It's "Fri-Yay" Again!

 It is Fri-yay once again and, once again I am avoiding the rest of the vacuuming. Friday just doesn't seem like the day to be doing that-it is the day to celebrate making it to the end of the week. Yes, I know I'm not there yet but it is just beautiful outside and the last thing I want to do today is clean and so...

I ran some errands yesterday and one of them included a stop at Walmart-not one of my favorite places but sometimes a necessity because they have things I would have to go so much farther away to find. And, I must say that the store closest to me has kind of "kicked it up a notch". They are the store that had the most negative comments on the website for our county. I don't know if that had anything to do with the change but, it is so clean and organized now and, both times I had to ask an associate where something might be, they not only looked it up but they took me right to it...can't ask for better service than that.

In any case, I had seen a few things in other blogs that I was hoping to find and while doing that, I happened upon this little cutie.

And, it spoke to me. My first thought was for something for St. Pat's-because I should be DONE with Valentine's Day-because I use a lot of the old gold in my St. Pat's decor. But then I realized how "romantic" the frame looks and thought it would be perfect for an idea I has seen and wanted to try. This frame is actually metal so I can probably easily swap out pictures for different holidays if I want.

The little flower wreath that I saw (from The Vintage Pebble) was so simple and all it took was a piece of paper ( I used watercolor paper ), a marker, some acrylic paint and lots of patience because the flowers took some time to dry between colors. I started by cutting a heart that would fit within the frame. I actually love the arched mat so I'm keeping it in case it will work for the next image I put in this. I lightly traced the heart and then came back over it with the marker and then added some lines and leaves.

Next went the light pink flowers and when they were dry, the darker pink. They were both added by using the eraser end of a pencil dipped in the paint.

I wanted mine a little simpler than the inspiration so I just added the flower middles in metallic old gold-which I thought went better than a bright yellow-and a few areas of small "dripping dots" of light pink. Those were all added using the ends of small paint brushes.

Of course, there is now more waiting for those dots to dry. They take longer than you would think because the dots are pretty thick with paint. I was afraid to hit them with my heat gun because I have seen that gun actually blow paint across a surface...and so, I waited. But, I headed outside to do that and see what damage I would have to contend with after our chilly temperatures.

The only things I actually covered this year were my potted lemon tree and other potted things I left outside, small bushes and the roots to the bougainvillea and sky vine. The sky vine definitely took a hit but only the leaves. It will definitely come back-probably better than this year-but all I can think about is the massive amount of large leaves that will have to fall before new growth can happen. Of course, that can't compare to the HUGE number of oak leaves that will do the same but, for some reason, these large leaves give me pause...they are more difficult to rake up than the smaller oak leaves.

Then I headed over to the terraced garden by the pool. The perennials in there always take a hit. They will come back and I know I need to keep my distance right now but, when the weather is this beautiful and I want to be out there, this sight makes me crazy...so, no promises. Everyone always says you can't kill a Penta plant-which is a lot of what is in here-but, I cut them back too early one year and I DID kill them. So, I will think about it a bit more. Hmmm.

Somewhere amidst all of that "brown" my eye caught a glimpse of some color and this little cutie was showing winter just what she thought of it. Lol

And a few other things are already wanting to come back. I have a lot of gerberas blooming around the yard as well as azaleas.

And right about then I caught a whiff of that most glorious scent and realized that all of the tea olives are about ready to burst into full bloom once again. I have so many of these scattered around my yard that when they bloom, the scent is intoxicating! 

At this point the paint was dry and I simply added the word "love" with a thin marker and headed off to see where it would find a home. Maybe here? The only thing that I like here is that the top of the frame kind of mimics the bottom of the candle holder.

Not crazy about this at all but it might be slightly better than the first because there are more colors here than just the deep reds in the living room vignette.

I definitely think this is the best place because I love the way the golds play together. The only problem here is that the back of the frame isn't all that attractive-although it is better than some-and you do see it from the other side of the room. Never-the-less, here is where it will stay for a bit.

I grabbed a few other things while I was out. I have used these "peat" pots before and I think I might "vintage" some up for St. Pat's and Easter. We shall see.

And then I found the green jug I was looking for and some shamrocks. I won't be using them like this because I don't like seeing the stems through the glass but I love anything green for so many different seasons/holidays that I knew I had to have the jug when I saw someone post about it. You will definitely see it in my home a lot. And, I can always find a use for those shamrocks so I grabbed them while they were available. As a matter of fact, I will probably grab more if I see them because I'm already thinking of lots of uses. Lol

And yes, you can shake your head at this one. This is the packing that my Yankee candles arrived in and for some reason, the bottoms reminded me of Easter baskets. So, before I threw them into the recycling, I thought I might play with them and see what I come up with. We shall see. Lol

Off for lunch and then the afternoon lies before me. Not sure which direction I will go but since it's a Friday, I know I will enjoy it! Stay safe and stay tuned.