Thunderflowers

The summer season is off to a roaring start here in the South, with thundershowers surprising us nearly every afternoon this week.

The beauty of all those raindrops is the field of brilliant Shasta daisies blooming on our terrace.

I made these photographs the other morning just after a stormy night and caught the raindrops on the petals still glistening in the morning sunshine.

It's challenging to grow many flowers in the heat of these Southern summers, but with the tropical thunderstorms that happen throughout the summer months, these daisies are at their peak during this season.  That is why sometimes these flowers are called, "thunderflowers."

I remember when I was a little girl, my parents planted Shasta daisies in our courtyard and along the driveway.  They grew as tall as I was ~ I'm only 5'3" ish and back then was a little shorter, but they were magnificent.

To this day, I love daisies ~ their simplicity, innocence, and purity ~ and now I enjoy having them grow in beautiful cobalt blue pots on my terrace and below in the garden.

Another matter now...

To celebrate and honor our patriotism this Memorial Day weekend and all summer long, I have updated my blog banner with my interpretation of our red, white, and blue.

You can see more of my summer inspiration on my Pinterest board, "Patriotic ~ Red, White & Blue."

My summer project, Summer Arts Camp, is starting in just a few weeks, so I may be scarce.  Be assured though, that I will be posting some fun photos of our creative camp activities later on this summer.  If you live close by, please do join us!

Stay safe and have fun!

Ciao amici,
Suzanne

Words of Love

A mother's work...

is never done.

But the rewards are wonderful.

Something as simple as this notebook doodle which I found laying on his bed when I tucked him in late one night last week...precious hand written words of love.

Happy Mother's Day week to those of you who are.

Ciao amici,

Suzanne

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*The little doodle that looks like a number four is supposed to be the cris cross "and" symbol.

Happy May Day

A quick wish for a Happy May Day!

*

One of my favorite months of the year...Spring blooms, the hint of summer, scrumptious strawberries, song birds chirping...

Marvelous May!

Ciao amici,

Suzanne

~ ~ ~

* This precious vintage illustration, was from a calendar I used as a young girl.  This little girl in a field of flowers with a blue bird was on the image for month of May.  I have kept it {and some others from that same calendar} for a million years and still love the art work!

Snow Drops in Spring

Sharing with you one last look at some tiny winter blooms, snow drops...

...the last of which we plucked out of the ground a couple of weeks ago when we were creating Mother Nature's Garden Peeps ~ one of the projects that I will be teaching at my Summer Arts Camp this June.

Fields of these flowers bloom year after year and have probably for more than fifty no matter what trauma the soil endures.

We did not plant these sweet vintage flowers ~ they made their home in our garden a long time ago when my husband's grandparents owned this property.

And now they make their home in and out of our garden.

Enjoy!

Ciao amici,

Suzanne

~ ~ ~

PS

To find out what's been keeping me away, you can check out my new summer project, Summer Arts Camp 2013.

Mother Nature's Peeps

On a sunny Sunday last weekend, Spring had finally sprung so the sunshine of my eye {my son} and I were outside all day long playing on our terrace.

We popped open our market umbrellas for some necessary shade from the bright sun, grabbed a basket, some snippers, put on our garden Crocs, and went on the hunt for pretty petals, lush leaves, pods, pine cones, weeds and seeds.

Then the fun began with the evolution of a garden family ~ Mother Nature's Peeps.

Flower Fairies started dancing on the table...

then...some Woodland Creatures came around to play with them.

Later, The Green Guys joined in the fun.

Each one with their own unique personality was made within minutes, and then as soon as I photographed each garden peep, we would clear the canvas board and give birth to new creatures.  {I think we made about fifty of these garden people.}

We decided that we should add to this collection of Mother Nature's Peeps as the seasons change throughout the year.  

And don't be surprised if you see some of these Peeps available on products in my Etsy, Zazzle, and Spoonflower shops one day soon.

Ciao amici,
Suzanne

~ ~ ~

{Several years ago I purchased the whimsical little coffee table book titled Blossom Buddies by Elsa Mora.  This book was the inspiration for this project however, when I asked my son if he wanted to look through the book for some ideas, he said no.  All of our Peeps are our original ideas and creations.  Thank you for the inspiration for this fun project Elsa!}