How to Create Lamb's Ear Roses

 

Happy Holidays, all!  I had the most beautiful lamb's ears this year in my garden and I decided to use them as ornaments for a simple pine wreath combined with sea holly and wild dark blue berries gathered from the farm.

 

 

As centers I used the fuzzy pods from my Star Magnolia tree.

 

 

I used three lamb's ear roses and one unopened blossom at the top.

 

 

Simple and fun to put together.

 

How to make lamb's ear roses for your home.

 

Gather lamb's ear leaves in all sizes.  You will use the smaller leaves for the centers and the larger leaves for the outside petals.

 

Begin with a stem cutting from your garden.  Look for unopened buds or seed pods on your shrubs and trees.  You will need a stem approximately three inches in length.

 

Fold a small lamb's ear leaf in half and wire the leaf at the ends onto the stalk of the woody stem you selected earlier from your garden.  Continue folding small leaves in half and wiring onto the stem.  Once you have petals all around the stem select a larger leaf and fold in half and add as the next layer of petals on your rose.

 

You will continue working in the round adding petals until your rose has reached the desired size.

 

I used thin floral wire to wire the petals in place onto the woody stem.

 

For the unopened blossom you will just add a round of small petals - no need to fold in half.  Use your smallest petals.

 

You can use this same method using any plant material that will hold together once folded in half.  Corn husks, leaves, etc.

 

Blessings,

 

Julie

XOXO Bracelet and Spring Posie Corsages

A very talented woman ordered this bracelet for her shop and I must say she designed a beautiful bracelet.  I love it.  She requested a white leather strap bracelet with a copper plate stamped with XOXO and black thread to stitch the plate in place.  It's so beautiful that I had to make one for myself.  The leather is buttery soft and the copper plate is a nice contrast - such a smart lady my client.

I spent the afternoon today playing with flowers for my next show.  I have been fascinated with simple floral embellishments for Spring sweaters, dresses and tops.  I wanted something fresh, simple and sweet.

I think these little posie corsages will look so sweet pinned to a white cotton cardigan, don't you.  I recently ordered several Japanese crochet pattern books and became inspired by the photos within.  I adore the books and the photos within.  Gorgeous.

This sweet corsage features a wooden rose in the center and is one of my favorites.  These corsages are small at only three inches in length.



I also love the pale green rose in this sweetie.  I tied the corsages off with natural rafia twine.

My Mom is going to love one of these for Easter Sunday - me too!

I will have some of these little beauties at Bottoms Up Antique Market in May - just in time for Mother's Day celebrations. 

Fun Explorations...

Tallulah Blue Blog - Spring Corsages

How To Buy A Corsage for the Spring Formal

How To Make Prom Wrist Corsages

Kim Klassen Photography

Easter Greetings

Martha Stewart

In celebration of Easter I thought I would share with you some of my favorite egg photos I have collected over the past year...

I spent the day working in my shoppe organizing, cleaning, sorting, displaying, and then rethinking the design and moving things around and around the store.  It's a complete redesign which means I am touching everything...

After a full day the space began to "feel" like Spring and it is beginning to look incredible...

anitasljarvarum 

I have had a busy week, finishing an order for nine bracelets (THANK YOU!), shipping online orders,  picking my son up from Union Station in Chicago, and working in the shoppe.  I love it!

Laurie, my sister in law will be returning to the shoppe for an upcoming show in May with her lovely potted containers filled with herbs, perennials, and flowering annuals in pretty vintage colanders, sifters, zinc, and galvanized containers. 

lantliv i norregard 

Karen will also be joining us this year contributing antiques, primitives and children's nostalgia items.

lovisalapandet

Our palette for the show is classic shades of white, green and silver.  I'll share some photos with you in the upcoming weeks as we get ready for the show.

lovisalapandet

Wishing you a wonderful weekend filled with family and friends.

