Flowers have inspired artists and craftspeople for centuries.  Quilt designs often have floral names.  Think about looking at the floral quilt patterns for ideas.  They can inspire other crafters, too. 

Image:sxc.hu

Quilters might follow the traditional patterns exactly or develop variations from them as my daughter does. 

 You could use floral designs in: 

• Rug hooking (My husband’s grandmother made lovely hooked rugs with floral patterns.)
• Crocheting & knitting  (My mother-in-law used flowers in some of her crocheted afghans.)
• Painting & sketching (I’ve always enjoyed painting flowers, in fields and meadows, as well as in vases.  I’ve often used them in notecard designs, too.)
• Latch hooking (My cousin has made vibrant hangings with flowers enhancing them.)
• Tole work and painting on metal (Flowers greatly enhance this type of work.)
• Leatherwork (My brother-in-law and his wife often tool floral patterns into their wares.)

How do you use floral designs in your work?

May this be a Happy Mother’s Day, midst the generations in your family.  This is a time of love and flowers, cards and gifts for the moms in one’s life.  May you create many happy memories and reminisce about those of years past.

Image: sxc.hu

The latest plant to follow me home from the nursery this spring is a delphinium. This stalwart of the English Country garden likes damp, cool climates with lots of rain. We’ll see how she likes the hot Ohio summers. If you’re not familiar with this beauty, below are a few facts about Delphiniums:

* The common name from Delphinium is Larkspur

* Delphiniums are native to the Northern Hemisphere and to the high hills of tropical Africa

* There are approximately 300 different species of Delphiniums

* Most species are toxic to animals and humans

* Delphiniums can grow to be up to four foot tall

* These plants’ blossoms range from purple and blue to yellow and white

* Delphiniums bloom in the late spring or early summer

* The name comes from the Latin word for dolphin, which alludes to the shape of the blossom.

(photo credit: Delphine Menard/cc license)

You can put flowers hit or miss in a vase, or you can develop an eye for creating pleasing, often unusual arrangements.  If you’d like to develop the knack of floral arranging, check out those that capture your attention.  Some may be truly artistic, others whimsical, even others humorous.

Image: sxc.hu

Some ideas to consider:

• Do you want to use artificial, silk or natural flowers?
• Do wild flowers catch your attention?
• Look for flowers on sale that you might use for arrangements.
• Check with a florist and see if they have leftover flowers
• Perhaps a local florist teaches floral arranging classes or someone does in a continuing education class.
• Does your interest lie in more than bouquets in vases?  There are wreaths, hearts and other shapes.  You also can learn to make corsages and bouquets.
• Collect embellishments you can use in your floral arranging.

What tips do you have for creating art from flowers?

As I pull out my sketch book and various pencils and colored markers, my thoughts turn to spring and my enjoyment of flowers.  I’ve often drawn and painted flowers, used them dried in crafts, and gathered them for bouquets.

Recently I viewed a demonstration by a fabric artist where she used her floral sketches for small mixed media “quilts.”  She scanned her sketches onto firm

Image: sxc.hu

fabric, treated them with gesso, and then filled in with scraps of fabric, paper (including torn pieces from a phone book), yarn, floss, and other embellishments.

Before there were too many embellishments, she did decorative stitching by machine.  You also could decorate with hand stitching, too.

How have you used flowers in your art work, whether quilting, mixed media, oil, watercolor, knitting, crochet or other media?  Share with us!

I’m dreaming of spring flowers, new fabric to be used, new patterns to try out and a new studio to get in working order…

At least the flowers in my studio are cooperating

image: C Findlay-Harder

My hoya plant is in full bloom and smells glorious at night!  In fact, you can smell the flowers when you walk past my studio - they’re that strong.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to stop daydreaming and finishing priming the walls of my house - just a few more days until moving day!

Journey North is a year-long, free nature adventure event for youth. The major activity season for Journey North actually kicks off in February but kids can join up at any time. Through May (and beyond) there’s plenty of learning and fun to be had.

WHAT IS JOURNEY NORTH?

