My Creative Blog [Search results for flowers] 

I stopped in at the flower farm yesterday. I thought for sure they would be open by now as I could see the the bright yellow daffodils smiling so happily out in the fields. But they're still busy with their spring yard work, getting ready for opening day the first week of April.
Nevertheless, the owner greeted me with a smile (I'm a loyal customer you see) and insisted that I take a pail (I happened to bring one along) and cut as many daffodils as I'd like (I had my clippers too). As she put it, she'd rather see them enjoyed than fade away out in the fields all alone (me too).
The fields felt so quiet compared to the time when all the flowers are growing here in the summer. But seeing the eager daffodils all bright eyed and bushy tailed against the slowly awakening landscape was a a good sign that more flowers are soon to follow....like these and these.

I love the bonnet-shaped face of this variety of daffodil. And there were lots of them....lots of smiling faces basking under the soft late winter sun.

The owner of the flower farm joined me out in the fields to pick a pail of her own so I was able to get some clarification on cutting daffodil and tulip stems for arrangements.
The gooey sap of the daffodil flower contains calcium oxalate crystals. When their stems are cut, the sap starts to flow and is poisonous to other cut flowers. If you'd like to mix daffodils with other cut flowers, you should soak the fresh cut daffodil stems over night (this makes the sap stop flowing). The next day, rinse the stems under water before putting them in the vase with the other flowers.
Also, the information I was given previously on not cutting your tulip stems was false. Tulips do not have the same toxic sap as daffodils and therefore are fine to cut and arrange with other flowers.

Since I've been in a tulip craze for the past several weeks (yes, more white tulips!), I did a little more research when I got home. I found that you should always re-cut your tulip stems. Cutting the stems opens up the flowers uptake channels allowing them to take in the water they need and therefore extending its vase life. It's also suggested that you refresh or change the water daily.
By far, the most fascinating realization I unearthed during my tulip research is that unlike other flowers, tulips continue to grow after they've been cut. They also tend to grow towards sources of light, which is why tulips seem to arrange themselves (they're interior designers at heart) in the vase.
Another way of looking at it was explained by David Caras of the Netherlands Flower Bulb Center in New York City. As he put it, tulips prefer to "dance in the vase." Unlike other flowers, "they refuse to stand still."
I just love that.

Happy Monday, everyone! We are working our tails off this week on lots of Fall projects and fun blog stuff, so to help us out, we've asked a few of our bloggy pals to share some of their projects with you. But get ready, because next week, we'll be back in full force!: ) We're so pleased to introduce you to Rebecca from My Girlish Whims. We've been communicating the past several months through email and were fortunate enough to share our top wedding planning tips with her readers in February when Rebecca was busy getting married and going on her honeymoon. Rebecca is a really talented jewelry designer (make sure you check out her anthro jewelry knockoffs!), but we're in love with this Paper Fan Banner she made. Isn't it darling?

Ok, take it away, Rebecca!

Hello East Coast Creative Readers!

My name is Rebecca and I blog over at My Girlish Whims

My blog is all about beading, crafting, and general life as a girl!

I'm so excited to be guest posting over here today, because I live very close to Jess & Monica! We haven't met in"real life" yet but I'm sure one day we will: )

I just got married in February and have been trying to repurpose a few of the items I DIYed for my big day so I don't waste them! I had a ton of these fabric flowers left over:

Which I had made to hang off the pews in the church.

My hubby and I recently bought our first house and so I've been working on collecting/making some home decor accents. I thought I could use the silver flowers from the pew cones for up in our bedroom, which is eventually getting a grey/silver color scheme.

I got this bucket from the"as-is" section of IKEA for $1.50. There was nothing wrong with it…I think they just aren't selling them anymore!

I spray painted it silver with leftover spray paint from another wedding project

I poured in some glass marbles (that were actually left-overs from my bridal shower!) and then stuck in my fabric flowers (this post has a full tutorial on how to make them if you are interested)

Here's the finished product:

Yay! I think it turned out so cute, and all it cost me was the $1.50 for the bucket!
I put my little flower bucket up in our bedroom on our IKEA TV-holder-thing-a-ma-whatsit. Yes, that is the technical term.

Other side has a picture of us from our big day: )

And there are the flowers!

Slowly our house is becoming more decorated…and slowly I'm using up some of my wedding decor too: )

Thanks so much to Jess and Monica for letting me guest post! Please stop by my blog sometime to say hi, I'd love to meet you!: )

Thank YOU, Rebecca! You can't beat a cute project with that price tag!

Ok, are you ready for our last guest post for the Summer? We are thrilled with all of the projects our bloggy friends have shared with us, and this one from Christina of Christina's Adventures, is no exception! Christina is a local girl and has a sweet heart and some serious DIY skills. And oh my goodness, this nautical summer wreath of hers made my heart skip a beat. A.dor.a.ble.

She's a regular commenter on our posts, for which we are eternally grateful! Welcome, Christina!

Hey East Coast Creative readers! I’m super excited to be here! I live just a short drive away from Jess & Monica – and I share so many of their DIY passions! I have a blog (Christina’s Adventures) where I share my stories about thrifty decorating, DIY upcycling, and creative living.

