Button Fun, Sweet Helen and More

Hello my friends!  I want to show you a fun idea my sister Denise got me interested in.  She found a website called Craftsy.com which had the coolest pendants made using vintage Mother-of-Pearl buttons and wire-wrapping which I've done for years when making my jewelry.  Be sure to click on the link to see the fabulous button pendants there.  She wanted me to teach her how to do this, so I had to practice and of course I needed a special button to use - I found this beauty on Etsy.com

Here is the pendant made up, the button is nice and big and makes a great necklace.  But for my next one I need a thicker sterling silver wire, 18 gauge, I used 20 on this one.  Next I am going to make some smaller ones using some of the buttons I just bought - for earrings.  I'll show you those when I make them.

And look what the postman brought!  A wonderful gift from Helen Philipps in England!  I admire Helen so much - she is a talented craftsperson and author of many books on making beautiful things.  I have one of her books which I love, "Simple Sewn Gifts" (available on Amazon). Helen's eye for color is spectacular, pretty pastels and candy colors.  I have promptly hung this heart in a place of honor on our Grandfather clock where I will see it many times a day.

I've so admired Helen and her work for a long time and to know that I have this precious gift with stitches sewn in by Helen herself just thrills me.  :-)

And to have a handwritten note further adds to my enjoyment - sweet!!  Thank you so much, Helen!

On to other things.. see this Jade plant in the middle?  Fun story - many MANY years ago my sister-in-law D'Ann gave this big jade plant to my younger sister.  Well, Denise is a self-admitted failure at houseplants - so she gave the plant to me.  I had it for literally decades and it got huge, but finally it "plotzed".  (to collapse or faint from exhaustion - just one of the definitions of this Yiddish word)  SO - in the final act of plant euthanization, I put it outside and left it through the winter thereby putting the final nail in the coffin of this poor plant.  WELL.. the next summer I saw this leaf in the pot with a baby plant growing out of it and I thought.. well, good grief, if it made it through snow, ice and freezing temps, I will honor it and put it in a tiny pot and bring it back in the house.  That survivor is now officially a plant in good standing and I just repotted it into a bigger pot.  :-)

And while I'm on the subject of miraculous plant stories - last year I got this little orchid in a teensy tiny pot and nearly tossed it after it bloomed because I was sure there was no way it would ever bloom again.. but to my complete and utter surprise I recently notice a long thing coming out of the plant arching towards the light in the window. Oh. My. Gosh!  I think it's a flower stem!  It is!  I can't wait to see how it flowers!

When we were at the store the other day I grabbed this Hyacinth for $.99!  It's opening up at a fast pace.  

Yesterday we took the boys.. including Dayle.. to the beauty salon.  Caleb kept an eagle eye on himself in the mirror while she cut his curls.  She may have taken too much off.. but she did a good job trimming around his ears and neck.

I asked that they wash the boys hair afterwards (the curls come back after a wash) and this was their first time having this done.  

This is Hayden halfway through his cut - and Caleb getting toweled off.

And of course I forgot to take a photo of both of them all spiffed up - but we took them to dinner afterwards and Hayden told the server that he was "handsome AND good-looking".  LOL!  I ran into the store to get a few things while the 3 guys waited in the car and look what I found?  Many pots of Oxalis/Shamrocks.. in both green AND the red!  If you see these, grab one, as you will have years and years of happiness from these plants.

Last but not least - last evening the boys ran in and insisted that we come out and see something.. Kristi saw a frog hopping across the deck and caught it to show the boys.. and me.  Travis got this good photo on his smart phone.  Isn't it cute?  I hope it made it after all the trauma of being held by Kristi and 2 little boys.  :-)

Well.. I'm off to swim soon.  I was worried that I would not be able to do the backstroke as my shoulder was hurt in my fall a week and a half ago -- but I swam for the whole hour and even though it was a bit painful, I soldiered on.  Well, I knew that it would either be much more painful after that, or not - and I'm happy to report that it actually feels better now!  It's not 100% but I can swim!  Yay!  I hope your week is going well.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)