tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67446414870570151872024-02-29T21:39:27.146-08:00Under The Plum Blossom TreeUnder The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.comBlogger261125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-54803491208580997392023-06-30T22:50:00.000-07:002023-06-30T22:50:02.144-07:00Styling With Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZG6Mb5Fs5FbbBMx2FewCFrS3bOjCd8JMTevre0RDHDXa0lfwG2ydIWiNkdSgFo_3MSF4dyjSW5S_qOh0Gye17TPPPSUh-bYJTF9SYNojwmJHYf7x_LwGJN0X8EZMN1JPgcMpCRFCrROk3Yu4n-qQnETBU5Oaw5MKYMCLGupYafbhZvFKnbFRSW0D2Am1/s2048/IMG_5873.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, a blog post about using dried hydrangea flowers as a decorating element in your home with examples of containers used." border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZG6Mb5Fs5FbbBMx2FewCFrS3bOjCd8JMTevre0RDHDXa0lfwG2ydIWiNkdSgFo_3MSF4dyjSW5S_qOh0Gye17TPPPSUh-bYJTF9SYNojwmJHYf7x_LwGJN0X8EZMN1JPgcMpCRFCrROk3Yu4n-qQnETBU5Oaw5MKYMCLGupYafbhZvFKnbFRSW0D2Am1/s16000/IMG_5873.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, examples of using dried hydrangea flowers for home decorating, how to style dried hydrangea flowers, dried hydrangeas in wall pocket, dried hydrangeas in milk glass pedestal bowl, dried hydrangeas in blue and white Chinese vase, DIY Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY Autumn Hydrangea Wreath" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>H</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">i Friends! If you're living in the Northern Hemisphere and have any Hydrangea plants growing in your garden, now is the time to plan for the autumn harvesting and drying of their flowers.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dried Hydrangea flowers will last for years and are a lovely way to add some interest, texture and color to your home.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today I'm sharing three ways that I'm displaying dried Hydrangeas in my home; bedroom, dining room and kitchen areas.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4ITfSoVCNBaYMkl2s1D4pCpvbvQcEusq55h1D5yUkwHWQoewzJQzBFgfuoVjn-arpi4JKNLYIC-IRNVD5i7kp8uIExxOWqS3oDGOSrT0xCzCI7RPB3QEbp-iQ9TR4qaiDkXX-RN4e8Y0boCyHRZxm-bc63hu1M3OrxajlQZ8ltELha6IazDYgzdYwOVt/s4032/IMG_5790%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, a blog post about using dried hydrangea flowers as a decorating element in your home with examples of containers used." border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4ITfSoVCNBaYMkl2s1D4pCpvbvQcEusq55h1D5yUkwHWQoewzJQzBFgfuoVjn-arpi4JKNLYIC-IRNVD5i7kp8uIExxOWqS3oDGOSrT0xCzCI7RPB3QEbp-iQ9TR4qaiDkXX-RN4e8Y0boCyHRZxm-bc63hu1M3OrxajlQZ8ltELha6IazDYgzdYwOVt/s16000/IMG_5790%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, examples of using dried hydrangea flowers for home decorating, how to style dried hydrangea flowers, dried hydrangeas in wall pocket, dried hydrangeas in milk glass pedestal bowl, dried hydrangeas in blue and white Chinese vase, DIY Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY Autumn Hydrangea Wreath" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In my bedroom, above, I've placed cut stems into a thrifted Pier One wall pocket.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJzOhbW9dOzUyiOizrXIKDvQ8QCV3bshjoAp-OFv9SKSOjJSYGSOrV8QDFK5xGjcV-iYh5IpTh99jXqPrbGgqssvVNxPhAyeTs7AhuACnBmmFA4eMicpB1LI9YgLhkSi46bT9XAwuG47E4DD326YiWC1x8hA0_zQL53c8p1TGSYXPoKUh-B47VeUYJ37S2/s4608/P6251559%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, a blog post about using dried hydrangea flowers as a decorating element in your home with examples of containers used." border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJzOhbW9dOzUyiOizrXIKDvQ8QCV3bshjoAp-OFv9SKSOjJSYGSOrV8QDFK5xGjcV-iYh5IpTh99jXqPrbGgqssvVNxPhAyeTs7AhuACnBmmFA4eMicpB1LI9YgLhkSi46bT9XAwuG47E4DD326YiWC1x8hA0_zQL53c8p1TGSYXPoKUh-B47VeUYJ37S2/s16000/P6251559%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, examples of using dried hydrangea flowers for home decorating, how to style dried hydrangea flowers, dried hydrangeas in wall pocket, dried hydrangeas in milk glass pedestal bowl, dried hydrangeas in blue and white Chinese vase, DIY Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY Autumn Hydrangea Wreath" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And in my dining area, below, I've placed them into milk glass pedestal bowls.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVc-Nvg7AVXwEQn6GnZIoBvMfcZ3BAlt_q6VK18mPSCsAjBlbuDWMDMsetYo8ibNc26r8aeht6V5GMr_lSeooSjoq_SzWm7-kKL7ZJ-pKWDNavgzNAtOdcNZWXBFC-iFP26lU4qO9GVXn2o_6Ln28isGe4uL9ehiYIgO-I85tEpnnIsTHS1TB1AgUAWuin/s4608/P6251550%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, a blog post about using dried hydrangea flowers as a decorating element in your home with examples of containers used." border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVc-Nvg7AVXwEQn6GnZIoBvMfcZ3BAlt_q6VK18mPSCsAjBlbuDWMDMsetYo8ibNc26r8aeht6V5GMr_lSeooSjoq_SzWm7-kKL7ZJ-pKWDNavgzNAtOdcNZWXBFC-iFP26lU4qO9GVXn2o_6Ln28isGe4uL9ehiYIgO-I85tEpnnIsTHS1TB1AgUAWuin/s16000/P6251550%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, examples of using dried hydrangea flowers for home decorating, how to style dried hydrangea flowers, dried hydrangeas in wall pocket, dried hydrangeas in milk glass pedestal bowl, dried hydrangeas in blue and white Chinese vase, DIY Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY Autumn Hydrangea Wreath" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Simply cut the stems completely off and place into the bowl. Faff with them until you achieve a pleasing ball shape.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0aJTIv2vVOkWVLXYYTZwx3pu3pS4y048d2LZUBwbIVBlBaiwB-cagMpJYW2gfnRq_idXUlXqRsm0kKQMgb02Lw-4v2f56swdQWPYkPHoYLzJClFv5EV9WsP-J5ECy7FHJJ0u4dpq5kV0U97xN3k_voUNw5MaJGPO8Fq-4h6PAaD4C4MFjiuH-BvrrAI0U/s3024/IMG_5859%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, a blog post about using dried hydrangea flowers as a decorating element in your home with examples of containers used." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0aJTIv2vVOkWVLXYYTZwx3pu3pS4y048d2LZUBwbIVBlBaiwB-cagMpJYW2gfnRq_idXUlXqRsm0kKQMgb02Lw-4v2f56swdQWPYkPHoYLzJClFv5EV9WsP-J5ECy7FHJJ0u4dpq5kV0U97xN3k_voUNw5MaJGPO8Fq-4h6PAaD4C4MFjiuH-BvrrAI0U/s16000/IMG_5859%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, examples of using dried hydrangea flowers for home decorating, how to style dried hydrangea flowers, dried hydrangeas in wall pocket, dried hydrangeas in milk glass pedestal bowl, dried hydrangeas in blue and white Chinese vase, DIY Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY Autumn Hydrangea Wreath" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lastly, I placed a bunch in a colorful blue and white Chinese vase in my kitchen.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWrjtRqO5t4TwhWR8hwq0D7h_QVJxxqQ574n6ALZL9Cs_kkzjYDtI6WAkCxJQWvMhGJOVq8dS2JHYqjC9OnBjKCxi6PTB0k4Wz0R2i3P1I3SqnyyqZ411XB7XrFtkJ2OGkoyY3H0rxY05TIgAwK3gvt3Ab7ygvkHnJN_-PjcVOupGhmso10eMgtipv7L6/s4608/P6251541%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, a blog post about using dried hydrangea flowers as a decorating element in your home with examples of containers used." border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWrjtRqO5t4TwhWR8hwq0D7h_QVJxxqQ574n6ALZL9Cs_kkzjYDtI6WAkCxJQWvMhGJOVq8dS2JHYqjC9OnBjKCxi6PTB0k4Wz0R2i3P1I3SqnyyqZ411XB7XrFtkJ2OGkoyY3H0rxY05TIgAwK3gvt3Ab7ygvkHnJN_-PjcVOupGhmso10eMgtipv7L6/s16000/P6251541%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, examples of using dried hydrangea flowers for home decorating, how to style dried hydrangea flowers, dried hydrangeas in wall pocket, dried hydrangeas in milk glass pedestal bowl, dried hydrangeas in blue and white Chinese vase, DIY Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY Autumn Hydrangea Wreath" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfw6rrEA1ynwiuaE48sI6w6Hb-Q11HKBoOItsB6vu7L-mKQA9qhT4yuK-ku2ZUeqp2sCNxz1b3I8M-Iiwdo8Z4rU1WlRcnUdyyJHXaMZhrZhSxpaAFttXaiXFR6n7GnOJPJtSfjtm8_ibdWi_srVwpcIYXibW4xzbm050h1kAwXyuaX76r7qq4Y2EstiZi/s4608/P6251545%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, a blog post about using dried hydrangea flowers as a decorating element in your home with examples of containers used." border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfw6rrEA1ynwiuaE48sI6w6Hb-Q11HKBoOItsB6vu7L-mKQA9qhT4yuK-ku2ZUeqp2sCNxz1b3I8M-Iiwdo8Z4rU1WlRcnUdyyJHXaMZhrZhSxpaAFttXaiXFR6n7GnOJPJtSfjtm8_ibdWi_srVwpcIYXibW4xzbm050h1kAwXyuaX76r7qq4Y2EstiZi/s16000/P6251545%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Styling with Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways, examples of using dried hydrangea flowers for home decorating, how to style dried hydrangea flowers, dried hydrangeas in wall pocket, dried hydrangeas in milk glass pedestal bowl, dried hydrangeas in blue and white Chinese vase, DIY Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY Autumn Hydrangea Wreath" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you're interested in learning about drying Hydrangea flowers, I wrote about the basic steps in <a href="https://www.undertheplumblossomtree.com/2018/11/diy-drying-garden-hydrangeas-for-wreath.html">DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making</a>. And if you would like to know more about making a decorative wreath with dried Hydrangeas, check out <a href="https://www.undertheplumblossomtree.com/2015/10/diy-autumn-hydrangea-wreath.html">DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking and bye for now.</span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-11459933760224800632023-05-31T23:01:00.001-07:002023-05-31T23:04:47.244-07:00Home Sweet Home, A Scrapbook Layout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6PonKI4HKZMTieswYuj-Z8gdN0JKD1P1yaF4CJ7FGgl-IPGSRyTy2DJ-jX4PFVlKna_grlNn3SBg0xTY-tFLXkqMmsBi3-JMRkdHvI8ZuRbXtjUUEGWysB_3UXuzjnB2BZqGijhwz2eew8oF82R6g6sjkqBuUChaTj29CCksS79-Mjn6mK3wNuEwYnw/s2728/ACS_0960.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Home Sweet Home, A Scrapbook Layout" border="0" data-original-height="2728" data-original-width="2712" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6PonKI4HKZMTieswYuj-Z8gdN0JKD1P1yaF4CJ7FGgl-IPGSRyTy2DJ-jX4PFVlKna_grlNn3SBg0xTY-tFLXkqMmsBi3-JMRkdHvI8ZuRbXtjUUEGWysB_3UXuzjnB2BZqGijhwz2eew8oF82R6g6sjkqBuUChaTj29CCksS79-Mjn6mK3wNuEwYnw/s16000/ACS_0960.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Home Sweet Home A Scrapbook Layout by June Anderson, document life events, scrapbook your family, Jen Hadfield Live and Let Grow, Pinkfresh Studio Happiness Blooms, Bazzill card stock, Pebbles Kid at Heart, Paige Evans Bungalow Lane, Ali Edwards roller date stamp" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>G</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">reetings friends! Today I have a bittersweet scrapbook layout to share with you.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While I'm all for young people growing up and taking on adult responsibilities, it's hard on the heart when not only do they grow up, but they grow their wings and fly away!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My son Tayo and his girlfriend Ellie recently moved into their first apartment. And while I'm so proud of them for having done it all on their own, I'm also very sad to have my second and last child leave home.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So what does a crafty mom do? Make a scrapbook page to commemorate the occasion!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To make this layout, I started with two sheets of Pinkfresh Studio's <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/pfs-136122.html">Happiness Blooms</a> paper. I cut the floral element out of one sheet and used the other sheet for the background.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I traced an old Bazzill pink card stock heart that had scalloped edges onto the 'B' side of Jen Hadfields <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ac-34003801.html">Picnic Basket</a> paper, cut it out and then cut a smaller heart from white <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/bb-t10-1010.html">Bazzill</a> card stock and mounted it on top of the Picnic Basket paper. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The placement of the heart was dependent on the large floral element that I had cut from the Happiness Blooms paper. I aligned the cut floral element directly over the florals on the background paper and slide the heart between them. When I did that, the right edge hung over the background so I cut that portion off. Once I figured out this main placement, I glued the two heart pieces together and then glued them to the background.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I mounted my photo onto white Bazzill card stock, and glued that to a piece of Pebbles <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ac-34003731.html">Kid at Heart</a> paper from the 6x8 paper pad. I topped the photo with the 'Home Sweet Home' chipboard from the Paige Evans <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ac-34003651.html">Bungalow Lane</a> Collection and embellished it with the key sticker from Jen Hadfields <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ac-34003819.html">Live and Let Grow Collection</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I created a journaling box, which I will fill in later, by cutting a square shape from the B side of Jen Hadfields <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ac-34003793.html">Bouquet</a> paper, then cut a window out of that and embellished it with the gold butterfly from the same sticker pack as the key sticker above.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 'We Grow Together' and the 'Happy Day' die cuts are from Jen Hadfields Live and Let Grow <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ac-34003822.html">ephemera pack</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A date stamped with the <a href="https://aliedwards.com/shop/roller-date-stamp">Roller Date Stamp</a> from Ali Edwards finishes the page!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What life event has tugged at your heart lately? It's a great idea to document these kinds of events, even if you just write something down in a keepsake journal. Your future self will be so glad you did.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking and see you again next month! </span><br /></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-2434480569359241182023-04-30T22:16:00.000-07:002023-04-30T22:16:19.060-07:00Spring Through The Lens<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjeTDfWisC3zM8QQmtwXEq9yqnngSjLzmgukGZzgooqmbV5odImwXzCiF4JcGzqJCOcWMCwXJ2Q8leD64hI8WbOpfUOygrlsO7kaZqZBXgpKG1w4fiXk3WxL9EVshw92Hqn-Z9M_gY9ofGfUS8cojFub9ylM8joe0gpgf5wYncVSblgmi6XvRbvBqpA/s4608/P4161451%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, a blog post about what I saw in my backyard garden during the month of April 2023" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjeTDfWisC3zM8QQmtwXEq9yqnngSjLzmgukGZzgooqmbV5odImwXzCiF4JcGzqJCOcWMCwXJ2Q8leD64hI8WbOpfUOygrlsO7kaZqZBXgpKG1w4fiXk3WxL9EVshw92Hqn-Z9M_gY9ofGfUS8cojFub9ylM8joe0gpgf5wYncVSblgmi6XvRbvBqpA/s16000/P4161451%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, Mourning Doves, Chickadee, brown squirrel, bee, nature photography, April backyard nature, spring garden observations, spring in the Willamette Valley Oregon" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">appy Sunday friends! Spring in the Willamette Valley is now in full force. I've been watching the birds and the bees from my kitchen window and while weeding in the garden. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Mourning Doves visit our backyard often each day to feed and rest but can only be observed from a distance. They do not like to be anywhere near people, so I stay inside the house, camera in hand. They are very keen to any movement or sudden noise and will fly away in an instant so </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">patiently moving slowly towards the window is key. It's always such a joy when I can capture a few frames.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUB-kV1-lMCxk6NfitgahxuqU2f0-ZRaju2_OZJU_WW-XefegqlNOvFZYt2fdSsSpMWAQiuiI2FQWTOw9yGodohLNf6m0_67B1jf-4nznsiwVG7N1XYh_9X65f1-CCq7wz_9yjdFuid5yzLN-L-J1KPK-bwlRvJTJ7dDyDUr-cxzdaZTJSnqfU7RSgA/s4608/P4161445%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, a blog post about what I saw in my backyard garden during the month of April 2023" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUB-kV1-lMCxk6NfitgahxuqU2f0-ZRaju2_OZJU_WW-XefegqlNOvFZYt2fdSsSpMWAQiuiI2FQWTOw9yGodohLNf6m0_67B1jf-4nznsiwVG7N1XYh_9X65f1-CCq7wz_9yjdFuid5yzLN-L-J1KPK-bwlRvJTJ7dDyDUr-cxzdaZTJSnqfU7RSgA/s16000/P4161445%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, Mourning Doves, Chickadee, brown squirrel, bee, nature photography, April backyard nature, spring garden observations, spring in the Willamette Valley Oregon" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Chickadees came around for a few days. Such tiny little creatures, flitting to and fro looking for food. I observed them eating the peanuts we put out for the squirrels. This one kept coming up to the sliding door area, grabbing a peanut and flying a few feet away to the blueberry bushes to eat it. They move so fast, I'm amazed I was able to capture this one!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsk0X5MNB4sxvWEyAuSYe_Njnz_-nWZfPCbAqvKBtzDuag9tnO90ac2Ve8P7NqJNnTh3HLaTXnOQYz7WYasOuFLajUa2XtB2LLy2EtyJTFNZCyaVULQYQQTlPUxozDAQii7J_WjPXuFZhiMBeeuPXFIr6z6c5slAaocsdMShy3d7dyXq8VwBNvtB4Pw/s4608/P4161459%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, a blog post about what I saw in my backyard garden during the month of April 2023" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsk0X5MNB4sxvWEyAuSYe_Njnz_-nWZfPCbAqvKBtzDuag9tnO90ac2Ve8P7NqJNnTh3HLaTXnOQYz7WYasOuFLajUa2XtB2LLy2EtyJTFNZCyaVULQYQQTlPUxozDAQii7J_WjPXuFZhiMBeeuPXFIr6z6c5slAaocsdMShy3d7dyXq8VwBNvtB4Pw/s16000/P4161459%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, Mourning Doves, Chickadee, brown squirrel, bee, nature photography, April backyard nature, spring garden observations, spring in the Willamette Valley Oregon" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Speaking of squirrels, they are the old stand-by around here. No matter the season or the weather we are assured of a visit. This particular squirrel has taken to sitting in the bird box our son Tayo made when he was a kid. The box faces the window in the kitchen that is above the sink area, so it's a very 'eye to eye' view for both the squirrel and us! <br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNot7EKllZfa55jfgG7e8tHZzEPzWZJx43pTydTMTdS9eGuFiBji-lxa_OEobOv5GWEHyKjuTWZA-TgqmyWgQE7wIaeCR_xx3_WbzUe-ICdRcGmJVocoxNgbkzlfxX4liugXtzBcvabNlZ_PuxJvGQWyv2a2LoGsXPnwfX3APY9jylM_w6IqLe8JK2Cw/s4608/P4091412%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, a blog post about what I saw in my backyard garden during the month of April 2023" border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNot7EKllZfa55jfgG7e8tHZzEPzWZJx43pTydTMTdS9eGuFiBji-lxa_OEobOv5GWEHyKjuTWZA-TgqmyWgQE7wIaeCR_xx3_WbzUe-ICdRcGmJVocoxNgbkzlfxX4liugXtzBcvabNlZ_PuxJvGQWyv2a2LoGsXPnwfX3APY9jylM_w6IqLe8JK2Cw/s16000/P4091412%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, Mourning Doves, Chickadee, brown squirrel, bee, nature photography, April backyard nature, spring garden observations, spring in the Willamette Valley Oregon" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And with Spring in full force, it's great to see the bees out again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNWXA4ZasyDTmAHEqkucHQzP-fI2ZowLM9EkpCJL1nVi31efKA1mJzZwaB1vnBGb2VoOn6-B02_jALNQvPgjASGTXE6IWBw_6eYpxN49gfwq7cvC5V6QYqdgQlzRh0BuM_b-2Q3azIF3YZ3R2DNtzvYGWYwCEyeFQf6EsoyYHX7ZiovFYq9HQNy9k7g/s4608/P4151425%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, a blog post about what I saw in my backyard garden during the month of April 2023" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNWXA4ZasyDTmAHEqkucHQzP-fI2ZowLM9EkpCJL1nVi31efKA1mJzZwaB1vnBGb2VoOn6-B02_jALNQvPgjASGTXE6IWBw_6eYpxN49gfwq7cvC5V6QYqdgQlzRh0BuM_b-2Q3azIF3YZ3R2DNtzvYGWYwCEyeFQf6EsoyYHX7ZiovFYq9HQNy9k7g/s16000/P4151425%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Through The Lens, Mourning Doves, Chickadee, brown squirrel, bee, nature photography, April backyard nature, spring garden observations, spring in the Willamette Valley Oregon" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This one was buzzing around the muscari in my garden. If you look closely you can see the pollen it has collected thus far in its sac. Sitting on a low stool allowed me to get my camera lens quite close. It's okay, they are completely focused on collecting pollen and will pay you no mind!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">April has been an exciting month for observing nature in my backyard. I'm looking forward to what May will bring. Oh, and don't forget, next month is <a href="https://beecityusa.org/no-mow-may/">No Mow May</a>!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-66215261804969821722023-03-31T23:30:00.000-07:002023-03-31T23:30:24.434-07:00Spring Snow Storm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHImUVWEYxVqOuW8XtOZAHuDp7W1MetGxR2-zh2WO1UWuZ5s8EFMAS7BYKJQ6rIE61X9jRibp9O7OyEUfqZDRz95CfE_wD5EAPB4azJ8PTDusvledhPTJsfakE9tsOpRnfuWcqXRvf6tHoFVIcQ_jg4nUvfOsDuONqGh9sXW9VIgzH1zB4KGQ1FqzTnQ/s3024/IMG_5342%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHImUVWEYxVqOuW8XtOZAHuDp7W1MetGxR2-zh2WO1UWuZ5s8EFMAS7BYKJQ6rIE61X9jRibp9O7OyEUfqZDRz95CfE_wD5EAPB4azJ8PTDusvledhPTJsfakE9tsOpRnfuWcqXRvf6tHoFVIcQ_jg4nUvfOsDuONqGh9sXW9VIgzH1zB4KGQ1FqzTnQ/s16000/IMG_5342%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>H</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ello friends in the northern hemisphere - is it still snowing in your neck of the woods? I always get so hopeful when Spring arrives, dreaming of warmer temperatures, sunshine and time spent gardening. But alas, March in the Willamette Valley has seen freezing nights followed by icy mornings and rain, rain, rain.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On a recent cold and gray Sunday morning I woke up to find a wet spring snow falling and my first reaction was the happiness I felt knowing that I didn't have to go to work that day! Instead I enjoyed my cup of coffee while I watched the snow come down. Then it suddenly dawned on me that since I'm not going to work I have time to grab my iPhone and step into the backyard and capture what might (hopefully) be the last snow of the season.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above you can see the tiniest of buds forming on one of our blueberry bushes. They are just beginning their spring journey and I'm sure this mild snowstorm will only encourage them to continue to burst forth with their newly formed leaves. I can't wait to taste those blueberries once again...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9UxcpvHFFk_y_M1uDW9n-O4J_FTPFGiAJPoffM1x-TUHeL52E8C8BQGKNkgzrHaZ8TTOVx_LCOQzZgyDsOrNQkzDmzigFfbcKSZQVDuMSksfSgHBrKzD_RCfJYQz-JgCd6POTCxvArmpR4Y7SSjYWAF7uDOj7jDav-Al51fq7G3QGfPiEnK6mpsahA/s3024/IMG_5337%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9UxcpvHFFk_y_M1uDW9n-O4J_FTPFGiAJPoffM1x-TUHeL52E8C8BQGKNkgzrHaZ8TTOVx_LCOQzZgyDsOrNQkzDmzigFfbcKSZQVDuMSksfSgHBrKzD_RCfJYQz-JgCd6POTCxvArmpR4Y7SSjYWAF7uDOj7jDav-Al51fq7G3QGfPiEnK6mpsahA/s16000/IMG_5337%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The crocuses (above) are probably in their glory with this icy snow landing on them - they are a hardy lot, being the first flowers that emerge in early Spring.