Fluffy Flowers

buckets of rain this weekend...

...all the flowers got wet...

...and all the lakes, rivers, and streams filled up...

...and afterwords the dogs finally got the fun filled muddy walkies they needed.

Hey, guess what's happening in Georgia?

Spring!

And I'm so lucky to have these beauties right outside my door.

Even the fruit trees are blooming!

to market

All week I've been busy preparing for The City Market on the Green.

The weather was beautiful and the creatures were happy to be outside.

Plus, I debuted my brand new potholders.

But one of the biggest successes of the day was definitely the poo.

And next week is the Cherry Blossom Festival!

Dreamy Drew and the Mystery of the Poo

Warning! The following story is inspired by real events and may disturb your delicate sensibilities.

On the other hand, if you spend a significant amount of time in the presence of a nine year old boy, or have a penchant for bathroom humor, then proceed unheeded.

Once upon a time there was a dreamy fellow named Drew. He was quite a hunk with a very cute face and a sweet nature. He was a snazzy dresser too, wearing a super cool hand knitted Harry Potter sweater.

All the girls dreamed about him. Especially his thick, wavy hair and his piercing blue eyes.

But Drew lived on the other side of the tracks and over on that side of town they had a pretty big problem. Actually, it was a pretty stinky problem.

You see, there was a bit of a poo problem over there. Everywhere folks went there seemed to be piles of really stinky poo. But no one could ever figure out exactly where this poo was coming from.

And the real problem with the poo was that the stink was so strong that if you walked anywhere near it the stink would jump onto your clothes and stick there all day.

It was so bad that the girls wouldn't let Drew get anywhere near them, preferring to admire him from afar.

This did not make the teenage boy very happy.

He was bound and determined to find out who or what was leaving all this poo all over town and to put a stop to it.

So he gathered up his backpack and headed out to discover the mystery of the poo.

At first he thought it was the cows because of all the farm land on the other side of the tracks. But it turns out that cow poo isn't nearly as stinky as this stuff. Plus, the cows are behind a fence and can't go roaming all over the place leaving their poo behind.

Then Drew thought it might be the bunnies. There seem to be lots of them around. But he realized that bunny poo was much smaller than the piles that were causing the problem.

He continued on his journey and wandered across a herd of wild creatures that he thought might be the source of the poo.

They raced across his path so fast that he very nearly stepped into a particularly squishy pile of poo. But, once again, he realized that these creatures were far too small to produce a mass with such a large stink capacity.

Then, suddenly up ahead he caught a flash! He thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye that looked suspiciously like pooing! He took off at a run to try to figure out what it was

From a distance he thought it was a cow.

But as he got closer he realized that it was actually a dog. A BIG dog. Actually, more like a WIDE dog.

Drew knew there had been a lot of stray dogs around town lately. Folks had not been very good about spaying and neutering their pets.

He figured this fellow must be one of those dogs and as he got closer he could smell the stink coming off him. Eeeww....

But the dog had such a sweet face and seemed to be smiling so hard that Drew didn't have the heart to turn away from him. Instead, he scooped him up and took him to the vet to get his insides all straightened out. And do you know what? It turns out that with the proper medicine that Lucky Cowdog's poo doesn't stink nearly as bad!

That made all the girls very happy.

Which made Drew very happy too.

The End.

it rained this weekend...

... and it was beautiful ...

... with all sorts of pretties ...

... blooming and drinking their fill ...

... all under the grey skies ...

... thank goodness for the rain.

finding the way

I'm unplugging this weekend so I can find what I'm looking for. Hope you find what you're looking for too.

sewing

Thank you to everyone who dropped by for the slumber party! What a hoot that was. And I hear tell that our hostess, Phyllis, had a right fine birthday. I think we should plan to do a bit more partin' around the Fluffy Flowers homestead, don't you?

Speaking of parties, lately I've been having a bit of a sewing party marathon. I've been hip deep in tote bag sewing for the upcoming Farmer's Market season.

I'm not fabulous at making these bags yet but I'm still trying! I think I get a little better each time I make one.

And one thing I've decided to do is sew a little pocket into the bags.

And inside each pocket I've placed a matching coin purse that I've sewn.

Is this thing the cutest, or what? I'm so glad I persisted with learning how to put in those darn zippers. That's gotta be one of my best crafting accomplishments of last year.

Another design decision I made about these bags is not to use interfacing. In addition to the fact that I'm oh so slightly afraid of using it, I also figured these bags would get thrown around and scrushed up in the trunk of the car after bringing home a load of groceries.

So I used heavy, decorator weight fabrics on the outside and medium weight cotton fabrics on the inside.

I went a little crazy last year when the fabric store had a fifty percent off sale on their decorator fabric remnants. I, uh, bought quite a lot and haven't used a bit of it until now!

But the good news is that I used mostly upcycled materials for the interiors. Old curtains, sheets, clothes that I already had in the fabric stash. All freshly laundered of course!