A North American adventure for kids that allows them to log-in online (for free) and participate in a “Global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change.” Students K-12, chat and post about their personal nature field observations with other students across the country. Homeschoolers or unschoolers will like this project as well.

The site is kid-safe and encourages youth ro observe various natural changes in their local community as they occur throughout the year. For example, kids learn how to watch for and track things like the life and migration patterns of animals (monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, and bald eagles to name a few), newly sprouting plants, weather changes and much more.

Journey North gives students a view into local natural worlds that they might not otherwise get to learn about. For example, a kid living in New York can get a taste of Oregon wildlife and vice vs.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

Kids can head over to Journey North and register for free. Young children will need an adult helper to get them set-up because while reading is not required to participate, there is some reading involved. Then there’s an easy orientation and after, kids can join up with one or more of the many projects happening at the site.

While Journey North is not a “green” by name program, it is a great way to get kids involved with the natural world - and kids who adore their world are far more likely to preserve it.

Visit Journey North

Is you family already signed on with Journey North? If so, tell us what you think in the comments.

[image via stock.xchng]

Creating collages about spring provides enjoyment for youngsters and adults.  These can be very simple or they might be detailed, made with a great deal of thought.

Image: sxc.hu

• Cut out pictures of birds and flowers from magazines and catalogs.  Arrange them haphazardly or planned to tell a story, on poster board.  This is fun to do with youngsters in school or at home.  Perhaps they can write a poem about spring to accompany.
• Find around you in the yard, the woods (our yard is part of the surrounding woodland), or along a back road natural objects that remind you of spring and new life.  You might arrange them on a board with colored objects and even painted surfaces.
• Go through your photo stash, either a collection in a box or those saved on your computer.  Cut out various spring shapes and objects, then paste in a scrapbook or poster board.
• Use a shadow box and arrange spring items within it.  You’ll have a three dimensional effect.
• Think about a particular family tradition that takes place in spring…a trip, a walk through the woods, a hike up a mountain, the first picnic of the season.  Arrange pictures and objects reminiscent of these on a background of cloth, cardboard or wood.

What are your favorite materials for creating collages?

Recently I came across a little list of “fun surprises” in one of the women’s magazines, I can’t remember which. On top of the fact that it was certainly a fun surprise to come across this list while getting a pedicure, the items on the list — which included a spotless oven — got me thinking about what my own list would look like:

• Spotless refrigerator
• Unexpected thank you or apology
• A perfectly timed, hassle-free commute
• That glint in your dog’s eye when he comes running toward you
• Midnight snacks
• Hubby helping around the house without asking “Can I help?”
• A glorious fall morning
• Photo of yourself in which you look fabulous and younger than you are
• A Sunday morning with nothing going on but Vogue and an Audrey Hepburn movie
• Flowers from a loved one for no special reason

I could keep going, but I think I’ll end with: perfectly organized, up-to-date closet.

Maybe you’ve surmised this on your own — Mother’s day is the busiest restaurant day and the 2nd hightest gift-giving day of the year and the day that more flowers purchased than any other.

I am not a mom — but I am the care-taker of a Chocolate Labrador — does that count? Is there a gift for that? Is there a gift for giving birth to a business, while nurturing a marriage?

Eventhough, I am not a mom, I would like to raise a glass to those moms out there who get up everyday, get the kids ready for school, do the ghastly commuting thing, come home to attend the recitals, cook dinner, prepare the baths, do the tucking in…and then start all over the next day — and have somehow figured out how to keep everything balanced.

My mother worked everyday of her life, sometimes two jobs at a time, to pay the bills and to put clothes on our backs; I don’t know how she did it. There was no “life/work” balance philosophy in those days, so we spent a lot of time without her. She would always say, “You have to pull yourself up by the boot straps and do what you’ve got to do…”

I’m sure Dr. Phil could tell you more about why my background has something to do with not having had children, but certainly I inherited my mom’s work ethic.

A mountain of flowers, to you mom and all moms (working or not), everywhere. Photo from: Flowers.com