Wedding Invites

My best friend is getting married.  It's her second time around.  I am very involved in planning the wedding.  It will be a low key, vintage country style wedding.  Yes, we are going with the current trend!  Just found these adorable wedding/save the date invites here!

 

For more country wedding/party ideas visit my Pinterest Page here

Frozen Flowers

Moon Flowers

Annual, Perennial, Ipomea

 

Moonflowers are nocturnal bloomers, perfect for night owls and late night strollers. After sunset, these huge white flowers bloom and glow all night in the moonlight. Then, as the sun rises, they close their fragrant blooms.

Moonflowers are a vining plant, and can grow as much as 12-18 feet in a single year. They are perennial in their native tropical homes, and used as annuals in more northerly areas.

Moonflower plants are prolific climbers with attractive leaves. When growing moonflowers, make sure to plant them where they can climb quickly towards the moon. Plant them along patios and sidewalks, where people are likely to be in early evening hours.

 

 

 

Moonflower seeds can be cranky and germination sporadic, but the results are worth a little extra effort. They need a long growing season, so start them indoors about now, but don't transplant them outside until after the last frost date, once the soil has thoroughly warmed and the weather settled.
Try soaking the seeds overnight and presprouting by placing them between several layers of paper towel kept damp inside a plastic bag. Leave the bag unsealed on the kitchen counter. Check them regularly for sprouting.

 
Some seeds will sprout in three or four days; others will take as long as several weeks
 
Plant sprouted seeds in peat pots. Fill peat pots with soil-less planting medium 3/4 inch from the pot's rim. Moisten with water. Place 2 or 3 vine seeds on the soil and cover with 1/2 inch of soil-less mix. Water again gently. Planted peat pots should be kept moist and in a warm location until the seedlings are large enough to transplant. Start vines indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last anticipated frost.

Prepare seedlings for transplant. Moonflower vine seeds germinate in around 3 weeks. Before planting, thin seedlings to one vine per pot. Remove weak or extra seedlings by cutting them with scissors. Do not pull seedlings from the soil. Pulling may damage the tender roots of the remaining seedling. Seedlings that are ready for planting should have formed 2 or 3 leaves.

 

 

 Choose outdoor planting location. It prefers a location that receives full sun and the soil should be moist and well-drained. Choose a location that provides the vine ample support, such as a trellis, arbor or fence, and away from other plants. The Moonflower vine can grow up to 40 feet in height with tendrils that can, if left unchecked, engulf nearby plants or trees.

 

 

Transplant the seedling. Loosen the soil in the desired planting area. Dig a hole slightly larger than the peat pot and the same depth. Place the peat pot and seedling in the planting hole and lightly cover with the original soil. The peat pot will disintegrate in the soil and will provide added nutrients. Gently water the transplanted seedling.

Imagine this covered with all different types of climbing flowers

 

 

Collect seeds. Moonflower vine seeds are easy to gather for next year's garden. When the husks that follow the white blooms become black and dry, they can be gathered and stored in a dry place. The seeds are the size of a garbanzo bean and white in color.

These last few paragraphs were taken from articles word for word around the internet!

My words!

 

Gathering information on moonflowers.  I tried to start these last year with little success.  I ended up buying a few plants.  I got these amazing 6-8" flowers!  It was great until the landscapers came and thought they were weeds(:

 

 

 
 
Tips:
 
Nick first, then soak overnight
Any seeds floating on top the next day aren't any good
Try Bottom heating after planting?
Plant in at least 6" of wet soil.  Plant seeds 1/4" down.
Instead of starting seeds in dirt, wrap in a damp paper towel then put in ziplock bags.  This is the way I am trying.

Will repost when seeds germinate

Day 4  looks like something is happening!

***I tried these at work and they never germinated because it was too cold.  Started a fresh set of morning glories and moonflowers. make sure you give the shell a good nick, the seeds will swell slightly overnight.  I wrapped them in a moist paper towel and rolled them up, all seeds sprouted, just transplanted them into small pots.

Cream Filled Strawberries

 

Really simple to make.  I changed the recepie slightly. The original recepie is  here .   This is a basic recepie and there are probably lots of things to fill these with.  The consistency was perfect.

You will need:

Pastry Bag
Large Closed Star Tip
35 Strawberries
Instant Vanilla pudding
3/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Tsp Vanilla
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1 Box Instant Vanilla Pudding



Bakers Bling on Etsy here

Wash your strawberries and cut out the stem.  With fat side of starwberry down, cut an X, cutting almost to the bottom of berry.

Using your kitchen aid or a hand mixer on high, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar for 2-3 minutes.  In seperate bowl, using a whisk, beat the vanilla pudding and milk for 2 minutes.  It will stiffen really quickly!  Add the pudding mixture and the vanilla to the heavy cream, beat on medium for another 30 seconds.
Now the fun part, fill your pastry bag with all the filling, hold strawberries open with fingers and fill.
**Next time I would use strawberries that were very close in size.
***For a video on how to use a pastry bag go here

Yummy!

 

Free Sewing Tutorial....Market Tote

  More on my latest Pinterest obsession!.   One of the boards I share on is for revamped products.  You can make this very easy tote for under $5, I buy old sheets in cute ditzy prints at thrift shops.  Make this for yourself or as a gift, click here to see a listing of some I've made from leftover fabric. I am working on a few more using old sheets, pillowcases and  pieces of old house dresses... the possibilities are endless!

To get the pdf for free (usually $10) just sign up for my newletter.  I am starting up some kind of a new business, again:) and will probably be sending out one newletter a month.  If you are already on my mailing list, just reconfirm that you still want to be there by leaving a comment here with your email or emailing me at GingerandLouise@rocketmail.com.  Happy Pinning! 

 

 

Market Tote

 

 

Pinterest

My newest obsession! 

Home Sweet Home Click Here!

Edible Spring!

Edible Pansies and Roses



 

What seeds to plant in January?? Pansies! To learn about planting organic pansies go HERE!

Inspiration!

Some inspiring quotes for 2013!  Happy New Year!

Pope John XXIII
Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In all things it is better to hope than to despair.


French Proverb
Hope is the dream of a soul awake

Orison Swett Marden                                                                                                                          No man is beaten until his hope is annihilated, his confidence gone. As long as a man faces life hopefully, confidently, triumphantly, he is not a failure; he is not beaten until he turns his back on life

Morning Inspiration

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone"

Sassafrass...Gardening thru Life..

Natures Lessons...I kept looking at my Hydranger thinking it looked so dead.  Wondering if this thing would ever come back in the spring.  When I took a very close look, not only did it reroot itself to grow and expand, but there were green buds!  Did God create the seasons for us to learn thru.  Is it true that the brightest spring shines after the darkest winter????:)  Are we here to grow and expand in beauty?  Take a closer look at the beauty that surrounds you today and HAPPY SPRING!

Mornung Inspiration

Morning Song
...for All my FB Mommy Friends who inspire me!

         I am Woman  Click here

and my special friend, Cecilia!