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And I like to imagine that the daffodils and tulips laugh as they persevere despite the snow's attempt to setback their efforts:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9SuMY0NEVs-4_LUfW0kGceiVj0l71mMgdF25GG_-cGUqLCBOsjazFOt2RF31Y4siWHy3FCu-C_OIShFbvRtrjekBiiaWJy9rBHIOvGUbtVUTCfL9EDBDeTRpc6-sG80OX6M43vqX_vNhOWqStuKvsT6KkWc-pifbXHQmZVDkzWeLxLOmA811KTSa_g/s3024/IMG_5351%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9SuMY0NEVs-4_LUfW0kGceiVj0l71mMgdF25GG_-cGUqLCBOsjazFOt2RF31Y4siWHy3FCu-C_OIShFbvRtrjekBiiaWJy9rBHIOvGUbtVUTCfL9EDBDeTRpc6-sG80OX6M43vqX_vNhOWqStuKvsT6KkWc-pifbXHQmZVDkzWeLxLOmA811KTSa_g/s16000/IMG_5351%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9iZQn_rC1ONGLPD1b_rPYlcKm1I8aatf_pG_0fdxraFs2lPG9bcbnyLbHuPdqT0JpFon0l5MTQnUDdScCXLeUx44oM3tJ4Bfl6zMrYNrKlJDrwkfDJ_CnEC88ReecIRF4ePluu-hSOF9G-6UuRoI7skNFIKjrnbNCZeflNCy9K2nq2vjBI6eXgxH1Q/s3024/IMG_5354%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9iZQn_rC1ONGLPD1b_rPYlcKm1I8aatf_pG_0fdxraFs2lPG9bcbnyLbHuPdqT0JpFon0l5MTQnUDdScCXLeUx44oM3tJ4Bfl6zMrYNrKlJDrwkfDJ_CnEC88ReecIRF4ePluu-hSOF9G-6UuRoI7skNFIKjrnbNCZeflNCy9K2nq2vjBI6eXgxH1Q/s16000/IMG_5354%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Squirrels, undeterred, come for their nuts and seeds,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7Oo95vgGLwpQMjveVlSpdOYUQzJCDu9PCTxupYsJ0dVDzvISCHkyTVc8c63bUe3jrn63PiHAe2gw0PuRWEPJqUT8hbQcLFFwD_7p6fZHgGPKB_m0uIulDl_h26YftaBCPsHZsGgJph_mTTJPFVcOr7QNXGSr3BxBIqLH8w_6QKpP8zboEDwu4sRElg/s3024/IMG_5346%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7Oo95vgGLwpQMjveVlSpdOYUQzJCDu9PCTxupYsJ0dVDzvISCHkyTVc8c63bUe3jrn63PiHAe2gw0PuRWEPJqUT8hbQcLFFwD_7p6fZHgGPKB_m0uIulDl_h26YftaBCPsHZsGgJph_mTTJPFVcOr7QNXGSr3BxBIqLH8w_6QKpP8zboEDwu4sRElg/s16000/IMG_5346%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27fjvoy8dDiruupoXrFSwOk-VsjVUo__ECXGcFTj4LwVJDE_9T8pt6WzaXk-0PIBgArQGxPGbgIRn7WM_FoatMYxSqShVADzCWznQeVU6RqhHqiUrxXfQ-IjMLXv5YugHOnJzFUgjrVMwRhA8gtpwWf6yz2d1A_tQDqTZvVvie8sQLyRSg2MdwspnNQ/s4608/P3051408%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27fjvoy8dDiruupoXrFSwOk-VsjVUo__ECXGcFTj4LwVJDE_9T8pt6WzaXk-0PIBgArQGxPGbgIRn7WM_FoatMYxSqShVADzCWznQeVU6RqhHqiUrxXfQ-IjMLXv5YugHOnJzFUgjrVMwRhA8gtpwWf6yz2d1A_tQDqTZvVvie8sQLyRSg2MdwspnNQ/s16000/P3051408%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And Jizo stands guard, ready to console those who need a spiritual lift.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTfPjQGZmNp9fpMIL7GMH9-TOJNFOam5_3Gy0p_AkSrXq0-MjfIpm8W1t2A8_IQUuFvrwyTeVcOXXfDgDbcXHwVUbgKT9cDXTr6QV1LiibZxDJx9Bv9OS7G9uZu31Kue1hDJjlde-9MOWyn3Wdc7fSZJveLD5E-NwibFmoLcnUke-xXKhM_sdLWVIhg/s3024/IMG_5338%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTfPjQGZmNp9fpMIL7GMH9-TOJNFOam5_3Gy0p_AkSrXq0-MjfIpm8W1t2A8_IQUuFvrwyTeVcOXXfDgDbcXHwVUbgKT9cDXTr6QV1LiibZxDJx9Bv9OS7G9uZu31Kue1hDJjlde-9MOWyn3Wdc7fSZJveLD5E-NwibFmoLcnUke-xXKhM_sdLWVIhg/s16000/IMG_5338%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hellebores naturally bow their heads. These pink Hellebore flower heads (below) easily withstand the icy snow. Their showy blooms will last into the summer. In a few weeks I'll be witnessing them dance on the Spring wind that will gently toss them about.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKi0P2oa2KTFTf7Wrv-qOY-879HepqF8z-J-nvpFP0us0lc4CGdOYJZdIH5D0rhr1GdyXGpQrQQpc1tmpPMtCmLV3iNAZKaTKkejaH4frYI1neFRg29U0JJKARSgfi6b1o-LQ9MrG0Unbp3mzLZdlHyfpSa7oDC-1taNM6V9wSf6NOAq5FDoLKLDVvjA/s3024/IMG_5368%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKi0P2oa2KTFTf7Wrv-qOY-879HepqF8z-J-nvpFP0us0lc4CGdOYJZdIH5D0rhr1GdyXGpQrQQpc1tmpPMtCmLV3iNAZKaTKkejaH4frYI1neFRg29U0JJKARSgfi6b1o-LQ9MrG0Unbp3mzLZdlHyfpSa7oDC-1taNM6V9wSf6NOAq5FDoLKLDVvjA/s16000/IMG_5368%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And lastly, wild bluebells have taken it upon themselves to spread across the back of the garden...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Nnse_RJWZZJDh9Dyqn_O6Pzd8Ng4iWqR_KLMN5esnKg5at_EU-NrFyBhKZC2gSpXUv895BdzI-een-mnv-9xk4SVD2H_zRGg45-aJHT5qSbuGHpiWMJ1tRSiXLE3qPFQY10Dr2JOXAxm42RnuHx7J9mKq_VF32B3hrPU4-A0F6kk87ZSxn1e7CFYvg/s3024/IMG_5363%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, a blog post about a wet spring snow falling on my garden and photographing the flowers and squirrels" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Nnse_RJWZZJDh9Dyqn_O6Pzd8Ng4iWqR_KLMN5esnKg5at_EU-NrFyBhKZC2gSpXUv895BdzI-een-mnv-9xk4SVD2H_zRGg45-aJHT5qSbuGHpiWMJ1tRSiXLE3qPFQY10Dr2JOXAxm42RnuHx7J9mKq_VF32B3hrPU4-A0F6kk87ZSxn1e7CFYvg/s16000/IMG_5363%20copy.JPG%203:5:23.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Spring Snow Storm, wet spring snow storm, blueberry buds in spring, crocuses in spring snow, daffodils in spring snow, tulips in spring snow, squirrel footprints in spring snow, gray squirrel in spring snow, grey squirrel in spring snow, hellebores in spring snow, bluebells in spring snow, a spring snow storm in my garden, joy in spring garden" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Soon the crocuses will fade but the daffodils, tulips and bluebells will bloom, extending the joy in my Spring garden for a little while longer.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking and Happy Spring!</span><br /></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-59677965158091993512023-02-28T16:41:00.000-08:002023-02-28T16:41:39.445-08:00December Daily and Stories by the Month<p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdegQOa-1YXBVYgL0wVBSgpxs-VFriGEElgqfpnWJwruiIRrrnaW792_AySy_Y-Yzq1teZC6w38RTKe68peq2wWCjGOumc5VXj3CnNkLhXmskDyEISXwKFmtRRSI3zULPGvv6n9APigJZcrhrZH4Mo_o0gYHmF-Aqrt4LzHt-UTDvUyITOuX9pwfR4Xw/s4608/P2201383.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, December Daily and Stories by the Month, a blog post about keeping my New Year's resolution of documenting more family stories using the Stories by the Month kit by Ali Edwards and her concept of a story a day in the month of December" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdegQOa-1YXBVYgL0wVBSgpxs-VFriGEElgqfpnWJwruiIRrrnaW792_AySy_Y-Yzq1teZC6w38RTKe68peq2wWCjGOumc5VXj3CnNkLhXmskDyEISXwKFmtRRSI3zULPGvv6n9APigJZcrhrZH4Mo_o0gYHmF-Aqrt4LzHt-UTDvUyITOuX9pwfR4Xw/s16000/P2201383.jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, December Daily and Stories by the Month, Ali Edwards December Daily, Ali Edwards Stories by the Month, scrapbooking family memories, modern memory keeping, documenting life events with pictures and words, family story telling, tell your stories with photos and journaling, how to create memory albums, how to document your life story, crush your kit, tell your story, photos and journal cards tell a story, make beautiful scrapbook pages to cherish" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">H</span></i></span>ello everyone, how are you doing with your New Year's resolutions so far?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The only one I have this year is to tell more of my family's stories.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The desire to do so came to me last November when I saw that <a href="https://aliedwards.com/about">Ali Edwards</a> offers a <a href="https://aliedwards.com/subscribe/stories-by-the-month">Stories by the Month</a> kit subscription. Each month you get a small assortment of journaling cards and embellishments, geared towards telling seasonal recurring stories.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At the same time I was seeing that Ali and a lot of the other prominent memory keepers were gearing up for <a href="https://aliedwards.com/projects-december-daily">December Daily</a>, which is literally telling one story each day in December, focusing on whatever holiday tradition is being celebrated.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So here is the beginning of my attempts to get those stories told!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is only my second December Daily. I made the first one ten years ago and of course our lives looked very different then. I'm grateful to my past self for having made that project happen. Knowing how intense the task can be, at first I decided that this year I would just write a small note at the end of each day, and that those accumulated notes would result in one page in my 2022 album. However, as the month progressed I started seeing how those notes could become bigger stories and found myself making a plan to complete an entire album. Now the album is essentially done - there's just a few more items to check off the list.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMqMHaT8ARgj4JDMctS426qK0lYY1sCZJ3x6-QGZZXR0Glfm3i9fniSmCu_8CKy6lSIg0PbCuXEfw3GFMaU41dNyx3_oE6eAezvh9X9YE4gkv3jROI8uHmBfPgLGkSPH2r0EW3yuABI2KhkoZu9N05vFSbR1QUQZSheu15H4Vue5Wk2TPnEi0j4wFog/s4608/P2201399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, December Daily and Stories by the Month, a blog post about keeping my New Year's resolution of documenting more family stories using the Stories by the Month kit by Ali Edwards and her concept of a story a day in the month of December" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMqMHaT8ARgj4JDMctS426qK0lYY1sCZJ3x6-QGZZXR0Glfm3i9fniSmCu_8CKy6lSIg0PbCuXEfw3GFMaU41dNyx3_oE6eAezvh9X9YE4gkv3jROI8uHmBfPgLGkSPH2r0EW3yuABI2KhkoZu9N05vFSbR1QUQZSheu15H4Vue5Wk2TPnEi0j4wFog/s16000/P2201399.jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, December Daily and Stories by the Month, Ali Edwards December Daily, Ali Edwards Stories by the Month, scrapbooking family memories, modern memory keeping, documenting life events with pictures and words, family story telling, tell your stories with photos and journaling, how to create memory albums, how to document your life story, crush your kit, tell your story, photos and journal cards tell a story, make beautiful scrapbook pages to cherish" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In January there was only one big story to tell. My son Tayo got his first apartment with his girlfriend Ellie. Of course such a big life event requires mom getting a photo on the big day and I felt that a large 6 x 8 print was essential in the documenting. I will write in some details on the two journal cards on the left.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0KANBMBVS5EEKua79WX4Dw0-jLpXblhk5a5u_ucHPIpSGMfYZDz-xK7ngIksMHs9t7dJjYSqcsOOVIhqQ_jLNB_JeS88JU6KAvNfozkj8NhxTnv84SS8E9O5nF1N5Dj9qmUwHbFqNpqu5NI8VqLqLGm1VmqS6Dkss_K3kgN2EHWrvpczn9khSFmjbQ/s4608/P2201389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, December Daily and Stories by the Month, a blog post about keeping my New Year's resolution of documenting more family stories using the Stories by the Month kit by Ali Edwards and her concept of a story a day in the month of December" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0KANBMBVS5EEKua79WX4Dw0-jLpXblhk5a5u_ucHPIpSGMfYZDz-xK7ngIksMHs9t7dJjYSqcsOOVIhqQ_jLNB_JeS88JU6KAvNfozkj8NhxTnv84SS8E9O5nF1N5Dj9qmUwHbFqNpqu5NI8VqLqLGm1VmqS6Dkss_K3kgN2EHWrvpczn9khSFmjbQ/s16000/P2201389.jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, December Daily and Stories by the Month, Ali Edwards December Daily, Ali Edwards Stories by the Month, scrapbooking family memories, modern memory keeping, documenting life events with pictures and words, family story telling, tell your stories with photos and journaling, how to create memory albums, how to document your life story, crush your kit, tell your story, photos and journal cards tell a story, make beautiful scrapbook pages to cherish" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
most appealing idea behind both December Daily and Stories by the Month
is that there are no rules about how to document. It just requires that
you think about and know your why. For some, December Daily is telling
stories every day in the month, while for others it's December
'Daily-ish', acknowledging that there are limits to what one can (or
should) get done during a busy hectic month. Same for Stories by the
Month - maybe there is only one good story in the month to tell or maybe
the plan is to document several smaller stories.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So here is where I'm currently at in my memory
keeping journey thus far this year - one big, long story for December and one big important event for January.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's the last day of February and I
had a birthday earlier in the month so I'm hoping to get my photos of
that event edited and printed, because, after all the February Stories
by the Month kit is just waiting to be crushed, right? <br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-70288248817345198002023-01-31T21:51:00.004-08:002023-01-31T22:06:42.152-08:00Moonshine, Starshine by Yuji Hiratsuka<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOn-KczGqx5vnXrme3CuU7BpIrwqzXLyIcLJe2MMV1B6a2yfrnNB9Nm9i0T3JwLPJ46l4NY55RPeb15XIGFxnT4QDujE2swpxfFbjY9V_vCHDX3h8EEmm2DFJ5NyZzw2_4PDDldsBxgv-BH3ZtnxZLrYtdjYcefsg6T2exMdSNQSRogzD5FaMPeGx9A/s4608/P9041087.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Moonshine Starshine by Yuji Hiratsuka, an original intaglio chine colle' print purchased at the White Lotus Gallery in Eugene Oregon" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOn-KczGqx5vnXrme3CuU7BpIrwqzXLyIcLJe2MMV1B6a2yfrnNB9Nm9i0T3JwLPJ46l4NY55RPeb15XIGFxnT4QDujE2swpxfFbjY9V_vCHDX3h8EEmm2DFJ5NyZzw2_4PDDldsBxgv-BH3ZtnxZLrYtdjYcefsg6T2exMdSNQSRogzD5FaMPeGx9A/s16000/P9041087.jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Moonshine Starshine by Yuji Hiratsuka, original intaglio chine colle' print, how I chose original art for my living room, choosing original art for your living room, Zandra Zuraw Style Matters podcast, Japanese intaglio print by Yuji Hiratsuka, slow style home decor, empty nest home decorating, mid century home decor, chinoiserie home decor, I still love white walls and lots of color" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hello friends and Happy New Year!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Back in 2018 when I started seeing the end of the child rearing years ahead, I started to focus on what I would want my home to look like once my kids grew up and moved into their own homes. That is when I discovered the <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/style-matters/id1025244022">Style Matters</a> podcast, hosted by Zandra Zuraw.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Zandra calls her approach to home decor 'slow style' and it's all about "developing a personal style in your home and surrounding yourself with beauty in a way that is meaningful." As an avid collector of mid century and antique home wares, I was attracted to Zandra's philosophy and method and have been working on developing a cohesive eclectic style ever since.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So when I started getting the idea that it was time to purchase an interesting modern, colorful (and fun!) piece of art to add to my living room, I visited the <a href="https://www.wlotus.com/">White Lotus Gallery</a> in downtown Eugene. I've been there many times over the years and chose that particular gallery for their selection of original Chinese and Japanese prints and paintings.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On one particular visit the gallery was featuring printmaker <a href="http://www.yujihiratsuka.com/">Yuji Hiratsuka</a>. There were many of his whimsical, yet metaphysical, intalglio prints lining the walls. Most all featured a central human figure or figures engaged in some activity. I found myself drawn to Mr. Hiratsuka's use of character in this way and revisited the gallery a couple more times, trying to pick a favorite to purchase.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After much thought, I settled on Moonshine, Starshine. It is an intaglio and chine colle', meaning it is an intaglio print that has been collaged.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM_khBXm1kuI21V2W0sAQzE0QdvXvD0_3-Jt4k61M0cxfIk0G20TLCjZJUX1hkUXL_3mVtSOTPXI-yYNFN3qEDFA2UGi4_ZTI1alIC8FWjeiaZO5AdTgSOyatK6iXKt7dn_0lguRAlA1d2ZYLPZP4bBRuD1etYRuQv-EoUM0emKIbWEEZ9OVuSSkw7tQ/s4608/P9041088%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Moonshine Starshine by Yuji Hiratsuka, an original intaglio chine colle' print purchased at the White Lotus Gallery in Eugene Oregon" border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM_khBXm1kuI21V2W0sAQzE0QdvXvD0_3-Jt4k61M0cxfIk0G20TLCjZJUX1hkUXL_3mVtSOTPXI-yYNFN3qEDFA2UGi4_ZTI1alIC8FWjeiaZO5AdTgSOyatK6iXKt7dn_0lguRAlA1d2ZYLPZP4bBRuD1etYRuQv-EoUM0emKIbWEEZ9OVuSSkw7tQ/s16000/P9041088%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Moonshine Starshine by Yuji Hiratsuka, original intaglio chine colle' print, how I chose original art for my living room, choosing original art for your living room, Zandra Zuraw Style Matters podcast, Japanese intaglio print by Yuji Hiratsuka, slow style home decor, empty nest home decorating, mid century home decor, chinoiserie home decor, I still love white walls and lots of color" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I wanted something that would jazz up the room and I think this piece does just that. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">I enjoy the fact that it is modern, yet traditional and incorporates both eastern and western influences.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyQoFzzse-uJVhVP3PB4yozYV0G6wW_6S_mYk9_000AufVDUQ2ptavAZjB3D7HUQo4VzR4XmKXJgjbcxlTUEUh7dffxlUnP0RW-W9zLWdu_CLb-5bYncuZgeI6buPTSPc_Wt9HBfMUuiq-gnKECngr5tJ2AAoAuOdDLKaTuwAC5ZD7-g4aFvnweNveg/s4608/P9041085%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Moonshine Starshine by Yuji Hiratsuka, an original intaglio chine colle' print purchased at the White Lotus Gallery in Eugene Oregon" border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyQoFzzse-uJVhVP3PB4yozYV0G6wW_6S_mYk9_000AufVDUQ2ptavAZjB3D7HUQo4VzR4XmKXJgjbcxlTUEUh7dffxlUnP0RW-W9zLWdu_CLb-5bYncuZgeI6buPTSPc_Wt9HBfMUuiq-gnKECngr5tJ2AAoAuOdDLKaTuwAC5ZD7-g4aFvnweNveg/s16000/P9041085%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Moonshine Starshine by Yuji Hiratsuka, original intaglio chine colle' print, how I chose original art for my living room, choosing original art for your living room, Zandra Zuraw Style Matters podcast, Japanese intaglio print by Yuji Hiratsuka, slow style home decor, empty nest home decorating, mid century home decor, chinoiserie home decor, I still love white walls and lots of color" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Have you purchased original art for your home? What were some of your considerations? Let me know in the comments.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking and bye for now!</span><br /></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-29206035138790330852022-12-13T19:49:00.000-08:002022-12-13T19:49:41.878-08:00DIY: Handmade Christmas Cards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxpRHhdLaiKKXZ0fpfMD6xGpO7mczrI0J-AlNj-KBTmAsRo5qmnkiOecY7LJnEq-OEhbSGqvE04C9wDu-fK7AtfSkjKSlpvzfBubfobTuq1Va-0g9qFNOM9M2pTknmRr7y3WGlYqypDl_ZD-o3W8xBQBx9G2lRAB-iULu_onhbvUUf0F-6SGFFVRaew/s4608/PC031235%20copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Handmade Christmas Cards, a blog post about making Christmas cards from colorful card stock papers which have been cut from metal dies, hand stitched and have gold embellishments and gems attached." border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxpRHhdLaiKKXZ0fpfMD6xGpO7mczrI0J-AlNj-KBTmAsRo5qmnkiOecY7LJnEq-OEhbSGqvE04C9wDu-fK7AtfSkjKSlpvzfBubfobTuq1Va-0g9qFNOM9M2pTknmRr7y3WGlYqypDl_ZD-o3W8xBQBx9G2lRAB-iULu_onhbvUUf0F-6SGFFVRaew/s16000/PC031235%20copy.jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Handmade Christmas Cards, die cut stitched ornaments, card stock ornaments, embroidered paper ornaments, Bazzil card stock, Color Mates card stock, Spellbinders Stitched Ornament detailed cutting die set, Sizzix Big Shot machine, embroidery floss, Spellbinders Color Essentials Gold Mix, Sizzix 3-D Textured Impressions Delicate Mistletoe embossing folder, Spellbinders Mini Christmas Greetings stamp and die cutting set" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></i></span>ello friends! Once again I am trying my hand at creating some handmade greeting cards, this time for Christmas.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The main attraction on these new cards is a die cut ornament stitched with embroidery floss, decorated with a gold filigree-like element on the top and bottom, embellished with tiny sparkly gems, and finished with a fancy hanger top. The light green leaf sprigs are also part of the die set.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For each ornament I used the Spellbinders Stitched Ornament detailed cutting die set to cut the shapes shown above using my Sizzix Big Shot machine.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For the red finished ornament, (seen in the middle of the above photo and below), I first stitched the white floss to the red top piece, then glued it to one of the gold back pieces, then glued all the other die cut pieces and the Spellbinders Color Essentials gold gems onto the top.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBf-Eo0RMzZ_Y97hTcLgmAJPnnjIVZZhqw2f9kmriBAQJhLl1eMRRkOoBUiJYmKJJTmBtmPH-C8yeVXJvYL-KMQSDd4443dObZh8kex3XrZt1SwFmb9uHwD4VxJxBUGsO8TvXA9X53uWCz3JLnCvLSZWiXct8oZCqL8AosbEM7UoSOY841eL_fhSqVQ/s4608/PC031238%20copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Handmade Christmas Cards, a blog post about making Christmas cards from colorful card stock papers which have been cut from metal dies, hand stitched and have gold embellishments and gems attached." border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBf-Eo0RMzZ_Y97hTcLgmAJPnnjIVZZhqw2f9kmriBAQJhLl1eMRRkOoBUiJYmKJJTmBtmPH-C8yeVXJvYL-KMQSDd4443dObZh8kex3XrZt1SwFmb9uHwD4VxJxBUGsO8TvXA9X53uWCz3JLnCvLSZWiXct8oZCqL8AosbEM7UoSOY841eL_fhSqVQ/s16000/PC031238%20copy.jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Handmade Christmas Cards, die cut stitched ornaments, card stock ornaments, embroidered paper ornaments, Bazzil card stock, Color Mates card stock, Spellbinders Stitched Ornament detailed cutting die set, Sizzix Big Shot machine, embroidery floss, Spellbinders Color Essentials Gold Mix, Sizzix 3-D Textured Impressions Delicate Mistletoe embossing folder, Spellbinders Mini Christmas Greetings stamp and die cutting set" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The dark green card base was made by running a Sizzix 3-D Textured Impressions embossing folder in the Delicate Mistletoe pattern through my Sizzix machine. Right now the stitched ornament is just sitting on the card base as a kind of mock up as I haven't figured out the exact placement yet.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I also have a Spellbinders Mini Christmas Greetings stamp and die cutting set (not shown) that I will use to add the sentiments to the front and inside of the cards.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Who knows how many of the one dozen ornament shapes plus embellishments that I will actually get stitched and assembled so I’m sharing what I have so far! As you can see, this is an ambitious project I’ve set myself up for but I'm hoping to get about eight of them made before Christmas. (Now I'm understanding why the professional crafts people start their projects in July!) With work, family and all the other holiday activities happening I’m trying not to stress myself. Nuff said, right?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So I'll just be over here stitching and gluing whenever I can and hopefully I'll have more to share in a week or so.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking and bye for now. </span><br /></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-83204244472352441702022-11-23T10:47:00.000-08:002022-11-23T10:47:08.865-08:00DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-riGTi9JNHbf2PGwYIa7g48SP74GSrGvLWYhIekAefZswoCj3dBmCA1RCu5PN0R0AgfPZCtyChRhQiF0vQgX3WE1uKMxI_p4_oKEa1Qw6uIgRJGih2tTpkP4kxvGvGlEc5Uu8SrA-dzB0WIFBLXZNbRvkVOi7HteApfkl17eV6pHJrgadG8VgOo8Tw/s3024/IMG_4630.