Crafting ideas from the Philadelphia Flower Show

I have a favorite vendor at the show that I always buy from, not this year though, there was nothing I had to have. These candles were attached to the tray. Too many candles on the tray for my liking but I can see a bunch of mismathed candles painted and used this way outdoors.

I had to laugh when I saw these. I had a bunch of these bags left from my nieces wedding, I filled them with lavender, attached another ribbon and tag and tried to sell them for 1$ at a craft fair...I think I sold one...Good luck on getting 2.50 each!

I'll buy a lantern at hobby lobby with a 40% off coupon and recreate this...love anything with birds...though I'll use a flameless candle!

This was nice, a print layered over burlap. Nice cheap update for an old frame. So, that's it for inspiration for crafts from the flower show.

Hawaii at the Philadelphia Flower Show

I love seeing all the dining and patio vignettes at the Flower Show. Love the green and pops of orange in this setting.

Loved the gazebo and water feature here.


All pictures can be enlarged. I'll be posting more pictures of the show this week. Visiting the flower show is my March Madness!! Love it.

Eat Green!!

And boy was this Green! My husband wouldn't try it, I guess the color turned him off but I thought it was delicious, but then again I love basil and the basil paste I bought for this recipe was surpisingly very fresh tasting.

I omitted the red pepper flakes, I didn't want any heat in this dish. I found the basil paste in the produce section of the supermarket.

I found the recipe here http://www.antoniotahhan.com/tag/pesto/

Components
1 lb. penne rigate pasta
10 oz. baby spinach
¼ cup whole milk
¼ cup + 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 oz. Pecorino Romano
1 tbsp. basil paste*
¼ cup + ¼ cup walnuts, toasted
½ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
½ lb. crimini mushrooms
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
5 oz. low fat mozzarella cheese
* Basil paste is my new secret weapon in the kitchen since I don’t always have fresh basil laying around. If you have fresh basil, a few leaves should do the trick.
Putting them all together
Dice the mozzarella into ¼ in. cubes and set aside.
In a large sautee pan, toast the walnuts over medium heat and set aside (approx. 5-7 minutes).
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and quarter them into roughly equal sizes. Coat the same sautee pan with 3 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil and sauté mushrooms over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar and set the mushrooms aside.
In a blender, blend baby spinach, milk, the rest of the olive oil, Pecorino Romano, basil paste, red pepper flakes and ¼ cup walnuts until smooth. (You might have to stop the blender and help it along a few times with a spoon)
Prepare your favorite pasta (I use penne rigate) and toss with the spinach pesto, mozzarella cheese and the remaining ¼ cup of the toasted walnuts.
Plate alongside some grilled chicken and enjoy!

First Annie Sloan chalk paint project completed

If I knew how much I was going to like this I would have taken a before picture, simple unfinished bar stool. I painted the legs in old ocher and waxed with clear wax. I love the finish.

I stained the seat with Miniwax Dark Walnut.

Painted the bird with Folk Art Acrylic in Wrought Iron.

The stencil was from Plaid Folk art purchased at Micheals ( I just taped off the leaves, I wanted it simple)

And then gave the seat a few coats of briwax in clear.

And the best part was I had everything on hand!

Linking up to http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ Wow us Wednesdays.

I purchased the paint at http://robynstorydesigns.com/ when I was there this past November. If your ever in the Tampa area you have to check out the store, it's a feast for the eyes! And they are extremly helpful with the chalk paints.

Stained glass in progress

Two projects I'm working on right now, both cut, ground and ready to be foiled.

The fleur is for my kitchen window and the other will have a picture of a log home my Mom once owned on the orange glass and covered with clear glass. The log home will be surrounded by some of the orange glass, I'm loving orange stained glass.

Candy, cookies and flowers for Valentines Day..

Made 4 platefulls of these! My niece hard at working decorating heart shaped cookies I made.

I made 4 bouquet's of flowers from the 3 for 12$ bunches at my local supermarket.

Beneficial dog food...The dog loves it and so do I

For the containers!!! HA!!

I just cleaned out an office storage drawer that ended up being a dumping ground for all my husbands receipts. It's now an office supply drawer and once again I made good use of the Beneficial dog food containers. The tops lock securely and there is a nice little indent on the top where I put my labels.

The dog food is rather expensive but the dog loves it and I get great storage for my craft supplies and the husbands nuts, bolts ect.

What is your favorite repurpose storage container?