Backwoods Cottage

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

You Are My Sunshine Sign

Just a quick post. I am in the middle of painting up some signs to fill orders. Here is the updated You Are My Sunshine sign with the daisies added. I like it so much better with the added touch of color. The daisies make it seem really Happy.

I scuffed up the lettering a bit to give it a distressed look, I need to do the same around the edges for some dimension.

And for the awesome hubby award, I need to recognize mine. I worked a long hard day deep cleaning a condo in Bear Valley yesterday. I did not get home until 8pm and waiting for me was this..

A cooked to perfection London Broil (on the Weber), buttered garlic spaghetti (a favorite around here) and corn. Oh, I cannot forget to mention the final touch, an ice cold beer! It was the perfect finish.

Well, the beer along with the announcement he had done all the laundry. Woo hoo. The house was tidy too. Does life get any better??

Yep, here he is multi-tasking…feeding Benjamin (newest nephew)and reading his email. A photo I could not pass up, there is a family joke in here but I won’t bore you with it.

Back out to the studio I go..

Monday, June 4, 2012

More Garden and Cottage signs

It rained today. A torrential downpour that I hope was enough to water my garden well and wash away the heavy pollen that coated everything. If we must get rain in June, let it be beneficial for something.

With that bit of news it may surprise you that at 5:30am I was in the garden enjoying a lovely walk through with my coffee in hand.

Blue skies prevailed at first and I have some fresh blooms to share.

This is Boysenberry Truffle or some such name Iris. It is simply stunning.

The photos fail to show the amber glow that comes from underneath but trust me it is unusual and lovely.

The blue of the Dutch Iris’ is refreshing. My Butterfly Delphiniums come close to this tone but few other flowers are such a pure blue.

The Abraham Darby English rose is chock full of blooms, maybe it was that bucket load of chicken manure I dumped at it’s feet last Fall. (aged, of course)

We are to get near freezing temps tonight, I hope it does not harm the flowers. What a shame for them to get burnt edges from too cold temps.

This Heritage climbing English rose is flourishing as well. I am aiming it to climb the porch rail.

This was supposed to be my Zephirine Drouhin rose but I am thinking it looks more like William Baffin now that it is blooming. Hmm, I know I had one of each and I was in a hurry to get them in the ground when I moved back 2 years ago so anything is possible.

This little sweet pink rose is climbing the side of my studio along with a wisteria that wants to take over, I cannot recall the rose’s name but it was a vintage climber from Antique Rose Emporium.

Now, I would like a bit of feedback on a couple of signs I am working on. First the You Are my Sunshine sign..I left the gap so I could add some decorative element…I am thinking some light happy Daisy’s. what do you think???

The white petals and bright yellow centers would be a bright touch without overwhelming the text..

this one I also have some space and I was not sure what will look better for a bit of embellishment. I know many prefer just the text but I like a little bit of design to make it unique. Any ideas?

I will be adding them to my website once they are finished.

I have been getting so many nice comments on my Shabby Bench. I had to move it into the house today because of the rain, now I think it needs a cushion, it may be staying.

It has been a slow day today, I have been learning a new platform for my website. The software I used to create my website is now outdated, unsupported and not completely compatible with Windows 7. I have back doored it to make it work but I know I need to move over to a different way of creating a website and managing it. In the process I will slowly revamp backwoodscottage.com and organize it a bit better.

That is my goal, at least, I do tend to put too many things on my list and overwhelm myself.

I wish you a peaceful evening..

Friday, June 1, 2012

Family Rules signs and a Garden walk

I have been busy working on some subway art signs for my website. This is my Family Rules sign.

A vintage white background, different shades of charcoal lettering and a bit of shadowing along the edges.

I have also done one in a black background and ivory white lettering.

I also plan on making these customized with the names of the family.

Now that I have shared that I want to take you on another garden walk. I love this time of year, every morning brings a new bloom to enjoy.

Though this Iris is more subtle in color, the contrast is quite stunning and this flower has the sweet scent of the old fashioned flags.

This is the first year my Bourbon clematis has bloomed, it is such a rich deep red (much deeper than it shows on the screen). This one won’t climb higher than 4 feet but I don’t mind, it is planted in an area where I sit to enjoy my morning coffee so it is always at eye level.

A friend passed this Iris on to me, I do not know it’s name but I enjoy it the striking colors.

My Happy Chappy ground cover rose. This little guy blooms in various shades of orange, yellow and pink all summer long and fills in a rather drab area bringing it to life.

My surprise Corn cockle. It is a surprise as I do not remember planting the seeds in this spot. Before it bloomed I thought it was a Bachelor button, I know I moved a Bachelor Button here last Fall. I love it even if it is not the Bachelor Button.

Oh how I wish the colors were true on this one. It is really a rich royal purple, but just imagine this covering the trellis on my back stairs. This is Warsaw Nike clematis, one of the toughest I have owned and it blooms forever!