Shepherdless Sheep No More

Of course, sheep need shepherds, which is exactly the void we filled last Saturday. A few weeks ago, you may remember, I taught a class in which we made 60 corn husk sheep as table decorations for a church reunion. Well we can't have 60 unshepherded sheep running around the church, can we? So Last Saturday I taught 4 adults how to make corn husk shepherds. Our original goal was 30 shepherds but after a little refiguring we realized that our first calculation was a bit off, we really only needed about 15 shepherds. So we made our new goal, and I was proud of my students, who did a really good job.

Rose In A Glass Class

This picture is my version of an online class I took with the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild. It's one of my few pictures that features a whole flower. Ironically though, it really isn't a flower at all. It's really a bunch of birch bark from my uncle's and aunt's house in Michigan, which I cut into little pieces. This was a good, challenging class taught by a lady who lives in Russia. By the way, did you know that loofah sponges don't come from the sea? They're a kind of gourd that grows on a vine. Do you see where I used it?

This picture is made of: some sort of dead daylily or iris foliage, loofah, Queen Anne's lace, onion membranes, maple and birch bark.

Inexpensive, Modest, Non-Frumpy, Practical, Feminine Clothes

Have you every tried to find inexpensive, modest, non-frumpy, practical, feminine clothes? That's a tall order. It can be discouraging, walking through stores.

One solution I've found for work clothes that don't look like boy clothes is to paint t-shirts. Sometimes you have to go to the boys section to get good t-shirts, but then you transform them with a little fabric paint. I paint flowers on my shirts, but any little detail on the sleeves or pretty design would make it look more feminine. I'm not a good painter. I usually make a big cartoony, muddy, mess. But fabric paint is usually fairly easy to work with. You can paint with the bottle but I prefer to pour the paint out on a plate and use a paintbrush on the shirt. That gives me better control. After a day or two of drying, the shirts can go in the wash just like any other t-shirt, except you should inside-out them when they're in the wash. Some of the paint may chip off over time, especially when you've painted it too thick.

Second-hand stores are cool too!

Plant Agent Returns

Miss Charle' is over the gardens and grounds of the City of Clarkesville. About five years ago she wrote an article for the newspaper. My Mom contacted her through the article to see if she'd be willing to take on a little 10-year-old apprentice. She was willing - we've worked together ever since.

Miss Charle' has been a huge supporter of my business from the beginning. I consider her my plant agent. If I'm working on a picture with some weird color or texture that I'm having a hard time matching, I'll tell Miss Charle'. Sooner or later she'll come up with something. Miss Charle's good at seeing things when others don't. She'll point out the grand texture in the seemingly ugly brown leaf.

Miss Charle's also introduced me to the garden club, which has opened up into many good things. Miss Charle' practically forced me to start doing the two-minute plant lessons once a month at the garden club meetings. Through that simple exercise I've been learning how to prepare for speaking and overcome the fears of speaking in front of people. Wow, I didn't want to do it, but she made me, and I'm so thankful.

Miss Charle's a good friend of our family. She's always bringing us something, whether it be a snack, a building pallet, a leaf or a book. She knows what we like. Miss Charle' is finally back from her two-week trip. She's been working among the needy in Central America. She's been struck by the fact that the people don't have poor self-pity sorts of attitudes. They live in poorer conditions than we can truly grasp, but they plant gardens outside of their houses.

I'm glad Miss Charle' had a good time on her trip, but it's so nice to have her back home!
If you want to see some artwork, just come to the Mauldin House Gardens in Clarkesville, where you'll see these gardens Miss Charle' planted. Above is a slideshow to give you a sample.