’s in arm…I headed home with a few vegetables too!
On the way a couple of ladies stopped me to ask if Zinnias were flowers that would last long in an arrangement!
So I dug in my memory…..and shared some tips for conditioning them to make them stay pretty…..mostly the basics of keeping the water fresh and cutting a new cut at an angle!!!

That made me realize that not everyone knows the importance of flower conditioning!

I thought to myself….this would make a perfect blog post!!!!
I did some good librarian research….and found you all some great links to teach you the ins and outs of conditioning YOUR flowers:

Conditioning Flowers to Boost Vase Life:  This is a nice overview article that gives the basics of flower conditioning.


The Garden Club of Brookfield Connecticut  has put this amazing alphabetical list of lots and lots of flowers and the “rules” for conditioning each one.
Somehow a group that has been in existence since the 1930’s give me confidence in their advice!

Now that I am including it in this post….I will be able to stop back and refer to it often!!!
(maybe I will memorize some…so the next time strangers ask me for advice….I won’t just be guessing!

Here are just a few of the tips from this site:

  • Artemisia: Split stems and place in boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in warm water.
  • Black-Eyed-Susan (rudbeckia): Dip stems in a small amount of boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in deep, cool water.
  • Gerbera: Dip stems in boiling water. Condition overnight in cold water.
  • Phlox: Cut when clusters are one-half open. Split stems. Condition overnight in deep, warm water.
  • Zinnia: Place stems in boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in tepid water. Zinnias last better if plants are watered before they are cut.   

Anyway…..here are the two arrangements that I did using my $7 bunch of Zinnias…..It is Saturday and they still look almost fresh from the garden!

Don’t they almost look like fine art?
Almost…but not quite!
So here is a little eye candy for you!
Source
Wouldn’t this be gorgeous in my Summer Powder Room?
Source
So pretty….

Source
How fun is this?
Source 
I really love this botanical….
Finally….whenever I think of Zinnias….I am reminded of one of my favorite alphabet books!

Alison’s Zinnia is the most beautiful book….each letter has a gorgeous picture of a flower….and the words guide you to the next letter….and of course….the final letter is Z for Zinnia!!!
This would be a marvelous book for any flower lover to have on the shelf to teach a special young person about flowers.

Wishing you a Great Day filled with beautiful long lasting flowers!

Cut Flower Conditioning Tips

Date: July 27, 2013
Author: sweetwaterstyle
Categories: art, decorating, flower arrangement, flowers, garden, read aloud, tips, tricks
The trick to making cut flowers last as long as possible is conditioning, conditioning, conditioning!
I visited the local Farmer’s Market on Thursday….I pledged to ONLY buy vegetables!!!!                                                                        
And then I spied these gorgeous bunches of Zinnias! Big bunches…..big flowers….and the lady in the stand kept nodding and telling me how freshly cut they were….and only $7….
What would you have done???  

With Zinnia’s in arm…I headed home with a few vegetables too!
On the way a couple of ladies stopped me to ask if Zinnias were flowers that would last long in an arrangement!
So I dug in my memory…..and shared some tips for conditioning them to make them stay pretty…..mostly the basics of keeping the water fresh and cutting a new cut at an angle!!!

That made me realize that not everyone knows the importance of flower conditioning!

I thought to myself….this would make a perfect blog post!!!!
I did some good librarian research….and found you all some great links to teach you the ins and outs of conditioning YOUR flowers:

Conditioning Flowers to Boost Vase Life:  This is a nice overview article that gives the basics of flower conditioning.


The Garden Club of Brookfield Connecticut  has put this amazing alphabetical list of lots and lots of flowers and the “rules” for conditioning each one.
Somehow a group that has been in existence since the 1930’s give me confidence in their advice!

Now that I am including it in this post….I will be able to stop back and refer to it often!!!
(maybe I will memorize some…so the next time strangers ask me for advice….I won’t just be guessing!

