Florabulous

Simple and Unique Gifts for Valentines Day

2008-02-11T19:05:00.000-06:00

If that's what you're doing, you're going to be pleased that you found THIS. Why? The next few sentences are going to share the secrets of a truly original V-Day gift. It's really so simple that you're going to kick yourself for not working it out for yourself. But we're wasting time... let's get down to it. All you need, you see, is a system.

Are you rolling your eyes and wondering if you've wandered into a staff meeting by mistake? Never fear. This WORKS. For the sake of convenience, we're going to use "she" - but this works just as well for males or females.

== Step 1. Cut Out The Traditional Gifts. ===

Or if you don't cut them out, at least make them an 'add on' to the main gift. A box of chocolates as a warm-up, or red roses as a parting gift... yes, that's nice. But puh-lease... don't rush into the florist at the last minute and buy a bunch of whatever's left just so she will keep speaking to you.

== Step 2. Work Out What She DOESN'T Want. ==

This is not rocket science. If she hates seafood you're not going to take her to All-You-Can-Eat-Lobster. If she is into minimalist decorating then she's not likely to appreciate Wedgwood vases. If the Three Tenors make her go weak at the knees then she probably won't be keen on Hip Hop. The big trap here is buying her something that YOU like rather than what SHE likes. Open your eyes. Make sure you really know what makes her tick.

== Step 3. What Does She Buy? ===

What a girl owns will tell you a lot about what she likes. Does she pore over the jewelry catalogs, or brush them aside in favor of the latest brochure from the computer store? If she already wears six different chains around her neck and four bracelets and seven rings, you can safely assume she's REALLY into jewelry. But if a ten year old watch is the only adornment you can see, forget it.

If she loves sports gear and already has four pairs of cross-trainers, go shopping at the sports store. If she adores animals, buy something related to her pets - or maybe buy her an unusual new pet, if it will fit into her lifestyle.

Are you beginning to see a pattern here? Yep, "What fits her lifestyle" - that's the key. Let's continue...

== Step 4. Think Outside The Square ==

Now that you have your list of what she does and doesn't like (you are making a list, aren't you?) it's time to get really creative. Here are a few examples:

She likes jewelry:- What kind of jewelry will have a special meaning for her? Think in terms of where it's bought; any tie-ins with days or dates; a unique way you might deliver it. Can you present it in a way that will never be forgotten? (In the NICEST way, of course!)

She likes hi-tech toys:- Can you add a special song to a new MP3 player? Or present her with a new DVD player plus a romantic movie as a bonus? (If she's not into romantic movies - and plenty of girls aren't: they prefer to live romance rather than watch it! - how about the latest action thriller?)

She likes the outdoor life: If you're into grand gestures, how about a new kayak plus a river trip organized to go with it? Or if you're low on funds... a ticket to a sporting match along with a signed photo of her favorite sports star? (Yes, you do have to plan ahead for that one.)

== Step 5. The Valentine's Day Follow Up ==

True love is all about thinking of others ALL the time, not just on one day of the year. To be truly unique, why not organize a 12-step St Valentine's Day surprise - something new on the 14th of EVERY month! The gifts don't have to be large or expensive. A foot massage after a tiring day is more welcome than diamonds for a weary girlfriend. Start by giving her a meaningful gift on Valentine's Day, and accompany it with a note telling her there'll be another surprise on 14th March... then 14th April... then 14th May...

Do you think she won't be telling the world how wonderful you are? You better believe it!

Planning Your Summer Garden

2008-01-23T09:52:00.000-06:00

If you are like many people around the world you want a summer garden to bring a little life to your lawn during those oh so hot summer months. Most of us however, would prefer a garden that doesn't require constant care and attention. This is where proper planning comes into place for creating the summer garden of your dreams.

There are several things you need to ask yourself when planning your summer garden. Each of these things will to some extent determine the type of summer garden your lawn will accommodate. First of all, how much space on your lawn do you wish your summer garden to occupy and in general terms how big is that space. Most of us live in homes that have woefully inadequate lawn space these days. For this reason it is important to have a realistic vision as to how much of that prime real estate you are willing to commit to your summer garden.

Once you have determined how much space you are willing to commit to your garden you need to decide on the location. Location is important to know before beginning the planning phase because you will need to plan according to the location. You need to be able to answer the following questions about location. How much direct sunlight gets to this location on an average day? Is this a location that is generally moist or typically dry? And how much indirect sunlight does this section of lawn see on any given day? These are questions that are important because they will, by and large, determine what kind of plants your garden will be able to accommodate. You also need to know a little about the terrain of the area as well. It is level, rocky, or muddy? These things will each have a different but profound effect on the type of garden that can be grown and steps you will have to take to make a summer garden work in this particular location.

