“There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved.” Georges Sand
This little Valentine’s welcome at the front entrance comes straight from the heart. A heart wreath flanked by planters decorated with dangling red hearts is a charming and sweet welcome for February. 
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Stone in a garden just does something to me. I love the patina, texture and architectural interest it weaves into a natural setting. Its earthy color makes it easy to incorporate into any garden for a rich yet subtle sculptural effect. It whispers of antiquity and timelessness. Stone spheres as garden ornamentation in particular, imparts a quiet serenity in the space.
Three orbs sit among a perennial bed of bluebells, enhancing but not detracting from the beauty of the flowers.
Terrarium: a glass container, chiefly or wholly enclosed, for growing and displaying plants.
Terrariums provide a wonderful indoor gardening activity and are easy to make. The materials needed to create a terrarium such as drainage pebbles, soil and small plants are readily available and virtually any container can be repurposed into a terrarium. Having greenery around during the winter months is a surefire way to beat the blues and terrarium gardening is a fun creative outlet. Low maintenance needs make terrariums very appealing.
To prepare this post I visited my local Terrain at Styers store for inspiration and to purchase plants. They have a whole section of ready made terrariums or all plants and materials to build your own. I created my own closed container terrarium and documented the process to walk you through the step-by-step construction. Then I met with my talented gardening friend Missy who sells terrariums she creates, to have her share her best tips for successful terrarium construction and to teach us all her creative design secrets. You are in for a treat!
Terrain at Styers creation
“Man cannot live on presents alone.” NYTimes
I love that quote! After the last present has been opened, your loved ones will be famished. Many of these brunch recipes can be made ahead, leaving you to savor the magic of the season too. From sweet to savory, all of these recipes are delicious and sure to please your peeps as you break the fast together on Christmas morn.
Festive with a wonderful orange glaze.
Did you know December 12th is National Poinsettia Day in the US? To celebrate, I’ve got a tutorial for creating a fun candy cane covered vase for a small poinsettia. The poinsettia is a member of the spurge family and is indigenous to Mexico. Its English name originated from the first US minister to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, who introduced the plant to the US in 1825. In Mexico the plant is called Flor de Noche Buena or Christmas Eve Flower, which is such a pretty name. The Aztecs used the plant to produce red dye and as an anti pyretic. Today, the plant is mostly ornamental and beloved around the world. Did you know that the flowers of the poinsettia are really small and grouped in the yellowish center of the colored bracts? That’s right. The bright red “flowers” of the classic poinsettia are actually its leaves. The bracts can also be pink, cream, orange, pale green or marbled. Now let’s get to this fun project!
This year our front entrance is showing some swagger for the holidays. Instead of a wreath, I made a large swag with evergreens cut from around my garden then adorned it with ribbons, pine cones, pheasant feathers, ornaments in gold and burgundy and even some jingle bells. I love the scent of fresh greens to greet one and all at the holidays. Take a look at how it came together.
There is something about the holidays that brings out the creativity in me. I enjoy making gifts for loved ones. It slows the holiday frenzy down and I can savor time at home instead of rushing around. It’s fun to gather a group of friends to create together over a glass of warm cider, hot chocolate or wine. Most of these ideas from the archives can come together in very little time and are easy on the budget. Click on the highlighted link to get the instructions. I hope you will find a spark of inspiration to create handmade gifts for everyone on your list. Priceless.
The best hot chocolate ever and so adorable to wrap!
“Autumn binds poetry in its own withered leaves. “~Terri Guillemets
When fall arrives, does your nesting instincts go into full gear? Mine sure do! Here are some easy DIY fall decor projects you can create at home to celebrate autumn and get the creativity juices flowing. My favorites are the botanical pumpkins and the no-water fall window box. I have even included one that I wanted to love but struggled with, the Mason jar leaf hurricanes, so you can avoid the same mistakes I made. Happy fall! Continue reading
When my middle son Stéphane was in elementary school, he made me a heart-shaped brooch which was adorned with buttons. For years every single time I wore that brooch, people stopped me and commented on how pretty it was. That brooch was one of my most cherished possessions. Then I lost it. Heartbreaking. What’s a mom to do? Well try to recreate it of course! Continue reading
“A man is not where he lives, but where he loves.” Latin Proverb
February is a big month in our household with Valentine’s Day, our wedding anniversary and my birthday. With winter setting in, I like to brighten the entrance for the month of February with a Valentines theme. This year I recycled my holiday decor and transformed it with a few simple tweaks to celebrate the month of love.
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” David Bowie
I find a lot of the ready-made Valentines Day decorations are too corny or overdone so I like to create my own. The holiday urns had been done up in silver, flocked and red twig branches with red winter berry wreaths. I left these in place, removed the silver Christmas balls in the arrangment(you can see the original urns here) and hung heart shaped ornaments throughout the branches. Simple, restrained yet not too frilly. I live in a household of all men, including the cat! I really like the subtle sparkle from the glitter branches in the winter light. Don’t have red twig dogwood? Simply paint any branches with red paint as I did here.
French Gardener Dishes 