Southwest Cottage Designs

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Wedding Ring Quilt Giveaway

Got any ideas for a summer wedding outside by the water? Enter vintage "wedding ring" quilt contest beginning today. The last day of the contest will be Sunday, June 12th. Enter your country or eclectic decorating ideas for the July 30th outside wedding at a waterfront setting. The bride is my daughter, Chrissie. The grand prize is a vintage "wedding ring" quilt (old but in good condition) that will be given to the individual with the most entries. The vintage quilt is being purchased from Carriage House Antiques in So Cal. What's nice about this quilt is that you can find any color in it.

Vintage Wedding Ring Quilt Contest Giveaway Prize

Additional prizes (TBA) will also be given to individuals who entered ideas that Chrissie and her fiance choose to include in their wedding decorations. Blogs belonging to individuals whose ideas were chosen for the wedding will be advertised at the wedding and at Southwest Cottage Designs in August.

This is the first day of the quilt contest blog series about Chrissie, her fiance, Elvin, and their wedding. Chrissie and Elvin devote their lives to God and youth ministry. They are scheduled to attend a youth prayer and missions trip to Chicago this year (more on this later). Check back soon for the next article in this series to learn more.

What does the word white make you think of? White makes me think of:

purity
innocence
beauty
flower
weddings
bride
paper
lace

White Rose

My eight-listed white items came to my mind in the exact order shown. If you've been keeping up with my blog lately, you know that my latest "white" passion is flowers, specifically my roses. Recently on a Sunday morning I took photos of rain-kissed flowers in my garden. One of my miniature rose plants produces white roses that are sometimes tinged with pink and look so pretty next to the pink and green sedum. Weddings make me think of little children, white lace, white and variety-colored flowers, white paper doilies, white chairs, white bridal carpet and . . . my daughter's wedding coming up in July.

White Flowers

My daughter, Chrissie, caught the bride's bouquet at her cousin's wedding one year before she got engaged.

Three ways to enter quilt contest:

Each decorating idea for the wedding will be counted as one entry. Please list each idea (#1, #2, etc.)
Donations. One entry per $1-$10. Two entries per $11-$20. Three entries per $21 or more. No more than 3 entries will be given for donations. Donations will go toward expense of wedding ring quilt or toward Chrissie's and Elvin's prayer and missions trip. To donate, click on Donations, one of the pages listed at the top of this page. (You can also click on "Donations" listed on the left of this page to make a donation.) However, the Donations page will explain more details about quilt expense, prayer and missions trip, and other causes Southwest Cottage Designs gives to.
Follow Southwest Cottage Designs and comment that you are a follower already or that you are a new follower.

It is possible to win this contest by only submitting decorating ideas. Certainly, no donations are required. However, I did at least want to include entry options for anyone choosing to include donations. The donations will be used strictly for the purposes mentioned. I put the quilt on layaway, and the quilt will be mailed to the winner by the end of June. The additional prizes will be mailed in August after the wedding. Email me if you have any questions about the contest. Thank you for following Southwest Cottage Designs and for entering the contest. I look forward to updating you on the exciting wedding plans.
Stay tuned! Coming next is about white lace and wedding dresses.
I'm linking to:

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Pink and Green Garden

What is your favorite pink item? This week is Pink Saturday's third birthday so pay a visit to the Pink Saturday birthday blog party, share your favorite pink photos, and admire many other pink beauties.

Happy Birthday to Pink Saturday! It has been a delight to participate in the Pink Saturday weekly blog party and to meet all the creative bloggers who love pink and flowers like I do. Through Pink Saturday this week, I discovered a new blog that I hope you will go visit - Pink Cottage Rose. Lynn Salerno, artist and author of Pink Cottage Rose blog has a talent for growing lovely tulips and taking beautiful pictures of the tulips. As I browsed through the pretty colors of Lynn's flowers and garden, I noticed one of her blog post titles that expresses my exact feeling about flowers, Color Brings Joy.