Anyhow, I'm pretty pleased with them, although I think I'm finally burned out on making them for a while. This week I've set them aside in order to work on a few pot holders. Ever since I gained confidence making the fabulous rick rack potholders I've wanted to make more. So I've been having lots of fun putting fabrics together to make some.

I listed a few of these bags over in the Fluffy Flowers shop if you'd like to have one for yourself.

Oh, I almost forgot! A big ol' thank you to Lynsey for featuring my Fluffy Flowers creatures today on her fabulous Cuteable blog.

Slumber Party

Welcome folks! A big ol' Happy Birthday to Phyllis over at For the Love of Vintage who is hosting this Slumber Party to celebrate her forty-six years.

Come on in folks and get outfitted in your comfy PJs because we're about to head into some serious Slumber Partin'! I'll be sharin' some fab stories about some awesome vintage treasures and I hope you'll chime in with your own stories too.

First off I'd like to introduce you to some awesome folks and point out your lovely accommodations. Madeline and Puppy Cheese have already made themselves right at home.

Madeline is fairly new to the Fluffy Flowers household. She moved in last year after a trip to Athens, Georgia. It was on that same trip that a search for a fabulous yarn store landed us right next to an awesome old house antique shop. I spied this delightful hand sewn bed cover and pillow cases made from an old chenille bedspread and some oh so pretty fluffy flower fabric. It was marked at an unbelievable price but my wallet was low on paper money and high on the plastic. Unfortunately, they only took that old fashioned paper money!

One sleepless hotel night thinking about that groovy bed cover and the next morning I was at the ATM machine and down the road to claim that beauty for my own! Thank goodness it was still there and I don't have to tell this story as the one that got away.

Next I'd like to introduce you to someone near and dear to my heart. He's my teddy bear and his name is Puppy Cheese and, yep, even though I'm having a milestone birthday this year that ends with a zero, I still sleep with him every night.

You see, Puppy Cheese is actually a stuffed Dakin Panda Bear. He was given to me by my high school boyfriend (the infamous prom date who went on to become the quintessential rocket scientist, see here for details) when I was seventeen or eighteen. We found him at the gift shop at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida when we went there to see the real live Panda Bears. It was the first time I'd seen those fabulous animals in person and I was enraptured.

For the longest time he was the bear with no name. Then one day, nearly a decade and a different boyfriend later, I was told that I clutched him in my sleep and mumbled something like Puppy Cheese. It seemed so extraordinary and hilarious that the name stuck and he's been Puppy Cheese ever since.

My treasured stuffed Panda Bear has stayed with me nearly every night of my life including those spent traveling. In all that time I only left him behind once, at a hotel in the town I now call home. It was a harrowing two weeks without him until I got him back, I can tell you that!

Oh, pardon my manners! I forgot to offer y'all some refreshments. Here in the Fluffy Flowers household we're trying to watch our figures. Ever since that mean ol' doctor pointed out that we're a little short for our weight we've been watching what we eat. But I do have a tall, refreshing glass of skim milk and some nice and crunchy graham crackers that I guarantee will hit the spot.

Oh, and if you don't want any eyes staring at you just go right ahead and turn that fluff ball to face the other way. She won't mind.

Oh, and don't forget to wave to Miss Holly. She's been with me a long, long time. Since I was seven, I believe, which was a few, ahem, decades ago.

Now what slumber party would be complete without a cottage and three bears? They look like they've got their ears all perked up for something. Wonder what it could be?

And what's that Madeline and Puppy Cheese are saying? They've been waiting patiently? For what, I wonder?

Oh, for a story! Well, of course! It wouldn't be a slumber party without a bedtime story.

Once upon a time there was a little girl. She was sweet and kind and nice but quite ordinary in every way. The funny thing is that extraordinary things kept happening to her. And even though she followed the rules and always did what she was told she usually found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But what she discovered when she found herself in that place was that she didn't have to live with it the way it was. She could change it. She could change herself. She could paint the walls, or hang a shelf, or put up a picture. She could rearrange things and add to it or take away. She discovered that she could transform the world around her and by so doing she could make quite extraordinary things happen.

And so she did, which made her live very happily ever after.

Hum, doesn't quite sound like the story of Jane Eyre, does it? Ah well, the story still seems a bit familiar to me :)

Yawn, I think Madeline and Puppy Cheese liked that story, yawn, I know I did, yawn. Sorry y'all, yawn, sorry! I think I'm getting a little sleepy now. I think it's time to snuggle under the covers and catch a few zzzzzs. Thank you everyone for dropping by and especially to that fabulous Phyllis who set the ball in motion. Happy Birthday!

grown up furniture

It seems I'm not the only one around here who's been up to a bit of shabby chic home improvement.

This darling table recently arrived fresh from my sweetheart's workshop. And it's handmade from some delicious pecan wood.

Before, I was using a stack of old suitcases as an end table. The cases have now been relocated to the guest room and replaced with this oh so grown up piece of furniture.

