Happy 4th of July

I hope everyone has had a safe and happy 4th of July so far. We live in a great and a beautiful country. I would have to say that the 4th is probably one of my favorite holidays. I'm doing a quick post to let everyone know that I'll be down and out till the 23rd of July. I'd love to be able to tell everyone I'd be sitting on a yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean with my sweet husband, but I can't. I'll be doing the next best thing without him... visiting his in-laws! LOL

I may make it to the Chesapeake Bay, in a canoe.. with my irritating (he's that way on purpose) brother, but it'll still be fun, just far from romantic! (Good thing huh?) I'll be back in time for the drawing of course! Don't forget, leave a comment, and have a friend join and leave a comment (mentioning you of course), and you'll get that many more chances to win the awesome, Wine Charm Set with the coordinating, hand-painted Charm Box!

See You Soon!

Here it is!!!

The post you've all been waiting for! Okay, I'm sure no one lost any sleep over it, and you've probably all forgotten, but as promised...more details on the 'did you know yellow attracts bees' question.

If you've ever bought the cheap little Humming Bird Feeders with the little yellow flowers on them, then you've probably watched the birds and the bees compete for the nectar! Humming Birds are very territorial and bees are just plain stingy and don't like to share their food source! I wonder if this is why God made the blossoms on veges yellow? To insure the bees attention for pollination?

I've spent hours researching how to make humming bird feeders (aaaahhhhh.... trying to figure out where to buy the pieces necessary) and how to keep the bees away, and the least expensive way to make nectar, etc., etc.

Well, this is what worked for me... I went to the dollar store to purchase some cheap (that's me...cheap) humming bird feeders, expecting to pay $2.00 or $3.00 a piece. Was I excited when I found these awesome little humming bird feeders 2 to a pack for $1.00 and they come with ity bity baby Shepherd hooks to hang them anywhere with!!! I'm thinking, I can make these work for less than anything I could possibly put together myself. Yippee!!! (Nope, doesn't take much too excite me!)

I thought, I have got to do something with these yellow flowers, since it's the red color that attracts the humming birds, I didn't need the yellow. I read last year to use red fingernail polish to color the flowers, which I did and it worked. This year, I decided to use some of the red acrylic paint I have. This also worked. I'd imagine if you want, you could paint them any color, just not the yellow. It seriously works to get rid of the yellow.

Now, hopefully you will read this entire post before you run out to your local Family Dollar, because, here's the funny part. If you listen to what people tell you about taking care of your feeders, you'll be cleaning them every other day, because evidently humming birds are sterile, fragile little creatures!!! (Poppy cock I say, they spend weeks on end in flight when migrating...without ever resting, and what do you think they did before man came along to wash their little dishes?)

I fill mine up whenever they are empty and that means (i have 4 of them) at least once a week. I take them down and clean them every other week. Just a running/soaking with hot water (I don't use soap, because I don't think the cavemen used it when washing the humming bird's dishes.) I let them dry (simply because I can't do anything with multiple steps without getting sidetracked in between steps), then i fill them up with home made nectar.

I mix one cup of sugar, 4 cups of water and bring it all to a boil and then after it has cooled, I fill my feeders, and pour the rest into a little pitcher that is dedicated specifically to nectar and store it in the fridge. I hang the feeders out on the porch and enjoy. You don't need to add any red food coloring, somehow (may be the red on the feeder) they'll find it. This amount of nectar should last about 3 to 4 weeks. Depending on how many feeders and how many birds you have.

Oh yeah, I was going to tell you the funny part about painting the flowers! After about the 3rd or 4th cleaning.... I realized that the little flowers just pop right off and don't even need to be painted! But that's okay, at least I know I can paint them to keep away the bees, if necessary. Right? Since I have this urge to try to paint everything at least once, I'm going to (soon) try to paint the clear plastic nectar holder like stained glass... and I promise I'll share the results!

Yippie!!! You Won! You Won!

The moment we've all been waiting for! (drum roll) ...and the winner is; Andrea! Congrats on the lucky win! You are now the soon to be recipient of a beautifully hand painted miniature birdhouse wind chime!!! You can pick from what I have pictured or I will custom design one just for you! Just let me know what colors and style you would like!