The next question you will need to ask and answer before moving on to the planning and purchasing phase is how much time, on average, do you want to devote to your summer garden on any given day? Gardens often require tending and you must be prepared to devote some time to keeping your garden in good working order though some are definitely higher maintenance than others. You need to have a realistic idea of how much time each day or week that you are willing to devote to making your garden the beautiful sanctuary it can be in mind before you decide on the types of plants and flowers that will fill your summer garden.

You should also have in mind the type of summer garden you wish to create as well. Do you want a vegetable garden, flower garden, or do you simply want to add a little bit more green to your lawn? Do you want to add a water feature or have a sitting area?

When planning your summer garden you will need to consider all these things and more. Another thing you will want to keep in mind is the local climate. It is moderate, dry, wet, or cool many mornings? These things will also have a fairly significant effect on the best type of garden that is suitable for your current situation.

Planning a garden is so much more than walking outside and pointing and grunting. There is a great deal of work that goes into planning a successful summer garden. Asking the right questions is a good place to begin the process. Once you have the answers it is time to begin the more exciting aspects of planning your summer garden such as working the ground and selecting the plants that will soon call your lawn home. Just remember that paying careful attention to the details ahead of time will save a lot of lost time and money later.

Wreath Making Simplified

2008-01-22T22:07:00.000-06:00

Wreath making could become your favorite craft because even on the first try almost everyone is successful. The basic wreath can be any shape that has an opening from front to back as long as the line of the shape comes full circle. Such a heart!

Do you feel like experimenting? Let's try it.

Gather some old newspaper, some string, white glue, rubber gloves, glitter, buttons, bows, ribbons and lace. Oh yes, the tools for this one is some plastic, a pair of scissors and a can of non-stick spray.

Are you ready to get started?

*First lay out the plastic to protect your table.

*Then rip the sheets of newspaper so that each sheet is one full page.

*Lay the paper out in such a way that you overlap corner to corner diagonally. Lay out five or six sheets this way.

*Next twist a few sheets of paper together until you have a frame base formed about two inches thick and two to two and one half feet long.

*Lay this on the paper you overlapped earlier.

Now, go glue crazy. Put on those gloves because as you lay out the glue on the paper you smear it over the frame and start wrapping the other paper around it until you get a smooth slick look to the paper. At this point you fold the frame in half to form the bottom of the heart shape.

*Then you loop the rest of the frame into the full shape of the heart, tie the center together at the top and wrap string around the roll to support the shape.

Don't waste that glue! While the glue is still wet you start designing your heart wreath. Take your lace and start at the top center of the heart, wrapping all the way around. Overlap just enough to keep raw edges of the paper from being exposed. If most of the glue has been absorbed by the lace you can set the wreath aside to dry overnight. Be sure to spray the area you will be using with the non-stick spray before you lay out your project, we don't want it to stick to your plastic. If it is still too damp, add some ribbons and bows in places that you think will look good. If you have an extra damp spot place a button in the spot to use up the glue. Sprinkle with glitter. Now, take a break. Tomorrow you will add more buttons and bows till you get the wreath that you want. All you will need to do is add a little glue and fill out the wreath. I myself made one of these papier-mâché wreaths for my sister's sewing room with scissors, tape measure, seam ripper, thread spools, pins, needles and buttons as the main ornaments on it. Once you have your ribbons and lace on you can choose almost any motif you want to decorate with.

For a babies room...try baby bottles, a rattle, diaper pins, a pacifier, booties, samples size baby powder, baby oil, baby lotion. Do you get the picture? Even the bathroom...a bar of soap, a toothbrush and sample size toothpaste, sample size mouthwash, roll on deodorant, sample size shampoo etc. How about the kitchen? Measuring spoons and measuring cups, a knife, fork and spoon, a juice glass, the sky's the limit when you begin to get creative. Now, this was just an experiment, but all wreath making is basically the same. A frame, a theme, and you!

TYPES OF WREATH FRAMES All wreaths start out with a frame or base. The best price, shape, size, and style are argued by experts all over the world so you will need to experiment with them all until you find which ones you prefer.

Let's see now, grapevine, straw, and moss at one time were the most popular bases by the traditional wreath makers and can still be found at any good craft store. But, there are many much more creative choices available to the modern day wreath maker.

A simple foam base, or mirrored foam base, or wet foam bases for live flowers, drilled wood bases, wire bases and even stuffed bases that you crochet first.

FOAM BASES One of the least expensive and one of the easier wreath frames to work with is a foam based frame. And they come in almost every shape and size that you can imagine. The one major problem with the foam frame is that sometimes it's hard to fill in all the little cracks and crevices. Also, some glue doesn’t work well with the foam and hot glue will often melt the foam according to the type of glue gun you use. But, you can cover the frame before starting the project to eliminate both of those problems. You can use lace, ribbon or fabric of almost any kind to cover the base. Also moss works well.

