Sassy Succulants

Just look at these sassy succulents!  Have you gotten caught up in the succulent craze yet?

Succulents originate from desert areas and hold most of their water in their soft rubbery petals. They only need to be watered once a week and prefer a spot out of the sun. They require very little in the way of care but they give back in a big way. And, they're fun to plant up in different containers and vases. I snapped the top photo while visiting a booth at The Country Living Fair in Nashville recently. I just love how the bright green and purple play off of each other and the moss covering underneath the petals gives the whole container some pop! 

I also spotted these darling vintage-style painted jars planted up with succulents there and had to give them a try once I got home. I already had the painted jars left over from a Christmas project from last year. You can read about that here.

I love all the different shapes, colors and textures succulents offer the home gardener and floral designer alike.

Cactus plants have very similar requirements and can be mixed with succulents for an interesting textual look. I've just barely touched the surface for designing with succulents but I'm looking forward to experimenting more with them.

 Pinterest is loaded with gorgeous ideas for using them in your home and garden designs. I've started a Succulents board to keep me inspired. And, my new part time job at a local garden shop will surely keep me in good supply!

Chicken Wire Christmas Tree

 

Whew! I just got back from Open House at the Antique Mall and I'm pooped! It was loads of fun to see how everyone " dressed " their booths for the holidays! Naturally, I had to get in on the action too.I wanted to do something a little less traditional in my booth. I wanted a FRESH vintage vibe so I made a Christmas Tree out of chicken wire and decorated it with burlap garland, vintage lace, vintage postcards, and holiday hankies! 

 I used wooden clothespins to " hang"  the post cards and hankies to the wire. 

Isn't this Poinsettia hankie lovely? It's from my mother in law's collection.

  I made the top out of a small bunch of dried Hydrangeas from my garden and more burlap and lace! It came together sort of willy- nilly but I think it works!

This part of the post won't make it into Artful Blogging Magazine but I wanted you to see that I used a tomato cage for the inside structure of the tree. I wrapped the chicken wire around the tomato cage by laying the cage on it's side and rolling the wire around the cage until it was entirely covered. Because the shape of the cage isn't the same width from top to bottom I had some spots with overlapped wire which I cut to size with wire cutters. To attach the pieces I used the needle nose pliers and my fingers to pinch it all together. Kind of a crude tutorial I know, but it's not fine art folks!

It was a fun project and something I can continue to use for display in my booth as the seasons change.

 And, if you didn't catch my Beach Farmgirl Blog this week I'm sharing my Christmas Holiday Mason Jar Project with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!

 Here's to " making" a wonderful Christmas!