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, a blog post showing paper greeting cards made using a die cut machine and metal dies which are then glued onto a card base." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-riGTi9JNHbf2PGwYIa7g48SP74GSrGvLWYhIekAefZswoCj3dBmCA1RCu5PN0R0AgfPZCtyChRhQiF0vQgX3WE1uKMxI_p4_oKEa1Qw6uIgRJGih2tTpkP4kxvGvGlEc5Uu8SrA-dzB0WIFBLXZNbRvkVOi7HteApfkl17eV6pHJrgadG8VgOo8Tw/s16000/IMG_4630.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, handmade paper greeting cards, how to make handmade greeting cards using a die cut machine and metal dies, autumn paper craft, seasonal greeting card, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, Concord and 9th Triple Step Autumn Leaf Dies, Recollections Sparkle embossing powder, Webster’s Pages Begin Again 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, Honey Bee clear embossing ink, Tonic Studio A6 card base, Lawn Fawn Metallic card stock, Spellbinders Fall Greetings stamp set, Paige Evans Garden Shoppe autumn stamp set, MISTI stamp tool" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>H</i></span></span>ello friends! I'm so excited to show you this group of four 'Autumn Blessings' handmade greeting cards I recently crafted to send to my cousins. These incredible leaves were made with my <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sbc-bigshotbundlecircles.html">Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutter</a>, and the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/con-11178.html">Concord and 9th Triple Step Autumn Leaf Dies</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each leaf is a double layer - the bottom layer is a solid leaf and the top layer is a pattern. The bottom layer is cut from a leaf-shaped outline die and the top layer is cut from a patterned die that fits inside the leaf-shaped outline die. When glued together, the leaves become dimensional and are so colorful. The possibilities for color combinations are endless. This is a great way to use up your card stock scraps. I had fun looking through mine and creating the color combinations shown here.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8sDhb8Vtia5cbwERDyY6VlvMWMvKSlL8zHTvGE_atiHJirsk5CCGhP6O7QnlCjvotZ32nMEy60lIejFQtKnYV2xZCo0oaqU5rS4nbV4zDKmadQDElCDvSQjpEF_syhJzomWCSYDTk2gBHGBS7xpj0vG5jf7Oe22zSr5GGXHq6FrQ887b6fm2ONDfTw/s3024/IMG_4631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, a blog post showing paper greeting cards made using a die cut machine and metal dies which are then glued onto a card base." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8sDhb8Vtia5cbwERDyY6VlvMWMvKSlL8zHTvGE_atiHJirsk5CCGhP6O7QnlCjvotZ32nMEy60lIejFQtKnYV2xZCo0oaqU5rS4nbV4zDKmadQDElCDvSQjpEF_syhJzomWCSYDTk2gBHGBS7xpj0vG5jf7Oe22zSr5GGXHq6FrQ887b6fm2ONDfTw/s16000/IMG_4631.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, handmade paper greeting cards, how to make handmade greeting cards using a die cut machine and metal dies, autumn paper craft, seasonal greeting card, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, Concord and 9th Triple Step Autumn Leaf Dies, Recollections Sparkle embossing powder, Webster’s Pages Begin Again 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, Honey Bee clear embossing ink, Tonic Studio A6 card base, Lawn Fawn Metallic card stock, Spellbinders Fall Greetings stamp set, Paige Evans Garden Shoppe autumn stamp set, MISTI stamp tool" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To make the cards, I first applied <a href="https://www.michaels.com/sparkle-embossing-powder-by-recollections/10361607.html">Recollections Sparkle embossing powder</a> to a piece of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://websterspages.com/begin-anew.html">Webster's Pages 'Begin Again'</a> wood grain paper </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(I think it was produced around 2016)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and to the white card stock circle embellishment (punched using a circle punch) using <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/hbs-hbink-embs.html">Honey Bee clear embossing ink</a> and set them with my heat tool. (I bought my heat tool years ago but <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/f/?search=emboss+heat+tool">here</a> are some options if you want one.)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I then </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">created a card base by gluing a piece of brown card stock </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">onto a <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ton-9266e.html">Tonic Studio A6 card base</a> and then </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">glued the embossed Webster's Pages paper on top of the brown card stock. I glued </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">each leaf pair together and then adhered onto the base, along with the white circle which I trimmed along the top. And lastly, I wanted to add a little more gold so I die cut more leaves from a piece of <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/lf-lf2456.html">Lawn Fawn Metallic card stock</a> (saved for another project) and glued some of the leaf and star-like cut outs into a few of the cut out portions of the leaves.<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpwQQchE6dB7FJG66lpvFic-4zsTelEf022YgpO-SQE-q4oOKwNYOa8N9MT62qdEq7lbf1pjZ8OnOAUoQ-BEb7auBygUETz3HiCkbBCK23WF33ggHmHW-on8lNlHJViW5ZTPhB0Hl1Z3Jj5muH-7iC0osVR6lMGeVmJLi6VDSar3VwKeJ1kyMfPlw-w/s3024/IMG_4632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, a blog post showing paper greeting cards made using a die cut machine and metal dies which are then glued onto a card base." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpwQQchE6dB7FJG66lpvFic-4zsTelEf022YgpO-SQE-q4oOKwNYOa8N9MT62qdEq7lbf1pjZ8OnOAUoQ-BEb7auBygUETz3HiCkbBCK23WF33ggHmHW-on8lNlHJViW5ZTPhB0Hl1Z3Jj5muH-7iC0osVR6lMGeVmJLi6VDSar3VwKeJ1kyMfPlw-w/s16000/IMG_4632.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, handmade paper greeting cards, how to make handmade greeting cards using a die cut machine and metal dies, autumn paper craft, seasonal greeting card, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, Concord and 9th Triple Step Autumn Leaf Dies, Recollections Sparkle embossing powder, Webster’s Pages Begin Again 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, Honey Bee clear embossing ink, Tonic Studio A6 card base, Lawn Fawn Metallic card stock, Spellbinders Fall Greetings stamp set, Paige Evans Garden Shoppe autumn stamp set, MISTI stamp tool" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I used black ink to stamp the 'Autumn Blessings' sentiment from the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Spellbinders-Fall-Greetings-Clear-Stamp/dp/B098871WRN/ref=asc_df_B098871WRN/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=532930219139&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17483724887523670185&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033087&hvtargid=pla-1428181427735&psc=1">Spellbinders Fall Greetings</a> stamp set and the three Paige Evans Garden Shoppe leaves (a Scrapbook.com exclusive freebie now gone) using my <a href="https://spellbinderspaperarts.com/products/my-sweet-petunia-mini-misti-most-incredible-stamp-tool-invented?_pos=3&_sid=2f68368c6&_ss=r">MISTI</a> stamp tool.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9qwB-cqrR3w-XSVjxqNdi1ly76mEP7IJ9easAFReqZvRiuPvtAts7ioZzhvBcXgNXG-Ewo3gNbmYQpQLzBipim7_eeJpmzMLVGh-Z-uuCs1hXLxZKpUomURRLX-ko6rA--iMSnzW1R7lBtGXHCbqu6c94uZ89JO3pR_ort6r08eArQlV78977uu0QA/s3024/IMG_4633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, a blog post showing paper greeting cards made using a die cut machine and metal dies which are then glued onto a card base." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9qwB-cqrR3w-XSVjxqNdi1ly76mEP7IJ9easAFReqZvRiuPvtAts7ioZzhvBcXgNXG-Ewo3gNbmYQpQLzBipim7_eeJpmzMLVGh-Z-uuCs1hXLxZKpUomURRLX-ko6rA--iMSnzW1R7lBtGXHCbqu6c94uZ89JO3pR_ort6r08eArQlV78977uu0QA/s16000/IMG_4633.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, handmade paper greeting cards, how to make handmade greeting cards using a die cut machine and metal dies, autumn paper craft, seasonal greeting card, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, Concord and 9th Triple Step Autumn Leaf Dies, Recollections Sparkle embossing powder, Webster’s Pages Begin Again 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, Honey Bee clear embossing ink, Tonic Studio A6 card base, Lawn Fawn Metallic card stock, Spellbinders Fall Greetings stamp set, Paige Evans Garden Shoppe autumn stamp set, MISTI stamp tool" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the inside of the card I stamped the 'May the Season's Bounty fill your heart' sentiment from the same Spellbinders Fall Greetings stamp set, again using the MISTI stamp tool.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKht4axHNvowaVx69ohLS3Wc80KjqJly7NVH5n_yxbLLDH1y3XHKa6GKMJW2CsjD8eRqQy_-d3vTLeI-6KRmyRmFbYytir0vKOCYGQ8q27-qP4giGk-w3cICZNs8PcpI6ZIpnkqcb9MQp79Fqs59J2wviDpbRkiwSkUmCs7kIsmpix97xTsteeqLWaiQ/s3024/IMG_4634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, a blog post showing paper greeting cards made using a die cut machine and metal dies which are then glued onto a card base." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKht4axHNvowaVx69ohLS3Wc80KjqJly7NVH5n_yxbLLDH1y3XHKa6GKMJW2CsjD8eRqQy_-d3vTLeI-6KRmyRmFbYytir0vKOCYGQ8q27-qP4giGk-w3cICZNs8PcpI6ZIpnkqcb9MQp79Fqs59J2wviDpbRkiwSkUmCs7kIsmpix97xTsteeqLWaiQ/s16000/IMG_4634.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards, handmade paper greeting cards, how to make handmade greeting cards using a die cut machine and metal dies, autumn paper craft, seasonal greeting card, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, Concord and 9th Triple Step Autumn Leaf Dies, Recollections Sparkle embossing powder, Webster’s Pages Begin Again 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, Honey Bee clear embossing ink, Tonic Studio A6 card base, Lawn Fawn Metallic card stock, Spellbinders Fall Greetings stamp set, Paige Evans Garden Shoppe autumn stamp set, MISTI stamp tool" /></a></span></div><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And that's it! Which one is your favorite?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you have any questions, let me know!</span></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-89315523539710047112022-10-30T21:48:00.000-07:002022-10-30T21:48:28.258-07:00Happy Halloween from Matilda<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNX0766_9xQjFQiuheaug50RDtXy310roPSA5dxloWOPlRfrHYX4t9Mf-yybhFSXubU3FrF5HnoYF4jRymAo0S1J-czMqsSofgEZ4cuNEuJ4DrSVTfGmlXG7h0gOCKE47AKt6iWtUzcovf_JsYAUEpzHQgGzWlBKvrTC7_DXBB3ENpMJRv2icY3bCeQ/s3787/PA231187%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Happy Halloween from Matilda, a paper collage of a Victorian woman holding a raven and wearing a Halloween mask and surrounded by flowers, a spider and a raven flying in the background" border="0" data-original-height="3787" data-original-width="3016" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNX0766_9xQjFQiuheaug50RDtXy310roPSA5dxloWOPlRfrHYX4t9Mf-yybhFSXubU3FrF5HnoYF4jRymAo0S1J-czMqsSofgEZ4cuNEuJ4DrSVTfGmlXG7h0gOCKE47AKt6iWtUzcovf_JsYAUEpzHQgGzWlBKvrTC7_DXBB3ENpMJRv2icY3bCeQ/s16000/PA231187%20(1).jpg" title="Happy Halloween from Matilda, collage by June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossm Tree blog, papier colle by June Anderson, Halloween paper collage by June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog, black orange and purple Halloween collage, Victorian woman Halloween collage, hand cut paper collage, paper hand cut collage, Halloween collage of Victorian woman with flowers, spider and ravens, Halloween ghost story about Matilda and her ravens, occult room ghost story," /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">F</span></i></span>riends, it's the night before Halloween and my friend Matilda is stopping in to wish you a Happy Halloween!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">By this time tomorrow evening, she will be sitting at a large round table with a group of strangers, each one anxious to have 'Madame Matilda' summon their dead loved ones.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They will all gather in the 'Occult Room' of Matilda's large, dark, musty Victorian house. First, she will dim all the gas-lit lamps. Then she will instruct the group of strangers to close their eyes, and when they do, she will raise her arms and commence to move them in a counter clockwise direction. She will then call out to the unkindness of ravens she keeps as her assistants and they will gather on the rooftops. They will flap their wings and cackle loudly. The winds will blow and the gas-lit lamps will flicker, and Matilda, now in a trance, will beckon the dead as they float and rise above the table. And the strangers, terrified, will call out their grief loudly as they learn the secrets of their dead ancestors - secrets they were never meant to know... </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The strangers will beg Matilda to cease her summoning. Matilda, still in a trance, cannot hear their pleas. Suddenly the ravens have mysteriously gotten inside the house and are flying inside the room with the dead ancestors, croaking, cackling and hissing at the strangers! Matilda, laughs maniacally, picks up her wand and thrusts it into the air. A bolt of lightening crashes into the house and the light, now bright and blinding, flashes! Suddenly all the dead ancestors vaporize and the table is littered with shiny black rocks that look like ravens.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The next morning, Matilda is walking slowly through her garden, tending to her flowers, plants and trees. A stranger walks by and lets out a loud croaking, cackling noise. Matilda pretends not to notice and the stranger croaks and cackles even louder. Matilda raises her arm, then brings it down quickly, pointing to the ground. The stranger, animated and lively in their demand that Matilda look their way, suddenly becomes mute.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Matilda smiles, picks a bouquet of orange chrysanthemums, walks into her house, and shuts the door.</span><br /></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-21123392333801457142022-10-26T22:17:00.002-07:002022-10-27T21:28:55.620-07:00The Big Send with Vote Forward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ucl8-wAi_1cZm4NAM92RxbXjC6gxk6SJPUu_yg0Nyya0GWPvobNftXdZ3PLdwU4120XTAy-ce_OilOWnPqy37SFHdJPYNGtFCgdyW6tFQeq4U2JUZNrcot7olUFfrLI8xBS9Q5xP5Q1tumze9hAncSyizqitEFZ-1Iy_XR8ZohHL29n9BDs3s3yIkw/s574/IMG_4568.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Big Send with Vote Forward graphic which encourages volunteers to write letters to registered voters encouraging them to vote in the upcoming election." border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ucl8-wAi_1cZm4NAM92RxbXjC6gxk6SJPUu_yg0Nyya0GWPvobNftXdZ3PLdwU4120XTAy-ce_OilOWnPqy37SFHdJPYNGtFCgdyW6tFQeq4U2JUZNrcot7olUFfrLI8xBS9Q5xP5Q1tumze9hAncSyizqitEFZ-1Iy_XR8ZohHL29n9BDs3s3yIkw/s16000/IMG_4568.JPG" title="The Big Send, Vote Forward, United States midterm election 2022, October 29, 2022, volunteer letter writing, political letter writing campaign, get out the vote letter writing," /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Friends, an important election is coming up here in the United States and I would like to invite my fellow cititzens to join me in writing non-partisan letters to registered voters.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's very easy. Just go to <a href="http://VoteForward.org">VoteForward.org</a>, create an account, 'adopt' voters to write your letters to and start writing. The guideline is easy - write a short sentence or two telling the recipient why you vote.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here's a few examples of what I am writing in my letters:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(I vote because) "I want to live in a society where our collective voices are heard, honored, and respected."</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(I vote because) "I want to live in a society where the people can elect officials that will represent us in our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness."</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(I vote because) "democracy protects the people from potential harm and its goals are to move the country towards equality and freedom for all." <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You can write as few as five letters or as many as you can. 'The Big Send', or date the letters will be mailed, is October 29th.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I hope you will consider participating in helping to boost voter turnout for 2022!</span><br /></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-41975320504916300152022-10-09T18:22:00.000-07:002022-10-09T18:22:00.953-07:00DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJ_AtlsxB2RfQ1RZEIxpMrHqPRFCvjMPhUSVBEb8nTOiJNKCBwJrultbiEdXjZBVEsjr4jlBRJNcvMUs91yGn6Btd4ZDhBGrlEMnvDSbLOyAM2ljF5IMQ5Wkf78zzgapinNrKUenZXZUo8QGfCj6hJ976Hb4g4PZUUQ1S44q4JgwbuEBQ9o9JvmCuLg/s3024/IMG_4504.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJ_AtlsxB2RfQ1RZEIxpMrHqPRFCvjMPhUSVBEb8nTOiJNKCBwJrultbiEdXjZBVEsjr4jlBRJNcvMUs91yGn6Btd4ZDhBGrlEMnvDSbLOyAM2ljF5IMQ5Wkf78zzgapinNrKUenZXZUo8QGfCj6hJ976Hb4g4PZUUQ1S44q4JgwbuEBQ9o9JvmCuLg/s16000/IMG_4504.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></i></span>ello friends! October is here and it's time to get crafty with some faux mini pumpkins! As one who enjoys making scrapbook pages, decoupage is another fun way to be creative with paper. And while I'm new to this wildly popular activity, despite some challenges, I managed to come up with the three designs shown.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's actually very easy, just tedious and messy.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So let's gather our supplies:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tfQWEbS-rXMzCTTbPia4QIHuhrpyWIZuhGi9yzzXZWishIzl1G_DkxSex-a6bxuKFQFpD_AD7ubGPela7YntPVAyrJ9x33uBQDqXT0FP46s9VeUDyZI8PtrRpH3JfwcEtcR3fVkioeFuKcsdFkvl3tyixAaMi_Cok6HNHNp-z32njDv7bzpLdC3Ocw/s3024/IMG_4505.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tfQWEbS-rXMzCTTbPia4QIHuhrpyWIZuhGi9yzzXZWishIzl1G_DkxSex-a6bxuKFQFpD_AD7ubGPela7YntPVAyrJ9x33uBQDqXT0FP46s9VeUDyZI8PtrRpH3JfwcEtcR3fVkioeFuKcsdFkvl3tyixAaMi_Cok6HNHNp-z32njDv7bzpLdC3Ocw/s16000/IMG_4505.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You will need:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">faux pumpkins in size(s) of your choice (I used <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FZ283HD/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_8?smid=ARM5JG1QBG2C7&psc=1">this set</a>)<br /></span></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/M-Graham-5-Ounce-Acrylic-Titanium/dp/B003UC1GIA/ref=sr_1_4?crid=31665YP4GAK3T&keywords=m+graham+acrylic+titanium+white&qid=1665361321&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=m+graham+tit%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-4"><span style="font-family: verdana;">white acrylic paint</span></a></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">paper napkins of your choice (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Boston-International-C737800-Collections-Cocktail/dp/B07DFH8QL9/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2NZJTT9Q3GR70&keywords=ihr%2Bginger%2Bjar%2Bnapkin&qid=1665361511&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjgyIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=ihr%2Bginger%2Bjar%2Bnapkin%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-2&th=1">ginger jars</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P2COHYQ?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_ypp_rep_k1_1_7&amp=&crid=U0UNOX7NIHV5&amp=&sprefix=caspari">birds & florals</a>)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">paint brushes and paper towel for blotting<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">scissors</span></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mod-Podge-Waterbase-16-Ounce-CS11202/dp/B00178QQJ8/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3VKTG0QCX91XF&keywords=mod+podge+gloss&qid=1665361757&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjIxIiwicXNhIjoiMy40MCIsInFzcCI6IjMuMDgifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=mod+%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-2"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mod Podge</span></a></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-Mona-Lisa-Gold-Leaf/dp/B002NQ7RZA/ref=sr_1_2?crid=7GU5HX6XK91E&keywords=mona+lisa+gold+leaf+kit&qid=1665361828&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjk1IiwicXNhIjoiMi41NCIsInFzcCI6IjIuMTMifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=mona+lisa+gold+leaf+kit%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-2">gold leaf kit</a> (optional)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Berwick-Offray-Double-Satin-Ribbon/dp/B00FN5XN1K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XI7GLDBJKR9L&keywords=offray+blue+1%2F8+x+10+yards+ribbon&qid=1665362050&sprefix=offray+blue+1%2F8+x+10+yards+ribbon%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-1">ribbon</a> (optional)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">newspapers and parchment for your work surface</span></li></ul><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Step 1</u> - Apply white acrylic paint to the surface of each of your pumpkins. The paint will provide 'grip' for your napkins to adhere to. I used white because my pumpkins have a lot of negative space showing. You might consider the colors in your napkins as to what your choice of paint color would be.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-qCcTWbK7OOKchz_CVKbxf2uLdw_9AX2ZiFP6HPLzIPPPpu6LAQpdspHSB8LR0vUbbGoKxgPeXuTaPR1ZIcPYOpq7XshgnMNwZPbi2ukHUh6WNnnLyaPYnSIzz3-cGf3_J9rtHzoMof4o3fbIFSKV2h0SQIY_8H4RIiz-f_ZUEoFxvB67W96-hbsmw/s3024/IMG_4506.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-qCcTWbK7OOKchz_CVKbxf2uLdw_9AX2ZiFP6HPLzIPPPpu6LAQpdspHSB8LR0vUbbGoKxgPeXuTaPR1ZIcPYOpq7XshgnMNwZPbi2ukHUh6WNnnLyaPYnSIzz3-cGf3_J9rtHzoMof4o3fbIFSKV2h0SQIY_8H4RIiz-f_ZUEoFxvB67W96-hbsmw/s16000/IMG_4506.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Step 2</u> - Separate the printed layer of your napkin from the other one or two layers. You only need the printed layer. It will be very thin.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjriBTgpBgiCu0eFYn2e6aa4GCsoYfE1NNYxO3AFxJgfFXlVPfgkZWCP7kZEGKgYD1zeXmKQcaiLhOYn5JQLs7gCxTLQibNEuaX4vMx8NB9OcmBynpa3sl1V50jBBAA4mtBzm4x3CmMfyAA8mzvgGWCymQQLH7czUr7S3tniMMuqhjzD1yJm1y5TLL9WA/s3024/IMG_4507.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjriBTgpBgiCu0eFYn2e6aa4GCsoYfE1NNYxO3AFxJgfFXlVPfgkZWCP7kZEGKgYD1zeXmKQcaiLhOYn5JQLs7gCxTLQibNEuaX4vMx8NB9OcmBynpa3sl1V50jBBAA4mtBzm4x3CmMfyAA8mzvgGWCymQQLH7czUr7S3tniMMuqhjzD1yJm1y5TLL9WA/s16000/IMG_4507.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Step 3</u> - Fussy cut your desired elements from your napkin. This is not an exact process - you don't have to cut on the lines and your cuts do not have to be perfect.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_TUkIFHuCd93frgVJJ3__H7dClp-mHQcomM0Qyu8vphu7h_HFsFoz1nAJIGyYeT897lFN1MDweTsGokx3InL5-ifJkQfcKiHe12f_O8-6e83x0yjpOD7fwatC6jIJtO9Rma3u0pJj6QIsG9JYIs1EUdyyfE8JhdP5Jr8hwcafE6yO2cVyISxXOueEA/s3024/IMG_4508.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_TUkIFHuCd93frgVJJ3__H7dClp-mHQcomM0Qyu8vphu7h_HFsFoz1nAJIGyYeT897lFN1MDweTsGokx3InL5-ifJkQfcKiHe12f_O8-6e83x0yjpOD7fwatC6jIJtO9Rma3u0pJj6QIsG9JYIs1EUdyyfE8JhdP5Jr8hwcafE6yO2cVyISxXOueEA/s16000/IMG_4508.