Every time I see the colors in my garden, it thrills me. Where there is pink in a garden, there is green. I have been delighted with my tomato plants and flowers this week. There are even two tiny tomatoes already on my small tomato plants. See my photo with the first tomato (tomato is just above "Southwest Cottage Designs"):

First Tomato

Across from the little tomato garden is my cactus garden. Finally, the cacti flowers began to bloom this week. They are blooming a little late this year.

I think you could knit with those needles!

No touching!!

Prickly Green

Pink Tinge Rose

I call these Periwinkle Glow Circles.

Fuschia in Old Cement Planter

Pink, purple, and red color my gardens mostly but with an occasional touch of neon yellow or orange and blue. Color makes a home attractive and warm. Recently, I read an article in a magazine of a lady who enjoys bringing her favorite furniture like a recliner and art into her garden. Her idea is that if it brings you joy inside the home, it will bring you joy in your yard. As I walked through Carriage House Antiques last Saturday on their special sale day, I saw two lovely pink furniture pieces that I have dreamed of how I could include them in my garden. How do you like these for garden ideas?

Pink Desk

Pink Dresser

Color inspires. Color sets moods and tones. Color is beauty.

I'm linking to:

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sunday's Garden Raindrops

Got pictures of raindrops on flowers? Raindrops on a flower, rainbow in the clouds, rain with the sun shining through...ah, such photos captured show glorious nature without any human intervention. This past Sunday it rained, and I noticed raindrops on the flowers in my garden. I, not able to pass up this beauty, ran to the house to grab my camera. Each flower has the adopted name I gave it.

Pink Beauty

Crimson Red

Pink Lace

Delicate Pink

Pink Snaps

Fuzzy Glistening

Snaps Glowing

White Lace

Pink Tinge

I grew up on the east side of Texas. We Texans refer to our areas as East Texas, Southeast Texas, West Texas, etc. In East Texas and Southeast Texas it rains much with storms often brewing. From the time I was very young, I was terrified of the severe storms with lightening and thunder crashing. But one thing has always amazed me. The rainbow. Through my travels across America, I've seen many beautiful rainbow settings. One of my favorites was a rainbow over the farm my family and I were staying at for a month in our RV that we traveled in full-time, 12 months out of the year. The family that owned the farm had a dog that died in a freak accident during the storm that day of the rainbow. The dog went into the barn, and a pole fell that hit the dog. It was a terribly sad day for all of us. Yet, the beauty of that rainbow over the farm somehow comforted us and reminded us of God's promises. Through my travels across the USA, I've been surprised at answers I've received when I asked the question of various people, "Do you know what the rainbow means?"
"I don't know. A pot of gold?" and "No, what does it mean?" they've asked.
Not only does the rainbow remind me of its purpose, God's promise to never destroy the earth with a flood again; it reminds me of God's many promises and that He doesn't forget His promises. It reminds me of His constant holy presence, comfort, and love. Like the chorus of a song I once penned and recorded on a tape, He is "Something special, faithful and true, kind and just in all that you do. You give mercy and love, comfort and peace. Lord, you're always there for me."
What do raindrops on flowers make you think of?
I'm linking to:

Friday, May 13, 2011

Snap Dragons

Like a multi-color flower garden? Plant snap dragons. When I planted my snap dragons, they were itty bitty plants. I think the spring season kicked in real good at my cottage just prior to Mother's Day because the snap dragons grew to an amazing width and height. They're gorgeous! The colors vary from yellow to pink, purple, and variations of red. I can't get over the vibrant yellow. It makes me think of those huge tart lemons you can find in So Cal, and I can nearly taste my favorite Lemon Curd from the UK when I bask in the beauty of the yellow snap dragon.

Multi-colored snap dragons

Snap dragon lovelies

Yellow snap dragons make me want to eat my favorite Lemon Curd.

I'm in love with these gorgeous snap dragons in my garden.

Did you know that Snap Dragon plants:

grow best in full sun?
grow well in average soil?
are native to the Mediterranean?
can withstand a heavy frost?
often bloom in the fall even after wilting in extreme summer heat?

