Hummers, Flowers, and Glass Lights

Guess I've been MIA lately!  Lots of things going on.  The kids and I have been working extra hard finishing up school for the year.  They have worked very diligently, and thankfully their standardized testing went well.  I'm very pleased with their efforts and work, and we only have a few more weeks left of school.  Hooray!  I finished another swap but will blog more about that later once my swap partner gets her package.  I hope all of you moms had a nice Mother's Day.  My big sweetie and two smaller sweeties gave me the nicest cards for Mother's Day (the kids made theirs).  What a blessing and delight to have such a loving family!  They bought me some flowers....

I'll need to replant them soon.  I DO love these colors, and they go well with the cranberry, gray, and deep purples on the siding and rocks on our house. 

They also bought me some solar night lights.  I've always wanted some but thought that so many styles were terribly ugly (not to mention the ones that change colors).  They know I love stained glass, and these mosaic glass ones are just perfect--beautiful during the daytime and at night!  I can't wait to get them into the ground. 

The roses are all blooming around the house (will save that for another post) and the hummingbirds have returned.  This pretty copper feeder was yet another gift from my crew--though for my birthday a few months back.  My other feeder had broken last year, and I really like this one.  Apparently the hummingbirds like it too.  They've been busy feeding.  What a joy to have them return for the season!  It has been great fun watching them. 

Gram's Canisters

My grandmother has had glass canisters such as these ever since I can remember. Years ago my grandfather built a floor-to-ceiling set of shelves in their kitchen--shelves that could be accessed from either side. Then Gram had these canisters on every shelf. Some were sets and some weren't. She had reds, yellows, greens, blues, opalescent brown...and that is all that I can remember. Of course she kept all sorts of things in them. I remember when the sun came into the kitchen it looked like a small stained glass wall full of color and sparkle. I had never really wanted any for myself in the past. My mother has sets in yellow and green (with all sorts of sizes of the same style) in her home.
Gram had decided to weed these out of her home and gave them to me. She kept her cobalt blue set and light blue set (they are so pretty and are her favorites). As these have sat around my kitchen for a few weeks they have sort of grown on me. They DO go with the fruit theme I have for our kitchen. I'm going to try to trade the yellow one that is of a different design with my mother for perhaps one that matches the other two in style....or perhaps it could be yet another quest for me when I visit antique malls, flea markets, etc.

"Stained Glass" Leaves Project

I just love stained glass in any form or manner...and this is one of those "any forms or manners." This is not an original thought (thank you, Miriam, for your original craft idea that I could expand on and other tips) but quite lovely, I think. These "stained glass" leaves are made from watered down glue and tissue paper. I was looking for a unique, inexpensive way to send Thanksgiving wishes to relatives, and thought this would be a perfect idea to do with the kids. Here are the instructions:
1) Cut up tissue paper in the colors you wish.
2) Spread school glue around on tinfoil or a plastic base that glue won't stick to then mix in some water so that the tissue paper stays well saturated (squirt with extra water during the process if needed).
3) Place tissue paper on glue mixture at random or in pictures (ahhh, Notre Dame!) if you'd like. I layered mine down perhaps a little too much and very randomly. You could probably be more precise and lay just one or two layers of tissue down, overlapping to leave no holes once dry.
4) Let dry about two days.
5) Cut into leaf shapes (be careful, it rips easily).

You could really make some pretty "stained glass" projects like blue, white, purple and silver snowflakes for winter; pink and red hearts for Valentines' Day; multicolored flowers, etc. I used some gold tissue for extra sparkle. One could probably add some strips of metallic foil for even MORE sparkle (can a person really have ENOUGH sparkle??).

Plant Pot "Stickers"

As you know, I love stained glass in just about any form or manner. Yes, when my husband and I visited Notre Dame (just to see it!) in France, we were awed by the magnificent stained glass windows there. I look for stained glass windows in houses whenever we pass through neighborhoods unfamiliar to us...then once a window has been spotted, I have to be certain look whenever we go past again. The beauty of stained glass inspired my glass bead business causing me to use no other types of colored beads than specifically glass (or glass crystal) beads. Sunlight shining through colored glass is stunning and brings out the richness of the glass's color. Unlike plastic, glass will not fade in the sun which ensures the longevity of the item's beauty. I found this pretty stained glass "pot sticker" at a hobby store this past summer. Certainly there MUST be a more eloquent name for these than "pot stickers", but I suppose it will have to do for now. This little stained glass hummingbird wrapped in copper adds color, sparkle, and a tiny spot of yet more beauty to my plant pot full of posies. That is one of the things about stained and colored glass that is most pleasing...it adds a little splash of color and sparkle and beauty to wherever it is placed whether on your lapel, your house, or in a pot full of posies!