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's a good idea to cut little snips around the perimeter of your cut-out shape. It helps the image ease onto the round pumpkin better.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-vZwTqPoGXcy8oFahmEWs2xmn8_D7RVyNFtpEcZ9LsRaoluzpGI3vi5xIU_CFMHHuOtohWYrmLNoHG1DF0ix5wiHeikZvJRFUaIf6rhCDX-_2Qm4uCOkjU48bMqhfjDcJQDCdGRs9as826-B1wbRwCyCeNVaAYraOX6x-altxPJZD5G7w5seCAhRVA/s3024/IMG_4509.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-vZwTqPoGXcy8oFahmEWs2xmn8_D7RVyNFtpEcZ9LsRaoluzpGI3vi5xIU_CFMHHuOtohWYrmLNoHG1DF0ix5wiHeikZvJRFUaIf6rhCDX-_2Qm4uCOkjU48bMqhfjDcJQDCdGRs9as826-B1wbRwCyCeNVaAYraOX6x-altxPJZD5G7w5seCAhRVA/s16000/IMG_4509.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Step 4</u> - Apply a small amount of Mod Podge to your pumpkin in the area where you want to adhere your image. Lightly tack your image to the wet medium and adjust as needed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tlxJItHS0LC1MzPDmrgtf4v4-6pE99L80T6PYWj7S3iMvzH6QMyuAjH6-HHfy_kgHx_d0z81Qp8BVkjFCRWkqFYJYl6k_cpD2wQ5ft9-mmD98EkTajTpGt-7EI8KgtSyTqFUwFBJZp04oOvgo1iAS6J1GvaMYcL0GUOFF9bxbdW3q8atdcEGE9WV2Q/s3024/IMG_4510.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tlxJItHS0LC1MzPDmrgtf4v4-6pE99L80T6PYWj7S3iMvzH6QMyuAjH6-HHfy_kgHx_d0z81Qp8BVkjFCRWkqFYJYl6k_cpD2wQ5ft9-mmD98EkTajTpGt-7EI8KgtSyTqFUwFBJZp04oOvgo1iAS6J1GvaMYcL0GUOFF9bxbdW3q8atdcEGE9WV2Q/s16000/IMG_4510.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to the remaining areas behind your tacked image. Now you'll want to work quickly using a generous amount of Mod Podge on your brush to apply the medium over the top of your image using light pressure and working from the middle (where you tacked the image) outward. Keep your brush wet with the medium and gently 'push' the paper into place. Be careful because the more wet your paper becomes the easier it will tear. Don't worry about the wrinkles - they will take care of themselves. Once your image is adhered, use your brush to gently smooth the image to the surface. Again, make sure your brush is wet and use light strokes. Repeat for the remainder of your cut-outs.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4kSkPD1jUbxGMbt2cSrZujb-RI_m7Gg90dRMSKp9B6kOxazMKsUXPk0f21PueZAMESgm9zMjwzc_lY69LuLYvTJ7Kfa_5djwKC8b16peuLgV7RWV7-qAt7ZLjtbJoDDzejg2L553-xU2cqn7JlMyGOm7ay8yt1cAfD5dOjOlaI5klOJwhDWc5_oFGzw/s3024/IMG_4511.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4kSkPD1jUbxGMbt2cSrZujb-RI_m7Gg90dRMSKp9B6kOxazMKsUXPk0f21PueZAMESgm9zMjwzc_lY69LuLYvTJ7Kfa_5djwKC8b16peuLgV7RWV7-qAt7ZLjtbJoDDzejg2L553-xU2cqn7JlMyGOm7ay8yt1cAfD5dOjOlaI5klOJwhDWc5_oFGzw/s16000/IMG_4511.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here's how I cut my napkins to make the other two pumpkin designs:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyhYRkyDN6bWekLFOK5QDK1hsc9XCTiJONSEEAdXltcbok19HrgQ4mlMpR-oASr6HTuMCQ7EL-I9ayOeYmyWyDQLirH43XFE-dW6d6_fq_Te0wux60z5loQob8CeF2xjpq_wPyJCQPBOlvfElnskmxGS2Zd0J1oEDvk29vcUUTC1v6B3RNkHXXQGmqw/s3024/IMG_4515.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyhYRkyDN6bWekLFOK5QDK1hsc9XCTiJONSEEAdXltcbok19HrgQ4mlMpR-oASr6HTuMCQ7EL-I9ayOeYmyWyDQLirH43XFE-dW6d6_fq_Te0wux60z5loQob8CeF2xjpq_wPyJCQPBOlvfElnskmxGS2Zd0J1oEDvk29vcUUTC1v6B3RNkHXXQGmqw/s16000/IMG_4515.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ06ZbGc5Fik7r3oUzW696hdqwNTOgbU4m1HuC227OkCJe8GLbPYPVHVSERG2PmJa-H9i2rNfDn2s8yAGEn576bhJ4C6OrWtpnTRVfebVsD__51tpqQDrZn3Ne7DVL4LF5cPOfkJqs3BJS9AqcMAk5CtepAli_qGdBOQWBwtp62h_EjDNISt3gOgsOYQ/s3024/IMG_4512.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ06ZbGc5Fik7r3oUzW696hdqwNTOgbU4m1HuC227OkCJe8GLbPYPVHVSERG2PmJa-H9i2rNfDn2s8yAGEn576bhJ4C6OrWtpnTRVfebVsD__51tpqQDrZn3Ne7DVL4LF5cPOfkJqs3BJS9AqcMAk5CtepAli_qGdBOQWBwtp62h_EjDNISt3gOgsOYQ/s16000/IMG_4512.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And here are a couple of ideas I had for embellishing the tops of two of the pumpkins:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdBHfG8eknrRfMj2QgFv62qHtdPM6-_qGlZ-veGtsa74YZHVn0Op1c4g4TEChqd0_fwDCdmTD_OxIjqXeIjh7nVIom801smL2Xp1U6nmi1hiSzF3AU7qpnVnGZjlivvG98U6EaguQmzL-EDRUPBKHJPjtK4BEckJpLN1Ef7DVpJr5uJ0ZKu8DYSUOQg/s3024/IMG_4516.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdBHfG8eknrRfMj2QgFv62qHtdPM6-_qGlZ-veGtsa74YZHVn0Op1c4g4TEChqd0_fwDCdmTD_OxIjqXeIjh7nVIom801smL2Xp1U6nmi1hiSzF3AU7qpnVnGZjlivvG98U6EaguQmzL-EDRUPBKHJPjtK4BEckJpLN1Ef7DVpJr5uJ0ZKu8DYSUOQg/s16000/IMG_4516.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2Gb-mMduY2ylpLoisEs_CIRpbvWS_X1X0irLIKalXT2ISf4rj8wTjiZZPoieSJorwFuLr1tIfLCR_OXN5GImVlk6KxAmtCliV855lRq-Q9qm0ON24WJLxkB0mQQFmq9BM00n_nowIzG7f3cOohbXhbMmQD15Uz4ee5v7oZQA5PATOO4iti31ryWwzA/s3024/IMG_4517.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2Gb-mMduY2ylpLoisEs_CIRpbvWS_X1X0irLIKalXT2ISf4rj8wTjiZZPoieSJorwFuLr1tIfLCR_OXN5GImVlk6KxAmtCliV855lRq-Q9qm0ON24WJLxkB0mQQFmq9BM00n_nowIzG7f3cOohbXhbMmQD15Uz4ee5v7oZQA5PATOO4iti31ryWwzA/s16000/IMG_4517.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Step 5</u> - The last step is applying the gold leaf to the stems of the pumpkins. The gold leaf kit has three parts - the adhesive 'size', the metal leaf (thin sheets of metal) and the sealer. (Tip: pull the stems of your pumpkins up about 1/4" so there is a gap - this will make applying the gold leaf easier.) First, apply the adhesive size with a paint brush. The size is very watery so use caution when dipping your brush into it. Be sure your brush goes into the crevices of the pumpkin stem. Let the size dry to a tacky consistency.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOG9GRM8lfoN9FFzUbY2m2oK0S5fLVXpPNGKkKYgfqoo5INgBzOqt2U7rmU1PRFKvW4QxFGsiRilGkopEcQ0wxvuMjmi7tlj2rjhEuGfmKtQTrDsxKD7an3uZudy2z6M2ouIyQZJjUVdcIIoq8dHAm_Sa5hxoMobIjk_731orYGQ66U7HnOEUvmGTmUA/s3024/IMG_4518.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOG9GRM8lfoN9FFzUbY2m2oK0S5fLVXpPNGKkKYgfqoo5INgBzOqt2U7rmU1PRFKvW4QxFGsiRilGkopEcQ0wxvuMjmi7tlj2rjhEuGfmKtQTrDsxKD7an3uZudy2z6M2ouIyQZJjUVdcIIoq8dHAm_Sa5hxoMobIjk_731orYGQ66U7HnOEUvmGTmUA/s16000/IMG_4518.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After the size becomes tacky, cut a piece of the gold leaf. It should be larger than the surface area that you want to cover. Hold the gold leaf up to your pumpkin stem and use a <u>dry</u> paintbrush to gently push the leaf onto the stem. When you see the leaf is adhered to the stem, gently work the leaf into the crevices with your brush.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NrTKyBCmoAhE7Y1KAiB_IYy9JBU98R_wT5YOrA1tS5ETJieR9mgNmXECZ21M-qUFo37A-paQJBq5iQ_QOaeBYYBmmjFbFlwXT1qgRqwZDRTPStUyWhJ3x69mSFDI7F68I-w-DsNF--1LlcYFtPgbly-IEMul36Ne4dYCpy1cX_R7H95o1wSMGbnKwQ/s3024/IMG_4519.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NrTKyBCmoAhE7Y1KAiB_IYy9JBU98R_wT5YOrA1tS5ETJieR9mgNmXECZ21M-qUFo37A-paQJBq5iQ_QOaeBYYBmmjFbFlwXT1qgRqwZDRTPStUyWhJ3x69mSFDI7F68I-w-DsNF--1LlcYFtPgbly-IEMul36Ne4dYCpy1cX_R7H95o1wSMGbnKwQ/s16000/IMG_4519.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Push the leaf with your brush so that it goes under the stem (see tip above). Gently work your way around the stem with your brush until the leaf is adhered to all the tacky areas. As you cover the size, the still dry parts of the leaf will begin to fall away.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9-HEmvPzAkjE4GtEoB1RvYX7jv8GTDuBwuRlOCI3KSYt5b1J7tCjnVbMzkc6Zq6MtnfMM4yjxiv8JEi1Lp2NvjBfw3u5nyCYi917Ly3AvyI9hUnwRLdTCl4ubt8EzQ1aNbnVF38x4WZwXjZsCvjJ1j4v6sGZJiDT3Zfu8y87WtHeKApYy86jJ1334A/s3024/IMG_4520.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9-HEmvPzAkjE4GtEoB1RvYX7jv8GTDuBwuRlOCI3KSYt5b1J7tCjnVbMzkc6Zq6MtnfMM4yjxiv8JEi1Lp2NvjBfw3u5nyCYi917Ly3AvyI9hUnwRLdTCl4ubt8EzQ1aNbnVF38x4WZwXjZsCvjJ1j4v6sGZJiDT3Zfu8y87WtHeKApYy86jJ1334A/s16000/IMG_4520.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And lastly, apply the sealer to the stems with a paintbrush and let dry completely. Now you can push your stems back down onto the surface of your pumpkins.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvRpHfKWoyUfazDfs1RQ0WyjzZSag1bPJDIKVrG__5M2FMRaPKbsr5m8jvj6xEp2Q4YciNgrbWFjvuufowzVPzvkwxLyewF45My4HidrXeAi8P_pAjvdFHWqphMZrQD6s12jlBtqn9_sk6M8H38TPLtyEhqRdi4Gndmlv9WZhqTfi2mYQwMljroACEg/s3024/IMG_4521.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvRpHfKWoyUfazDfs1RQ0WyjzZSag1bPJDIKVrG__5M2FMRaPKbsr5m8jvj6xEp2Q4YciNgrbWFjvuufowzVPzvkwxLyewF45My4HidrXeAi8P_pAjvdFHWqphMZrQD6s12jlBtqn9_sk6M8H38TPLtyEhqRdi4Gndmlv9WZhqTfi2mYQwMljroACEg/s16000/IMG_4521.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Step 6</u> - Tie some ribbon to the stems and you are done! Now you have a beautiful hand made craft to enjoy every autumn season for years to come.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQtH2JWSrtLLhrG8DpefWESHXoo4RdxboFKgxZ8JX14FAUQjAbIXxVkNQ04c4qfteQCIHJa7eOoZi-odp7vFxQgogXCRMdQB0VrIRm-XqD4MRrBUy0Kqub3Ordn_kT76V9CV1SKOViwSdiJKtKXwxFxpM3-JcNDW7X_FO34fOrFQhlNLHO5TyOUqNCQ/s3024/IMG_4522.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under the Plum Blossom Tree, DIY: Decoupage Chinoiserie Mini Pumpkins, a blog post lesson in how to create autumn season faux decoupage pumpkins to use as holiday decorations." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQtH2JWSrtLLhrG8DpefWESHXoo4RdxboFKgxZ8JX14FAUQjAbIXxVkNQ04c4qfteQCIHJa7eOoZi-odp7vFxQgogXCRMdQB0VrIRm-XqD4MRrBUy0Kqub3Ordn_kT76V9CV1SKOViwSdiJKtKXwxFxpM3-JcNDW7X_FO34fOrFQhlNLHO5TyOUqNCQ/s16000/IMG_4522.JPG" title="BESTTOYHOME white artificial pumpkins, Boston International IHR Blue and White Urns Rosanne Beck Collection napkins, Caspari Blue and White bird floral napkins, Mod Podge gloss, Mona Lisa gold leaf kit, Offray 1/8 x 10 yard blue ribbon, do it yourself decoupage mini pumpkins, how to decoupage faux pumpkins, chinoiserie decoupage pumpkins, blue and white decoupage pumpkins, how to use napkins to decoupage, decoupage with napkins, decorating with decoupage pumpkins, ideas for autumn chinoiserie decor, blue and white autumn decor, seasonal decoupage ideas, pumpkin decoupage, napkin decoupage, fall decorating ideas, autumn chinoiserie decor, chinoiserie autumn pumpkins, do it yourself decoupage faux pumpkins" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you made it this far, thank you for looking! If you have any questions, please leave a comment.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-37179733875690731512022-09-29T22:31:00.000-07:002022-09-29T22:31:05.622-07:00Autumn Photo Shoot - A Scrapbook Layout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmL3uwyC6ORfA0idJH9Wg05X56ciMlgtemMbZjuMNMUagl5ZA_CNYnP3VHi44BC4y0RAJuONTUt3MF0IQqoHfW_O282H_p5mPYigOpoCWDk511s0Cd0Vm4tNseZmXbJsc01rfSEm6WMqyGInNk5OmKHsW9_DfJYkt8OTnJW8zpoOzMyQJLrCJZs3sjKg/s4323/Version%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Autumn Photo Shoot - A Scrapbook Layout" border="0" data-original-height="2208" data-original-width="4323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmL3uwyC6ORfA0idJH9Wg05X56ciMlgtemMbZjuMNMUagl5ZA_CNYnP3VHi44BC4y0RAJuONTUt3MF0IQqoHfW_O282H_p5mPYigOpoCWDk511s0Cd0Vm4tNseZmXbJsc01rfSEm6WMqyGInNk5OmKHsW9_DfJYkt8OTnJW8zpoOzMyQJLrCJZs3sjKg/s16000/Version%202.jpg" title="June Anderson of Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Autumn Photo Shoot - A Scrapbook Layout, Bo Bunny Enchanted Harvest scrapbook paper, Bo Bunny Enchanted Harvest stickers, Persnickety Prints, how to make an autumn themed scrapbook page, idea for autumn theme scrapbook page, how to make an autumn scrapbook page" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>H</i></span></span>ello friends, happy autumn! The wheels of 2022 are spinning fast, don't you agree? I was able to finish this autumn themed scrapbook layout a few months ago and it reminded me that it's never too late to finish a project that's been on your bucket list, even if the project has been on the list since 2015!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That was the year Jimmy took the photos of me featured in the layout. It was a 'just for fun' adventure, where we went around town taking pictures in a few different areas. The photos featured in this layout were the best ones from that day.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I purchased the supplies to make this layout back in 2015 and they have been sitting in a folder all these years. So never say never, right?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">First, though, the photos. I have been getting my photographs printed at <a href="https://www.persnicketyprints.com/">Persnickety Prints</a> for several years now. The owner, <a href="https://www.persnicketyprints.com/team/chari/">Chari Pack</a>, is a scrapbooker that understands the unique needs of those that enjoy this craft. For example, there are three sizes of photos on my layout - a 4x12, two 4x6's and three 2x3's. I enjoy using a variety of photo sizes, especially on a double page layout, and Chari offers many choices. The large 4x12 photograph is the feature photo and the rest of the pictures add interest and tell more of the story.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The paper crafting products I used for this project are from the <a href="https://www.cranberrycat.com/BoBunnyEnchantedHarvest.html">Bo Bunny Enchanted Harvest</a> line. Although they were discontinued long ago, I found a website that still has a few of the items available, and so you can see what the papers, stickers and embellishments look like in the link provided.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I started with two sheets of the Gratitude paper, then mounted my photos onto plain white card stock and adhered them down.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I then fussy cut several leaves from the Foliage paper and scattered them around the layout.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The three squares are cut from the Autumn and Traditions papers and mounted onto the 'B' side of the Foliage paper.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As well, I fussy cut the word 'Autumn' from the Traditions paper and used a small section from the Autumn paper to mount it on. The rest of the title letters ('photo shoot') are from the Combo Stickers sheet.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I fussy cut the sunflowers border next to my profile picture from the Autumn paper and then added more stickers to the layout from the Combo Stickers sheet.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I inked all of the card stock edges in brown. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The green gems on the left and right sides of the photos are from Queen and Company.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And that's it! I crossed this task off my list and added the layout to my album.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What autumn inspired activity is on your to-do list?</span></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-30268033461694272702022-09-22T22:59:00.000-07:002022-09-22T22:59:14.356-07:00Heceta Headland Day Trip<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8w_2zdjgtq2OTKfqeSVHJm63AeBqWSsDNzodMx2h49KPN54sb0hqFqV1hIGH72fnOuCvMQNwquWk1kYms9Er7VfSjqtHCkOVpVDx_OJS4M3iVGCr8IZLqIJE1XSUB5f7A2YW8DPnYn1lCb4H73LxMmoGiyC8vqeXOTo9YK-dWy3QThd2sVg-9teE7w/s3763/Lighthouse%20Point%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Heceta Headland Day Trip" border="0" data-original-height="3763" data-original-width="2822" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8w_2zdjgtq2OTKfqeSVHJm63AeBqWSsDNzodMx2h49KPN54sb0hqFqV1hIGH72fnOuCvMQNwquWk1kYms9Er7VfSjqtHCkOVpVDx_OJS4M3iVGCr8IZLqIJE1XSUB5f7A2YW8DPnYn1lCb4H73LxMmoGiyC8vqeXOTo9YK-dWy3QThd2sVg-9teE7w/s16000/Lighthouse%20Point%20(2).jpg" title="Oregon Coast lighthouse, Heceta Head lighthouse, Pacific Ocean lighthouse, lighthouse circa 1894, navigational lighthouse, Fresnel lens Chance Brothers Birmingham England, Fresnel lens Heceta Head lighthouse, Oregon Cape Cove, Oregon Cape Cove Beach, Oregon Cape Creek Bridge, Heceta Head Assistant Keeper’s Duplex, family trip after Covid, traveling again after Covid, attitudes about travel post Covid" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>S</i></span></span>o believe it or not, this was our family's first excursion out into the world since before Covid. James and I, together with our son Tayo and his girlfriend Ellie, took a whirlwind day trip to the Oregon Coast and it definitely revived our spirits and gave us hope for future travels.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The lighthouse at Heceta Headland is a well known sight to most Oregonians. It's a large part of the history of the area, having been built in 1894. It is situated 205 feet above the Pacific Ocean on a bluff carved out of the west side of the 1,000-foot-high headland.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Although we have visited the coast many times over the years, we have never taken the self guided tour of the lighthouse - until now. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's an easy half-mile hike on an uphill dirt trail and it was a perfectly beautiful and warm day. 'The kids' headed up on their own right away, while James and I took our time.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0ldlQxHvHzjpFtVdtSbw-Hf_sMiwDYEnJfqfZW3hlosWJsx3D9YPPwKfeCMn_e5eg52_ZrM-T1nJNTgHHN6ha7gUzM3W-XCtZYZp2cNihKnaSp-zy8HThppegT4ZFEeLsA8gvhvkFix2pY-qYFseULRkzmekNBfHR2jMBuVJzCUtvv0MoaHLUxY3ZA/s4032/Lighthouse%20Point%20(3).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Heceta Headland Day Trip" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0ldlQxHvHzjpFtVdtSbw-Hf_sMiwDYEnJfqfZW3hlosWJsx3D9YPPwKfeCMn_e5eg52_ZrM-T1nJNTgHHN6ha7gUzM3W-XCtZYZp2cNihKnaSp-zy8HThppegT4ZFEeLsA8gvhvkFix2pY-qYFseULRkzmekNBfHR2jMBuVJzCUtvv0MoaHLUxY3ZA/s16000/Lighthouse%20Point%20(3).jpg" title="Oregon Coast lighthouse, Heceta Head lighthouse, Pacific Ocean lighthouse, lighthouse circa 1894, navigational lighthouse, Fresnel lens Chance Brothers Birmingham England, Fresnel lens Heceta Head lighthouse, Oregon Cape Cove, Oregon Cape Cove Beach, Oregon Cape Creek Bridge, Heceta Head Assistant Keeper’s Duplex, family trip after Covid, traveling again after Covid, attitudes about travel post Covid" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 54-foot lighthouse tower contains a Fresnel lens that was built by the Chance Brothers of Birmingham, England and originally contained kerosene oil lamps which were maintained by a lightkeeper crew. These days the lamps are electric and automated. To this day it is still a working navigational light that is visible for 21 nautical miles.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After learning about and admiring the lighthouse, James and I then turned our attention to the stunning views. To the south is the sandbar at Cape Cove:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiiDsCeL0EcdHO_x1aauQK1dCQ7LGiEP52WHSsivxtY_xDdrLp4a2jrta7HJPfXmFnlS3vzFtExono5eO3RDDOkrhFWhwgl8uNxICu9q62cYHxQSIrGbVQxkXlRdqh6R6Yj-3qIPZKP-zA9lNOZQwBx6vCYHtx4z8fldZduJg3b4xoO8fpHO4YwvrJpw/s4032/Lighthouse%20Point%20(3).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Heceta Headland Day Trip" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiiDsCeL0EcdHO_x1aauQK1dCQ7LGiEP52WHSsivxtY_xDdrLp4a2jrta7HJPfXmFnlS3vzFtExono5eO3RDDOkrhFWhwgl8uNxICu9q62cYHxQSIrGbVQxkXlRdqh6R6Yj-3qIPZKP-zA9lNOZQwBx6vCYHtx4z8fldZduJg3b4xoO8fpHO4YwvrJpw/s16000/Lighthouse%20Point%20(3).jpg" title="Oregon Coast lighthouse, Heceta Head lighthouse, Pacific Ocean lighthouse, lighthouse circa 1894, navigational lighthouse, Fresnel lens Chance Brothers Birmingham England, Fresnel lens Heceta Head lighthouse, Oregon Cape Cove, Oregon Cape Cove Beach, Oregon Cape Creek Bridge, Heceta Head Assistant Keeper’s Duplex, family trip after Covid, traveling again after Covid, attitudes about travel post Covid" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To the east you can see the sheltered Cape Cove Beach and the Cape Creek Bridge in the background:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7gYIsphRsahwzW3VCNVtZJl3BIXcTI7VQdZQCCXyS2Cf8Rf_EXCwzBjlLvCthzdSincSCm5o08X3AWRE4O1w2NSR2JnDjjTGifqsQcO_p4sJ9CWUSNYDlqMghXgBLsGGR_KIRv6nG2b2ImNfphr9R4gkfUr0JZg74ZWLZEFcGjLixUrgsttrBXgfVQ/s4032/Lighthouse%20Point%20(4).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Heceta Headland Day Trip" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7gYIsphRsahwzW3VCNVtZJl3BIXcTI7VQdZQCCXyS2Cf8Rf_EXCwzBjlLvCthzdSincSCm5o08X3AWRE4O1w2NSR2JnDjjTGifqsQcO_p4sJ9CWUSNYDlqMghXgBLsGGR_KIRv6nG2b2ImNfphr9R4gkfUr0JZg74ZWLZEFcGjLixUrgsttrBXgfVQ/s16000/Lighthouse%20Point%20(4).jpg" title="Oregon Coast lighthouse, Heceta Head lighthouse, Pacific Ocean lighthouse, lighthouse circa 1894, navigational lighthouse, Fresnel lens Chance Brothers Birmingham England, Fresnel lens Heceta Head lighthouse, Oregon Cape Cove, Oregon Cape Cove Beach, Oregon Cape Creek Bridge, Heceta Head Assistant Keeper’s Duplex, family trip after Covid, traveling again after Covid, attitudes about travel post Covid" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As we descended back down the trail we stopped to view the Assistant Keeper's Duplex, one of the last remaining on the Pacific Coast. Originally there was also a Head Keeper's House, however it was demolished many years ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAN1QfF_yrHxDsylaE7WUPNzr3Qex8XT9chNVTk1V08EZiPbnHc-b7qTdVSqi5kZtCS_joN6aJiblL9ZH4XxOWrlDGIFTxp_4R-_9fM3o1ORf0WGrMqUKcZqpd91p7rOXo-OGyxAKwB4QDO4pHbxZjg5xaCyYUjtqX7o9hlPkCZQNRcE2cWM4GzusEDA/s4032/Lighthouse%20Point%20(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Heceta Headland Day Trip" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAN1QfF_yrHxDsylaE7WUPNzr3Qex8XT9chNVTk1V08EZiPbnHc-b7qTdVSqi5kZtCS_joN6aJiblL9ZH4XxOWrlDGIFTxp_4R-_9fM3o1ORf0WGrMqUKcZqpd91p7rOXo-OGyxAKwB4QDO4pHbxZjg5xaCyYUjtqX7o9hlPkCZQNRcE2cWM4GzusEDA/s16000/Lighthouse%20Point%20(5).jpg" title="Oregon Coast lighthouse, Heceta Head lighthouse, Pacific Ocean lighthouse, lighthouse circa 1894, navigational lighthouse, Fresnel lens Chance Brothers Birmingham England, Fresnel lens Heceta Head lighthouse, Oregon Cape Cove, Oregon Cape Cove Beach, Oregon Cape Creek Bridge, Heceta Head Assistant Keeper’s Duplex, family trip after Covid, traveling again after Covid, attitudes about travel post Covid" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was an enjoyable day of hiking, picnicking and sightseeing. At some point during the course of this day, however, it struck me how much we've missed over the last two and a half years. I've realized that I've allowed myself to get caught in the trap of thinking there's no use going anywhere anymore because everything has changed because of Covid.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And while certainly there have been changes in our perceptions and in how we navigate our day to day lives, it's also important to get out of our tightly held, cautious routines and enjoy nature and to see other families out there doing the same. And it also dawned on me how important it is to recommit to spending time with family seeing new things, exploring, and having that feeling of being free to wander and take things as they come, even if only for a day. It rejuvenates the spirit and helps us connect with each other in a wholly different way from our daily lives of work and worry.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For us, family trips have always been an important part of life and this day was an important reminder to continue that tradition, for ourselves and for the younger generation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iSA9P5JBAJsNuzhqAr4VjkL2IK8MmTTsMtCGycD5tI_QgijTs1MWZ1qx0Pnix2oKpyN5BkgLHMDvMNBqCpelVJWe93a-0MCxlU5YKpNvlcsVYD_z6OQVrvkwm0DR9PFoI4t1UTLYMwDKQHt4_bkzqDLZ2GmKqQlxJQjwTsVMV3wCJy5ExLWXcmzK-Q/s4608/Coast%20trip%20(6).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Heceta Headland Day Trip" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iSA9P5JBAJsNuzhqAr4VjkL2IK8MmTTsMtCGycD5tI_QgijTs1MWZ1qx0Pnix2oKpyN5BkgLHMDvMNBqCpelVJWe93a-0MCxlU5YKpNvlcsVYD_z6OQVrvkwm0DR9PFoI4t1UTLYMwDKQHt4_bkzqDLZ2GmKqQlxJQjwTsVMV3wCJy5ExLWXcmzK-Q/s16000/Coast%20trip%20(6).jpg" title="Oregon Coast lighthouse, Heceta Head lighthouse, Pacific Ocean lighthouse, lighthouse circa 1894, navigational lighthouse, Fresnel lens Chance Brothers Birmingham England, Fresnel lens Heceta Head lighthouse, Oregon Cape Cove, Oregon Cape Cove Beach, Oregon Cape Creek Bridge, Heceta Head Assistant Keeper’s Duplex, family trip after Covid, traveling again after Covid, attitudes about travel post Covid" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Have you taken any trips lately?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-45186320265869377202022-09-08T23:50:00.001-07:002022-09-08T23:53:49.414-07:00Her Majesty the Queen <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpf-fW40ajcV01QA_spYVvee5hg9e3qoIBftTkpV2AZaIN7R28LJQ0CiqSrpHTRHxnjLSyXYKcq1HTFOv8oJpFrZtDgjMmf_mYzYOLwPniRPtqOydtXM2g11hynZYgSOC0xJ_IqaPF7jZTKQdibe9Njge6reFab5vLrrwGdMdd8q8Bxja6jIG-VScJg/s752/ACS_0845%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen features works by Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa honoring Queen Elizabeth of England who passed away on September 8, 2022" border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpf-fW40ajcV01QA_spYVvee5hg9e3qoIBftTkpV2AZaIN7R28LJQ0CiqSrpHTRHxnjLSyXYKcq1HTFOv8oJpFrZtDgjMmf_mYzYOLwPniRPtqOydtXM2g11hynZYgSOC0xJ_IqaPF7jZTKQdibe9Njge6reFab5vLrrwGdMdd8q8Bxja6jIG-VScJg/s16000/ACS_0845%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen, Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa, collage portraits of Queen Elizabeth of England, collage art, collage artist, life of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth and cake, Queen Elizabeth and pom poms, Queen Elizabeth Avon Lady, Queen Elizabeth wave, Queen Elizabeth jewelry" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">F</span></i></span>riends, I don't know anyone that can love Queen Elizabeth more uniquely than Canadian collage artist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/daniellekrysaart/">Danielle Krysa</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course by now everyone the world over has learned that the beloved Queen of England passed away today. As I was reading the news and thinking about it this evening I thought I would revisit Danielle's Instagram page and then realized it would be fun to share some of her works to honor the Queen's passing.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The piece above, titled </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">“yes, liz had a little