And dig this groovy design he made for the top. I can't believe this is Mr. Fluffy Flowers's first table!

And of course shop helper Mr. Slashables has overseen the project from the beginning to the installation. I do believe he approves.

carving out crafting time

Lately it seems like I don't have enough time for crafting. What a silly statement. If I could craft eight or nine hours a day, six days a week, I'd be happy. So I guess the few hours I do get are never going to be enough! But the truth is that I've been spending a lot of time on crafting for the house. By now y'all have figured out that I am totally ensconced in home improvement.

Crafting for myself is sort of new and different. I usually make stuff because I'm driven to for some odd reason. I enjoy figuring out how to make something then I prolong the joy by making lots of them. Then I wake up one day to discover that the craft closet is overflowing with creations. That's what drove me to setup my online shop and set up a craft booth at the weekly farmer's market. Because there is only so much that you can give away before your friends and family look at you strange and tell you that you just gave them a zipper pouch last week.

This time last year I was hip deep in preparing for the weekly market. But this year I've only made a handful of things. Mostly tote bags, which I plan to photograph soon. Instead, I've been working on things around the house. I don't really make formal new year's resolutions but I told myself I wanted to start fresh and spiff the place up. So I've made an effort to focus on making pretty things to surround myself with. And one of those ways is to include more color in my life.

I've always been a little bit afraid of color. Don't know why exactly, just afraid to make some sort of mistake I guess. But I'm trying to let go of the fear of color and to include more of my favorites in my life. That riotous Laura Ashley ironing board cover above was a step in the right direction I think. It makes me smile every time I look at it. Now how many of y'all can say that about your ironing board?! And orange, after all, is my favorite color. I think I should definitely include more orange in my future. I'll even share a little Ode to Orange poem I wrote about a thousand years ago when I was a freshman in college.

Ode to Orange

Little girls, purple and pink,

Grape Koolaid is all they'll drink;

Fluffy, swirly dresses,

To ensure life long successes;

With mauve dots on lilac,

Their heroes aren't the Sleestak;

Believing unicorns are alive,

Breathing in every shape and size;

Conforming young innocence,

Pastel color acceptance;

Orange simply isn't their way,

But it's mine ya know.

Storing plastic grocery sacks - an easy, fast, and free tutorial

I don't know about you, but with two kitties in my house scooping the litter box is a daily chore. So that means that I really need to have some trash bags on hand. And since I'm on the frugal side I use plastic grocery sacks. But it took me forever to figure out a way to neatly corral them.

For years now I've been storing them inside an empty tissue box. This really compacts them down and makes for easy dispensing!

All you have to do is flatten out a bag. Be sure to notice if it has any holes in the bottom and take that one out to recycle.

Now stuff the bag inside the box and try to lay it out flat inside there. This isn't an exact science, you're just trying to spread them out in there so you can get in as many as possible.

Repeat until you've used up all your bags or filled up the box, which ever comes first. And you'll be surprised how many you can stuff in there! Oh, hi Slash! Kitty was a bit hungry I guess.

Now pull one slightly up for easy dispensing. You're done! I stick my box in the bathroom closet with the other kitty necessary supplies. It doesn't take up much space and makes for easy recycling. I also recycle those bags on walks with my dogs, if you know what I mean :)

Slash a.k.a. Slashables a.k.a. Mr. Pink Nose didn't want his portrait taken today. Sorry y'all!

sailing bathroom makeover

This weekend I finally had time to put together a cute little boating corner in my fellow's bathroom.

I love how it turned out! I'd been stock piling boating doodads for months and I finally decided it was time to turn this corner into a sailor's paradise.

The bookcase was thrifted years ago for something like five bucks. It was dark wood and I painted it white.

Picked up that wall canoe with oars for six dollars at a local thrift shop. The vintage framed prints were acquired at some antique shop along the way somewhere for around twenty five dollars. The compass plate was thrifted for a dollar. And of course I used the ol' cheap Fluffy Flowers method of hanging it! Even the Old Spice deoderant has a sailboat on it.

Old, withdrawn library books found at the local book sale. I picked up the hand carved shelf in a Madison, Georgia antique store a couple of years ago. But it was the adorable little wooden tugboat that finally got this makeover underway. Isn't it fab! Found that in an antique mall this weekend in Newnan, Georgia. My mother in law painted the beach scene.

I'm pretty happy with how this corner of the bathroom turned out. Later on I'll probably add more sailboat gear to the rest of the room. In the mean time you can check out my other bathroom makeover here.

Snow in Macon

Yesterday it was 73 degrees (23C) outside. I wore short sleeves.

Today it snowed. Snowed in Macon, Georgia. Holy cats!

Actually, the cats wouldn't step one toe out into the stuff. It was the dogs that liked it.

It came down all afternoon. I couldn't believe it. I've only seen snow in this town a couple of times years ago and that was only flurries.

This snow was pretty amazing. It turned everything into a beautiful wonderland.

And it looks like oodles of folks got outside to enjoy it.