I am a former Autism Support teacher (just resigned from my job in June!) who lives with my husband & “dog baby” in an apartment attached to my parent’s house while we save money to buy our own house (so we can have real babies)! This summer has been filled with all things wedding! I am a bridesmaid in one wedding, attending a great friend’s wedding next weekend, and my brother is getting married in a few days! We hosted a shower for my brother and his fiancée, and I had a lot of fun decorating for the shower. One of the guest’s favorite DIY items was this trough:

And YOU can easily make your own! Seriously! Added bonus – no power tools are required. Here’s how I made mine: I have been dying to make a trough for flowers for ages, and then I saw this one from Thrifty Décor Chick and I fell in love! I just needed the occasion/space to put the trough. When we were looking for something to fill the space at the kitchen table for the bridal shower, I knew this was my opportunity! I first planned out how big I wanted to make it. Our table was just about 6 feet long, so I decided to make this trough 4 feet long. I went to Lowe’s, and found some cedar wood in their lumber section. What I love about Lowes, is they will cut your wood for you! Just give them the measurements, and they’ll cut it. Seriously – best thing ever.

Here were the measurements I used:

• 2 planks: 3/4” x 7 1/2” – 4 feet long
• 1 plank: 1 1/2” x 5 1/2” – 4 feet long
• 2 squares (cut from the thicker piece): 1 1/2” x 5 1/2” – 5 1/2” long

In the morning, I hammered in some nails at the seams, just to make sure it was secure. I then roughly filled in some of the bigger cracks with wood filler, and sanded it down. I didn’t want this to look perfect – I knew I was going to paint and distress it, so I wanted imperfections.

I picked out a blue color I had in my stash (originally an “oops” can for $3). I didn’t prime the surface since I painted right onto the bare wood.

I let that dry, and then I painted with a very light gray over top (the same gray I used on this desk). I did not do this meticulously – I tried to leave some spots where you could see some of the blue coming through:

I then had some fun with glaze and sandpaper. There’s no science to this – I sanded down in certain spots, glazed over areas, and wiped down with a damp cloth. I like to use this glaze, which can be found at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Finally – I let it dry, and it was ready to be filled! I would have *loved* to fill it with fresh flowers, but it just wasn’t practical. We knew we wanted to keep the decoration in my mother’s living room after the shower, so she bought fake flowers from Michaels. I usually hate fake flowers, but these look surprisingly pretty!

What I love about this project is that it wasn’t just a “shower decoration”, but we are now able to use it in my mother’s living room (come follow my blog to see the full make-over of her room – coming soon!)

A few more glamour shots:

What are your thoughts? Have I convinced you that you can easily make yourself one of these as well? If you want to see more projects like this, come follow my blog! We have so much fun over there, and I’d love to get to know you better!

I'm thinking spring. It's hard not to (despite the snow) when you see bouquets of tulips and daffodils in the grocery store. So I've gathered some photos I took of the flowers we enjoyed last year to tide me through the next couple of months of winter.

The first spring flowers that grace our land are the blossoming fruit trees — they are absolutely breathtaking.

These were the first peonies I clipped at the flower farm. They were so gorgeous and delicate and their pink blossoms enormous!

We have some very old lilac bushes that probably need some serious pruning. They are a bit tattered and worse for wear, but still produce the most fragrant smelling flowers. I take this as my cue to gather them up in bunches and spread them throughout the house.

This was the bouquet I was most proud of last summer as it was the very first clipping from our newly planted rose and peony bushes.

These are the first clippings from the Little Lamb Hydrangea bushes I planted.

These are also Little Lamb Hydrangea but were clipped towards the end of summer, after they turned from milky white to a blushing pink.

And these were the last of the rose clippings before the frost came and lulled everything to sleep.
I've missed my petaled friends and can't wait to see them again this spring.

Today, those of us in PA enjoyed an early taste of summer! So, in honor of the beautiful weather, we're going to talk gardening! Ok, don't tune out on me yet… there are some cool things about gardening even if you're not"into it"…

Longwood Gardens My mother in law has an amazing green thumb, so anything I've learned is from her. I don't have extensive knowledge, but I've found plants that work for me and that I can manage… all that translates to "plants that are very hard to kill and can deal with being ignored!" Before I share some of my favorites and some recommendations, we need a little primer on plants. Annuals are plants that don't come back year after year… you have to buy them annually. Perennials come back year after year (AKA plants that Eric thinks are nice and practical!) Yes, that seems a little basic, but come on, most people confuse the two all the time!
Now for my favorites… Grasses- these perennials are wonderful as space fillers. They're inexpensive, indestructible, and grow like crazy. My favorite type is Maidenhair Grass (Miscanthus). They come in a variety of sizes and are nice and green all spring and summer.

In the fall they get these pretty wispy thingies (again, not very exact with my names!)

They also come in a variety of colors. I've bought this deep red before and it looks great in the fall.

Vinca- These annuals are my #1 favorite flower and my go-to flower for most beds and here's why… These flowers don't need a thing from me! They love full-sun, and thrive during a drought and heat wave. That's essential for me because, I spend full-sun, heatwave days by the pool, not watering my flowers!