nibble because 1, any good baker would do the same, and 2, ‘shut up,
i’m the f’n queen’.” is just one example of Danielle's ability to bring a humorous and joyful approach to an otherwise very serious subject.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">In </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">“‘use the pom poms sparingly’ they said - unfortunately liz and her creative muse were already knee deep” (below) we see the queen getting carried away with pom poms and like in the first piece it's fun to imagine the queen in this kind of situation.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCjCtuxkp59Tt8utsbBPV6Ik0jApps6isuOXkGPhkDIOLxtaBaKRVCbSIVSc3svFRI99hccz3nCOXrEhzuUt2mDSncOrsZ4l4hva4PfemFccnv7AlrVN3mVOtzL8UpWNe99hEe6S4XlZMOQhRmJxLexb9UBL4dcqFrTK_rXs4z2NWp7iB3_3SwoTNFg/s750/ACS_0844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen features works by Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa honoring Queen Elizabeth of England who passed away on September 8, 2022" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCjCtuxkp59Tt8utsbBPV6Ik0jApps6isuOXkGPhkDIOLxtaBaKRVCbSIVSc3svFRI99hccz3nCOXrEhzuUt2mDSncOrsZ4l4hva4PfemFccnv7AlrVN3mVOtzL8UpWNe99hEe6S4XlZMOQhRmJxLexb9UBL4dcqFrTK_rXs4z2NWp7iB3_3SwoTNFg/s16000/ACS_0844.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen, Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa, collage portraits of Queen Elizabeth of England, collage art, collage artist, life of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth and cake, Queen Elizabeth and pom poms, Queen Elizabeth Avon Lady, Queen Elizabeth wave, Queen Elizabeth jewelry" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">I have enjoyed Danielle's use of round canvases. This one called </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">“in her daydreams, liz was an avon lady”</span> I love all the various pink paint colors and how she used just a few images to get her point across:</span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87K1aYqeeuO1UnqOWUTek_voQCaAAba7C58IGT9vnByIK1v66tozaTYsRPO_dGIympcEJVogvbqEvVnuXx75T-dUTfU4Mofmzefg6Gsn3KHgYr7pC4ZBmfHRZ6VFYvX5EJZCrX9HSy3gO9wfIBDXnqYl-Y9vwIiXv2UxHb00W7a7mbplHL99koxSdTw/s750/ACS_0846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen features works by Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa honoring Queen Elizabeth of England who passed away on September 8, 2022" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87K1aYqeeuO1UnqOWUTek_voQCaAAba7C58IGT9vnByIK1v66tozaTYsRPO_dGIympcEJVogvbqEvVnuXx75T-dUTfU4Mofmzefg6Gsn3KHgYr7pC4ZBmfHRZ6VFYvX5EJZCrX9HSy3gO9wfIBDXnqYl-Y9vwIiXv2UxHb00W7a7mbplHL99koxSdTw/s16000/ACS_0846.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen, Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa, collage portraits of Queen Elizabeth of England, collage art, collage artist, life of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth and cake, Queen Elizabeth and pom poms, Queen Elizabeth Avon Lady, Queen Elizabeth wave, Queen Elizabeth jewelry" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">Then there's this gem, entitled </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">“arm’s length away” where Danielle informs us that "</span></span></span><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">yes, that’s liz’s arm waving complete with swarovski crystal bracelet".</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrbMOl5Zie4iDYDDL9_w-qLeRfm1IxIpfavneFhO85v8x6o1vgjsX4XJRc8Nni2p6RZJeCJ-g8v0ccsHx7Yyux8_VQ2doe2gqYBsItgzldoAxGqyTBrA22vCMw4xCPtdXpKwkQt2qJhpGzP9pDDhojPWfEW4u1BdKT135niKkgY1SR2IDbAPDNPSRVA/s750/ACS_0847%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen features works by Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa honoring Queen Elizabeth of England who passed away on September 8, 2022" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrbMOl5Zie4iDYDDL9_w-qLeRfm1IxIpfavneFhO85v8x6o1vgjsX4XJRc8Nni2p6RZJeCJ-g8v0ccsHx7Yyux8_VQ2doe2gqYBsItgzldoAxGqyTBrA22vCMw4xCPtdXpKwkQt2qJhpGzP9pDDhojPWfEW4u1BdKT135niKkgY1SR2IDbAPDNPSRVA/s16000/ACS_0847%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen, Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa, collage portraits of Queen Elizabeth of England, collage art, collage artist, life of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth and cake, Queen Elizabeth and pom poms, Queen Elizabeth Avon Lady, Queen Elizabeth wave, Queen Elizabeth jewelry" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">Danielle has also had fun utilizing vintage costume jewelry on some of her canvases. In </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">“queens carry the weight of the world - and we make it look f’n easy” we see more of her humor shining a unique light on Her Majesty's complex role in society.</span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nfwfgAWHDudjmN9BLRT3we-GGmBwZVXWZ1HCkGCgQTWf0xhJpOD6M5AOfPhRIINj8TkjTKhpeniHNf9kBRIevvmB_lC6Fn-OixBqvqmZPP59D_NrZ5uLKDkT539YmW8TIkEIMj2CWjmld81tgDK6iT4eRKG-xxB0jYz1zLWCOIQvkIweNfduo29lrg/s750/ACS_0849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen features works by Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa honoring Queen Elizabeth of England who passed away on September 8, 2022" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nfwfgAWHDudjmN9BLRT3we-GGmBwZVXWZ1HCkGCgQTWf0xhJpOD6M5AOfPhRIINj8TkjTKhpeniHNf9kBRIevvmB_lC6Fn-OixBqvqmZPP59D_NrZ5uLKDkT539YmW8TIkEIMj2CWjmld81tgDK6iT4eRKG-xxB0jYz1zLWCOIQvkIweNfduo29lrg/s16000/ACS_0849.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Her Majesty the Queen, Canadian collage artist Danielle Krysa, collage portraits of Queen Elizabeth of England, collage art, collage artist, life of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth and cake, Queen Elizabeth and pom poms, Queen Elizabeth Avon Lady, Queen Elizabeth wave, Queen Elizabeth jewelry" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">I hope you'll agree that Danielle's visual approach to celebrating the life of Queen Elizabeth has been a powerful way to honor the queen and so much of what she has represented in the world.</span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade"><span class="_aacl _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade">May Queen Elizabeth rest in peace.</span><br /></span></span></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-832901458307542832022-08-30T20:45:00.002-07:002022-09-02T19:18:42.382-07:00Plum Blossom Decor: An Instagram Flash Sale<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp28qcBeCnsEsv0wRvB0NsWd3Qxzn0B4A_SbeIm8hsZZCowVOD8uQnPumlNTdUjaC7Dlr4VpWxtGDaIDyQ3318CwHvCxDe3eI_gmZ2OahMFFGfAVtbxGZmrn2dsta4Xe0QQb6GSMdB8nHQywrYl5wT8hzc2gNJHJbmtII7WV_0mRnKUyywICfJNu0NZw/s3024/IMG_3995.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor: An Instagram Flash Sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp28qcBeCnsEsv0wRvB0NsWd3Qxzn0B4A_SbeIm8hsZZCowVOD8uQnPumlNTdUjaC7Dlr4VpWxtGDaIDyQ3318CwHvCxDe3eI_gmZ2OahMFFGfAVtbxGZmrn2dsta4Xe0QQb6GSMdB8nHQywrYl5wT8hzc2gNJHJbmtII7WV_0mRnKUyywICfJNu0NZw/s16000/IMG_3995.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Plum Blossom Decor: An Instagram Flash Sale, Plum Blossom Decor on Instagram, chinoiserie home decor for sale, Nora Fenton chinoiserie display plate made in Macau, Oriental Cross Stitch by Lesley Teare 2007, blue cabbage-ware child tea set, Japanese Imari teapot, Chinese chinoiserie shelf sitters," /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">F</span></i></span>riends, if you love decorating your space in the chinoiserie style I'd like to invite you to a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/plumblossomdecor/">Plum Blossom Decor</a> Instagram flash sale this Friday, September 2nd at 5:30pm Pacific Time.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this 'Five on Friday' flash sale, I'll be offering a Nora Fenton Design display plate, an Oriental Cross Stitch book, a blue cabbage-ware child's tea set, a Japanese Imari teapot and a pair of Chinese shelf sitters.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So come join me on Friday! There will be detailed photos, full descriptions and prices. If you've never made a Paypal purchase this way before, these instructions will help facilitate a smooth shopping experience.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ0Mczo7PC7QsonC5-FV40hqZLD2Bpvxd7HQPjJeRdXTy26jX6gxBYDAhTbMFGj4z3WUUBuGB14GXrmez1RRxyGDW7ztwJ_ZfGmAOEAXlO6XXe5rsBg_zunYwFlfaAb9F_3pGem-RdHDjqcrF8yuwvhygTIkH7coHBJvfHBBmr9ovV2ka1YGZkKh22Q/s540/IG%20shop%20how%20to.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor: An Instagram Flash Sale" border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="540" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ0Mczo7PC7QsonC5-FV40hqZLD2Bpvxd7HQPjJeRdXTy26jX6gxBYDAhTbMFGj4z3WUUBuGB14GXrmez1RRxyGDW7ztwJ_ZfGmAOEAXlO6XXe5rsBg_zunYwFlfaAb9F_3pGem-RdHDjqcrF8yuwvhygTIkH7coHBJvfHBBmr9ovV2ka1YGZkKh22Q/w640-h638/IG%20shop%20how%20to.jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Plum Blossom Decor: An Instagram Flash Sale, Plum Blossom Decor on Instagram, chinoiserie home decor for sale, Nora Fenton chinoiserie display plate made in Macau, Oriental Cross Stitch by Lesley Teare 2007, blue cabbage-ware child tea set, Japanese Imari teapot, Chinese chinoiserie shelf sitters," width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking and I hope you'll join me this Friday!<br /></span></p><p></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-26549544183887831552022-08-25T22:40:00.001-07:002022-09-02T19:20:52.686-07:00Blue & White Italian Staffordshire Style Dogs<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifuglCO05jq_VX0r29OURWBpapaGZOXfBD7I9bwIKIthMl61VZtbQjMY74hMUL4PbL6I7auKjNcSR3G9mQD8MnXAfni0pUzHvKFvTg9-OapJVv7bJxCPi10s4VadIlovv2ufjBo9SO55u8XeI2JuABxNPyhPpNgm1K41korSM4Cedlho_vVS5WVDAZxw/s4608/P8071015.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Blue & White Italian Staffordshire Style Dogs" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifuglCO05jq_VX0r29OURWBpapaGZOXfBD7I9bwIKIthMl61VZtbQjMY74hMUL4PbL6I7auKjNcSR3G9mQD8MnXAfni0pUzHvKFvTg9-OapJVv7bJxCPi10s4VadIlovv2ufjBo9SO55u8XeI2JuABxNPyhPpNgm1K41korSM4Cedlho_vVS5WVDAZxw/s16000/P8071015.jpg" title="Blue and white mantle dogs, Italian mantle dogs, Italian Staffordshire Style mantle dogs, mantle dogs, Wally dogs, chimney pieces, flat backs, styling with mantle dogs, styling with Staffordshire dogs, styling with Staffordshire style dogs, styling with blue and white mantle dogs, blue and white Chinese styled dresser top, chinoiserie styling with mantle dogs, chinoiserie styled mantle dogs, asian themed styling" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></i></span>ello friends! One of my favorite things to collect these days is ceramic mantle dogs. They are commonly referred to as Staffordshire dogs or Staffordshire style dogs because the original dogs were made in Staffordshire England by a variety of the English potters as early as the 17th century. Production of these quirky creatures continued into the 19th and mid-20th centuries.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The most common type of dog made was the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Greyhounds, poodles, dalmations and pugs were also produced. No matter the animal type, many mantles have been graced with pairs of these adorable animals.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">According to Gloria from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/WillowRoadInteriors?ref=shop_sugg">Willow Road Interiors</a>, this pair of blue and white Staffordshire style dogs were made in Italy. I purchased them from her Instagram shop. They are not antiques but rather a later reproduction - hence Staffordshire 'style'. I love the hand painted blue floral design and who can resist those blue eyes?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="Blue & White Italian Staffordshire Style Dogs" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifVq-0FPriaBngqRR7GsVNXzRkR1wl0lcx1fN1f7vyBall86HIyn1NWpSS-coTayASBziAchSoV8-ING06Th-C1zUr2AqV_4HBpJSsGW5B_MWiy2xzcee95v3P9XVUMb_GVodzU2cGziR1nBgYWZuOGjDMODeq4D1WddixxQZ27mdP4ZSFZbVWgSYkpg/s16000/P8071036.jpg" title="Blue and white mantle dogs, Italian mantle dogs, Italian Staffordshire Style mantle dogs, mantle dogs, Wally dogs, chimney pieces, flat backs, styling with mantle dogs, styling with Staffordshire dogs, styling with Staffordshire style dogs, styling with blue and white mantle dogs, blue and white Chinese styled dresser top, chinoiserie styling with mantle dogs, chinoiserie styled mantle dogs, asian themed styling" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinohyxm0Tp9kJSQTwcDZoFwYr1UG77b7P7gEHZMBb1XxXQXGbvBpmGNl9GbycuDs_eF21qfzO2DRrQ7S4prY0R3YwzyXAldjtDymfi6T6rQQ3-1A23LxE6ATG-W5Ur20KtJMsJIPOwPo4MiM9fWST0M1lyzsTvHbRU1OckKyWK067YLXFq-5l-vxIXIA/s4608/P8071039.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Blue & White Italian Staffordshire Style Dogs" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinohyxm0Tp9kJSQTwcDZoFwYr1UG77b7P7gEHZMBb1XxXQXGbvBpmGNl9GbycuDs_eF21qfzO2DRrQ7S4prY0R3YwzyXAldjtDymfi6T6rQQ3-1A23LxE6ATG-W5Ur20KtJMsJIPOwPo4MiM9fWST0M1lyzsTvHbRU1OckKyWK067YLXFq-5l-vxIXIA/s16000/P8071039.jpg" title="Blue and white mantle dogs, Italian mantle dogs, Italian Staffordshire Style mantle dogs, mantle dogs, Wally dogs, chimney pieces, flat backs, styling with mantle dogs, styling with Staffordshire dogs, styling with Staffordshire style dogs, styling with blue and white mantle dogs, blue and white Chinese styled dresser top, chinoiserie styling with mantle dogs, chinoiserie styled mantle dogs, asian themed styling" /></a></div></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Friends, meet Polly and Suki. Each is about 7" tall and 6" wide at the base. I had fun styling them in my bedroom on top of my antique chest of drawers, along with a blue 'hidden butterfly' patterned Chinese melon jar, some vintage books and a vintage bird trinket box made in Japan.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhV-Ct6BlNCSkJ-6CqqCfaxRWLzd7LVNJ-T7WiRFDOFPmDR09KaOT0j-rejkNAXycq84tqnAq-DAt6bNQ6JukO7cLCLQWxVTgf3ojnyc6wLgX2H-Wzq1uWoUteh6IZ7_2WadOBIpVAdSwp7fCV9GD6VjEKI_K_zxzBrW4CZt3nvdCGTgcQSFZGWIIYZQ/s4608/P8071043.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Blue & White Italian Staffordshire Style Dogs" border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhV-Ct6BlNCSkJ-6CqqCfaxRWLzd7LVNJ-T7WiRFDOFPmDR09KaOT0j-rejkNAXycq84tqnAq-DAt6bNQ6JukO7cLCLQWxVTgf3ojnyc6wLgX2H-Wzq1uWoUteh6IZ7_2WadOBIpVAdSwp7fCV9GD6VjEKI_K_zxzBrW4CZt3nvdCGTgcQSFZGWIIYZQ/s16000/P8071043.jpg" title="Blue and white mantle dogs, Italian mantle dogs, Italian Staffordshire Style mantle dogs, mantle dogs, Wally dogs, chimney pieces, flat backs, styling with mantle dogs, styling with Staffordshire dogs, styling with Staffordshire style dogs, styling with blue and white mantle dogs, blue and white Chinese styled dresser top, chinoiserie styling with mantle dogs, chinoiserie styled mantle dogs, asian themed styling" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The pair are unpainted on the back side and have a large 'casting hole' on the bottom. The casting hole comes from the slip mold process - clay and water are mixed to a creamy consistency, then poured into a two-part plaster mold. The slip water is absorbed by the plaster mold, leaving a clay shell next to the mold. The excess water is poured out, the mold is opened and the clay shell removed.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-i9RooZ-RjfNi9QTKf-TqfjY9X2MCU9c0GpmZvUXDAjg-TdA27XwyvxczJ4mLwnCs51kdL4IrfnnBdfsLp9eoBikWRsRBj1fN8X33gHSB8Aj_sWRPmz-3fySB7m5iDYpYScYFFFmSmpquXIF29Ct16V7f9hMKEV2cAHEBfNJM7rpQp0JNmSvtrFUpg/s4608/P8071024.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Blue & White Italian Staffordshire Style Dogs" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-i9RooZ-RjfNi9QTKf-TqfjY9X2MCU9c0GpmZvUXDAjg-TdA27XwyvxczJ4mLwnCs51kdL4IrfnnBdfsLp9eoBikWRsRBj1fN8X33gHSB8Aj_sWRPmz-3fySB7m5iDYpYScYFFFmSmpquXIF29Ct16V7f9hMKEV2cAHEBfNJM7rpQp0JNmSvtrFUpg/s16000/P8071024.jpg" title="Blue and white mantle dogs, Italian mantle dogs, Italian Staffordshire Style mantle dogs, mantle dogs, Wally dogs, chimney pieces, flat backs, styling with mantle dogs, styling with Staffordshire dogs, styling with Staffordshire style dogs, styling with blue and white mantle dogs, blue and white Chinese styled dresser top, chinoiserie styling with mantle dogs, chinoiserie styled mantle dogs, asian themed styling" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUajlci4iViM2DonKnsGxr44f-zAM8c-faGKhXfAapDEuHH5_VBhBrWA9c-SHmMPwMuMWI4B60I3PsjviRFJMQeKhxAJuTIlQr8s-t7soQoKr5YCmjGmkDbed0WjI7y0-MqIeBMEJLbryW0sVFJ60S-4IncPjL7OcOtungLAcdGQfwQsMXj9eK0EV5A/s4608/P8071046.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Blue & White Italian Staffordshire Style Dogs" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUajlci4iViM2DonKnsGxr44f-zAM8c-faGKhXfAapDEuHH5_VBhBrWA9c-SHmMPwMuMWI4B60I3PsjviRFJMQeKhxAJuTIlQr8s-t7soQoKr5YCmjGmkDbed0WjI7y0-MqIeBMEJLbryW0sVFJ60S-4IncPjL7OcOtungLAcdGQfwQsMXj9eK0EV5A/s16000/P8071046.jpg" title="Blue and white mantle dogs, Italian mantle dogs, Italian Staffordshire Style mantle dogs, mantle dogs, Wally dogs, chimney pieces, flat backs, styling with mantle dogs, styling with Staffordshire dogs, styling with Staffordshire style dogs, styling with blue and white mantle dogs, blue and white Chinese styled dresser top, chinoiserie styling with mantle dogs, chinoiserie styled mantle dogs, asian themed styling" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I can't say for sure what breed of dog this pair represents, but I think they are adorable and I hope you enjoyed seeing them. Now if I could just figure out which one is Polly and which one is Suki...<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As always, thanks for looking and bye for now!<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-51375065069625263662022-07-28T22:25:00.004-07:002022-09-02T19:41:43.110-07:00Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRu4rQ37nElZyM6HOBT2atZ-2AF3cCfTxnsPq6sBMYgpAbu2rKCzPzlwwyrcp6CHyH98Budbu0J0kO9HBJ4JVXVXDOqEVn4XEtQGvs9ZSO-A55dLgNPMLTMzH7mZrRY4H6X1HjSy-gVXSotk70MFkz5bykSr4JwuuEuaXVM3angVFTE7Q68tXEXfVeA/s3024/IMG_3851%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish! Blog post about flowers and fruit grown in my garden and a new carp windsock." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRu4rQ37nElZyM6HOBT2atZ-2AF3cCfTxnsPq6sBMYgpAbu2rKCzPzlwwyrcp6CHyH98Budbu0J0kO9HBJ4JVXVXDOqEVn4XEtQGvs9ZSO-A55dLgNPMLTMzH7mZrRY4H6X1HjSy-gVXSotk70MFkz5bykSr4JwuuEuaXVM3angVFTE7Q68tXEXfVeA/s16000/IMG_3851%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers Fruit and a Flying Fish!, Calypso Easy Elegance rose, Grays Garden Center Eugene Oregon, The Kiva Grocery Store Eugene Oregon, blueberry bushes, Van Zyverden Lily Oriental Mix, Van Zyverden Triumphator, Van Zyverden Oriental Summer Wine, Growmore Blueing Formula, DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath, Eugene Toy & Hobby Eugene Oregon blue carp windsock, small backyard garden, summer flowers and bulbs, Fiestaware Sunflower Individual Pasta Bowl" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></span></i>ello friends. It has been a very long time since I shared a peek into what's growing in my small backyard garden.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Have you ever tried to grow roses? They can be very challenging. I did not have very good luck with the bare root variety that I bought at a local discount box store so instead purchased two 'Easy Elegance' rose bushes from <a href="https://www.graysgardens.com/">Grays Garden Centers</a>. Neither have been a disappointment. Both are bushy, have lots of green leaves and an abundance of flowers. The 'Calypso', above, is one of them. It sprouts lovely dark pink buds that change to light pink blooms and as they age they turn a subtle blush pink.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-__iaH9x8rSd-lH0ece1NutRyVvNiz72giordg6Df4Dbd2p7tCJvN2AZeX7nFTM_gPk82d9KKlB2tdGMhl1OwPQr6aHVeMVTJUgBZD-AbyfAMcewSFRo2un2ODgSvhooAZICQAANyI0ilQpHLo-05m7Pa_K3jfzqs0NsZn0t813lS3Dr96OpLWXIIdQ/s3024/IMG_3821%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish! Blog post about flowers and fruit grown in my garden and a new carp windsock." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-__iaH9x8rSd-lH0ece1NutRyVvNiz72giordg6Df4Dbd2p7tCJvN2AZeX7nFTM_gPk82d9KKlB2tdGMhl1OwPQr6aHVeMVTJUgBZD-AbyfAMcewSFRo2un2ODgSvhooAZICQAANyI0ilQpHLo-05m7Pa_K3jfzqs0NsZn0t813lS3Dr96OpLWXIIdQ/s16000/IMG_3821%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers Fruit and a Flying Fish!, Calypso Easy Elegance rose, Grays Garden Center Eugene Oregon, The Kiva Grocery Store Eugene Oregon, blueberry bushes, Van Zyverden Lily Oriental Mix, Van Zyverden Triumphator, Van Zyverden Oriental Summer Wine, Growmore Blueing Formula, DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath, Eugene Toy & Hobby Eugene Oregon blue carp windsock, small backyard garden, summer flowers and bulbs, Fiestaware Sunflower Individual Pasta Bowl" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The dahlia above was a surprise this year. I picked up one of those six packs of annuals last summer at <a href="https://www.kivagrocery.com/">The Kiva Grocery</a> store. And out of the six one decided to come back for another visit this year. How lovely!