Snap dragons should be fertilized monthly. Cut the plant back to approximately six inches after the flowers dry up and die. Fertilizer should be added at that time to promote new growth for a second bloom. Fertilizing monthly probably is one reason my snaps took off so fast this spring. Another reason they grew quickly could be because I cut off all the dried up flowers and leaves a few months back. Then the mulch I keep in the garden along with watering helps.


Rosebuds - Lots of them!

Beautiful nature!

Sedum

Lavender

Snap dragons and roses make a beautiful garden combination. I've always favored roses for their beauty, variety of colors, and aroma. Last year I planted rose bushes, miniature rose plants, lavender, a Dusty Miller, sedum and these snap dragons.

It wasn't until this spring that I realized how much I love the snap dragons. They offer quite a beautiful array of colors and make gorgeous flower gardens without any other flowers included. You can plant them to hide unsightly fences, plant them in containers, and decorate in a floral arrangement. Wherever you decide to plant your snap dragons, you can count on enjoying a beautiful multi-color flower garden.

I'm linking to:

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Kittens at the Cottage

How many times does a mama cat move her kittens?
I don't know the exact answer, but she'll move them as many times as she thinks necessary. Necessary in human terms may not agree with the mama cat's way, though. On April Fool's Day I came home in the afternoon to find my surprise in one of my flower beds - five tiny kittens cuddled up close to their mama, Smokey.

April Fool Surprises

After about a week, Smokey moved her babies to a chicken coop.

Smokey, the Ferrel in the Chicken Coop with Her Babies

Mr. Fun and I inherited with our cottage cabin. Last spring I used the coop for large pots of herbs. Smokey moved the kittens to one of the coop holes. Then one day she moved them back to the flower bed but to the opposite end of it. Little did I know that day that this last flower bed move was part of her strategic plan for the next big move - somewhere near the neighbor's porch across the street. I noticed her carrying one of the kittens across the road one day and asked the neighbor lady one day if she'd seen any kittens.
"No," she said, "I haven't heard any kittens, either."
Smokey moved three of them and left the other two in the flower bed for hours. I put them in a box then called a pet place and asked details about keeping the two. I was advised to let the mama cat continue to feed them. Of course, Mama Cat knows best. So I put the kittens back in the flower bed. Smokey took one and left Black Velvet for awhile, and I took little BV inside the house and held it. I was becoming attached.

Black Velvet

I figured that I wouldn't see the kittens again after that. Wrong. The evening before my late sweet mother's birthday my dog that we keep inside would not stop barking. He acted like he heard something. I mentioned this to my husband when I heard a noise. A kitten outside our bedroom window. I ran outside to see if the five kittens were back. Smokey met me at the door with a hiss. She hasn't hissed at me since she moved the kittens to the neighbor's yard. Incidentally, Smokey is my cat - only because she came for a visit to my yard one day, and I've fed her ever since. So she is not particularly tame. Tame enough to come an arm's length close to me. I went to the back of the house and met the first kitten coming around the corner - hissing. Laughing, I said, "I see your mama is training you right." All five kittens had made it back home safe for at least a few days.

I Want It All

Kittens Eating

Calico Playing with Smokey

About three days ago they had moved under a large juniper. Now she's moved them again. I can't imagine why since I'm the one giving them Cat Milk from the grocery store and crunchy kitten food and can food. They love all of it. For some reason Smokey isn't satisfied with an adobe dog house (that came with our cottage cabin) or the pet taxi or the juniper tree. I've noticed, however, that she looks very curiously inside the doors of my house. We've let her come in a couple of times, but that's as far as it goes. Just a look. I refuse to become the next 101 feral housekeeper. If Smokey decides to keep her babies around our place and will allow me to get close enough to them, I'll share them with families who love cats and will give them a loving home. Maybe I'll keep one or two - at least Black Velvet, the smallest and the solid black one that I got to hold once. The important thing is the kittens need their mother to survive. I'm not that mother. I'll leave the mothering to Ms. Smokey.
How many times will a cat move her kittens? That's a question I may never learn. All I know is as long as Ms. Smokey stays around my cottage, she'll get to eat. Can a feral make a good pet? It's possible. They'll love you because you feed them, but independent they will be. How can you encourage a feral to love you? Plant catnip in your garden, spoil your cat with treats, feed it plenty of food, provide lots of water - and grant it's wish for independence.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Plant Flowers and Vegetables Together