They totally spread and fill out an area so nicely. Vinca = instant garden!

They're awesome for hanging baskets and again need little to no water. I rarely, if ever, water ones in the ground, but might water my baskets weekly or every ten days.

Now most people use Impatiens (which btw I thought were impatience until about 2 minutes ago!) but, the reason I prefer vinca is that impatiens need TLC. They need a lot of water throughout a drought and can stand the heat, but only with care. The two look so similar, that the easy peasy flower gets my vote for sure! These are impatiens- can you tell much of a difference?

Sunflowers- who doesn't love a sunflower? We go a little crazy with our sunflowers and try out tons of different varieties. My kiddos' favorite is the Mammoth Sunflower because it's enormous! Look at this random, adorable couple and their sunflower. They really do get this big!

Sunflowers don't have a super long bloom time, but if you stager your planting- plant a handful in the same area each week- you'll have a longer bloom season. This was the border of our backyard at the old house prior to full bloom.

Did you know they come in oodles of colors and so many of them have awesome fall tones? They bloom towards the end of the summer and get me all excited for my favorite season! This little fella was from our 2009 gardening.

Final note on sunflowers- they're super easy to plant and a great one to have the kids help you with! Can't mess it up!
New Favorite: Wildflowers- Thanks to Laura from Piggy Toes Photography in Norton, MA I'm hooked on wildflowers. I'm more of a clean lines, symetrical decorator and gardener, but was totally inspired by some of her pictures to enter the world of wildflowers. Who wouldn't want this amazing backdrop for photos right in their own yard! It was this picture of her son Atticus that made me contact her and find out more about these awesome flowers. Seriously Adorable!

These are super cute and will be making an appearance in our new yard. The company Laura suggested was American Meadows and I've already ordered three bags to plant in the next few weeks.

Although I'm partial to the cutie in the diaper, they're also great for more formal shots like this one from an engagement session. If you're in the MA area, make sure you check out Laura's website for great photography at excellent prices.

I can't wait to share pics of my kiddos in our wildflowers this summer!
Cosmos- While cosmos kind of fall under the"wildflowers" category, I've been using them for years. They're a bit more"wild" looking and unrully than I'd prefer, but they're awesome for cutting and really are pretty.

They come in so many colors and they also come in a variety of heights (learned the hard way when I had mammoth plants that all needed to be staked and still looked a bit sad.)

They're just so pretty and make beautiful arrangements that last for a while.

If you think you recognize them from somewhere… it could be from the AC Expressway in New Jersey. They're planted for miles between the highway and they're so pretty all summer on our drives to the beach!

So, I don't have any really amazing gardening tips for you, other than to find something that works for you and that you actually enjoy. If I planted things that needed daily attention it wouldn't be fun for me and they'd all end up dead!
So in honor of spring weather, and of the fact my husband sent me to Lowes tonight to buy this (my first ever John Deer purchase- I was a fish out of water) enjoy the warm weather and start thinking about what you might create outside this year.

Hubby came to the flower farm with me last night. How cute is that?

The flower farm is surrounded by rows upon rows of orchards. Set amongst the orchards are two acres of glorious flower fields. The photo above was taken in the dahlia patch, which consists of six long rows of every dahlia variety you can imagine.

This is the back entrance to the flower farm house, a pristine Dutch Colonial that is now operated by our local historical society. Indoors, a local winery gives tastings and shares the history of the house and farm. Let me just say, that I want to move in and play house here!

It was cute to watch hubby walk around and say things like, "how about a purple one?" We had only one pair of pruners so I did all of the cutting. Hubby made his visit more of a nature walk and it was really sweet to watch. It reminded me of that poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay that goes:
I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

The flower farm is such a nurturing place to go. To see so many flowers blooming in abundance offers the biggest case of warm fuzzies. It's also exciting to go home and fill your house with so many beautiful flowers. Our excursion to the farm provided us with four beautiful bouquets of dahlias. The cost: $10.

W e went to our favorite local flower farm this weekend. This beautiful Dutch Colonial home was a private residence until a couple of years ago. Now, it serves as a wine tasting room at the farm.

Out back is a lovely patio...

....and several acres of flowers, including this beautiful Japanese variety of peony which is the first to bloom.

Hubby came with me to help with the heavy lifting.

The sun was covered by clouds by the time we got home so I'm afraid that this photo doesn't quite do the brilliant blooms justice.

Hubby clipped a small bouquet of these sweet flowers, which we were told are 'Veronica'. He liked them because they resembled wild flowers.
How cute is that?

This is a sponsored post brought to you by The Home Depot! We love them for sponsoring CWTS and challenging us with this awesome project! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few weeks ago, I introduced you to the vertical garden project I'm working on (if you missed it, check it out here). I'm super excited about the challenge of pulling off such a cool look with a pretty simple DIY! Today it's all about the shopping!! Woot woot!

I wear a lot of hats… mom, teacher, blogger, wife, and now TV host (still sounds crazy!!), but that means that sometimes project shopping trips look like this… 4 kiddos ready to shop till we drop at Home Depot!