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmx5Ztc4Isdbutfe1eUTsR6AO8FR9CfSAkibAYnAaLG3tIWVSZOLohMQpNSsAouhGNKAnwHhIiza5ksTotJcnbV0pLDJzgaCw1X2kbOUTMbtCuDNFFB97OG630eqnDSmrQDjqpBOcHNGeDv_l6h9pk6w0F0hxuzCMeE4-EDJ6f-0t_NvKP9pCN-dj_Q/s4032/IMG_3815%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish! Blog post about flowers and fruit grown in my garden and a new carp windsock." border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmx5Ztc4Isdbutfe1eUTsR6AO8FR9CfSAkibAYnAaLG3tIWVSZOLohMQpNSsAouhGNKAnwHhIiza5ksTotJcnbV0pLDJzgaCw1X2kbOUTMbtCuDNFFB97OG630eqnDSmrQDjqpBOcHNGeDv_l6h9pk6w0F0hxuzCMeE4-EDJ6f-0t_NvKP9pCN-dj_Q/s16000/IMG_3815%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers Fruit and a Flying Fish!, Calypso Easy Elegance rose, Grays Garden Center Eugene Oregon, The Kiva Grocery Store Eugene Oregon, blueberry bushes, Van Zyverden Lily Oriental Mix, Van Zyverden Triumphator, Van Zyverden Oriental Summer Wine, Growmore Blueing Formula, DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath, Eugene Toy & Hobby Eugene Oregon blue carp windsock, small backyard garden, summer flowers and bulbs, Fiestaware Sunflower Individual Pasta Bowl" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have three mature blueberry bushes and a couple of younger ones also. They were just twigs when we first planted them so it feels very special to be able to gather up a good amount of berries for scones, pancakes and snacking.</span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lilies are a must if you love having fragrant flowers in your garden. Their sweet smell is intoxicating and relaxing on a warm summer night.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The lilies shown here are the <a href="https://www.vanzyverden.com/">Van Zyverden</a> brand which I have had a good amount of success with over the years.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This white lily is from a variety pack called 'Lily Oriental Mix'. Its yellow pollen has fallen from the stamens, creating stains on the petals. Watch out! If you dip your nose into the flower to smell it you might get pollen stains on your nose!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJWNVDFl01i9ORVX1ZGuH5aljdXyx57ESDNHjjhq2PR-jtj_XhuFOmVNPsjdJm8je6Nm8fXE8r85Tk_aWngI0VNTfgZF6rtpJpPD9LcoogzYMVXwKR5Y7bdmq39fRj0OSou2G7NB4wTOYS3pPS1WnwhLUzdQxCb4E7Lz938vtFisLUi_5E9o_IOLPyQ/s3024/IMG_3849%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish! Blog post about flowers and fruit grown in my garden and a new carp windsock." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJWNVDFl01i9ORVX1ZGuH5aljdXyx57ESDNHjjhq2PR-jtj_XhuFOmVNPsjdJm8je6Nm8fXE8r85Tk_aWngI0VNTfgZF6rtpJpPD9LcoogzYMVXwKR5Y7bdmq39fRj0OSou2G7NB4wTOYS3pPS1WnwhLUzdQxCb4E7Lz938vtFisLUi_5E9o_IOLPyQ/s16000/IMG_3849%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers Fruit and a Flying Fish!, Calypso Easy Elegance rose, Grays Garden Center Eugene Oregon, The Kiva Grocery Store Eugene Oregon, blueberry bushes, Van Zyverden Lily Oriental Mix, Van Zyverden Triumphator, Van Zyverden Oriental Summer Wine, Growmore Blueing Formula, DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath, Eugene Toy & Hobby Eugene Oregon blue carp windsock, small backyard garden, summer flowers and bulbs, Fiestaware Sunflower Individual Pasta Bowl" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And isn't this 'Triumphator' with its white and pink color scheme delightful?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6BxaI7osI4gSKaaZDmb5z7ZVdCFfJkzE3EWq7H6Q0wJSaE-XH9FJ63ENSV_45d9OmJ9O94AoTU6zG_AA9jDOwbvqn0b1LA_uZUwbgWyD3h3AKpR0aTeli7HVR2LFYxtqVmsrHOLaX0Xn7FcyVApPQpapD8vwBCIxJpkfh3kKKUGj7QtpBpRbD6PvZA/s3024/IMG_3829%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish! Blog post about flowers and fruit grown in my garden and a new carp windsock." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6BxaI7osI4gSKaaZDmb5z7ZVdCFfJkzE3EWq7H6Q0wJSaE-XH9FJ63ENSV_45d9OmJ9O94AoTU6zG_AA9jDOwbvqn0b1LA_uZUwbgWyD3h3AKpR0aTeli7HVR2LFYxtqVmsrHOLaX0Xn7FcyVApPQpapD8vwBCIxJpkfh3kKKUGj7QtpBpRbD6PvZA/s16000/IMG_3829%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers Fruit and a Flying Fish!, Calypso Easy Elegance rose, Grays Garden Center Eugene Oregon, The Kiva Grocery Store Eugene Oregon, blueberry bushes, Van Zyverden Lily Oriental Mix, Van Zyverden Triumphator, Van Zyverden Oriental Summer Wine, Growmore Blueing Formula, DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath, Eugene Toy & Hobby Eugene Oregon blue carp windsock, small backyard garden, summer flowers and bulbs, Fiestaware Sunflower Individual Pasta Bowl" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 'Oriental Summer Wine' lily is quite the bright pink don't you agree? I've seen an orange variety of lily with the same spot pattern and they are called tiger lily.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nHu_LVo_5wkwp4ELIM3LvmRpGHwWBxbst5V0ugVYoFoevulCxHzfGvawf2hQMKQsDI7Fl7DDJibbZi8-greWXYCPxGlsOc_ai5S5kINdcmEvAUOjT6VMt8ZUkJEJBC6kt_UlG0ic534WJUNHXyxVTOzBwVJrEKurh5pZ6X28Vb5FrJLsHgq1HD5thQ/s3024/IMG_3850%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish! Blog post about flowers and fruit grown in my garden and a new carp windsock." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nHu_LVo_5wkwp4ELIM3LvmRpGHwWBxbst5V0ugVYoFoevulCxHzfGvawf2hQMKQsDI7Fl7DDJibbZi8-greWXYCPxGlsOc_ai5S5kINdcmEvAUOjT6VMt8ZUkJEJBC6kt_UlG0ic534WJUNHXyxVTOzBwVJrEKurh5pZ6X28Vb5FrJLsHgq1HD5thQ/s16000/IMG_3850%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers Fruit and a Flying Fish!, Calypso Easy Elegance rose, Grays Garden Center Eugene Oregon, The Kiva Grocery Store Eugene Oregon, blueberry bushes, Van Zyverden Lily Oriental Mix, Van Zyverden Triumphator, Van Zyverden Oriental Summer Wine, Growmore Blueing Formula, DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath, Eugene Toy & Hobby Eugene Oregon blue carp windsock, small backyard garden, summer flowers and bulbs, Fiestaware Sunflower Individual Pasta Bowl" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So do you prefer pink or blue hydrangeas? I prefer blue however there is a bit of effort required to achieve this. Maybe you've heard of it already but the idea is to lower the soil pH by applying a blueing formula. I use the <a href="https://www.farmstore.com/product/grow-more-hydrangea-bluing-2-lb/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw54iXBhCXARIsADWpsG-hnnOOICk05zMUIMq6z0W_NQiQYNLMseEXvGCc0Elw2aIPt3es26AaAlcDEALw_wcB">Growmore</a> brand. The link provided is the best price I found at about $10.00 for a two pound container. Here's an example of my results.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2ge1xNhM3UMFLaNjufqV9rze2Ewle9GEMVLxLw4oXUtVql0bYvLNcEa-vdqJ1w0ZYWZa9DoHX1K8bRfLgodzS58kepkFU4QRWUVQnIUtkgCQT_grxeONDAmSPfZ33kWvyQqUdvfMexNHGzLyJo4OkHVbkcKjdqQjmCQYYdC9aUMhB9lOVdYGpsaRpQ/s3024/IMG_3822%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish! Blog post about flowers and fruit grown in my garden and a new carp windsock." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2ge1xNhM3UMFLaNjufqV9rze2Ewle9GEMVLxLw4oXUtVql0bYvLNcEa-vdqJ1w0ZYWZa9DoHX1K8bRfLgodzS58kepkFU4QRWUVQnIUtkgCQT_grxeONDAmSPfZ33kWvyQqUdvfMexNHGzLyJo4OkHVbkcKjdqQjmCQYYdC9aUMhB9lOVdYGpsaRpQ/s16000/IMG_3822%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers Fruit and a Flying Fish!, Calypso Easy Elegance rose, Grays Garden Center Eugene Oregon, The Kiva Grocery Store Eugene Oregon, blueberry bushes, Van Zyverden Lily Oriental Mix, Van Zyverden Triumphator, Van Zyverden Oriental Summer Wine, Growmore Blueing Formula, DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath, Eugene Toy & Hobby Eugene Oregon blue carp windsock, small backyard garden, summer flowers and bulbs, Fiestaware Sunflower Individual Pasta Bowl" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I started the blueing process late this season yet the results might be the best I've ever had.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you have seen dried hydrangeas, either stems or wreaths, in the florist shop or at an upscale grocery store you know how expensive they can be. But did you know you can dry your garden hydrangeas yourself?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you're interested in this, I wrote two blog posts. In <a href="https://www.undertheplumblossomtree.com/2018/11/diy-drying-garden-hydrangeas-for-wreath.html">DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making</a> I explain what to look for when preparing to cut your flowers and tips about the preservation process. And in <a href="https://www.undertheplumblossomtree.com/2015/10/diy-autumn-hydrangea-wreath.html">DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath</a> I give step-by-step instructions on how to make a dried hydrangea wreath using a grapevine wreath purchased at the craft store.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And at last here is our new flying fish!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Wyzv0KdTO5Bb663XqzRvmNkIjCaqs8Mk2CgJzkrNQ5dk3myEMzf9f3C8fJdrEOKazVZ2-NB33V6zZzDbFdJigKWA68aiXl2j6pqZgvrsXL4Zm1i4GLjb7k1ZTnDF6wV5T01DkkInGSfQ47sOeqQ2t3jsr8NOHPTm-4vkI5AEFDNEDZkJrJGAiNRCjw/s3024/IMG_3824%20copy%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers, Fruit and a Flying Fish! Blog post about flowers and fruit grown in my garden and a new carp windsock." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Wyzv0KdTO5Bb663XqzRvmNkIjCaqs8Mk2CgJzkrNQ5dk3myEMzf9f3C8fJdrEOKazVZ2-NB33V6zZzDbFdJigKWA68aiXl2j6pqZgvrsXL4Zm1i4GLjb7k1ZTnDF6wV5T01DkkInGSfQ47sOeqQ2t3jsr8NOHPTm-4vkI5AEFDNEDZkJrJGAiNRCjw/s16000/IMG_3824%20copy%20(1).jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree Summer Garden: Flowers Fruit and a Flying Fish!, Calypso Easy Elegance rose, Grays Garden Center Eugene Oregon, The Kiva Grocery Store Eugene Oregon, blueberry bushes, Van Zyverden Lily Oriental Mix, Van Zyverden Triumphator, Van Zyverden Oriental Summer Wine, Growmore Blueing Formula, DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making, DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath, Eugene Toy & Hobby Eugene Oregon blue carp windsock, small backyard garden, summer flowers and bulbs, Fiestaware Sunflower Individual Pasta Bowl" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's silly but everyone in our family loves having a carp windsock in the backyard. The first one we had was green and flew for many summer seasons until it got wind-ripped and could fly no longer. I found this new one at <a href="https://www.eugenetoyandhobby.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw54iXBhCXARIsADWpsG_GXFnDmxZlNu61n-yTljm43rFWS1ishifECmCY3LKFdeosOyj3fvIaAv4cEALw_wcB">Eugene Toy & Hobby</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May our new blue flying carp merrily dip, spin and twirl for many summers to come!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's all for now. Thanks for reading and see you again soon.<br /> </span></p><p></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-41650700335104215432022-07-17T22:24:00.002-07:002022-09-02T19:44:49.590-07:00Plum Blossom Decor: An Etsy Shop Update<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6pgxvT8d83_O9YqxZtBoegob6XMbQqpYuQ_1foLlFBe7aIXT9iYyuROtk-g_zNSDYTQ3JdsKnvjvOyYeM1dkQexE1mj0_o5CDshWb2vK9UvE5uMMTET2_gonn96u-83jHosXOkj49C5tSZA2hj7dU81rUcWK6RPOUiSHVCzBymmU_1E3W_3cZH1dGw/s4608/Version%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update" border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6pgxvT8d83_O9YqxZtBoegob6XMbQqpYuQ_1foLlFBe7aIXT9iYyuROtk-g_zNSDYTQ3JdsKnvjvOyYeM1dkQexE1mj0_o5CDshWb2vK9UvE5uMMTET2_gonn96u-83jHosXOkj49C5tSZA2hj7dU81rUcWK6RPOUiSHVCzBymmU_1E3W_3cZH1dGw/s16000/Version%202.jpg" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Blue Willow canister set, Meakin serving platter, Meakin Blue Nordic serving platter, English serving platter, blue and white serving platter, Japanese ceramic fans, Chinese decorative blue and white bottle, Chinese blue and white ginger jar, vintage oriental home decor, vintage asian home decor, vintage chinoiserie home decor, blue and white home decor, Japanese home decor, Chinese home decor, English home decor, styling with blue and white, blue and white home wares for sale" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></span></i>ello friends! A funny thing happened on the way to writing this blog post. Last weekend I pulled five of my Etsy shop listings from my inventory (shown above), styled them on our piano, and photographed them so I could write this blog post for you today.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then on Wednesday a customer bought the Blue Willow canister set. I considered starting over again and replacing the canisters with something else, but since they are such a rare find I thought I would still share the set, as well as the other items shown.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nNjFjzOwFIwpcRZkFZ1tL0lqBbxiYl1esPnccVMOnRtjrT65Dhx1-bWxSNgGG_4NVaIoYvMT92QZdrZVRKjcteQnN0NuWlvDV7fiic7weHtD61lqMXpZpGD3lDJJ_HT_uqvKqw_uO4V1-f90UbtJj8KJ2F6fBtu2PIc8yRoyxvLpMRwf1Y_FyHMxvw/s3024/IMG_3674%20copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nNjFjzOwFIwpcRZkFZ1tL0lqBbxiYl1esPnccVMOnRtjrT65Dhx1-bWxSNgGG_4NVaIoYvMT92QZdrZVRKjcteQnN0NuWlvDV7fiic7weHtD61lqMXpZpGD3lDJJ_HT_uqvKqw_uO4V1-f90UbtJj8KJ2F6fBtu2PIc8yRoyxvLpMRwf1Y_FyHMxvw/s16000/IMG_3674%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Blue Willow canister set, Meakin serving platter, Meakin Blue Nordic serving platter, English serving platter, blue and white serving platter, Japanese ceramic fans, Chinese decorative blue and white bottle, Chinese blue and white ginger jar, vintage oriental home decor, vintage asian home decor, vintage chinoiserie home decor, blue and white home decor, Japanese home decor, Chinese home decor, English home decor, styling with blue and white, blue and white home wares for sale" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I found these ceramic Blue Willow canisters at an estate sale a few weeks ago and almost passed them up because it was only the three, not the standard four. I had a hunch though that, because it's Blue Willow, maybe someone out there wouldn't mind that the largest sized canister is missing. Perhaps I guessed correctly...</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When I came home from the sale I searched the internet for Blue Willow canisters and found that there are very few out there for sale. This set is not marked but I did find one or two other sellers that had the same canisters and theirs were marked Japan. Johnson Brothers England also made a Blue Willow canister set. Nevertheless, I'm sure that Tina in New Jersey is going to love her new Blue Willow canisters!<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The remaining items (as follows) are still available in my Esty shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageTeaTreasures">Plum Blossom Decor</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This J & G Meakin ironstone platter in the 'Blue Nordic' pattern was made in England in the 1970s. It is 12" wide and 9-1/4" in height and is dishwasher safe. Blue Nordic, also known as Blue Onion, is a very popular pattern and appears to be widely collected. Its abstract floral design is Scandinavian influenced and quite popular amongst those that like almost anything blue and white. The fact that this pattern is dishwasher safe is a bonus as it can actually be used for everyday meals!<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXX5c3B-mcsV-pApwVBq1Zn_zLlLNfAaUjn2SrwnaPlSg-wS1r9hfDjMeQTEjQNlD4J-RJF703UFa2l6GwLM9RSAL-EiTE6adZQ6AMau72lfDwd_B5KE3kDXc9gXkXi1-GIPbJKOAkJTIbE7hNG-Rf0gRqQiMzgFgYVM-xNSfHfGlAIBphPh4cmh0cg/s3024/IMG_3704%20copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXX5c3B-mcsV-pApwVBq1Zn_zLlLNfAaUjn2SrwnaPlSg-wS1r9hfDjMeQTEjQNlD4J-RJF703UFa2l6GwLM9RSAL-EiTE6adZQ6AMau72lfDwd_B5KE3kDXc9gXkXi1-GIPbJKOAkJTIbE7hNG-Rf0gRqQiMzgFgYVM-xNSfHfGlAIBphPh4cmh0cg/s16000/IMG_3704%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Blue Willow canister set, Meakin serving platter, Meakin Blue Nordic serving platter, English serving platter, blue and white serving platter, Japanese ceramic fans, Chinese decorative blue and white bottle, Chinese blue and white ginger jar, vintage oriental home decor, vintage asian home decor, vintage chinoiserie home decor, blue and white home decor, Japanese home decor, Chinese home decor, English home decor, styling with blue and white, blue and white home wares for sale" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also available is a sweet (albeit mismatched) pair of Japanese ceramic fans. The fan on the left has pretty pink and purple irises, blue leaves, gold highlights, and a raised or embossed texture. Although the white fan does not have any decoration, it has all the same raised or embossed textures as the decorated fan. These would be fun to use for sushi night or for jewelry next to your bedside or on your dresser. They would also be nice displayed on a bookshelf or piano.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhye2CWWxDr_iFTaG58blSOnEXm7O9fP1NJ6eUxOig_0-TfexNG-nv-h3zS4ZeH9aHwr4nQ4dkEDdADLkT8SxCZyT_m2iJLz3bejVue10QyfGmC9DJpuWyJD-jJQOxM4o5olj8cTGdGNT6nf2l-NXsqV8oWe39smPIj_WCJbAAyZTsjk3WdSu4ZGn5Htg/s3024/IMG_3698%20copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhye2CWWxDr_iFTaG58blSOnEXm7O9fP1NJ6eUxOig_0-TfexNG-nv-h3zS4ZeH9aHwr4nQ4dkEDdADLkT8SxCZyT_m2iJLz3bejVue10QyfGmC9DJpuWyJD-jJQOxM4o5olj8cTGdGNT6nf2l-NXsqV8oWe39smPIj_WCJbAAyZTsjk3WdSu4ZGn5Htg/s16000/IMG_3698%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Blue Willow canister set, Meakin serving platter, Meakin Blue Nordic serving platter, English serving platter, blue and white serving platter, Japanese ceramic fans, Chinese decorative blue and white bottle, Chinese blue and white ginger jar, vintage oriental home decor, vintage asian home decor, vintage chinoiserie home decor, blue and white home decor, Japanese home decor, Chinese home decor, English home decor, styling with blue and white, blue and white home wares for sale" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another lovely item for your consideration is this 'Canton style' Chinese decorative bottle with lid. It features a wrap around pattern, similar to Blue Willow, with pagoda style buildings along a river that has a bridge, sailboats, trees, flowers, rocks, birds and mountains in the background. At 7" in height it would be lovely sitting on a stack of books on your shelves or as part of a vignette on a bathroom shelf or perhaps on your bedside table.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3BiCFIHSMJpivy1rh0RqyphbtUkbc0eRhFUcgrZXWtIDW_UB84r4MSiRUuDlgIkl2fyG8uldnV2qavJ_088N-Ns8pteTs3SEn-fUS6bUMA-oHjWWXXTQmaRv6VqFS4OdMn2TWvHKLd13aloHVu332b_bAXuhcXJkrkiPofmxxrSzgzXBsji8G2a1Fw/s2448/IMG_2604%20copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update" border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="2448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3BiCFIHSMJpivy1rh0RqyphbtUkbc0eRhFUcgrZXWtIDW_UB84r4MSiRUuDlgIkl2fyG8uldnV2qavJ_088N-Ns8pteTs3SEn-fUS6bUMA-oHjWWXXTQmaRv6VqFS4OdMn2TWvHKLd13aloHVu332b_bAXuhcXJkrkiPofmxxrSzgzXBsji8G2a1Fw/s16000/IMG_2604%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Blue Willow canister set, Meakin serving platter, Meakin Blue Nordic serving platter, English serving platter, blue and white serving platter, Japanese ceramic fans, Chinese decorative blue and white bottle, Chinese blue and white ginger jar, vintage oriental home decor, vintage asian home decor, vintage chinoiserie home decor, blue and white home decor, Japanese home decor, Chinese home decor, English home decor, styling with blue and white, blue and white home wares for sale" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And lastly, a Chinese ginger jar with a hand painted 'chintz-like' pattern. It is 7" in height and there are interesting borders on the top and bottom of the jar as well as on the lid, and a floral medallion on the front and back. A classic piece that will work anywhere you choose to place it.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_hWsjf1Zt41VVDrVFHSJxI8mAuYuYpN_tCIY0kPCcpysoosJjtiiw02R-5pMCjQRQ7e20m1cRPwd1bnOP5AVwlMnF1fmOqAuXdw_gUXCD3HqFBIw7LRA6hStJrRS8Z-BVZPZ-B3YnQ-BCRulO18UWFfSufaK2UQCNtnikdDnEgmHtfeQnQQJf_1PpQ/s3024/IMG_3255%20copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_hWsjf1Zt41VVDrVFHSJxI8mAuYuYpN_tCIY0kPCcpysoosJjtiiw02R-5pMCjQRQ7e20m1cRPwd1bnOP5AVwlMnF1fmOqAuXdw_gUXCD3HqFBIw7LRA6hStJrRS8Z-BVZPZ-B3YnQ-BCRulO18UWFfSufaK2UQCNtnikdDnEgmHtfeQnQQJf_1PpQ/s16000/IMG_3255%20copy.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree: An Etsy Shop Update, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Blue Willow canister set, Meakin serving platter, Meakin Blue Nordic serving platter, English serving platter, blue and white serving platter, Japanese ceramic fans, Chinese decorative blue and white bottle, Chinese blue and white ginger jar, vintage oriental home decor, vintage asian home decor, vintage chinoiserie home decor, blue and white home decor, Japanese home decor, Chinese home decor, English home decor, styling with blue and white, blue and white home wares for sale" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So head on over to <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageTeaTreasures">Plum Blossom Decor</a> on Etsy to see more details, photos, videos and prices. Everything here is available (except the sold Blue Willow canister set) and in excellent vintage condition with no chips, cracks or crazing to the glaze. And don't forget to use the code <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlumBlossomDecor?coupon=PLUMBLOSSOM10">PlumBlossom10</a> for a ten percent discount on your order!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for looking and bye for now... </span><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-19122434517395584852022-07-08T23:04:00.001-07:002022-09-02T19:46:52.856-07:00Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWuhwx-sHrsy_9j_9fHTDPaZFs8IgwJfVOy1M5Pyn2QODRi46n6zDV_8-MrWJg4iN49GcMAv7UdXGOVl0IYzWqG_dsMRcwdRYwdXAqRtaqZo9wXif_tUu1buJKXU6-RmH5IsvrZuVWqd7ilG-WurUO4Igah9LE9owSUg3GBEsdSOJ6HXP_-D3Z9XwIg/s3024/IMG_3714.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWuhwx-sHrsy_9j_9fHTDPaZFs8IgwJfVOy1M5Pyn2QODRi46n6zDV_8-MrWJg4iN49GcMAv7UdXGOVl0IYzWqG_dsMRcwdRYwdXAqRtaqZo9wXif_tUu1buJKXU6-RmH5IsvrZuVWqd7ilG-WurUO4Igah9LE9owSUg3GBEsdSOJ6HXP_-D3Z9XwIg/s16000/IMG_3714.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp, mid century asian figurine lamp, mid century oriental figurine lamp, chinoiserie asian lady lamp, chinoiserie desktop lamp, pink yellow red chinoiserie lamp, Wayfair Winston Porter 6.75” H Silk/Shantung Bell clip on Lamp Shade, white bell shape lampshade, lampshade for asian style lamp, styling a chinoiserie lamp, vintage Japanese runner duck, vintage Hanger planter, Trader Joe’s mini ferns" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><span>H</span></i></span>ello friends! Have you ever had some small task or idea rattle around in your brain for years before it ever sees the light of day? Of course you have! Today's post is all about just such an event. Way back in 2016 I published a 'Vintage Finds' segment entitled <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/preview/6744641487057015187/7801863451906348562">Vintage Finds: Tickled Pink</a> on this blog. I shared three charity shop finds, one of which was this Asian lady figurine that appeared to be a lamp base.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinElACLpNUB00dhjkQxd2Azjk8qPUC45YphiH98GEYAF6VHzVHzfWZEDxwkUPGNzyRnSYru3G4teY9d_SqUbDss3CJeemOaUnIwwP839FwxOvNJEvIvI-JK72t3X_CpJzTbWc8ZIgo1pCEcR6Cox4nL_34uxZaYYpBDh4zHpKSJTsJo1Dd7DhOzUZ2tQ/s3024/IMG_3715.