Blessings - Julie

Fabulous Finds From the Weekend

Bringing things you love into your home is easier than you might think, if you take a few chances.  What caught my eye about this room is the vintage mirror leaning against a wall that seems to provide a graceful back drop for the marble statue of a woman in a reclined lounging position.  Isn't she magnificient?  The potted bonsai provides a feel of a lovely garden - inside.

On vacation last year we toured Paradise Island which is a part of the island of Nassau in the Bahamas.  On this small island we found a garden filled with marble statues that were so beautiful that I remember thinking that they should be in a museum to preserve them instead of outside in the elements that were beginning to create soft edges on the statues.  The garden was an attempt to duplicate the Gardens of Versailles and it was lovely, and the statues were magnificent. 

Adding them to the inside of your house would be magical...

Another great mirror that architecturally remains interesting no matter the condition, especially when paired with carved horses that were probably children's toys at one point in their lives.  Does this make anyone else want to grab some soft pine and whittle away until a horse emerges?

Jeanne de Arc Living

It's during the last days of Winter that bringing flowers into your home can be so soothing and help drive away the Winter blues.  It's my habit at this time of year to have a bouquet of flowers about while I await the the tulips, narcissis and daffodils in my garden to burst into bloom.  If you have the Winter blues, try it adding some fresh blossoms - I promise it will lift your spirits.

I love this pottery vase and antler inspired candlestick.  I wish I knew who the artist was as I would be purchasing this vase for my home.  It's such a fun organic shape and the prose reminds me of Spring Faeries dancing in the night.

Czech Glass Crystal Necklace - Purchase Here

Don't you love the way this necklace looks draped across these creamy pages?  Maybe it's just me and the bibliophile that lives within my soul....I adore books and must have them around me in my kitchen, living areas, studio and bedroom.  They are my talismans that comfort me and my books continue to give me hours of pleasure each time I hold them in my hands.

Vintage Metal Purse - Purchase Here

This is the largest version of this type of bag that I have found and would make a great evening purse or look great tucked into a table arrangement or used as a prop.  It has the most gorgeous faded silk lining.  I can imagine a vintage photo peeking out from within the purse as it hangs from a peg in a bedroom.

Blue Rhinestone Necklace - Purchase Here

Gorgeous deep blue rhinestone necklace from the late 40's is gorgeous in design and color - this one is hard for me to let go...

Just lovely, don't you think?

Vintage Baby Silver Set - Purchase Here

Beautiful silver plated baby fork and spoon that is so precious.  I love the patina of vintage silver...it has such a soothing warm glow.  This set would be perfect for the new arrival in your family.

Large Silver Salad Server - Purchase Here

Love the simplicity of the silver plated salad server in a great design that allows one handed salad service.

I have added these things to my online store for you along with a few other things I found over the weekend.  I hope you have a lovely week filled with warmer temperatures and sunshine.  This could be the week for blossoms!  What's blooming in your garden?

Blessings - Julie

Green Opal Bracelet

As a gardener, I really dislike garlic chives.....they are invasive and spread by root system and by seed. I made the mistake of planting them in my garden over seven years ago and I am still battling them today. Warning: Garlic Chives Are Invasive

I snapped the shot above at my husband's grandparent's farm in Waterville, Kansas. The farm has been abandoned for years and the flower beds are only tended a few times each year by visiting family members. The photo above is the garlic chives gone to seed at the farm.

They are really lovely with their black seeds against the straw colored stems. These little garlic chives have been growing in the flower beds and flourishing without any care, weeding, or water - AND they are thriving. This is where the invasive part comes in yet, again.... Caution: Garlic Chives Are Invasive

I have been busy filling custom orders for the Holidays - thank you all so much! I managed to squeeze in a little time to put this bracelet together made with faceted green opals. I added gold rondelles and beads for interest and a teardrop shaped natural pearl charm.

Those of you familiar with my work know that I like to throw in elements of "toughness" to my jewelry. It's my expression of the feminine - beautiful yet, tough - think Steel Magnolias... or Iron Jawed Angels...

To express this "toughness" I added a leather element to the closure, making a clasp of rawhide cord attached to the gold heart shaped clasp.