Yes, we get a lot of strange looks from people- I wish I took an after pic of the full cart with all the kids on it! Crazy town I tell ya! Thankfully, my kids are pretty awesome and were excited to be" on a special project for The Home Depot!"

Here's a funny story… while we were shopping, we were approached about five times by helpful Home Depot employees offering to help us. One thing I love about Home Depot is that they'll make cuts for you! This plywood never would have fit in my car and cutting it down to the exact size I need, will save me a step at home! Sweet!

Okay, so back to the story… after the nice fella helped us cut the wood the kids decided that The Home Depot must know we're here on a special project for them, because they're being so helpful and nice! Ha! I promised them they had no idea who we are and they're always just nice. The kids totally didn't buy it, and they walked with a little extra spring in their step thinking they were kinda famous at HD! (Even Kira's very dirty Teddy was proud to be Home Depot famous!)

If you're planning on building your own vertical garden along with me, here are the exact directions and material list I'm following. The Home Depot's huge library of how-to-videos and project planning tools are super helpful for actually getting you to do the projects you've been thinking of! It's updated often, so there's never a lack of awesome ideas!

Now let's talk flowers… I'll be 100% honest- I picked my flowers almost completely based on looks! I wanted a mainly orange-yellow combo, but then the purple-ish blue petunias added such a fun pop in the mix! But, I didn't want all my work to result in a bunch of dead-as-a-doornail flowers in a few weeks! So, of course I visited The Home Depot Garden Club website and checked to make sure they were all okay for my zone. So I knew I was good there, but here on the East Coast there's always a"you can't plant until after Mother's Day" rumor… Rather than risk it, I checked out the Home Depot Garden Forums and posted a question… Boom! Got my answer- the green light to #Digin and start planting!

Aren't the colors awesome? I still have some work to do on my garden, so stay tuned next week and I'll walk you through my build. So far it's been pretty simple- can't wait until it's finished and hung!

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too. Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to http://gardenclub.homedepot.com/ to see some of the many benefits of membership. This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you hear our BIG NEWS?

Click here for our announcement post with all the fun details!!
We can't wait for July 7th!!

This post brought to you by Whitney Farms. All opinions, creative ideas, and the cute kid are 100% mine.

My oldest child is a lot like her grandmom. She loves all animals, being outdoors, and growing things. At any given time you'll find at least two Red Solo Cups filled with dirt and some kind of seed on my kitchen counter. This spring Kenzie started sectioning off a little area of one of our beds as her"garden." We decided that a kids garden was a great idea and let her run with it. Of course it got my DIY wheels turning, and I actually struggled with letting go and letting her"make it her own," but, in the end, I think she did a fabulous job and her garden is just how she wanted it. Here's a peek into Kenzie's Garden…

Greenhouse Starter Kit Her kit was an Easter present and all the plants are doing so well. We plan to transplant them in about two weeks. We've still been having some cold nights here in Bucks County. Painted Rocks What's a garden without some pretty rocks? Kenzie LOVES our dog Pennlyn, so this rock is for her! We used acrylic paints, but coated it with a spray sealant to keep the rain away. She tested it with the hose before this picture.

Garden Sign I wanted to make an awesome barnwood sign with a custom transfer etc… but my girl had other plans. Sometimes it's hard to let go and let her do her own thing, but she was quite pleased with her little yellow sign. I think it's pretty cute too. These little wood plaques are at Michaels for $0.99!

Paint Stick Fence This project was a little tricky because Lowes wasn't really into the idea of giving me 50 paint sticks. They did give me 30ish, so we decided to spread them out a bit more and make it work! I also bought two yard sticks. To make the fence, we just used a staple gun to connect them to the yard sticks.

Kenzie painted it black and then sprayed it with white spray paint to give it an"old fashioned" look, as she put it. I think for under $1.00 it's perfect for a kids garden! (I also think it would look adorable to have an ombre fence, by lightening each picket. Not that I butted in and suggested that to Kenz, of course not!: )

Paint Stick Labels Another really simple, but fun project with paint sticks. She and her BFF painted them during a sleepover this weekend, then used a sharpie to write the names. I sealed them with Valspar's clear spray sealant. I think they're so cute!

Plants Kenzie chose all of her own plants (I might have been tempted to make suggestions, but I kept them to myself). She has sunflowers, strawberries, a tomato plant, vinca (my personal favorite), lavender, and I'm pretty sure she planted a maple tree! We already have strawberries! (We had these plants from last year, so they got a head start)

We planted some vinca because it's the best flower ever! Really, it loves the heat, doesn't need to be watered hardly ever, and gets lots of flowers. This is perfect for kiddos because it doesn't require much, and will bloom all season long.

I'll be completely honest, I'm not the most organic person you'll ever meet (ask my good friend Steph!) But, I didn't want Kenz handling a bunch of chemicals and toxic stuff. I was thrilled to find out about Whitney Farms® organic plant food. Kenz asked what was so special about it, and I explained that it's basically plant food made from all healthy stuff from the earth. She was cool with that answer and I'm a happy mom because I know she'll be safe working in organic soil and still have some huge, healthy flowers soon!.