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinElACLpNUB00dhjkQxd2Azjk8qPUC45YphiH98GEYAF6VHzVHzfWZEDxwkUPGNzyRnSYru3G4teY9d_SqUbDss3CJeemOaUnIwwP839FwxOvNJEvIvI-JK72t3X_CpJzTbWc8ZIgo1pCEcR6Cox4nL_34uxZaYYpBDh4zHpKSJTsJo1Dd7DhOzUZ2tQ/s16000/IMG_3715.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp, mid century asian figurine lamp, mid century oriental figurine lamp, chinoiserie asian lady lamp, chinoiserie desktop lamp, pink yellow red chinoiserie lamp, Wayfair Winston Porter 6.75” H Silk/Shantung Bell clip on Lamp Shade, white bell shape lampshade, lampshade for asian style lamp, styling a chinoiserie lamp, vintage Japanese runner duck, vintage Hanger planter, Trader Joe’s mini ferns" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is hollow ceramic and has an open bottom as well as openings on the top of her head and in the back, just above the base.<br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfVfU0O7_brqtFr4yBOYSBIZCsmpXphQ8Vee6ZzeGt5VeFoutV1ZG3XqX0L7j1b9j_KYC-ws-L_ArrO5TPqLR8D39uQI7q1SIIXMZdreEBjXWF2pk5f9ThvyGrD-Fu7fDKNurzHkQfEcai5iHJe3oOHCpGpynvAHs4bklpOYN30g_JeS1F0iYNVQxag/s3024/IMG_3718.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfVfU0O7_brqtFr4yBOYSBIZCsmpXphQ8Vee6ZzeGt5VeFoutV1ZG3XqX0L7j1b9j_KYC-ws-L_ArrO5TPqLR8D39uQI7q1SIIXMZdreEBjXWF2pk5f9ThvyGrD-Fu7fDKNurzHkQfEcai5iHJe3oOHCpGpynvAHs4bklpOYN30g_JeS1F0iYNVQxag/s16000/IMG_3718.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp, mid century asian figurine lamp, mid century oriental figurine lamp, chinoiserie asian lady lamp, chinoiserie desktop lamp, pink yellow red chinoiserie lamp, Wayfair Winston Porter 6.75” H Silk/Shantung Bell clip on Lamp Shade, white bell shape lampshade, lampshade for asian style lamp, styling a chinoiserie lamp, vintage Japanese runner duck, vintage Hanger planter, Trader Joe’s mini ferns" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't know if it ever was a lamp in the past. When I found it at the thrift store it did not have any hardware attached to it. After I purchased it and wrote the blog post </span>I placed it on a bookshelf. I remember some time after that Jimmy and I were shopping at one of the big box home stores and I saw a packaged lamp kit. While it seemed to be the right size it had parts I knew I didn't need so I passed on it and Jimmy suggested I take the lamp to a lighting store. Six years later I did just that!<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The helpful staff at <a href="https://www.brighterhomeslighting.com/">Brighter Homes Lighting Gallery</a> had the parts in stock and assembled the lamp while I waited. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It has taken years, but this small Asian lady figurine has finally become a cute accent lamp!</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A great feature of this lamp is the dynamic posture of the figure. Her legs are front facing, yet her torso is slightly turned to her left. Her left hand grips her garment and in her right hand she holds a fan. With her fancy clothing and headpiece I'm sure she will begin to dance at any moment!<br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFuYJngiNTmurxXadVREdgcm8RvLI6RQp8nKgxAvAC854FYgr5NA0fEMx3MjVA40Mlh6UlF4SeLZgAf-UWJ7NsDqXfpp_5-s8v3_PRDxpfa3MKWQL7Qz7Q2Xn0jKoFjB7sypm5wVGFy6RpxQEapQRpeP0yJn_ZvbVvM0Z1OBJgxnjT1SYrZP8mAayaA/s3024/IMG_3721.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFuYJngiNTmurxXadVREdgcm8RvLI6RQp8nKgxAvAC854FYgr5NA0fEMx3MjVA40Mlh6UlF4SeLZgAf-UWJ7NsDqXfpp_5-s8v3_PRDxpfa3MKWQL7Qz7Q2Xn0jKoFjB7sypm5wVGFy6RpxQEapQRpeP0yJn_ZvbVvM0Z1OBJgxnjT1SYrZP8mAayaA/s16000/IMG_3721.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp, mid century asian figurine lamp, mid century oriental figurine lamp, chinoiserie asian lady lamp, chinoiserie desktop lamp, pink yellow red chinoiserie lamp, Wayfair Winston Porter 6.75” H Silk/Shantung Bell clip on Lamp Shade, white bell shape lampshade, lampshade for asian style lamp, styling a chinoiserie lamp, vintage Japanese runner duck, vintage Hanger planter, Trader Joe’s mini ferns" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are no markings or labels but I have no doubt that we're looking at a mid century piece. The colors are quintessentially 1950s and Oriental themed home decor was quite a big influence back then. There is some glaze crazing but overall it's in excellent vintage condition - no chips or repairs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjRdj8vmFC_wV9Srt2as801JcC4V_hfULmTKCvW_v4eyynDCir3MOz5Ji_SNrpzenJ5nv0l0jqSFCrlQT8jRodRQ5i0Hh2O2FkNnzseKdJZ488P29YorUDSxmfw-GlFPpAT7QTlJLQbKZ-Cj0gpygXVmSgUNruMFzhIr8xdmBBwrCyD5CVuSRMEF0ew/s3024/IMG_3716.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjRdj8vmFC_wV9Srt2as801JcC4V_hfULmTKCvW_v4eyynDCir3MOz5Ji_SNrpzenJ5nv0l0jqSFCrlQT8jRodRQ5i0Hh2O2FkNnzseKdJZ488P29YorUDSxmfw-GlFPpAT7QTlJLQbKZ-Cj0gpygXVmSgUNruMFzhIr8xdmBBwrCyD5CVuSRMEF0ew/s16000/IMG_3716.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp, mid century asian figurine lamp, mid century oriental figurine lamp, chinoiserie asian lady lamp, chinoiserie desktop lamp, pink yellow red chinoiserie lamp, Wayfair Winston Porter 6.75” H Silk/Shantung Bell clip on Lamp Shade, white bell shape lampshade, lampshade for asian style lamp, styling a chinoiserie lamp, vintage Japanese runner duck, vintage Hanger planter, Trader Joe’s mini ferns" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzESPjsSIiKlSIXIAVrLuSPWpnF8v3NJLZedoztxhuRg6zrVkFkJFfz-YODpw9we2UAtcFtB_y-vOhm7PIJteqFYEClBMDsMc2l0wXHHmY_WX_9IUPwltqgWi5WRRF3-m8vqZzev2BRSJjg-uIBC8wSj13af1bni884cQSnTCiYDIMc-2XViOLrtC5Yg/s3024/IMG_3717.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzESPjsSIiKlSIXIAVrLuSPWpnF8v3NJLZedoztxhuRg6zrVkFkJFfz-YODpw9we2UAtcFtB_y-vOhm7PIJteqFYEClBMDsMc2l0wXHHmY_WX_9IUPwltqgWi5WRRF3-m8vqZzev2BRSJjg-uIBC8wSj13af1bni884cQSnTCiYDIMc-2XViOLrtC5Yg/s16000/IMG_3717.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp, mid century asian figurine lamp, mid century oriental figurine lamp, chinoiserie asian lady lamp, chinoiserie desktop lamp, pink yellow red chinoiserie lamp, Wayfair Winston Porter 6.75” H Silk/Shantung Bell clip on Lamp Shade, white bell shape lampshade, lampshade for asian style lamp, styling a chinoiserie lamp, vintage Japanese runner duck, vintage Hanger planter, Trader Joe’s mini ferns" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For my vignette here, I styled my new lamp with a
vintage Japanese runner duck that Jimmy once gifted me and a mid century
Haeger planter into which I planted a couple of mini ferns from Trader Joe's.<br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Oh, and the lamp shade is a white 6.75" (height) silk/shantung bell shape clip on from <a href="https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/winston-porter-675-h-silkshantung-bell-lamp-shade-clip-on-w000268352.html">Wayfair</a> although when I purchased mine several weeks ago it was $35.99 with free shipping.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQx_P4BkwsHc9Ii1_hsxbZiJqBnhWoO6nKQv6a8UkwreGRTwiY1gD3Ut1lVRBE2Sjn9nmAlXBNpknE_M_xP-qMjyZBMlA8jHm6icb3AN-RwxCQs3KeJzft7aNeIHo-j_io0fIOh756mHpAEe9vYQKah1UYOcHZ-eBzVuDwjF9o8treGuEtPacfXGXtQ/s3024/IMG_3720.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQx_P4BkwsHc9Ii1_hsxbZiJqBnhWoO6nKQv6a8UkwreGRTwiY1gD3Ut1lVRBE2Sjn9nmAlXBNpknE_M_xP-qMjyZBMlA8jHm6icb3AN-RwxCQs3KeJzft7aNeIHo-j_io0fIOh756mHpAEe9vYQKah1UYOcHZ-eBzVuDwjF9o8treGuEtPacfXGXtQ/s16000/IMG_3720.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp, mid century asian figurine lamp, mid century oriental figurine lamp, chinoiserie asian lady lamp, chinoiserie desktop lamp, pink yellow red chinoiserie lamp, Wayfair Winston Porter 6.75” H Silk/Shantung Bell clip on Lamp Shade, white bell shape lampshade, lampshade for asian style lamp, styling a chinoiserie lamp, vintage Japanese runner duck, vintage Hanger planter, Trader Joe’s mini ferns" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0hM8-TmukDPtUcZGNXlCsnC3MDn_8rXPOMrX6--Amz_N_b5Mrn3B3iwCwZ7QpEr3TE5PcuxmhDLE71x9XwZbnn3bSDP_iR7ldD81jjGBb_kHuimUyFKhdAedAB9ijpB-GSv8A9dX8NMX_m1zljYJKfrz_eo4dBAvGPtPif3GuHMS7kxwsYlMhxxlPQ/s3024/IMG_3719.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0hM8-TmukDPtUcZGNXlCsnC3MDn_8rXPOMrX6--Amz_N_b5Mrn3B3iwCwZ7QpEr3TE5PcuxmhDLE71x9XwZbnn3bSDP_iR7ldD81jjGBb_kHuimUyFKhdAedAB9ijpB-GSv8A9dX8NMX_m1zljYJKfrz_eo4dBAvGPtPif3GuHMS7kxwsYlMhxxlPQ/s16000/IMG_3719.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog, Vintage Finds: Chinoiserie Figurine Lamp, mid century asian figurine lamp, mid century oriental figurine lamp, chinoiserie asian lady lamp, chinoiserie desktop lamp, pink yellow red chinoiserie lamp, Wayfair Winston Porter 6.75” H Silk/Shantung Bell clip on Lamp Shade, white bell shape lampshade, lampshade for asian style lamp, styling a chinoiserie lamp, vintage Japanese runner duck, vintage Hanger planter, Trader Joe’s mini ferns" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking and bye for now...</span></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-87486118758044691912022-06-26T21:15:00.002-07:002022-09-26T20:33:18.834-07:00Hey There Tree Climber! A Scrapbook Layout<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha9ibDYC_yhyK69JDlN00MCJCNdRoGe4UvdhPd3p_DyivaEWDxAmnfPTLHCWJgdyouCpcpvF3OugIirPezzTetK4rVdarsafy0Yv_8FnnqhcrE_PD1Q7dawYPEzY2ikic6N99ENFAUM3Us5SEA3PNSoDpNUcNHYqTE-NbwVR-I5PeC_UO4dtegL2rJA/s2916/IMG_3669.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Hey There Tree Climber! scrapbook page by June Anderson" border="0" data-original-height="2916" data-original-width="2878" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha9ibDYC_yhyK69JDlN00MCJCNdRoGe4UvdhPd3p_DyivaEWDxAmnfPTLHCWJgdyouCpcpvF3OugIirPezzTetK4rVdarsafy0Yv_8FnnqhcrE_PD1Q7dawYPEzY2ikic6N99ENFAUM3Us5SEA3PNSoDpNUcNHYqTE-NbwVR-I5PeC_UO4dtegL2rJA/s16000/IMG_3669.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog June Anderson, Hey There Tree Climber scrapbook page, Bo Bunny Beautiful Things scrapbook papers, Simple Stories Simple Vintage Indigo sticker book, Spellbinders Layered Cherry Blossoms cutting dies, Bazzil Basics cardstock, machine stitching, typewritten journaling" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span></i></span>ey There! I've always meant to share more scrapbook pages, but alas, as I look back at what I've posted here in the past, there isn't much! So today I'm publishing this layout about my son Tayo that I just finished. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Scrapbook pages are both a labor of love and (for me anyway) a labor intense activity. I spend a lot of time thinking about the stories that I want to tell and how I can best portray the character or characters and describe the event. I also spend a lot of time thinking about what the visual representation of the story looks and feels like. Traditional pages, like that above, are a fun and creative way to represent events, milestones or personality traits.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As well, the act of making a page is a vigorous mental activity that I enjoy getting lost in. Like collage, I enjoy solving design problems and spend quite a bit of time just sitting with everything in front of me and experimenting. A part of my brain gets very charged from this activity so I tend to want to stay there!<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This page, titled <i>Hey There Tree Climber!</i> addresses both Tayo's love of tree climbing and showcases his sweet nature at age eight. There a quite a few photographs through the years of him climbing trees but I chose this particular set of photos because I was anxious to try out my new <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/spe-s4-1194.html">Spellbinders Layered Cherry Blossom</a> cutting dies. Cherry or Plum Blossoms appear quite frequently around our house so I know I will get a lot of mileage out of this die set. In fact, I plan to make more scrapbook pages and some greeting cards as well.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For the base of my page I used two sheets of 12" x 12" Beautiful Things paper from BoBunny: <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013623.html">Garden Party</a> and <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013620.html">Beauty</a>. Before machine stitching the Beauty paper to the Garden Party paper I cut a section out of the middle of the Garden Party paper and set it aside for another project.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each of the three photos are matted with <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/bb-t10-1010.html">Bazzill Avalanche</a> cardstock.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The ornate florals are also cut from Avalanche cardstock and the remainder of the flower buds and branches are cut from leftover Bazzill bits and pieces. The details of the flowers are amazing! In fact once I had all the pieces cut I kept them in a vintage tray that was decorated with cherry blossoms and I got fooled more than once!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-2pqhsSMoaexpDr5DdQ1hsidYTPdmdHAU6-lH8zbVBNN-HUUsX4CAfdHEi41uRSRZoC-wERjPJYTxK8FWZYUK_x578qJU8a4ePMTo3Os49uopGnwy5HgdOLKoNyTlMRcLCAtQd1yksKYTqAkqRCyf9fKeQ_S99FM73Hljsi4gxKN4dxeewT88jufnA/s3024/IMG_3670.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Hey There Tree Climber! scrapbook page by June Anderson" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-2pqhsSMoaexpDr5DdQ1hsidYTPdmdHAU6-lH8zbVBNN-HUUsX4CAfdHEi41uRSRZoC-wERjPJYTxK8FWZYUK_x578qJU8a4ePMTo3Os49uopGnwy5HgdOLKoNyTlMRcLCAtQd1yksKYTqAkqRCyf9fKeQ_S99FM73Hljsi4gxKN4dxeewT88jufnA/s16000/IMG_3670.JPG" title="Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog June Anderson, Hey There Tree Climber scrapbook page, Bo Bunny Beautiful Things scrapbook papers, Simple Stories Simple Vintage Indigo sticker book, Spellbinders Layered Cherry Blossoms cutting dies, Bazzil Basics cardstock, machine stitching, typewritten journaling" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It took me a long time to maneuver the main branches and flowers into place while at the same time making sure there was room for the title and journaling.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The title, as well as the two moth stickers and the tabs on the sides of the photos are all from the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/mw-17124.html">Simple Stories Simple Vintage Indigo Garden Sticker Book</a>. The journaling is printed onto copy paper. And finally, the insects at the bottom left of the page are cut from a sheet of 12" x 12" <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013626.html">BoBunny Beautiful Things Collected</a> paper.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And that's it! I'm happy how this page turned out and I hope you enjoyed seeing it.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking and bye for now!<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-17184707885555785332022-06-20T11:53:00.002-07:002022-09-02T19:53:28.074-07:00Plum Blossom Decor: An Etsy Shop Update<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsZIosGu17X0iNmoZKvlJUMVpnaAha1oWcDCmDeMKR3cLeic0uJwWK9hmbwTkS52VJTfta0Zasa8u74heO_wdhqbxX3jNbgTjsHwYrD1XGjiYJRt5GrRPFM-RrUK54cbBleYBDxX1kooLPgG8KlUcg8I-yfXWEN5MNr896c7dETxJTOyNuwLIfKColg/s3024/IMG_3441.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsZIosGu17X0iNmoZKvlJUMVpnaAha1oWcDCmDeMKR3cLeic0uJwWK9hmbwTkS52VJTfta0Zasa8u74heO_wdhqbxX3jNbgTjsHwYrD1XGjiYJRt5GrRPFM-RrUK54cbBleYBDxX1kooLPgG8KlUcg8I-yfXWEN5MNr896c7dETxJTOyNuwLIfKColg/s16000/IMG_3441.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">H</span></span></i>ello friends, I haven't written about my Etsy shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageTeaTreasures">Plum Blossom Decor</a> for a long time. The shop is in the process of being revised because my interest in all things chinoiserie has overtaken my love of vintage tea ware. There was a hiccup in renaming the shop and there are still a few things to fix but I am anxious and motivated to complete the transition.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I still adore old teacup sets (and 'pretty vintage' things) and will continue to offer them in my shop but over time I will be focusing more on vintage Chinese and Japanese home decor items, as well as vintage English items featuring the chinoiserie themes. There will also be a few choice Mid Century items as well.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In fact, today I'm sharing five new items (above) that have just been listed: Three Famille Rose pieces: a large statement vase (center), a large tea jar or ginger jar (left rear), a 'fishbowl' planter (left front) and two Rose Medallion items - a small wall plate (right, rear) and a teacup and saucer set (right front).<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items are considered a quintessential part of the chinoiserie home fashion look. Famille Rose, with its 'court' or 'salon' scenes typically depict people in a formal setting carrying out traditional duties. Rose Medallion items do not feature people, but rather are portraits of the natural world. The 'rose' referred to is actually a peony. Both Famille Rose and Rose Medallion share common painted background characteristics of peonies, moths, birds, pomegranates, gold highlights and lots and lots of 'fill-in' florals and greenery. Pinks and greens are the traditional colors, but there is some variation.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At 14-1/4" in height this vase can certainly be considered a statement piece. It has beautiful bright colors and portrayals of courtly behavior within a cartouche-like frame on both the front and back of the piece. There are birds, moths, pomegranates and florals with gold highlights filling in all the spaces.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInAPPCAZw2klsa0RpT5Hi_7lWMf_zUFI62362GKxfuDa8ILdQKNLho5Qixb71vA191jRPGrmw1arma-ZHytfBwx2sStq5OC5jhMpgjCDNPge2NHbdT80I6ZDtnl46ydNTuSzXFaAzUju8nt5c8HNVYaFTt3KckbgYodc3e63S_JodH7gAfQvnyB_usw/s3024/IMG_3430.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInAPPCAZw2klsa0RpT5Hi_7lWMf_zUFI62362GKxfuDa8ILdQKNLho5Qixb71vA191jRPGrmw1arma-ZHytfBwx2sStq5OC5jhMpgjCDNPge2NHbdT80I6ZDtnl46ydNTuSzXFaAzUju8nt5c8HNVYaFTt3KckbgYodc3e63S_JodH7gAfQvnyB_usw/s16000/IMG_3430.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This lidded tea jar or ginger jar also depicts a court or salon scene. It is 10-3/4" in height and 6" in diameter. It has florals, moths, greenery and gold highlights. A perfect shelf styling accessory!</span></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHnRJlGnrO-MLWeT6AIT4WjRbwyUIl4NDm0-JSK5g6MAFPFlLoMwdvOKlkfrE5ZToA4ErAbmcxh_7kr7kfroTJvk5FkQnBKgnnTFKYyMONfpaEvO_fxKNf9SErWRn9rOes6ys3iP-gp935osQHeIsbK24PomrEiGgHHdj267HSj7Fz8ZX-hXUBZZSdw/s3024/IMG_3434.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHnRJlGnrO-MLWeT6AIT4WjRbwyUIl4NDm0-JSK5g6MAFPFlLoMwdvOKlkfrE5ZToA4ErAbmcxh_7kr7kfroTJvk5FkQnBKgnnTFKYyMONfpaEvO_fxKNf9SErWRn9rOes6ys3iP-gp935osQHeIsbK24PomrEiGgHHdj267HSj7Fz8ZX-hXUBZZSdw/s16000/IMG_3434.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of the more fun items in the Famille Rose family of items I'm offering is this small (5" in height) 'fishbowl' planter. While it has the traditional salon or court scene attributes on both the front and the back (as well as two bird panels), it has a surprise element. Unlike most house plant containers, this one has a finished interior which renders it just as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Keep scrolling and you'll see what I'm referring to...<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh-oPELcDMWpDC3Q1xrrWHcgGpdRyAX8nI3KguI9K0bx9wsnbaWp3Jw0230DY7Jz5alPw1lCWBjWPO5DaBjKfouIZGOBsdNDgIYuzvVMtkvsFg3ZOZRbo66TVNvD2qH2DDS_94eVIeEuOl7wL9Q4TPNh7APjth-4MOQUJdCAhnN6TtNh6fmXb6WDlBw/s3024/IMG_3431.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh-oPELcDMWpDC3Q1xrrWHcgGpdRyAX8nI3KguI9K0bx9wsnbaWp3Jw0230DY7Jz5alPw1lCWBjWPO5DaBjKfouIZGOBsdNDgIYuzvVMtkvsFg3ZOZRbo66TVNvD2qH2DDS_94eVIeEuOl7wL9Q4TPNh7APjth-4MOQUJdCAhnN6TtNh6fmXb6WDlBw/s16000/IMG_3431.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPRGAtTlMTqlEL4aqUu3Tt7Xr_EATmiJR5GjXZnRIWrW62NS1qRQo9rFAv9BMHe3D4a9s7P1WV4xLaafDFoKQoEsveIpS6JoYN5CpUA-vNdMOJKRztNS9dgk96M80Dl7R8jAJ5nz8Ci3nNj75UFsyGakQ0mWm7wnt9cDzIaNLawUrHazrNGeRqi1BHw/s3024/IMG_3488.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPRGAtTlMTqlEL4aqUu3Tt7Xr_EATmiJR5GjXZnRIWrW62NS1qRQo9rFAv9BMHe3D4a9s7P1WV4xLaafDFoKQoEsveIpS6JoYN5CpUA-vNdMOJKRztNS9dgk96M80Dl7R8jAJ5nz8Ci3nNj75UFsyGakQ0mWm7wnt9cDzIaNLawUrHazrNGeRqi1BHw/s16000/IMG_3488.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't you just love those fish? They are both realistic and stylistic at the same time!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And lastly, the Rose Medallion wall plate and teacup and saucer set. The wall plate is 6" in diameter, and has four panels that contain the traditional rose and greenery elements. There is a lovely scalloped border with gold highlight and it has two holes in the back which make adding to your plate wall super easy!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvjNN58rabnVD4dQHj_q--x1Yj3SswAkhUu_V5Rf0JSNOaz9egVJFGvaFJJnbKOlkmk90cIott7oCVSL0qlZtK641FJJ1f_asEWtXGaIeogNbM93Cm8qiFh3JD0dGnhhbGs1HKVA3lkA_iYN3epq7aHUbL8WnccJRNvEFqjccXNXDzzao0kHz4bbNmQ/s3024/IMG_3432.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvjNN58rabnVD4dQHj_q--x1Yj3SswAkhUu_V5Rf0JSNOaz9egVJFGvaFJJnbKOlkmk90cIott7oCVSL0qlZtK641FJJ1f_asEWtXGaIeogNbM93Cm8qiFh3JD0dGnhhbGs1HKVA3lkA_iYN3epq7aHUbL8WnccJRNvEFqjccXNXDzzao0kHz4bbNmQ/s16000/IMG_3432.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54UPG12kXrg7pIsZ6VXVDj_8Jxrc4-8xuZ7GcuwJaxj33tkWBl7GOiv0eTJhEc9dkxqav-4CJ3vaEDjDFMggX9s8AVMJJ8GxCLcLWZazV9SCVvjY8kTmFjrCBDB7DrrmgJYRz8qlEdpsP1M876aHFhK8L7T5SpblhSyVrcL4aVxWxxFGuRQfMtAQtDw/s3024/IMG_3477.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54UPG12kXrg7pIsZ6VXVDj_8Jxrc4-8xuZ7GcuwJaxj33tkWBl7GOiv0eTJhEc9dkxqav-4CJ3vaEDjDFMggX9s8AVMJJ8GxCLcLWZazV9SCVvjY8kTmFjrCBDB7DrrmgJYRz8qlEdpsP1M876aHFhK8L7T5SpblhSyVrcL4aVxWxxFGuRQfMtAQtDw/s16000/IMG_3477.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The tea set has the same cartouche-like panels, with birds the central theme here. There are also the roses, peonies, moths, and an abundance of greenery as well as gold rims and gold embellishing in all the spaces within the greenery.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_XIGGXxRRWKjYX7fw4XIbsFKY1VPuLr09gcSfwMjGzwlZOmDzgw9Y_GIDIH10M8hYcrkz4_iHcK6eFm49QzihCUbAiB7_qUNn-8XkHibxSCIbqJ6wE8H0xi6SxP98CrBrkVq0q-Ecu4Gh1L9zpyK8zCrz9pf-jCPZAn22DNx2t8Q5lJHO59khQYH_Q/s3024/IMG_3433.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_XIGGXxRRWKjYX7fw4XIbsFKY1VPuLr09gcSfwMjGzwlZOmDzgw9Y_GIDIH10M8hYcrkz4_iHcK6eFm49QzihCUbAiB7_qUNn-8XkHibxSCIbqJ6wE8H0xi6SxP98CrBrkVq0q-Ecu4Gh1L9zpyK8zCrz9pf-jCPZAn22DNx2t8Q5lJHO59khQYH_Q/s16000/IMG_3433.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgPSL6BVkZomQZGF8LE5_HE7LIic3GKD2a5vouM6BZWsSefkEmmve4O5tg1xOXDzh5mx-tHUImB1fg1qhAVFVpL4Au8nWPT_QAhFusAKDrYmKF6xmUKS5RDAU8g-9asciiXsITjfVmPEioz3i7MfBNgl6xf_VRVMXQo-plBL3WDOd2FrzHJw4WFHLTQ/s3024/IMG_3480.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgPSL6BVkZomQZGF8LE5_HE7LIic3GKD2a5vouM6BZWsSefkEmmve4O5tg1xOXDzh5mx-tHUImB1fg1qhAVFVpL4Au8nWPT_QAhFusAKDrYmKF6xmUKS5RDAU8g-9asciiXsITjfVmPEioz3i7MfBNgl6xf_VRVMXQo-plBL3WDOd2FrzHJw4WFHLTQ/s16000/IMG_3480.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHa8b1zRa4OTZY9fPhKX-YCtcEjykhM-F5lXsriYep_e-uYmqnC8uYREJo9vkrqYRoFkkcynwZl6jjWE2YDlp5HBeDTVJlfKaSnk013Yr-1ZCSvVINOJ0UCdoXMiF2aXYwcFIWvSjvckGUw0Gor8t8b5zg0P3PkaYD200TRlaqhcH6Vkj-OPtu9LRZrw/s3024/IMG_3492.