My last bouquet of cabbage roses from my garden. I adore them, they are a delicate pink - an old fashioned variety. I was so delighted to find one last group of blossoms in the month of November which is really rare for this time of year. Now these blossoms are dried and in my windowsill to remind me of Spring blossoms.

The Christmas tree is up, filled with silver and white balls and tiny mirrors in the shape of little birds, my favorite Christmas ornaments for my tree each year. A capiz shell star at the tip top of the tree and simple white lights seem perfect this year. My tree is contained in the Chrismas Tree corral my sweet husband made for me years ago. I'll try to take a few shots for you... it's really something special. It's of Czechoslavian design and provides the perfect place for presents under the tree.

We had our first snowfall last night that covered the pine tree branches with lovely white snow....it's beginning to look alot like Christmas in the prairie lands.... xo Julie

Wirework Earrings and White Goblin Pumpkins

Wisdom tells me I am nothing;
Love tells me I am everything.
Between the two, my life flows.
- Buddha
White Chrysallis Earrings

I begin every morning the same way, a cup of green tea, and pen in hand as I make my "to do" list for the day. I put everything that I want to do down no matter how insignificant and then prioritize the items on the list starting with the must do and usually stop after 8 items have been listed in order or importance.

I have learned that if I don't prioritize my day - it's gets away from me. How did we get so many things to do in any given day? Like finish jewelry for orders, doctor's appointments, kid duties, household chores, errands, watering plants, taking care of pets, returning phone calls to my friends, exercise, blog, etc. Stop the madness! But, we can't - can we?

So, it's back to the list... After I make my list I then place a time allotment on each item to see if I can get all of these things completed in just one day. If not, something has to go back on the list for the next day. It's hard to find the time to create in all of these responsibilities, but I must create or I get grouchy... I must create or I get bummed out. I must create or I loose touch with who I am...

Organic Earwires

Somehow, I manage to squeeze in studio time and share the photos of my work with you. Time spent doing what I love - learning new techniques and experimenting with sterling silver wire is me time - it's reminds me of who I am deep inside.

Earth Goddess Earrings

I long to spend one solid week in the studio, but I have been dreaming of that for a couple of years... Someday. Someday. Someday. Until then, I squeeze in studio time at least three times each week. I am trying to get inventory ready for a Holiday show and another show in early 2010. Will I have enough inventory? It's a good motivator to stay productive when I am in the studio. I organize my drawings in order of production so that when I sit at the bench I crank out alot of work. Every moment counts... This usually helps me stay focused, but there are days when I just struggle through and feel like I didn't accomplish much at the end of the day.

Labradorite Bliss

I take my creations to the farm with me and photograph them there in an environment that always brings out my creative side - it's quiet, peaceful and very relaxing. Exactly what every artist needs to allow the mind to play. I usually do my best design work there as well.

Angelic Totem Necklace

The light is always better in the country - why is that? My best photographic efforts happen there and when I come home after a long weekend I am ready to edit and post the photos of my work for this blog, and online stores.

Here is our beloved farm that we cannot imagine life without. How did we ever unload our stress before we could escape to the country? The double windows are the windows to my future studio that I will occupy when we retire someday.... I can't wait. We are still in the rennovation stage and I will share some photos in a future blog of what we have finished so far... The house was in really bad shape when we purchased it - it had been empty for a long time...
We planted white goblin pumpkins at the farm and this is the tiny beginnings of a tiny white pumpkin on the vine with the blossom still attached.
Another little pumpkin on the vine is so sweet.
Another pumpkin that I picked while we were there so I could bring it home with me.


See how sweet the pumpkins are in floral arrangements for your Fall table? Perfectly perfect.
If you don't have the room to grow your own you can recycle sweaters, sweatshirts, towels, etc. into fabric pumpkins that you can use year after year. Form into a ball tie string around the ends for a stem and then wrap the string around the ball to imitate the sections - it's that simple. Now go dig in your closets for cast offs in creamy white.

xo - Julie