So, does your kiddo have a green thumb? Maybe it's time for you to start a kids' garden too! I hope Kenzie's projects have inspired you! She was pretty excited that she was getting"her own blog post" Ha! Oh, and the good folks at Whitney farms are giving you a $3.00 off coupon if you want to try it out for yourself! We can see who's flowers get bigger! If you have a second, let Kenzie know what you think of her garden in a comment! Thanks!

There's nothing like a good, old-fashion upcycle, is there? Remember when my hubs and I recently renovated our kitchen and in the process took down some of our cabinets to make room for open shelving? I know I could have sold them, but I love the thrill of coming up with a new use for something rather than having it sit around waiting for a purpose. Planters are soo expensive, and so the thought occurred to me that I could use one cabinet to make a planter box! A virtually free project makes me one happy girl.

The cabinet was nothing special to begin with. Can you see why I wanted to get these things out of my kitchen?! First, I removed the door and all of the hardware;

and then lightly sanded down the entire cabinet. I just wanted to rought it up enough so that the spray paint would"stick" to it. If your cabinet is really glossy, make sure you give it a good sanding before painting. Next came the spray primer. I used this red one because it was all I had on hand.

I used my favorite shade of blue (Rustoleum Ultra Cover 2x in Satin Lagoon) and lightly sprayed the box with three coats.

I wanted to make sure it had good drainage, so I drilled several holes along the bottom of the box. The holes are small enough that dirt won't easily fall through, but large enough for the water to seep out. There is no perfect number of holes, so drill away until your satisfied!

I also added castors to the bottom because this thing was bound to be really heavy once I added potting soil and plants and I wanted to be able to move it around whenever inspiration struck (which happens really often at my house!)

Polyurethane is your best friend when it comes to protecting any surface from water damage. I applied several coats, letting each coat dry in between. My poly is well-loved, can you tell?I've had this planter sitting on my deck for about a month now. My cabinet is partially made of particle board and is beginning to show major signs of wear. Make sure your cabinet is solid wood OR coat both the outside AND inside with at least three coats of poly. Trust me- I know!

To protect the inside of my box from damage, I lined it with heavy plastic sheeting (found with the dropcloths in the paint section of Lowe's or Home Depot), and secured it with duct tape. Then I poked holes in the bottom of the plastic sheet, again, to aid with drainage.

Then came the fun part! Filling it up with potting soil and gorgeous flowers! I love how it came together and the way it adds a pop of fun color to my deck.

For less than $15, I had a brand new planter box! Even better, I repurposed something I already had and gave it new life.

I love it even more now that the flowers have grown in. So pretty! What would YOU do with an old cabinet?

This is a sponsored post brought to you by The Home Depot! We love them for sponsoring CWTS and challenging us with this awesome project! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few weeks ago, I introduced you to my vertical garden project — you can check out part 1 and 2 here and here.
Today I finally get to show you HOW I made my vertical garden, and guess what? It was pretty simple!!

Since Home Depot has done a great job with providing both a video and written instructions for this project, I'm not going to give you every step, but I will share some tips I learned along the way!

You definitely don't need a nail gun for this project, but it would have made it so much faster!! Ours was on set for Knock It Off, so I did it the old fashioned way!

I went with a variety of colors for this project- I usually avoid marigolds, but I liked the orange and yellow contrasted with the blue/purple of the petunias!

When I was working on the holes for my irrigation tubes (which is just simple PVC that lets water get down deep in the planter) I found that if I drilled my hole in one direction and then once the tip of the bit was through, flipped it over and came in from the other side, it helped me not have any of my wood splinter or crack.

This is one step I added on my own… I spray painted my lattice- Shocker right?!? I know eventually it will be covered by plants, but in the meantime, I wanted it to look fun and colorful!

Once my box and frame were built, I gave them a coat of indoor/outdoor paint as well!

I love this color from Rust-Oleum (Blue Lagoon)- it's the same one we used on Jess' huge family artwork frame.

Once that was dry it was time to start planting!

I had an Oh Snap moment, when a realized that I forgot to buy the thin black meshing so all the dirt wouldn't fall out of my planter… thank goodness for the Home Depot Garden Community forums- I found out I could use some old material and it would work just fine! Phew!

Even before I added my flowers, I knew I was in love! The fun colors totally sold me!!

Here's just a taste of the awesomeness that the flowers brought to this project!

Tomorrow's my final day of this journey and I'll show you the finished product and where I hung it!

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too. Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to http://gardenclub.homedepot.com/ to see some of the many benefits of membership. This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

A few weekends ago, my younger sister, Chrissie, my mom and I had the pleasure of throwing my older sister a baby shower. She is due on May 16th and I can NOT wait to lay eyes on that sweet little baby girl. My big sis does not like surprises, so she knew about the whole thing. We kind of went with a"sugar and spice" theme, although not everything fit into that box.

The shower was held at The Lucky Cupcake Company in Plumsteadville. This little shop is just too cute, and they serve some delicious cupcakes! Actually, the owner, Joanne, was recently on the show Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. We were even more excited to throw the shower here because her whole store is decked out in our shower colors- pink and gray. Score one for us! That means less decorating.: )

She even had a sign that fit the theme perfectly!