Now for the next drawing... On July 30Th I will draw from all subscribers once again. This time the prize will be for a set of 4 wine charms and a hand painted box to keep them all together and put away safely...that is if you stop drinking long enough!!! Ha Ha Here's a picture of the Charms/Charm Box that you'll receive. Awesome huh? There is a catch though... this month, the only way to get your name in the "hat" is to have a friend subscribe or follow, and they have to put your name in the comment area of this blog. It's easy, but the more friends you have join, the more chances you have to win.

God Blessed America

God has truly blessed America with some of the finest people on this planet I'm certain! I think about the sacrifices that have been made from our country's conception and I'm speechless (almost). I think that everyone, everyday should remember those men and women, some of them actually barely adults. It's not just those who have given their lives it's also those left behind.

My sons have dedicated their lives to being Marines and I am amazed at the strength that is displayed by their wives and children. It is a part of their life for which many share. A part that I am greatful that they are strong enough to carry, for I doubt I ever could.

I thought I'd share the lost post with everyone, and hopefully you will share it with those you know. I can watch it over and over again.

Rolling Thunder 2010 - A Marine's Vigil

Happy Wednesday

It is wednesday right? I've so lost track of time. Remember when we were children and didn't even have a concept of time? I guess my mind is heading back to those days! I'm loving the journey though!

Don't worry, I'm sure I won't be doing this every day, well at least not after I get everything straightened out. If you'll look on over to the right of this screen, you'll see a button that says "Subscribe". I'd love it if you'd subscribe to my blog. This is your official invitation.

Just incase you were wondering what is in it for you... well, other than the absolutely entertaining and enlightening information that I intend to provide, I also plan to do monthly give aways. Yes, that's right, monthly give aways. Each month I will draw from my subscribers and send them something really neat and cool and maybe even close if not there; awesome.

My first drawing will be Friday, June 25th. I will be giving the lucky winner a birdhouse windchime. These beautiful windchimes can be purchased from my store, if you don't win. Here's a close-up picture of one for you. Not sure if it will be the one I send out, I may even let the winner choose.... but you'll never know unless you subscribe.

Labels for the Gardy in the Yardy!!!

Well, I will attempt my very first tutorial!!! (I think some call it tuts, but I think stinky when I say tute! That's actually how I get the G-Kids to eat beans, by promising them stinky tutes!) Oh yeah, so back to my first "How To"...

I'm gonna give ya'll a quick and cheap and easy way to make some really cute garden markers. If you're like me and my husband, we plant it one day and the next day have no idea where in the garden we planted it. We've tried leaving the empty seed packets in the garden, but those pesky gnomes keep taking them!

You're gonna need:

• Some wooden spoons - I bought mine at the Family Dollar Store (4 in a pack for just $1.00)
• Acrylic Paints - I buy whatever is on sale/clearance. In this project I used Apple Barrel (bright yellow and Atom Red).
• Sealer - again anything you have on hand (I used Minwix Polycrylic).
• Misc. Brushes - (for the acrylic paint)
• Foam Brush - (for the sealer)

That's it!!! Shouldn't cost ya even as much as a pack of seeds!

So, the first thing you want to do is take your spoons and paint them the color of your choice. I painted mine yellow as the main color (Did you know yellow attracts bees?... I'll show you something helpful in regards to this piece of info in my next blog.) I painted the "spoon" end, front and back, set them up to dry and then painted the handle part and set them up to dry. (Or did I do it the other way around... not that it really matters unless you want to keep your hands clean of paint, but then you could always wear gloves.)

After the base coat/main color is all dry, then you're ready to paint your designs/names on them. I like being whimsical and silly (is that redundant) so I painted Taters instead of Potatoes, but these are after all your markers so you just feel free to paint them however you'd like! You can use a paint brush to label them or even a Sharpie! The seed packets would come in handy here, so you know exactly what you've planted or are going to plant.

After you get them all decorated and painted, in the same manner as putting on the base coat/main color (spoon end first, dry; handle, dry) just use your foam brush and seal with a good top coat (again, I used Polycrylic). When these are dry, you just take the little labels out and stick them in their appropriate homes in the garden.! Waaahhh Llllaaaahhhh.... wasn't that easy?

They're easy to spot and we just love them. Don't you think a flower pot, some parsley seeds and a nicely painted "parsley" label would make a great gift? Maybe a nice pretty big bow tied around the pot...