Organic gardening works better when you plant your flowers and vegetables together. Research the vegetables and flowers you want to plant to find out which ones work well together. I've begun my organic raised bed garden with carrots, lettuce, marigolds, and nasturtiums. The funny thing about this is the night before I purchased the seeds, I dreamed about nasturtiums. I didn't even know what a nasturtium looked like. However, I had been reading on gardening as I was about to try my hand at it again. Also, I remembered my mother talking about planting nasturtiums years ago. So on Easter weekend, I went vegetable and flower seed and plant shopping at Lowe's. The last thing on my mind was nasturtiums. As I browsed the seed packets, I saw "Nasturtiums" and grabbed the packet, remembering my dream. Sure enough, a nasturtium is an excellent companion for a lot of plants like collards, mustards, squash, tomatoes, cabbage and cucumbers. These are plants I've either already planted or plan on planting soon. If you've ever planted a vegetable that aphids took over, then you can appreciate my determination to plant flowers that will deter aphids like nasturtiums will. Nasturtiums also deter squash bugs. I love squash. It's probably my favorite vegetable. Nasturtium seeds are already planted in one of the corners of my raised bed garden.

Geranium is another flower that is good to plant. Plant it with tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, and even roses. I just learned this and wish I would have known it sooner as I planted two geraniums by my rock garden near one of my trees that flowers in the spring and summer and that I don't know the name of yet. Yes, geranium is on my flowers-to-buy list again.

Lavender is another good flower to plant near vegetables and roses. It makes a beautiful garden in color as well.
French Marigolds deter whiteflies, and I've read that marigolds deter wild rabbits. I've planted several marigolds already. Before you plant your vegetables, be sure to do a little research on marigolds because there is a difference between varieties of marigolds and the benefits they provide for planting with various vegetables.
This weekend I am planning to plant a few more flowers and vegetables. One of the places I want to plant flowers in is an old mailbox on the side of my little country cottage cabin. My husband and I have plans already drawn up for a renovation of the cabin. Since we plan to do major renovations, we are not painting or making major repairs to the cabin. Believe me, if you drove down our street, you'd notice the little cabin in need of some paint. What can I do, I've been asking myself, to dress this little cottage up? Flowers. Yes. Decorate it with flowers. Flowers in the little mailbox. I've got the inspiration. Now I must get to work. I'll be sure to take pictures this weekend to show you the results. Come back soon for the update. In the meantime, think about your own organic garden and how you will plant your flowers and vegetables.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter Weekend Surprises

Isn't Easter about surprises? I imagine a few people were not expecting the stone to be rolled away when they went to check Jesus' tomb. Though Easter really is about the resurrection of Jesus, it's not surprising to find plastic Easter eggs scattered on lawns on Easter weekend. My Easter surprises did not come in a plastic egg, however. The first surprise came when a visitor showed up at our gate Saturday wanting to know if our house was the one for sale.
"No," we replied. Yet our little cottage cabin interested the visitor who just happens to love cabins.
Surprise #2: A neighbor held a yard sale with a fridge and washer for sale - two things my cottage cabin could use.

Surprise #3: Mr. Fun and I were blessed with a new table and chairs - FREE!
I love surprises, especially exciting ones. I gardened this weekend and planted tomatoes, - and strawberries. My husband and I stopped by a yard sale Saturday where I noticed a strawberry clay pot. The day before I had purchased a strawberry plant at Lowe's. When I walked up to the pot, however, I saw string wrapped around the pot and other items. "Has someone already bought this?" I asked the gentleman.
"No," he said, "That's not for sale."
"But I want it. How much will you sell it to me for?"
"Seven dollars."
I browsed a little more then approached the gentleman again about the strawberry pot. "I really want that pot, but I don't have $7.00."
"How much do you have?" he asked.
"Five dollars." He let me have it for $5.00! I was excited.