I haven't yet shared my love for Produce Junction on this blog, but now is the time! I seriouly love this place for fresh flowers. I got two dozen pink antique-looking roses for $6.50, big white carnations and some other purple flower things (I am sooo not a florist, as you can tell). All for about $10! These made about 8 arrangements, which were absolutely beautiful.

We purchased simple mason jars at Giant and then worked the flowers into them until they looked pretty. The plates, silverware, cups and napkins came from Dollar General. I was really impressed with their huge selection and really cute designs.

Joanne from the Lucky Cupcake made us a 5 dozen cookies in different varieties for our cookie bar favors. She made sugar cookies shaped as onesies (for the sugar part) and chocolate chip and oatmeal spice cookies (for the spice part) and each guest took a bag and filled it with their choice of cookies.

Chrissie had two friends with her that helped us out with the cute frames. I explained to them how to easily decoupage the scrapbooking paper to the frames (tutorial on that to come late- so easy!). We made one to hold the cookie bar favor instrucations and one for the scrapbook instructions. My sister took them home and will be able to put them in the nursery! Adorable and easy.

We bought the favor bags from Michael's, as well as the labels. Once home I printed the labels that said"Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice- Baby W 5-16-11". Then I folded the top part of the bag, punched holes in the front flap (so they could open them and put the cookies in) and threaded a ribbon through the holes and tied them in a knot.

We requested Joanne to make her pink champagne cupcakes-which actually have champagne and real sliced strawberries in them!- and they were to die for. She also included some vanilla buttercream cupcakes as well.

Our friend, Stephie, made my sister this diaper cake. The top held some of the sweetest little white shoes I have ever seen.

Loved all the details!

Some of you may know that the Lucky Cupcake store is now in the space where the Dream Dinners strore my mom and I started was. This pendant light used to have the DD logo on it, but Joanne had it changed to include her logo. So resourceful!

My best friend and awesome party-throwing partner!

And how could I not include a picture of my beautiful niece, Leah. I just love that face. Everyone went so well and I think Rachel had a great time. Time to come out, Baby W!: )
And now for the $10 Chubby's Gift Card Winner:

Congratulations, Chrissie Duncan ! (I promise this is not rigged!: ) She wrote: My fav kind of icecream is PB Cup Perfection…Coldstone.: ) Or anything that is edible.
Have a great Monday!

A few months back I partnered with 3M Scotch Blue to work on a fun project. I had to wait to share it with you guys, but I finally can spill the beans and show you the coolest planters ever! Now that it's summer, it matches with my outdoor decor and the flowers are thriving!! Enjoy!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We had a 60 degree day this weekend and it totally put me in the mood to get ready for Spring! It was perfect timing because I teamed up with 3M ScotchBlue and had a super simple, and fun project to work on.

Southwest decor is all the rage this year, so I wanted to bring a touch of this trendy style to my outdoor living space this Spring. Here's what you need to make your own: 2-3 Planters in a variety of sizes 3M ScotchBlue tape Craft Knife Spray Paint Dirt Flowers or Plants
I found these planters at my local Target and immediately thought the colors went perfectly with my outdoor cushions.

See the red, aqua, and grey? It was like a match made in Heaven!

Step 1- Cover the surface of your planters where you plan to add your Southwestern flair. I totally knew ScotchBlue tape would seal tightly and prevent any dripping.

Step 2- Trace your pattern. I printed out a steer head and traced it with a pen, so I could see where to cut. It doesn't actually make a clear line, but more of an indent in the tape, that you can see.

I used the exact same process for the arrows on the other planter.

Step 3- Use a craft knife to cut the outline of your shape.

Step 4- Remove the shape cutout. Use the edge of your craft knife to get under the tape and peel away only the inside of your shape.

You'll be left with perfectly crisp lines ready for some paint!

Step 5- Spray paint your shape. Now, make sure you tape off any area that might get paint on it. See the top there… it would be blue, if I didn't tape it off.

ScotchBlue tape is the perfect seal while you paint. Use two thin coats of spray paint and then allow it to dry for about 30 minutes before removing the tape.

To add a little more color, I popped the bottoms off the planters and gave them two coats of spray paint as well.

Step 6- Plant & Enjoy! After everything has dried for 24 hours, you can plant and stack your planters. Just remember to leave enough space to stack the upper planter on top, as you plant the lower one.

I'm hoping for plenty more warm days ahead, so I can enjoy hanging outside and relaxing near my super-cute Southwest planters!

Apparently I have a thing for cool planters- if you missed my original tiered planters you can check them out HERE. (They were featured by Apartment Therapy last month- So exciting! woohoo!!!)

So are you digging the southwest trend or are you ready for it to take a hike??

**This post was sponsored by 3M, but all opinions belong 100% to yours truly! **

Want more EC2? Use the icons below to follow us!

W inter came early this year. But it seems that Old Man Winter used up his snowflakes all at once because it's looking a lot like spring around here. In fact, things are so green that we've been graced with our first show of flowers.
I caught sight of them from our bedroom window and still in my nightgown, decided to go outside and give them a proper welcome.