STRAW BASES Not everyone can afford huge amounts of dried flowers and herbs for their wreath making, especially if they want to change them out with the seasonal changes. In these cases the straw bases have become their first choice, because one nice cluster of herbs and one nice ribbon tied or draped around the wreath will do. And if it is colorful or fragrant or both you seldom need anything more to have a completed project.

WIRE BASES Wire bases can be very exciting because you can quickly whip up a gift for someone in moments if necessary. Just keep the supplies handy for those little emergencies. The supplies you will need are heavy wire, light wire and barbed wire. The tools are wire cutters and needle nose pliers. Then you pick a subject that the person you are creating for likes and twist the wire into that shape, tie on a ribbon or glue on a few odds and ends and the perfect gift is ready once again.

I have seen these done with barbed wire, in the shape of Texas with an old boot wired to it and flowers sticking out of the top of the boot. Priced at those little antique stores for $25.00 to $50.00 according to how elaborate the design was.

VINE BASES Now vine bases are a good choice for many reasons. First, the vine is so nice looking that you can get away with using less of the more expensive materials and leaving a lot more vine showing. Yet, it will still look great. You can give it a country flare or dress it up with the more exotic flowers and be able to decorate the most formal of homes.

To decorate the vine wreath you most often use hot glue or wire and as usual anything goes with crafting. In fact I saw one of the vine wreaths used in a 15 year old girl's bedroom. It had a microphone, a CD, a tiara and a picture frame nestled into the flowers and ribbons...and it was absolutely stunning!

MOSS BASES Nearly everyone likes the moss base because it's so easy to hot glue on them, also you can use floral picks and flowers and greenery just by pushing them into place. And the moss is attractive enough that like the vine wreath you don't have to cover the whole thing.

DRILLED WOOD BASES These are always cut and drilled by the wreath makers themselves. But, the best part is you can come up with shapes that are not seen anywhere else. The drilling is so you can tie in the materials if you want to but you can just hot glue everything instead also.

This is where pine cones and other outdoor findings can be grouped together.

PINE CONES There is one other type of popular wreath, pine cones and nuts only. This is where you can really shine, look for flat sided pine cones for the bottom and hot glue them firmly together. Make sure you have a very tight connection to each pine cone on the bottom row. Then one by one add more pine cones to fill out and round out the top of the wreath. Next hot glue acorns and pecans and walnuts in some of the smaller openings to give more balance. Continue filling in until you feel the wreath is done.

Those are a few ways to make wreaths. Hope wreath making will become your favorite craft!

Chrysanthemums: Once a Very Serious Matter

2008-01-22T22:05:00.000-06:00

Did you know that those lush, colorful blooms called chrysanthemums are rooted in beliefs of human immortality and perfection? Today the "mum" graces gardens, cut flower arrangements and even salads (yes mums taste great), but they were taken much more seriously after T'ao Yuan Ming started it all in China around 500 A.D.

Over long periods of careful cross-pollination and selection, he developed stunning varieties of the flower and when he died, his birthplace was renamed Chuhsien. The City of Chrysanthemums. His efforts had produced a legacy that would bring pleasure to this world for centuries.

When China imported the first chrysanthemums to Japan, the people there bestowed many honors upon them. The Japanese wrote legends. To sip dew from the petals meant long life. To eat the flower meant immortality. Philosophers said that the systematic opening of the "ray" flowers symbolized both the sun and the perfection of orderly life.

By 800 A.D. the chrysanthemum had become so prestigious that only royal and noble families were permitted to cultivate it. Among the highest honors that could be bestowed in Japan was admittance to the Order of the Chrysanthemum... a reward granted to nobility for service to the Emperor.

In great contrast to this, the "mum" didn't make much of an impression when traders introduced it to Europe in the 1600s. But when in finally did catch on, it became one of the most popular blooms for both flower shops and gardens.

Today the mum comes in dozens of varieties. Fuji mums project rays with curly ends. Spider mums have straight-ended rays. Starburst mums have forked ends, while spoon-ended mums have a loop at the end of their rays. China mums are called "standard" and "football" because of their large, round heads. Daisy-like mums are called pompons. And those forming tight little balls are called button pomps.

Whether associated with spoons, forks or footballs, or with royalty or immortality, "mum" is the word for beautiful gardens and long-lasting floral arrangements. When you care for them as cut flowers, try to keep their ancient beauty away from such modern-day contraptions as air conditioning, TV sets and heaters. Don't place them in drafts or direct sunlight. Do watch their water, and replace it when needed. This way, a bouquet of mums can make your day every day for at least a week, maybe two.