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Saturday, 10 August 2013

How To Extend Life Of Your Cut Flowers - Daffodils And Tulips



Most of us adore cut flowers in a vase. Regardless of the fact if we buy the flowers or they are given to us, we would like to be pleased with their fresh look without the necessity of replacing them. 



Beautiful colourful bouquets can change our interiors thus they acquire more character. Bouquets improve our mood. 



Fresh cut flowers are very often at my home therefore I will present you some trusted hints concerning extending life of some flowers which were in majority told me by my mother. The advice will be divided into a few phases, in which I will tell you about different varieties of flowers as well as some techniques of extending their lifespan. I will also try to attach some photos. 

You don’t have any influence on the process of cutting the flowers or on their previous keeping but you can obviously influence their further life. There are some factors which are important: 
  • first of all a proper temperature or a place where the vase stays, fresh water or a good access of air.


My most favourite flower, despite its bizarre nature, is a daffodil or narcissus. 

They are bulbous flowers of which more than one story can be told. Daffodils secrete a viscous and poisonous substance with an unpleasant scent. In combination with tulips or irises they can harmfully influence their lifespan and cause their drooping because of alkaloids which were previously mentioned.


 If we want to combine daffodils with other flowers, the best idea would be to:
  •  put them in a vase with tepid water on the day before the  rest  of flowers. A viscous sap should be secreted within a day and night and shouldn’t constitute any danger. 
In case of daffodils alone, we should:

  •  put them in a clean vase, cutting straight their stalks
  •  we should also often change the water.




As we know cut flowers are kept in the special refrigerator rooms or other places which are well air-conditioned. In florists or supermarkets they stay frequently next to the entry to the shop. 

I advise you to keep your vases away from radiators, electric devices or sunny places in order to eliminate excessive heat. I also don’t recommend you to place them on the TV set because of safety reasons. 


Summer time is favourable to surrounding with flowers therefore observe this plot and maybe you will find out some more…

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Uk Handmade Summer Wedding Showcase - Jewellery Box


Hello my dear!

 Welcome again after a very busy last week. I was trying to take advantage of nice weather and take some good pictures to my shop. 

But still, I don’t know if I should be happy or sad. 

 I’m very pleased because I took part in Where Bloggers Create 2013, which is still lasting but I'm chasing around the virtual world as I would be in a wonderland. In a fraction of second, I’m going to the ends of the earth looking at beautiful interiors or works of talented people.  



In the meantime, I was qualified for the UK Handmade Summer Wedding Showcase featuring gorgeous handmade products from designer makers from across the UK. 





Here you can see the Internet lookbook of all of the wedding related items, including my vintage box for tea. 





Meanwhile, I managed to finish a similar work made to order, in which I used the picture of the future young couple instead of paper. 


As you have probably seen, my blog is empty. Cleaning prevailed over the reason.

 I have accidentally cleaned the folder in which I had all the files connected with the graphics of my blog. Here, I’d like to thank once again Karen from the Desert Cottage. Fortunately, I have regained a whole layout of the website. The rest will be slowly loaded by me.



I recommend those, who love blogging and plan to continue their passion, to record their virtual diary. You can import, export or delete your posts and comments in Blog tools. I strongly advise you to transfer your blog at least once a month and to save it to a hard disk. 

How to do it..... 
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Please go to Settings, Other, Blog Tools and then choose your destination in which your treasure will be stored. 
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To my astonishment or maybe nice surprise, one of my customers - expressed her thanks to me, giving a picture. Isn't this lovely....




 I made two similar caskets for her. 




The one of them will be surely given to her friend. 

It was a very nice end of the week and I also wish you great time.




Cordial greetings

THIS WEEK I PARTY WITH  
Friday


Thursday, 11 July 2013

Welcome To My Craft Room - Where Bloggers Create 2013.

Welcome my dears!


Today, with a dose of shyness, I’ll show you my studio where I spend most of my time designing, adapting and browsing through my treasures and papers. 

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Karen Valentine and her ‘Where Bloggers Create’ 2013 gave me the excuse to clean and organise my artistic mess to be able to invite you to my humble abode.



During the move into this house, located in Cornish countryside, the room seemed to be relatively large enough to house my accumulated possessions.....


Sitting in my living room, sometimes I think I see a huge aquarium in which instead of swimming fish I see rabbits and foxes.






 

The epicentre of my former utility room underwent a small transformation.




 Cabinets were covered with white, self adhesive wallpaper, and the table top on which my ideas come to life in glossy paper for easy clean up of splattered paint.








In the other part of my room stand the shelves, or actually the remains of the market, which are likely to soon be replaced with a shelving unit in the form of wooden apple crates painted white and arranged on top of each other.





VINTAGE GLASSWARE - MY SECOND WEAKNESS



DECOUPAGE PHOTO FRAMES





WOODEN BLANKS READY TO BE DECORATED



There is a constantly increasing palette of materials to decorate in my cupboards. In one word - I don't lack for anything.





Most of my materials are stored in a cupboard away from direct sun.




My former napkin fixation has been replaced by decoupage paper of high quality and my own prints. Nevertheless yesterday I gave in to the temptation to buy a whole package of napkins with a blue floral motif.





And here is me, in the other part of my house. Precision cutting is very time consuming and requires a lot of patience.  
So I need a cup of my tea to keep me going.



The biggest success in my space was to find a place for my growing collection of clocks. After painting the walls a pale yellow I attached hooks with a long ribbon in the middle, something in the style of a small gallery.



The growing collection of paint brushes is awaiting it's own containers. Perhaps I will decorate them in the style suggested here.





Finally - my decoupage papers decided to hang on pegs, an easy system for sorting and browsing.  



My favourite mini chest with a ton of business cards.




JUST INSTALLED THE HANGER FOR MY VINTAGE LACE



There is a lot of places in which I keep my own works and accessories used to put the finishing touch to my works.

Last minute news

I have done very precise tidying but not only in my room, I have cleared out all the pictures from my computer, which are responsible for my blog. So please don't be put off by no content here. I'm working on getting everything back to normal. 
I have learnt a really bitter lesson....

Best wishes....

Friday, 21 June 2013

Victorian Decorating Ideas - Hanger For Clothes Or Towels


The last time I wanted to chat so much was many moons ago… Sunny weather fosters the release of positive energy and creative thinking. 

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I’ve just joined to a wonderful website with handicraft, “Crafty Blogs”, which is a definite list of crafting blogs in the UK. I’m 471st in the ranking, which I still find very nice. Now, one may imagine how huge the number of craftsmen in the UK is, even though this is only a sample. “Crafty Blogs” is not all; you can also find “Top 50 Crafters” or “Crafty Sales”  the list of small Handmade Craft websites in the UK. 
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 I become a fan of a great British programme called “Victorian Farm,” broadcasted by BBC2 long time ago.
Although my casual clothes are very classic and my taste in decorating of our spot depends on the season of the year, the programme is an enormous design inspiration for me.  I've been trying to start preparing my huge rustic wall clocks collection, which is to be shown at a nearby gallery, for a long time now, but I lost the feeling in my finger after sculpting in a piece of oak wood which was as hard as a rock. Therefore, I decided to take a break and focus on something different - unique decor and home decorations. 



The hanger I made for the hallway wall or bathroom is not only designed for hanging hats or cotton towels on, but it also comprises an important home decor accessory. I think it can be also treated as a painting made in Victorian style. The whole work was demanding. I made the hanger with the use of a number of decorative techniques: decoupage, crackling, pittorico shading, high reliefs as well as gilding.


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This week I will party at 
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Monday  

Friday



Have a lovely weekend............