A few years ago my daughter's and I went on a little adventure to Bald Head Island. Bald Head Island   is a beautiful barrier reef located on the East side of Cape Fear. Sea turtles frequent the shores and are protected federally. The only motorized vehicles  allowed  on the tiny island are golf carts with bicycles being the  preferred  mode of travel. It is on this island rich with American history combined with stories of pirates that we found  our  collection of seashells. Bald Head Island ends where the beginning of the treacherous sand bars and shoals begin.  As the tide went out we found ourselves walking along this ever shifting and intriguing labyrinth of sandbars that  form and then disappear into the sea.                                                                       Bald Head Association                                                                         With our collection of seashells and one prize sand dollar I was eagerly anticipating creating something w

Good Morning and welcome to my Old Fashioned garden and a garden party. Today I am sharing three of my favorite colors of flowers in our garden and a few tips too. At the end of this post it will be your turn to share your garden joys. Let's begin our day right here with the daisy. The pretty and simple daisy brings whimsy and childhood innocence to any setting.                         Some facts that you might find interesting about the daisy. Michaelmas daisy (Aster amellus) symbolizes a farewell or a departure. English daisy (Bellis perennis) symbolizes innocence.  Gerber daises (Gerbera genera) symbolize cheerfulness.  I am always drawn to the cheerfulness of yellow flowers in the garden and in our home. Celebrating life through the joy of yellow and growing the ever loving and pretty  blooming  Zinnia , is very simple and rewarding. Toss some seeds in the ground and presto! You will have the glorious happy zinnia  blooming away in no time at all! Red is another color that cons

When I first thought about our Summer home tour, I said to myself what is it that truly  makes  a  Summer  Tour  different than a Fall home tour? Is it just that there aren't any pumpkins, or is there more. Could it be that the cozy furry throw got tucked away on that warm sunny Summer day and  those  heavy burgundy velvet pillows were pushed into a guest room closet. Or maybe it was the soft pink petals of those geraniums that gave it all away. How about the guest room that sings songs of Summer with it's refreshed and renewed  decor.   Bye, bye federal blue, welcome bouquets of tangerine, carnation pink and aqua. Then there are those mischievous pillows that tumble and refuse to stay straight. And that one silly pillow that said a cheery HELLO! Brilliant pink Cosmos that grew from tiny little seeds into proud, tall and strong  Summer blooms, dodging eager scissors and even a butterfly or two. Could it be that the rooster gave up his dark fluffy feathers for a crown of white?

A very big thank you to Carole from Garden up Green for inviting me and Karen from  To Work with my Hands for creating this fun and inspiring challenge. This is no ordinary challenge, it is a Summer Bead challenge, a perfect challenge for  creative Summer crafting. There are 8 bloggers who participated in this project and you will be able to see all of them  at the end of this post. We all purchased one package of   In Bloom multicolored glass beads . They are on sale for $4.00 at your local Hobby Lobby this week. These vibrant glass and acrylic beads come in such lovely Summertime hues. These beads inspired me and before I knew it I was thinking of blue ocean waters and a  vacation on  a  romantic  beach. When I held the beads in my hand I knew they would be perfect for a special handmade gift  for  my daughter on her Wedding day. With a plan in mind  I purchased two chargers which have a vintage look, along with some  paper tags,  a little package of ocean blue bows, some ribbon and