Here are just a few of the tips from this site:

  • Artemisia: Split stems and place in boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in warm water.
  • Black-Eyed-Susan (rudbeckia): Dip stems in a small amount of boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in deep, cool water.
  • Gerbera: Dip stems in boiling water. Condition overnight in cold water.
  • Phlox: Cut when clusters are one-half open. Split stems. Condition overnight in deep, warm water.
  • Zinnia: Place stems in boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in tepid water. Zinnias last better if plants are watered before they are cut.   

Anyway…..here are the two arrangements that I did using my $7 bunch of Zinnias…..It is Saturday and they still look almost fresh from the garden!

Don’t they almost look like fine art?
Almost…but not quite!
So here is a little eye candy for you!
Source
Wouldn’t this be gorgeous in my Summer Powder Room?
Source
So pretty….

Source
How fun is this?
Source 
I really love this botanical….
Finally….whenever I think of Zinnias….I am reminded of one of my favorite alphabet books!

Alison’s Zinnia is the most beautiful book….each letter has a gorgeous picture of a flower….and the words guide you to the next letter….and of course….the final letter is Z for Zinnia!!!
This would be a marvelous book for any flower lover to have on the shelf to teach a special young person about flowers.

Wishing you a Great Day filled with beautiful long lasting flowers!

Cut Flower Conditioning Tips

Date: July 27, 2013
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: art, decorating, flower arrangement, flowers, garden, read aloud, tips, tricks
The trick to making cut flowers last as long as possible is conditioning, conditioning, conditioning!
I visited the local Farmer’s Market on Thursday….I pledged to ONLY buy vegetables!!!!                                                                        
And then I spied these gorgeous bunches of Zinnias! Big bunches…..big flowers….and the lady in the stand kept nodding and telling me how freshly cut they were….and only $7….
What would you have done???  

With Zinnia’s in arm…I headed home with a few vegetables too!
On the way a couple of ladies stopped me to ask if Zinnias were flowers that would last long in an arrangement!
So I dug in my memory…..and shared some tips for conditioning them to make them stay pretty…..mostly the basics of keeping the water fresh and cutting a new cut at an angle!!!

That made me realize that not everyone knows the importance of flower conditioning!

I thought to myself….this would make a perfect blog post!!!!
I did some good librarian research….and found you all some great links to teach you the ins and outs of conditioning YOUR flowers:

Conditioning Flowers to Boost Vase Life:  This is a nice overview article that gives the basics of flower conditioning.


The Garden Club of Brookfield Connecticut  has put this amazing alphabetical list of lots and lots of flowers and the “rules” for conditioning each one.
Somehow a group that has been in existence since the 1930’s give me confidence in their advice!

Now that I am including it in this post….I will be able to stop back and refer to it often!!!
(maybe I will memorize some…so the next time strangers ask me for advice….I won’t just be guessing!

Here are just a few of the tips from this site:

  • Artemisia: Split stems and place in boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in warm water.
  • Black-Eyed-Susan (rudbeckia): Dip stems in a small amount of boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in deep, cool water.
  • Gerbera: Dip stems in boiling water. Condition overnight in cold water.
  • Phlox: Cut when clusters are one-half open. Split stems. Condition overnight in deep, warm water.
  • Zinnia: Place stems in boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in tepid water. Zinnias last better if plants are watered before they are cut.   

Anyway…..here are the two arrangements that I did using my $7 bunch of Zinnias…..It is Saturday and they still look almost fresh from the garden!

Don’t they almost look like fine art?
Almost…but not quite!
So here is a little eye candy for you!
Source
Wouldn’t this be gorgeous in my Summer Powder Room?
Source
So pretty….

Source
How fun is this?
Source 
I really love this botanical….
Finally….whenever I think of Zinnias….I am reminded of one of my favorite alphabet books!

Alison’s Zinnia is the most beautiful book….each letter has a gorgeous picture of a flower….and the words guide you to the next letter….and of course….the final letter is Z for Zinnia!!!
This would be a marvelous book for any flower lover to have on the shelf to teach a special young person about flowers.

Wishing you a Great Day filled with beautiful long lasting flowers!