Rose Daisy Mosaic Garden Bird Box

Rose Pink Mosaic Garden Bird Box

Newly listed for Easter, this bird box has a design of rose pink, blossom like, daisy flowers, with pale green leaves on a pastel grey background. The border tiles are soft aqua blue, and the box is painted sky blue to tie in. It has a lovely airy feel about it. It is designed to be in the garden all year adding colour and decoration, and as a place for the birds to nest and roost in.

Folksy Handmade - Blowing in the Breeze

Mosaic Garden Wind Chime
JoSara

This week, my Folksy Friday is inspired by my new wind chime. It got me thinking, if there was no breeze, it wouldn't work. And, what other things wouldn't work without a breeze? A dandelion clock wouldn't be much use without a breeze. A cloud needs wind to spread the rain inland. A hot air balloon, or a sail boat trip would be a bit dull without wind. And a kite is just a piece of fabric on a frame without wind. You wouldn't get much flour from a windmill without wind either. Loads of things depend on a breeze.

Click on a pic to get more details and pictures and to visit the shop.

Windmill 4x4 Inch Print
The Little Printer

The Turbine
Windthings

Fused Glass Sailing Boat
Moonigooni Glass

Blue Dandelion Seeds Card
Borlotti Prints

Cloud Cushion
Purple Pixie

Wooden Hot Air Balloon Necklace
Lucie Ellen

Large Flying Pig Windsock
Sky Blooms

Fine Silver Sycamore Seed Necklace
Fat Cat Silver

Let's Go Fly a Kite Cushion
Wonderfully Made

Mosaic Garden Wind Chime

Mosaic Hearts Garden Contemporary Wind Chime

Mosaic Hearts Garden Contemporary Wind Chime

I've been creating another new product to add to my website. I have made these mosaic plaques in the past, but usually in smaller sizes as hanging decorations for the garden. This time, though, I decided to adapt one to become a wind chime. I really enjoy this creative process for a new design. First, some online research to see if it's being done already. Nope. Great. Then, sourcing the materials for the job. Next, researching how to create what I want from them, although there actually isn't that much to find online on this subject, so I've had to be engineer again and work it out myself. Finally, designing the mosaic to give the effect I wanted, which was for a contemporary, modern look wind chime. 

Mosaic Hearts Contemporary Garden Wind Chime

I have hand cut the tube chimes to various lengths to create a really lovely, harmonious sound, the drilled them and hand tied them to the plaque. The plaque tile colours work really well with the glass hearts. One compliments the colours and one stands out as an accent. And the hearts sit proud of the mosaic meaning the light can shine through them, lighting the colours up. The plaque hanging hole is reinforced to take it's weight. The chimes are galvanised and anodised to prevent corrosion. All the mosaic materials are weather, and frost resistant. It's a fab garden worthy item.

It would look and sound great in a garden, but it could be used indoors too. As it's tiled on all surfaces it can be hung so it's viewed from all angles, like on a tree branch, or hanging basket bracket. Or put it in a hallway to greet you as you open the door.

Folksy Handmade - Black & White

If you wonder where inspiration comes from for these each week, this Folksy Friday collection originally started off being a selection of black accessories because I had an email from one of the clothing websites saying one of the trends this spring is monochrome. But as I was searching for black items I kept coming across more stunning work which didn't fit accessories, and that had a lot of white in too. So I've amended my theme to Black & White so that I can include all the other fab things I found. All of the items are original designs, which are hand stitched, drawn, carved, printed, beaten, tatted ...... so, worth every penny to get something that is that handmade and unique.

Click on the pics to visit the shops more pictures and details.