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Under The Plum Blossom Tree, Plum Blossom Decor, An Etsy Shop Update features vintage Famille Rose and Rose Medallion home decor items for sale" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHa8b1zRa4OTZY9fPhKX-YCtcEjykhM-F5lXsriYep_e-uYmqnC8uYREJo9vkrqYRoFkkcynwZl6jjWE2YDlp5HBeDTVJlfKaSnk013Yr-1ZCSvVINOJ0UCdoXMiF2aXYwcFIWvSjvckGUw0Gor8t8b5zg0P3PkaYD200TRlaqhcH6Vkj-OPtu9LRZrw/s16000/IMG_3492.JPG" title="Vintage Famille Rose, vintage Rose Medallion, Famille Rose for sale, Rose Medallion for sale, large Famille Rose vase, large Famille Rose tea jar, large Famille Rose ginger jar, large Famille Rose lidded jar, small Famille Rose fishbowl planter, Rose Medallion wall plate, Rose Medallion teacup saucer set, Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, Etsy Plum Blossom Decor, June Anderson of Plum Blossom Decor on Etsy, June Anderson of Under the Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As mentioned at the beginning, all items featured in this blog post are available in my Etsy shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageTeaTreasures">Plum Blossom Decor</a>. All are in excellent vintage condition with no chips, cracks, glaze crazing or repairs. Each piece has been carefully cleaned and inspected. As always, my goal is to offer the best quality vintage chinoiserie, oriental and asian style home decor items for your enjoyment. So if you love this kind of timeless home decor, visit my shop! For more details, including video clips and prices, visit <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlumBlossomDecor?ref=seller-platform-mcnav">Plum Blossom Decor</a> and enjoy a ten percent discount with the code <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlumBlossomDecor?coupon=PLUMBLOSSOM10">PlumBlossom10</a>!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for looking! </span><br /></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-73263407046839974852022-06-05T12:07:00.005-07:002022-09-02T19:55:01.861-07:00The Meeting Place<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeHQDWXwPmM_7AZP_aMo7BZB-HcjvaagRMR2hJ8blhZOVVPejkr6eNmUmzkJW7SdW6Z8_a5DQNi59YBxzVKO0JljOnHjbQq0XpYGcTJufBoQWe4AwTYBk-E8gxOXr_0HEAOsF9Nu3m3cOVYqQVNgYTrlwjzvf2SX3Tk6U0M_4nPjP4s77hHDqRY2pvw/s2902/P5220956.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="collage, hand cut vintage paper collage, vintage hand cut paper collage, mixed media collage, dance collage, bird collage" border="0" data-original-height="2902" data-original-width="2372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeHQDWXwPmM_7AZP_aMo7BZB-HcjvaagRMR2hJ8blhZOVVPejkr6eNmUmzkJW7SdW6Z8_a5DQNi59YBxzVKO0JljOnHjbQq0XpYGcTJufBoQWe4AwTYBk-E8gxOXr_0HEAOsF9Nu3m3cOVYqQVNgYTrlwjzvf2SX3Tk6U0M_4nPjP4s77hHDqRY2pvw/s16000/P5220956.jpg" title="The Meeting Place collage by June Anderson of Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">H</span></i></span>ello again!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm so glad to be back sharing another collage with you. Since I never quite know which direction the creative part of my brain is going to pull me in, it always feels like a miracle that I managed to not only execute a project, but get it photographed and sit myself down to write about it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6744641487057015187/9100122040509999893">post last week</a>, I talked about the challenge of creating atmosphere. Since then, I've been thinking about visual story telling. As I survey the collage works that I've been making I see a common theme: character development. There is a lot of talk in the political world about finding common ground in our humanity. Of course right now, that idea is the furthest thing from our current situation, but I digress...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When choosing images to use in my pieces, it appears that I often start with the human figure. This might seem obvious but the truth is that I am not a 'people person' at all. Rather, I prefer solitude and need a lot of time and space for processing thoughts, actions and words. This reality came to me slowly over the last twenty years as I watched my son grow up. We are so much alike in this respect! It's like looking in the rear view mirror sometimes.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But again, while it feels ironic to me to start the creative process with the human form, I am beginning to understand the reason for it. Not only am I looking to create an atmosphere but I am trying to get to the heart of what it feels like to be human, which again, is how I am digging into how we relate (and react) to the world around us. I have to laugh at myself as I re-read what I am writing here. And then I want to cry because I should have been doing this kind of work in my twenties!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So what is it about the human dynamic that are we looking at in today's collage? The simple explanation is that I found a vintage book about the history of dance (which I also talked about last week) and the ballerina (above) is cut from that book.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And because in the book she was leaning in a doorway, I needed to capitalize on that posture. So after I cut the image out I went traveling through my bird books to find her a companion. Meet the Ascension Island frigatebird (<i>Fregata aquila</i>). Once I placed them together, it felt like their relationship to one another immediately took on a 'fairy-tale-like' quality.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also, I realized right away that in order for both images to be better viewed, that the dancer needed to be standing on something, otherwise the pair would have to sit too far down on the bottom edge. So I found the dancer a plinth and suddenly, when placing the pair on my painted background in that way, the atmosphere began to come alive!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I like how it looks like a genuinely personal moment between the two 'characters' and decided to give the piece an aura of a taking place in a garden. I debated with myself about completely filling the space with flowers and maybe more birds. But, being the minimalist that I am, instead settled on just two other red elements, creating a visual triangle with the frigatebird's inflatable red pouch.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">From this vantage point, the rest is left to the imagination: is the ballerina a statue, permanently affixed to the top of a column? Or is she a real human that must climb up the column to meet her friend? Lover? Or is the frigatebird enamored with either a statue or a human and perches on a nearby branch to rendezvous with her? More importantly, (in the traditional vein of the fairy-tale) what could be a lesson here?<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You might think of a completely different take on the scene above. And that's okay, because we're all on the same journey and we need to explore, address and express how we see the world around us and communicate those thoughts and feelings in healthy ways that can advance a conversation or cause to find that common ground that the world desperately needs right now. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How do you make sense of the world these days?</span><br /></div>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-91001220405099998932022-05-29T20:50:00.002-07:002022-09-02T19:55:53.922-07:00James Waring Dances the Merz<p></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4hYg7DdaI9JzOk5IBgGpn5kU6E3GJCQk7s68OV7188Xd42CgBoYMwzEOGYtL2nyUDRApfWveS1QbQRbaJHSFMEMmoOEv9x0Bud63rERMwhcDI7VNnOZ8JCf1Jn412oYssjfp7sC5WXGJOlc4HU6W9CcQikj69hHfSTSfNd8AsTwz3MnJV1QZcfgdfw/s3065/P5220947.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="hand cut vintage paper collage, vintage hand cut paper collage, character development in collage, atmosphere in collage, painted backgrounds in collage" border="0" data-original-height="3065" data-original-width="2359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4hYg7DdaI9JzOk5IBgGpn5kU6E3GJCQk7s68OV7188Xd42CgBoYMwzEOGYtL2nyUDRApfWveS1QbQRbaJHSFMEMmoOEv9x0Bud63rERMwhcDI7VNnOZ8JCf1Jn412oYssjfp7sC5WXGJOlc4HU6W9CcQikj69hHfSTSfNd8AsTwz3MnJV1QZcfgdfw/s16000/P5220947.jpg" title="James Waring Dances The Merz collage by June Anderson of Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span></i></span>ello Friends!</span><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's been fun getting back into the groove of collage.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've been working on creating painted abstract backgrounds to add more color and interest to my compositions. I'm also challenging myself to be more selective in my gluing process so as to allow more dimension. I'm using just enough raised foam adhesive to glue the pieces down yet allow for some shadow effect. If you look to the right of each of the elements above you can see this happening.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With Covid restrictions easing up, Jimmy and I were excited to read that the public library was bringing back their annual Library Book Sale. He likes to read mystery authors such as H.C. Bailey and I enjoy looking for 'collage fodder' so we donned our masks, headed to the sale, and had fun getting lost in the world of books.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One book in particular that I was excited to find was <u>Anthology of Dance</u>. It's from the 1970s and is a compendium of the modern dance movement from that time. I had been waiting to find a vintage book on modern dance, so this book, with its somewhat grainy black and white photographs was perfect!<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As I flipped through the book, this image of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Waring" target="_blank">James Waring</a> (1922-1975) caught my attention immediately. At first he reminded me of Sherlock Holmes with his dark hair and top hat. But I was also enamored with his dance outfit and pose. And when I read the short paragraph accompanying his photo and learned that he was not only a dancer, choreographer and teacher but also dabbled in <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4061779/Poets_Vaudeville_The_Collages_of_James_Waring" target="_blank">collage</a>, my interest was kindled! The book also mentioned that in both dance and collage he was influenced by, prioritized and embraced experimentalism.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I love the challenge of creating atmosphere in collage (another reason for adding paint), and I will often add birds in flight as part of that idea. There is something about a grand landscape where, as one takes in the stillness of an expansive panoramic view, the sight of birds flying across the sky seems to slow the passing of time and allows the space within ourselves to expand. Some might call it Buddha-nature.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In that spirit, I thought it would be fun to place Waring in a time and place where he is in the process of, well, it could be collage... but it might be dance.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">His outstretched arm led me to think how that gesture could be a part of the story and I also considered how experimentalism, like Dada and Merz, challenge the viewer's perceptions about what art is. In particular Waring's choreography is considered 'collage-like' in its experimentation and unexpected juxtapositions. So why not place him within a fanciful atmosphere, casting his cards, and relying on the serendipitious landing of the cards to tell him what the next dance steps will be? Or perhaps his intention is to create a collage, based on chance, wherein he will paste the cards in the exact arrangement they will fall in. Either way, the viewer is a witness to Waring's expressive pose and his creativity in that moment, slowed by the sight of a migrating bird...</span><br /></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-22097834717877433152022-05-23T11:58:00.003-07:002022-09-02T19:58:07.448-07:00DIY: Handmade Greeting Cards<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySdXTyQc1HuUauUbVNXYI-0flVdeb1cQAEESM2_8p_5Wj2DR_UN1mz3CuDA9A8vb8ZyW_HHQE_6G3avi7EkwKsIEPMCj_tHApBDIgDHzWXmClH7PW27CK_pbvhBzE3lRoN7-m_Fafgpx0_Q8Bt5BlocRhFTbL99FScI_JuaaupIk1wPuGn6KN6YiyNA/s4608/P5220938.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySdXTyQc1HuUauUbVNXYI-0flVdeb1cQAEESM2_8p_5Wj2DR_UN1mz3CuDA9A8vb8ZyW_HHQE_6G3avi7EkwKsIEPMCj_tHApBDIgDHzWXmClH7PW27CK_pbvhBzE3lRoN7-m_Fafgpx0_Q8Bt5BlocRhFTbL99FScI_JuaaupIk1wPuGn6KN6YiyNA/s16000/P5220938.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>H</i></span></span>ello Friends! It's been so long since I've given my blog some love. Life since Covid has felt heavy and since my mom passed away last November my momentum to pick up the pieces has been slow...<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm here today to share with you three greeting cards that I made recently using my new <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sbc-bigshotbundlecircles.html" target="">Sizzix</a> manual die cut machine. It's so easy to get a perfect clean cut every time and the detail is amazing.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All of the papers shown here are from the new <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ac-34013630.html">Bo Bunny Beautiful Things</a> 6 x 8 paper pad. This size is perfect for card making because the images are scaled down and there is minimum waste. The bits of paper that are leftover can be used for die cutting the small die shapes which is fun if you are a 'mix and match' kind of crafter!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each of the cards are made using a standard A6 size card blank from <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ton-9266e.html">Tonic Studios</a>.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As well, all three cards utilize the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sz-665659.html">Sizzix Window Box</a> stamps and die set by Olivia Rose, which I adore. 'Shaker box' type greeting cards are very popular right now and when I saw this particular set I knew I wanted to give it a try.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And finally, each of the three different sentiments are from the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/wfc-wfc951.html">Elegant Sentiments</a> stamps and die set from Waffle Flower Crafts.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For the background on the card to the left, above, I chose the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013627.html">Blooms</a> paper (links are to the 12 x 12 sizes):</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3NQpcU7Z0a1IUBMQ60cQ0L7Z9RqUJfv_mamOeU2ZqoZQ9LGq9yM9E7adqPzFsL4aQccSfkBB6qByvT0KJzuvl1VA9MP6js7pUEK30rdOyPkf8ix3Rc9wddUEdVxrPY31Se902Svh9ZNTtnPgy8YF738sWKjVgmW6gxrV5yriN1IEyCWXV0uc5vnrIw/s4608/fullsizeoutput_b.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3NQpcU7Z0a1IUBMQ60cQ0L7Z9RqUJfv_mamOeU2ZqoZQ9LGq9yM9E7adqPzFsL4aQccSfkBB6qByvT0KJzuvl1VA9MP6js7pUEK30rdOyPkf8ix3Rc9wddUEdVxrPY31Se902Svh9ZNTtnPgy8YF738sWKjVgmW6gxrV5yriN1IEyCWXV0uc5vnrIw/s16000/fullsizeoutput_b.jpeg" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I stamped the scalloped circle using black pigment ink onto the B side of the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013621.html">Memorable</a>
paper and then die cut the shape. Both the stamp and die are part of the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sz-665659.html">Sizzix Window Box</a> set. I used one of the circle dies that
came with my die cut machine to cut the background of the shaker box out
of the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013619.html">Flutter</a> paper. I also die cut a scalloped circle from a sheet of double sided <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sbc-ptadh-3320.html">foam adhesive</a> from Scrapbook.com. And finally, I cut a circle shape (same size as the
Flutter circle) from some leftover packaging material for the "window".
Then it was a matter of layering these pieces together and adding the
decorative sequins to create the shaker box. For this card I chose the Early Spring Premium Sequins from <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/bgm-ps774.html">28 Lilac Lane</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The next step was to stamp and die cut the floral bloom and die cut the six leafy embellishment pieces using the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sz-665659.html">Sizzix Window Box</a> set. The embellishment arrangements on all three cards are cut from the B side of the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013627.html">Blooms</a> paper. This paper allowed me to create some very interesting variations in both color and gradations of color.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And lastly, I chose the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment from the aforementioned <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/wfc-wfc951.html">Elegant Sentiments</a> stamps and die cut set, ink stamped it, and then die cut it from the B side of the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013620.html">Beauty</a> paper.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The background of the middle card is made with the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013622.html">Fly Away</a> paper:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZG9Kuua8BD6thYsEWo5tIZ_5AkeKKsvJ6jdv63Xo_Dotv_waO9OGxlfMW-xUEXER5ZCdOqg0-_kJwixYikuflM_CTgj-rc06U2VSOGVCx4Uwa9upjBJpfu-QV2bicJg2rezsswDUvykCsQumNhGV-hfRvZKr1hjdQ3SKTXPmqVFhuZXJq42gr_D78g/s4608/fullsizeoutput_8.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZG9Kuua8BD6thYsEWo5tIZ_5AkeKKsvJ6jdv63Xo_Dotv_waO9OGxlfMW-xUEXER5ZCdOqg0-_kJwixYikuflM_CTgj-rc06U2VSOGVCx4Uwa9upjBJpfu-QV2bicJg2rezsswDUvykCsQumNhGV-hfRvZKr1hjdQ3SKTXPmqVFhuZXJq42gr_D78g/s16000/fullsizeoutput_8.jpeg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Both the scalloped circle and the sentiment are stamped using black pigment ink and then die cut from the same B side of the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013621.html">Memorable</a> paper as the previous card. The circle background inside the scalloped circle is plain white card stock. Again, I repeated the layering of the double sided <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sbc-ptadh-3320.html">foam adhesive</a>, and a die cut circle from product packaging for the window. The floral bloom and leafy embellishments (from the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sz-665659.html">Sizzix Window Box</a> set) are also die cut from the same B side of the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013627.html">Blooms</a> paper as the previous card.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For the shaker 'ingredients' I mixed <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/bgm-ps774.html">Early Spring</a> and <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/bgm-ps765.html">Rose in Flight</a> Premium Sequins from 28 Lilac Lane. For additional interest I glued two of the Rose in Flight butterflies to the background.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I chose the 'Thinking of You' sentiment from the previously mentioned <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/wfc-wfc951.html">Elegant Sentiments</a> set. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The card on the right is made with the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013618.html">Dotted</a> paper:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrLWWi_qAxAVJxC3Xdq3BZTMLIjb6CbZJSdJhTewzRAlbclId1TDd8VBpFzwLtjMeF6xUfCrFHK9YSFHMUdM_jK_u8jvDE8ly9435Wc_3wVE_17Q3eOwmhkPuTpWodxbXk13_csmoUUOXyDoAs5r8-MXfInaIc5t3uQp5fLJTNtsi94VOTGXojgK5lg/s4608/fullsizeoutput_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrLWWi_qAxAVJxC3Xdq3BZTMLIjb6CbZJSdJhTewzRAlbclId1TDd8VBpFzwLtjMeF6xUfCrFHK9YSFHMUdM_jK_u8jvDE8ly9435Wc_3wVE_17Q3eOwmhkPuTpWodxbXk13_csmoUUOXyDoAs5r8-MXfInaIc5t3uQp5fLJTNtsi94VOTGXojgK5lg/s16000/fullsizeoutput_c.jpeg" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Again, I used the Waffle Flower <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/wfc-wfc951.html">Elegant Sentiments</a> stamps and die set to stamp the 'Thank You' sentiment and die cut it and the scalloped circle (after ink stamping it as well) from the B side of the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013620.html">Beauty</a> paper. The shaker box is layered with the double sided <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sbc-ptadh-3320.html">foam adhesive</a>
and some clear packaging, then filled with the same two sequin styles
as the previous card. The <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/sz-665659.html">Sizzix Window Box</a> floral bloom and leafy embellishments are
die cut, again, from the <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/par-bbu34013627.html">Blooms</a> paper after having ink stamped the floral bloom.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And that's it! If you have any questions about the products used or my process, please reach out.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had so much fun creating these cards. In fact, I made each card for a cousin and two of them will be posted today. I can't wait for the two cousins to receive their handmade cards. It's especially sentimental because I have not seen either of them since childhood and with my mother's passing we have come into contact and I want to keep in touch.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Speaking of keeping in touch, I have plans for a few more blog posts, so wish me luck!</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And, as my mother would always say, bye for now... </span> <br /></span></p><p></p><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6744641487057015187.post-36983975323275437262021-02-25T22:22:00.001-08:002022-09-02T19:59:11.822-07:00Introducing Plum Blossom Vintage: Chinoiserie, The Orient, Midcentury<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiSLxDhke6xTTtP0Ju2F8BuRSclTgop_KT8y5Yk-rE_R7vS6VIGfipA793aDJDOSCNMxkdR2MTkhd_1_PF24ell7LFl3C6ozW4dQyQg94QQe5_SpzLWYjgXYGh26MwTEJnz7b2Uw88QQb/s2048/P2130609.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiSLxDhke6xTTtP0Ju2F8BuRSclTgop_KT8y5Yk-rE_R7vS6VIGfipA793aDJDOSCNMxkdR2MTkhd_1_PF24ell7LFl3C6ozW4dQyQg94QQe5_SpzLWYjgXYGh26MwTEJnz7b2Uw88QQb/s16000/P2130609.jpg" /></a></div><span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>H</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ello Friends! Well it's been almost one year since the corona virus struck the United States and our lives fell into a tail spin. But now that there is a vaccine and a new president in the White House, I'm feeling hopeful about the future. I hope you are as well.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">I'm excited to share some news with you! I'm starting a new shop! <a href="https://www.instagram.com/plumblossomvintage/">Plum Blossom Vintage</a> will offer inspiring vintage chinoiserie, oriental and midcentury homewares for anyone looking to add some asian or midcentury (or both!) inspired flair to their home decor.</p><p style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">I'm still selling vintage tea ware in my Etsy shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageTeaTreasures">Vintage Tea Treasures</a>. This new endeavor will be on Instagram. I'll be utilizing my Vintage Tea Treasures Instagram account where the name has been changed to Plum Blossom Vintage. Shown above is a sneak peek of the first collection for Plum Blossom Vintage. It is almost ready for a flash sale which will be happening very soon and I will announce it here. </p><p style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">So wish me luck and I hope you will join me for the sale!</p></span><p></p>Under The Plum Blossom Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296011576259211123noreply@blogger.com0