Here's a small bouquet that I brought inside. For such little flowers, they have an amazingly strong fragrance. It's a fragrance very similar to that of gardenias.

Here they are smiling after being in the warm house for a few hours. My friend Catherine told us that they are called Snowdrops and bloom in early spring.
Welcome sweet little Snowdrops.

W e've had two weeks of cool spring temperatures and monsoon-like rains. But the clouds have passed and the sun has started to shine....

....and the flower farm has been graced with an abundance of blooming peonies.

I picked two varieties of pink ones,...

....a fiery fuscia variety, and a variety of small baby white ones.

The house had been without flowers for too long.

But soon our own garden will begin blooming and we'll have fresh cut flowers for months to come.
Each flower is a verse in nature's enduring poem.
I cannot wait to dwell on the beauty of each one.

We briefly interrupt this CWTS week because it's now officially spring and I'm not sure if you know this, but it has been SNOWING the last 2 days here in PA. We thought maybe the snow was due to the fact that we haven't been posting about anything spring?? So, just to make sure spring isn't offended, and stops the snow business, we proudly present you with a spring post! (CWTS Tutorials will be back in full swing tomorrow, but you can check out the Round 2 projects and winners here and here.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You all know that HGTV has a special place in our hearts. We got our very first magazine feature in their November 2012 Thanksgiving issue (remember the fun leftovers station idea?) So, of course we were game when HGTVGardens asked us to give their new website a whirl!

We started off by becoming HGTVGardens community members (which was easy peasy), you can check our our profile here.

I added a few of my own outdoor posts to my photo album.

If you're a blogger, this is a great way to get some new local blog readers, because HGTVGardens suggests content based on your zip code. So people right in your hometown will see your posts. It's also really cool because those people live in the same gardening"zone," so I won't be shown a bunch of posts of plants that could never grow in PA!

Then, I took some time to explore the site! You know I don't have an especially green thumb, but I do love to make our yard look awesome in the summer and fall! I have my go-to annuals, but I really want to find more perennials that I like. With 4 acres of land, annuals get really pricey! I couldn't believe how simple HGTVGardens made searching for the right plants! Check this out… they already had my zone, so I just clicked Perennial, then Partial Sun and Boom!

I found this adorable flower!! I don't know about the name, seriously,"Sneezeweed??" but it looks awesome, will come back each year, and Bonus… it attracts butterflies! I really love the Plant Finder tool and see many more new and awesome flowers making their home with us this year!

Another thing I loved about the HGTVGardens site was that the articles were super relevant. It wasn't like Uncle Bob's Random flower that only grows in Texas or anything like that! I was super excited to stumble upon this article about Meadows. Two summers ago, I started trying to get a meadow going and each year I'm getting closer and closer!

Honestly, to start my meadow, I just went to American Meadows and picked the flowers I thought were pretty… this article would have been really helpful about two years ago! Ha! Now, I know which bags of seed I'll be ordering this year, and I'm pretty sure they'll do a lot better than the"Monica Random Picking Method."
I knew I was a big HGTV fan, but the HGTVGardens site really impressed me. I added it to my Bookmarks bar… people, that's a big deal in my world! Take some time to check it out and I'd love to know what new plants and ideas you find (they have a whole section for crafts and fun outdoor ideas too!)
And just because I love it a lot, here's my Go-To flower. It's perfect for the lazy gardener… loves sun, doesn't need water, comes in tons of colors, and makes me look like a much better gardener than I really am!

Happy Spring, now if the East Coast could get the spring memo and stop snowing, I could start getting my gardening groove on!

**This post brought to you by gardening crew at HGTV, but all opinions belong 100% to yours truly!

A s I've continued to trim the stems of the hydrangeas to make them last longer, they've required smaller and smaller vases. I placed the collection around the sink and realized that they made for a lovely little indoor spring garden.
It will sustain me for now as the garden outside is still very quiet.

The only sign of blossoms so far are the sweet baby buds from the old lilac bush. They're the first to bloom in spring and are a wonderful reminder of the fragrances and flowers we'll enjoy in the months to come.
That first lilac bouquet will be heavenly.
I can't wait. xo

My family travelled a lot growing up, and still, to this day, we all get together one week out of the year, and vacation with each other in a new, unexplored (to us) location. I was also fortunate enough to live in Greece for three months during college. My friends and I (and my future hubby, unbeknownst to both of us), toured Greece, Italy, France and Spain with abandon, and I loved every second of it.
Why am I telling you this? Over the past year, I've been trying to figure out what my design"style" really is. Instead of randomly acquiring or making things that may or may not fit the rest of my belongings, I want to be purposeful and intentional (there's that word again; ) with the design of my house. I want my home to have a nice flow, (which, if you've ever been to my house, is not the case), and to be comfortable and relaxing, yet beautiful. That's not too much to ask, is it? (Envision me looking exhausted). I find that thinking about the places I've been that have really impacted me and that I fell in love with, help me discern what styles I want to incorporate in my home. Each place has a certain feel that I would love to capture at home. This is the first post of three parts about my top 3 favorite destinations and what design elements I have gathered and want to incorporate in my home. Destination #1: Greece

Zacynthos, Greece (We affectionately call this place"Paradise Beach")
Ahhhh…memories. This country holds a special place in my heart as it was the place I met and got to know my hubs (no, he is not Greek. He was on the same trip I was), and it was the first place that I really had to be completely independent. There are two main design elements from Greece that I want to include in my house: simplicity and history.

