Air Bonsai

Owners are affectionate about the upkeep of their bonsai plants. After all, they require a continual source of maintenance in order for them to look their best. However, Hoshinchu has taken their hobby for indoor gardening to the next level by introducing the Air Bonsai project on Kickstarter. This labor of love, which adds another dimension to plant care, has been met with a wealth of support already.

Each Air Bonsai is made up of two separate pieces: a levitating piece called the “little star “and an “energy base.” Both are equipped with like-charged magnets, allowing the plant container to repel upward from the base.

Visit the Air Bonsai’s Kickstarter page for more info and to pledge a donation. (Via Highsnobiety)

Rockin' the wreaths, all year 'round

I love wreaths and flowers! All of my familys' birthdays come in February, flowers are such a good idea for those of us who don't need anything except to feel the love. Flower delivery by BloomNation inspired me to share my ideas on rockin' wreaths, all the year. And in our constant rain, I am searching for inspired ideas to bring a little nature indoors. Do you have a favorite Valentine wreath? I would love to hear about it.

MY WISH LIST

My husband wants three of these feather wreaths by FEATHERFABULOUS4U on Etsy for our kitchen cabinet doors, where I hang three wreaths all year. 

This year I found some rustic twig wreaths on sale at JoAnn Fabrics for this holiday season.

I have many sets of wreaths for this cabinet for all seasons.

 

hoppsydaisy on Etsy has the best wreaths, a little expensive but well worth all the effort that goes into felting those cute little balls with the best color combination.

DyJoDesigns on Etsy dreams of sugar plum fairies when they create these sweet (but pricey) fruit wreaths. They are created from artificial fruit ... I did look into how much it would cost to purchase all of the fruit to whip up one of these for myself. Not sure I would come out ahead.

DYI - FABRIC

I found this on on Issuu - 2010-2011 Lion Brand Catalog. The pattern is free here, you must join to get it. 

I love this Christmas wreath made from fabric leaves and felted pompoms found on Mandy Lynn. I can see three small ones of these. 

Ring of Roses with felt.

LIVING WREATHS

Living wreaths by Robin Charlotte.

 Succulent wreath from Floral Grubb

ARTIFICIAL BLISS

Realistic artificial Boxwood wreath by Elegant Wreath on Etsy, they also do a wonderful artificial Tulip, Berry and Red Pepper.

RUSTIC AND NATURAL

I tend to love the rustic, rough wreaths from natural branches or leaves.

PAPER

Obviously Sweet has made a beautiful wreath with textured patterned paper.

Paper Leaves Wreath from DesignSponge, with big luxurious leaves.

A Faux Fall Leaf wreath from Please Note. With instructions. 

How to make a coffee filter wreath

I really want to make this - Inkling: brown bag wreath {faux bay leaves} from homework. I want to make three small ones for my kitchen. She uses recycled paper bags. Love!

WILD AND WHACKY

 Maybe even edible?

 

FOR THE BIRDS

In this cold weather, it is important to remember our feathered friends in need of food and water. I  buy suet by the case and make sure they are stocked up out in the backyard. I also love the decorate my backyard with a DIY Birdseed Wreath - birds have good taste too, you know! No time to make your own, you can purchase one from Duncraft.

I have over 500 lovely wreaths on my Pinterest Wreath board, go have a look.

Going in circles

OMG, this is so fantastic. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see. Colour-By-Numbers reinvented by Thomas Pavitte. And he has a coloring book, Querkles: A Puzzling Colour-by-Numbers Book. 

Lu Jianjun

Beautiful portraits by Lu Jianjun. 

 

 

Look what I found today searching for available prints of this art. 

Upside-down world

Can you imagine having that many Peonies around you? I can and it must be heaven. Rebecca Louise Law has the dream job creating all of these inspired and totally awesome installations from flowers!

Remember my Imaginery Garden ideas from 2007 for the flower show and my upside-down garden? Maybe Rebecca could do it ;)

Shared scented moments

This whole thing started because I was looking for this Jo Malone ad for inspiration for this year's Hutch Holiday Gala. Yes, we are all ready beginning that designing process this early! Feels like we just finished last years weeks ago, hey, we DID!

Before I knew it I was reading this post by The Non-Blonde about vintage Lauren perfume by Ralph Lauren. Which reminded me of mom and our shared experiences over perfume.

I remember when I started wearing Lauren that in the 80’s. But more than anything, I remember one hot West Texas day opening my mom’s car door and that fragrance hitting me, me thinking, “nothing smells better than that in the heat”.  She wore it well.

I have a full bottle of Jean Patou’s Joy Eau de Parfum, my mom’s favorite. I bought it for her every Christmas. My dad would buy it for her every Christmas when they were together. I wore it once in her honor but it does not smell as good on me as it did on her. My mom also wore Tea Rose for everyday, smelled great on her. Interesting history about Joy.



Our shared memory. I have an empty bottle (now two because I bought another almost empty bottle on eBay) of NM Eau De Toilette. I remember the day mom and I bought that at the downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus. My mom did not work far from there and we walked through the store all the time. I always felt so special when we made a purchase there. I don’t remember wearing the perfume myself but I love the fragrance. Very, very spicy. (It reminds me of Fendi). We loved it then they quit making it. I am not sure who kept the empty bottle but we still have it some 40+ years later. Occasionally, I would bring it out for mom and I to have "sniff", smile at each other and remember that day.  Quickly close the bottle in case any of that wonderful scent escaped. An of course talk about why they did not make it any more.

I realized the other day that that shared memory is no longer a “shared” one. I am the only person remembering that day, that smell, that story. So I shared it with someone at work the other day, we had a sniff and I told her the story. Gaia shared this lovely post about Scented Memories of Our Mothers. Thank you!

My mom also wore Zig Zig by Zsa Zsa and I think they quit making that too. One Christmas I surprised her with a couple of old bottles I found on eBay. Just for fun. My mom wore the parfum bath oil. It smelled wonderful on her. Ah, funny! It looks like Gigi also loved it and also bought her mom Zig Zag from eBay for a present. I love that!!! And I can't forget White Shoulders! Mom and I also always have a big bottle of 4711 splash for after showers ;)

I still wear Lauren if I am feeling like something heavy. My favorite, affordable perfume now is Banana Republic “W”, a light, breezy, floral (a hint of violet?) scent style without it being overpowering. I still wear Fendi at times, my husband loves it.

What I really want to find is a wonderful Honeysuckle fragrance for summer. I have ordered a few online, but they were not to my liking. I am still searching

If I would loaded I would wear Jo Malone, every flavor!

I bought a tiny size of CB I Hate Perfume's Wild Pansy and it was wonderful, but again, a little out of my price range. If you have a couple of hours to kill, go read the fragrance stories, they are a must!

Interesting blog about Yesterday's Perfume, talks about What Perfume Did Your Mother Wear?

Smells like nostalgia: Why do scents bring back memories?

This sounds interesting enough to buy for a sniff - The Dead Writers Perfume, blend evokes the feeling of sitting in an old library chair paging through yellowed copies of Hemingway, Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Poe, and more. Suitable for either sex, Dead Writers makes you want to put on a kettle of black tea and curl up with your favorite book. This perfume contains black tea, vetiver, clove, musk, vanilla, heliotrope, and tobacco.

There are so many fragrances out there. Most are too sweet for me, but when I read the descriptions, I want to try them all!