To top it off, I've started my raised bed garden. If you're interested in knowing more on how to begin a raised bed for your garden, read my kitchen blog on Wednesday.
It was a fun weekend, filled with outside work at the cottage cabin, but fun.
I'm linking to

Cottage Flora Thursdays

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Easter Decor

How do you decorate for Easter? Some like Easter eggs, others like crosses. Here are a few ideas if you are still looking for inspiration:

I almost grabbed this rabbit tin cutie.

What fun one could have decorating with these elegant gift bags.

Sweet Easter egg basket tin with pretty tablecloth and napkins.

I loved this picture. Actually, I saw this as I was on my pink garden accessory adventure. Hmmm...wouldn't it look lovely in a garden room???

Hat boxes are the thing. I saw several at the antique shop where I took these photos. This was one of my favorites.

I saw these lovelies at my favorite antique store the week before Easter. I'd love to know if any of you come up with your own inspiration from these antique store lovelies.

HAPPY EASTER!

I'm linking to Wow Us Wednesdays,
All Things Inspired

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Pink Garden Accessories

Decorate your garden with pink accessories. Today I browsed through the various vendors' shops at my favorite antique shop. I noticed a lot of pink throughout the shop and was curious to know how many pink garden accessories I could find. I took pictures and have made a collage to give you an idea of how to decorate your garden with pink accessories. If you're needing some garden decorating inspiration, browse through your local antique stores. You'll go home ready to turn those inspirations into garden beauties.

Pink Planter
Pink Planter Chair
Pink Bird Bath Stand
Pink and Black Table
Pink and Black Table close up
Pink and Black Table
Ornate Chair with Pink Flowers
Gold Child's Table with Pink Flowers
Glass Table with Pink Cushion Chair (same set as #7)
Flower Wagon with Pink Flowers
Glass Table with Pink Floral Cushion
Vegetable and Herb Magazines
Pink Table
Pink Planter
Pink Planter Chair

You can see that I duplicated a few of the photos. For instance, that pink and black table was so cute, and I'd love to have brought that home with me...but didn't. I tried to capture the little pink planter at different angles. And yes, I did leave the antique shop inspired with two magazines on planting herbs and vegetables!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Hiding in Nature

Today I'm reminded of a bird I saw last week that must have wanted to hide. I was admiring the beauty of flowers in my little garden and heard a bird. I saw the bird and even tried to take several pictures of it. No matter the amount of pictures I took, the bird seemed to stay in the shadows. At first it looked down on me, then up, lingered a bit, then flew away. Sometimes I'd like to hide like that and fly away. Do you ever have moments like that? Psalm 17:8 says, "Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings." Imagine hiding under the wings of God as He picks us up to carry us under the shelter of His wings.

The little bird's colors causes it to blend in with the fence and tree. I knew it would fly away in seconds, so the picture isn't very clear, but this gives you a little view of what the sweet birdie looked like.

I was admiring and trying to capture the beauty of this lavender plant when the bird caught my attention.


These leaves' color stood out, and I just had to try to capture the beauty.

We ooh and aah about flowers, but have you ever noticed the first sprouts of leaves when spring arrives? I love the outdoors at my home. As we decorate our homes to match the seasons, God naturally decorates the world around us.

I'm linking to:

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Pink on April 9

Pink Saturday linking blog party is fun and one I look forward to taking a part of. This April 9 Pink Saturday is doubly special to me because today would be my paternal grandmother's birthday. She would be 107 years old today. I was trying to remember what my grandmother had that was pink. Two things I think of: pink flowers and pink icing on teacakes. She planted flowers and vegetables and had several fruit trees. Though I can't remember her favorite color, she loved flowers whatever color. One of my favorite places to check when I would walk into her house was her specialty, old-fashioned teacakes with pink icing. This evening I'm eating a cupcake with pink icing. It's not a teacake, but it makes me think of those delicious, thick teacakes with the pretty pink icing.

To honor my sweet grandmother, I'm including a photo of her with my nephew and photos of flowers in my yard on a bush that has pretty coral pink flowers.