Homemade Garden Flowers

I've been working bit by bit on these glass flowers. We had a speaker at one of our garden club meetings a few months ago who taught us how to make this type of flower out of glassware that we could find at the local thrift shop. It wasn't easy to find glass bowls and such that would stack together and sort of look like a flower! AND ones that were cheap enough for this project. But I kept searching until I had pretty much what I wanted.

The trick to this is to ONLY use a silicone based glue. I used LocTite Plumber/Marine Clear Adhesive. It will stand up to the rain and cold. I also used some paint pens (made to use on glass) to lend some color on the clear pieces. The pink on the left plate is from a paint pen, as are the pink "flowers" on the clear glass insert in the turquoise flower. The orange trim around the smallest flower is also paint. I baked FIMO for the centers of the flowers and glued in wires with beads on the ends for the stamens. You need to look pretty closely to see them in the photo.

I'm not sure how much I like them....I'm not fond of the square one, but was giving up on finding another plate. You can use bone china, porcelain, stoneware or earthenware. If you use terra cotta, you definitely need to move it to the garage or it will crumble and break like terra cotta does in the winter!

I suppose I will just wait and see if someone steals these before I invest any more time and money in this project. I was rather worried about placing these out further toward the street because before we moved here last spring, I set a beautiful new hosta out in a huge pot so that it would be here and ready for me when I returned to plant it. It was Miother's Day weekend and voila! Gone! I really wondered then what we had gotten ourselves into in moving here!! Aside from that little glitch, we are very happy that we downsized. And I'm very happy that I still have some flower beds to play in and that there was room for the most important items that I use for sewing and crafting.

LIFE IS GOOD!!

Rough hands and feet??

It's time to soften them up. A nice sugar scrub should do the trick. I've tried the ones that they sell at places like Bath and Body Works. They work well, but at $14-$16 it's just way more than I want to spend. Besides I'm a do-it-yourselfer. For a fraction of the cost you can make your own, like I did. My hands are so soft after using this on them just once.

Measurements don't have to be exact, but what you will need is:

1 Cup of granulated sugar (better on your skin than in your tummy)
1 Cup of oil (olive, grape seed, corn oil, etc.)
at least 4 drops of essential oils (I used orange)

Simply combine everything in a glass bowl. Mix together with a spoon and transfer to a glass jar. Keep this in your bathroom and when you are ready to use it, use a small spoon to mix and put a small amount in your hand. Rub into your hands or feet (or elbows!) for about one minute. Pause for about 3 minutes and then rinse with warm water. Pat dry.

I used GrapeOla Grape Seed Oil because it is all natural and contains Omega 6 and Vitamin E. I have made other lotions in past years and have added Vitamin E so this made sense to me! Notice that BIG Tupperware container full of sugar. I have one like it for flour. I've used these for probably 30 years and they are still going strong!

I used to make soap. Preferably goat's milk soap, hence all the essential oils. If you don't use a good quality essential oil you will need to add more drops to make it fragrant, so splurge for the good stuff. I have some good and some not so great oils. Best place to buy your oils is online.

Now wasn't that easy??

 A metal measuring spoon would be perfect for scooping the proper amount out, so tomorrow I will go to my local thrift store and buy one. Don't use plastic! That's why I want a stainless steel measuring teaspoon....it will be short enough to keep in the jar.

And if your hubby has rough hands, have him use this too! Enjoy!