Tortoises and Mermaids

I have been doing a rather mish mash of crafts lately...a combination of birthday gifts and fairy things.

April is a busy month for family birthdays so I have to get myself organised fairly early on.
There`s a bit of a mermaid theme going on.
I experimented with these and was pleased with the results.

 Here is the pattern I drew for the tails.

My next project is a mermaid crown, but it needs a bit of thinking through before I start. I do have some lovely shells to choose from.
These felt fairies are Waldorf style.

My friend gave me a fairy t.shirt.
I turned it into a cushion cover and added some home-made tassels.

More sock horses.

Pompom tassel keyrings or bag decorations.

Crochet octopi.

Bean bags filled with dried peas.

 

Last year, for my great nephew, I filled a leg of some old tights with grass seeded soil and turned it into a caterpillar.

This year I asked if he wanted another one and he said could he please have a tortoise/turtle.

I had a go.

This is how I did it.

One up-turned hyacinth bowl in a round plant tray.

Covered with a layer of upside-down turf,

sprinkled with grass seed.

From old tights I made a head, legs and a tail which I sewed to a thick fabric base.

The bowl was placed on top.

And eyes glued on.

Then I covered it with a fruit net bag.

Here is Aiden with his tortoise.

He is 8 years old today.

I will try to add pictures of the tortoise when the grass starts to grow.

And here is the birthday cake his mum made for him.

Yes he loves tortoises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queen Wasps and Broad-bodied Chasers

The usual type of weather for April has returned, so its back to the layered look!!

Plenty to keep us warm.

I at last, got started on the flowerbed that has been to wet too begin.

I ended up slicing weeds off, but it was great to have some good soil to go on top. Some couch grass in here so it may need a really good going over soon.

 I scattered all the rest of my home-saved love in a mist seeds which should provide a spectacle later in the year.

I managed to get another 8 dahlias in ..... only 27 still to go!!

The blossom was beautiful, mostly pear.

 The cobshed roof is colouring up.

What an array of colours.

The ones used at the edge, only recently added, 

seem to have rooted well.

The chickens were pecking around.

The herb garden sign is back outside.

I spotted a broad bodied chaser near the pond.

It is certainly a spectacular sight.

I also noticed a huge wasp on the spurge.

It might be a queen but I`m not sure.

It must be a good nectar plant.

 

 

 Some of the spurge flowers(?) are stunning.

The asparagus tips must have grown inches overnight.

We`ve had a few .... on their own and in a vegetable flan. Yummy.

The rhubarb has produced a lot of flowers which I`ve been snapping off. Rhubarb that is allowed to flower will not produce such a good harvest.

 

At home I`ve covered my stone toadstool with an up-turned turf and chicken wire. It took me ages to plant these sedum cuttings by slotting them in with a dibber.

I will blog a picture when the sedum thickens up.

I have also planted my first row of sweetpeas, well protected.

A new door for the fairy garden.

These little gnomes came from The Works. They were £2 each.

This week Anne and I will be hunting for the components of a new fairy palace.

Changes afoot.

 

 

If You Go Down to the Woods

After a lovely family breakfast in the sunshine, Steve and I went for a walk in the nearby Guestling Woods. It is very close to the Freshwinds Campsite.

 The anemones (or windflowers) were at their snow-white best in the glorious sunshine. They tend to close up on dull days.

 Our twisty lane is awash with wild flowers.

We walked up to the third entrance.

From there we made our way to what we call the triangle area, closest to the farm....

 .....passing freshly dug badgers` setts.

This one even has footprints.

The bluebells were just starting to show.

 

 

Some tiny ferns had unfurled.

It was peaceful with only the sound of birdsong.

 The mosses were prolific after all the damp weather.

Maybe it is the excess water that has caused this huge oak to fall.

 The anemones were lovely but there were plenty of other wild flowers to enjoy.

 Celandines and violets.

When we were nearly home, I found a length of trimmed honeysuckle and formed it into a ring.

Perhaps it will be a summer wreath or a prop for the witch garden I`m planning.