Archives for May 2014

Next Stage in my Buddha Garden

May 29, 2014 by 2 Comments

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Hello everyone! I am making progress with my Buddha garden redesign. I thought of the idea of taking the plastic drip trays used for pots to place glass beads in to create the illusion of water.  Then I planted white Allysum around the tray. It will eventually fill in as it is a ground cover. They also have a nice fragrance to them.

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The Irises, astible, sedum, hosta and Japanese painted ferns were already in the garden. So I just popped in some annuals for a blast of color.

buddha1In the back there is a beautiful black pot I scored at Lowes that looks like stone glued around it.  I bought Giant Elephant ears bulbs and planted one in there so I am hoping it will grow and reach up and arch over towards Buddha.  The Japanese Painted fern is fun to watch when there is a slight breeze when it stirs the leaves just a bit.

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I want to add in some fresh mulch and incorporate some stone in the design too.  So as it matures throughout the season I will be sure to post some updates.

This garden is pretty good size and the best part is I can sit on my deck with a cup of tea and take in the peace and serenity…namaste!

Now, back to work on some new products.

Have a blessed day my friends.

Belinda

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: ,

A Peek inside…things are happening!

May 28, 2014 by 1 Comment

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Hello Everyone! Wow, did we have the most amazing storm last night. I came home from my book club meeting and then about a half hour later the sky opened up and the rain came down with so much force it started to flood a small area on our deck. Then came some thunder. It was pretty amazing.  I smiled thinking hmm no watering the grass tomorrow.  (It’s those little things you know?)

So what’s on my desk? Well I am redesigning my business model a bit and with that I am working on new product lines.  So you can see my lovely stick figure mock-ups.  I am using my Silhouette heavily for the new designs and really enjoying the process. I am also pulling out some of digi files that I haven’t used before to create some cool things.

My goal is to bring many of these designs to reality and put them up on Esty before the boys finish the school year.  As some of you may know, the end of the school year can become quite frantic.  So I will aim high and see what happens.

Well I am off to run some errands and then back to work.

Have a blessed day my friends.

Belinda

Filed Under: Belinda's Crafts Tagged With: ,

Happy Memorial Day!

May 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Happy Memorial day!!! I hope you are all spending time with loved ones and take time to reflect on memories of ones that have passed on. I intend on an intimate time  hanging out on our deck with the kids playing games and watching Nicholas help Leao grill up our meal for dinner.  I am in charge of lunch and need to run a quick errand to Whole Foods…what a coincidence, they have an amazing salad bar –what?? You suggest I buy lunch there? What a fantastic idea. I wish I thought of it myself!!

On to my post. I have been building a little fruit farm on our property for a few years.  I bought three dwarf fruit trees last year. So this year, I am determined to add more. So when I saw three dwarf fruit trees that were a decent size on sale at Home Depot, I was so excited.  I didn’t even hesitate. Of course I had already shopping for plants so I had a pretty full cart. And I always seem to thank goodness I have a large vehicle to stuff all my goodness inside.

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I name all the different garden beds in my yard with different names. I have one that I call my Buddha garden. Years ago I bought a Buddha to go in that area and a red pagoda.  So this year, I have decided to redesign the area to reflect more serenity.  So some of the plants I bought are in mind of the redesign.

My mother and I took a trip to Montreal Canada many years ago. We thought it would be fun to drive and it was. Although now that I am growing a bit older, I don’t know if I could hang that long in the car anymore.  While there we has so much fun and one thing we did was visit a Buddha Garden at the Montreal Botanical Garden. It was amazing. I loved everything and I see now they have added even more so a repeat visit is on my list for sure. So when we bought our home over 10 years ago, I knew somewhere I would like my very own Buddha Garden.

I will  be revealing the final design this week so be sure to check in.  I shouldn’t say final design because I still believe it is always evolving and morphing into something new.

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This day of shopping really marks the beginning of my gardening season. I am so excited to get things going.  I consider myself a fairly knowledgeable gardener but caring for fruit trees is very new to me so I am going to dive in and hope for the best. I bought a peach, plum and pear tree this time.  I look forward to them maturing abundant fruit for years to come! Any tips, welcome.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: , , , ,

The Finish Line Feels Great…

May 22, 2014 by 2 Comments

packagingWell I am back! I met my deadline for my custom project and completed all the cards and shipped them to my client last Friday.  It felt so good when I laid all the cards out on my worktable to see the project in it’s entirety. I almost wanted to keep them for me!! I enjoyed reaching the finish line and seeing the result of all the work.  I used my Silhouette, Copics, digi files, and a array of products to come up with new designs. I was pleased to be able to tie all of these different disciplines together to create the finished cards.  On the last week of work I was in the zone and feeling really happy to know I was meeting my deadline.

I can not reveal the cards I designed just yet because I will be creating many of them for my shop but as I release them, I will be sure to post pictures here on the blog.  This project completely took all of creative time from the shop to complete. I think I managed my time well considering the boy’s and their schedule.  I learned a lot of what I am capable of doing. I think this project was just what I needed to move me forward creatively because I was faced with pushing myself more to please the client verses  creating whatever I feel like for my shop. I also learned what I would like to change moving forward so I think it was a win-win for me in many ways.

Above is a picture of the box I decorated to store the cards for my client.  I often feel conflicted about the amount of paper used in my craft and how I may be impacting the environment. I mean let’s face it, I have more product than I can use.

So when I was planning this project, I found a way to recycle the box used to store the cards.  As you may recall from some of my past posts, I subscribe to a monthly beauty kit club. Each month I receive samples of the latest products from hair, skin to makeup even teas.  They come in these amazing boxes that are sturdy and lined with beautiful paper. I could never throw them away so I just keep them and when I started the planning process I knew my cards had to fit in the box.  So in order to fully repurpose the box, I added a doily and some butterflies and some bling and my card label to mask the kit name (I ended up adding more bling to disguise the clue under the doily – such a perfectionist!).  I then used my shipping box from my monthly Project Life kits to ship the box.  I used washi tape to decorate the top and added a label.

I know this is a small act but I felt happy to reuse these beautiful boxes sent to me.   I am definitely going to use them for future projects as well.

My plans, moving forward, are to work on some new products for my shop and prepare for summer break. I usually take part of July and all of August off from work.  So back to work for me. I will also resume my blogging schedule. So prepare to hear more from me.

I hope you all are well.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Filed Under: Belinda's Crafts Tagged With: , ,
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