Source: perivolassuites.gr via Jessica on Pinterest
This room is SO simple. Nothing competing with each other, no knickknacks. Just two beautiful blue bottles, a plant and a purple blanket. Makes me want to take a nap.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Jessica on Pinterest
White on white on white. {Sigh} I told you I was in a white phase, and this depicts that perfectly. Even though it's devoid of color, it's still an interesting room with those totally cool stool/table thingies that add loads of texture, and the khaki/white rug. I understand it's absolutely not practical in any way with two little ones running around, but I so admire how peaceful and simple this room is.

Source: 79ideas.org via Jessica on Pinterest
Again, nothing dramatic in this room, but somehow this room is perfect. That table looks like it has seen its fair share of dinner parties. I love the old furniture paired with the fancy chandelier, and beamed ceiling. I can totally envision eating a late dinner here with friends.

Source: flickr.com via Jessica on Pinterest
If this doesn't inspire you to bring the outside in, then I
don't know what will.

Source: trekearth.com via Jessica on Pinterest
This is gorgeous, old and falling apart. It gives me hope that someone might find the peeling paint on my porch banisters gorgeous.

Source: indiehome.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest
There is a very simple color scheme in Greece- white and blue, with a little pink thrown in there from the wild, climbing flowers. And still, it's so interesting and pretty.

Wow. That light fixture is fabulous. This room is breathtaking. Enough said.

Have you been anywhere that has inspired you to decorate differently? Please share!

Sometimes you need a little colour to brighten up your day. Today is one of those.

Ok, we all know that the reason we love DIY and home decor blogs is that we can legitimately snoop in other people's houses. Seriously, you know it's true. Well, I'm here to please, folks, so I'm going to give you a little glimpse into the house where my family (parents, both sisters and their families, and my fam) stayed the last week. We have this awesome tradition of spending a week together on vacation every year and we always go somewhere new. This year, my dad found this gorgeous house called"Old Wintersell" right outside of the adorable little town of Oxford, which is situated on the Chesapeake in Maryland. We've been to a lot of places, but this spot was definitely in my top 5 locations. Let me show you why:

This beautiful old house was built in 1845 and sits on a sprawling 14 acres. It was impeccably maintained and obviously nicely updated. Just in case you were wondering, here's the aerial view of the house (taken from the home's website- you can see lots more pictures there. This house is for sale, too!)

The kitchen was well-appointed and had everything we needed!

Loved these decorative spheres (I would have said balls, but that just didn't sound quite right)

The butler's pantry was so big that I couldn't get it all in one shot. On the left was a desk and bookshelves, stocked with loads of Bon Appetit magazines, and on the right was the coffee station and plenty of pantry space.


The kitchen opened into the main living area, where we spent most of our evenings hanging out.

This trunk-turned-coffee-table was a fun piece that added a lot of character to the room.

The bathroom off of the kitchen was very dark and stately-the gold framed mirror was a show-stopper!

My favorite feature of the house was this enclosed all-weather sun porch. It overlooked the yard and the water in the distance, and had a gorgeous brick floor and several seating areas. It was light and airy and very long. This space had to be close to fifty feet long!

I loved the sunny mudroom, which had a long bench along one side that was rustic and perfect and an awesome shelf with drawers on the other side. I'm thinking that shelf might be a DIY project calling my name!

I didn't take many pictures of the bedrooms (I tried not to spend my every waking minute taking pictures of just the house!), but this bedroom my sister and brother-in-law stayed in was so peaceful and calm. Plus, that fabric headboard was really cute!

This was their view…not bad, huh?; )

I never would have thought to hang plates in a bathroom, but they look so sweet above the beadboard. And, that vanity with it's marble top is looking mighty fine, as well.

Now, on to the outside:


We had so much fun kayaking, crabbing, and riding the boat off of this dock. There's nothing like getting up early and walking right down to the water. Love that.

The pool was wonderful, but the fence didn't go all the way around, which made for a few nervous moms. But, we spent a good amount of time in that thing, so I can't really complain.

The back of the house and the yard were perfection to me. It felt like I was kind of living in a movie or something. The evenings were absolutely perfect: the kids played in the yard while my parents watched from their adirondack chairs and my husband and brothers-in-law check the crab traps. Just lovely.

Oh, and the flowers…

The Chesapeake is only a 3 hour drive from our house and I highly recommend it as a weekend getaway or a week-long vacation, like we had. It's quiet, peaceful and quaint. It almost feels New England-like, but is a only a short drive away. St. Michaels offers lots of cute shops and good restaurants, and Oxford has the BEST icecream place on the Eastern Shore: Scottish Highland Creamery. If you go down to Oxford, stopping there is a must.

There's nothing I enjoy more than family vacation and being on the water. Combine the two and you have one pretty amazing time.

Can you tell we loved it?

What's your favorite vacation destination? We're always on the lookout for our next one!