Black Sequined Beret
Maynard Millinery

Lace Plates Set of 4
Yvonne Ellen

Many a Mile Hand Printed Collagraph
Natty Maid

Jacob Lamb Footstool
The Rocking Sheep Company

Flotsam Pendant Black Pearl
BeccaWilliams

Cat 'Il Gatto' Cushion
Jan Brewerton

Kimono Original Hand Printed Print
Amanda Colville Linocut Prints

Black Lace Cuff Bracelet
Decorama

Swarovski Rhinestone Spiders Web
TheJourneyofDesire

Black Spiral Bracelet
Scotianoir

Silver Bird Black Enamel Pendant
Maggie Jones Enamels

Glamorous Plaited Silk Necklace
Beloved

Folksy Handmade - Vegetable Garden

It's March already, and that means time to get the veg bed started. It's like a mini Good Life round here come veg season. I only have a tiny veg bed in our tiny garden. It's 1m x 2m. This year though I am going to fit into it - 8 Broad Bean plants, a row of peas, two rows of snap peas, 4 sweetcorn plants, some carrots and spring onions, and I'll grow a row of French Beans up the fence behind it. It's surprising how much you can fit into a small space. It won't give a massive crop, but it's nice to just go out and pick a few fresh bits here and there as we need them in the summer.

Last weekend I put some homemade compost into the veg bed to get them going (I'm that small scale that it's taken 2 years to get a decent amount of compost in my bin because I hardly have any garden waste to put in, it's all peelings). This weekend, I'll sow my first seeds into it.

So, in honour of the veg growing season starting, this week's Folksy Friday is a plot's worth of vegetables.

To get more details on any of the items, just click on the pic.

Bag of Mixed Salad
Grandma's Miniature Market

Original Lino Art Print Artichokes
Handprinted by A Deegan

Vegetables in Season Art Print
PebbleandBee

Vegetable Seed Catalogue Cushion
Nell's Needle

Five a Day
Loumay Books

Basket of Fruit & Veg Knitting Pattern
Fluff and Fuzz

Carrot Stud Earrings
Sweet 'n' Neat

Felt Peas
TempoDesigns

Vegetable Gift Wrap Set
Kate Broughton

Red Cabbage
Photographs of the Natural World

Onions in Grandpa's Shed
Bakuma

Vegetable Stitch Markers
Rainbow Tree Crafts

Postal Price Casualties

Purple Bee Log House

Aqua Daisy Mosaic Plant Stakes

Mosaic Dragonfly & Heart Paddlestone

19cm Blue Ammonite Bird Bath

Royal Mail are putting their prices up again in April. This time they are really hitting larger items hard. Where some things if they were large, but light, could squeeze into a reasonable parcel price band, they are now being pushed into a general standard parcel size (the smaller price band offered is a very odd size, even with a couple of exemption sizes, and I don't think much would fit into). So, having looked at my items I am going to have to drop a few things at the end of March. If you think they'd look good in your garden, snap them up quick. They are all available on my website.

Folksy Handmade - Summer Garden

Summer Border Suncatcher Cards
JoSara

This week is a feel good Folksy Friday with a selection of garden views. I have just completed a set of suncatcher cards that are designed to let the sun through to light up the colours, and light up the recipents day too. Just making these cards gave me the feel good factor that a flower border in summer brings. So I thought I'd share that and collect a whole page of summeryness. I have tried to select things that have had the garden design totally created by the designer/artist. That way there's a great selection of styles, and crafts.

To see more pictures and get the full details on any of the items, just click on the pic to go to the shop.

After the Rain Watercolour
Dancing Cat Studio

My Garden In June
Suzi Whinder-Cartwright

Abstract Poppies Original
Art by Mr P

Summer Meadow Tea Cosy
Gertrude

Cottage Garden Pin Cushion
Lynwoodcrafts

Summer Meadow Cuff
Claire Gent

Gated Garden Lino Print
Zebedee

Secret Garden Fibre Brooch
By Sally

ACEO A Summer Border
Brushes and Bodkins

Flowery Machine Embroider Brooch
Chocolatefrog

ACEO The Walled Garden
Bluebeezy

Embroidered Flower Garden Picture
Busy Blue Cat