My Garden Diaries Giveaway!

Welcome to My Garden Diaries!  I'm glad you popped by! My name is Nicole and I am an artist with a love for the garden and design.

As I was thinking about how to describe my blog for the Grow Your Blog Party at 2 Bags Full, I got some insight from my 3 year old.  My daughter said to me today, "Mom, I like fancy things and not so fancy things."  I chuckled and proceeded to tell her how wonderful it is that she likes all kinds of different things!!

I like to think of my blog as a collection of all of the many passions that inspire me to create.  My Garden Diaries is a mix of gardening, design, art, dIY projects and the list goes on!  Though I started this blog journey in 2011, it wasn't until the summer of 2012 that I committed myself to the process.  Since then, I can honestly say that it has been a beautiful experience.  Being a part of the blogging community has fueled my creativity and inspired me to do more!  And I'm just getting started! 

 

So there you have it!

I want to thank Vicki at 2 Bags Full for hosting the party and for giving us all this opportunity.
 I'm excited to not just GROW my blog, but to make connections, learn, and get inspired!

The GiveAway

The giveaway is near and dear to my heart.  I couldn't think of anything better to giveaway than a  stunning print from my sister Elizabeth's collection. 

A word from the artist...

Elizabeth Guzaldo

This print is part of a collection called Dormant.  While I appreciate the hope and renewal of the greens and blooms in spring and summer, I have found an understated silent beauty in these sleepy plants doing important work and I hope you will too.

This print has been professionally printed (12x12), is in a shadow-box frame (20 1/2x 20 1/2) and is the 3rd of 100 prints. 

To Enter

Anyone can enter! And that means ANYONE!

This is the easy part....Just leave a comment on this post and
 your name will be entered in the Giveaway. That's it!

The giveaway will close January 31st and the winner will be announced February 1st right here on my blog.  Your print will ship as soon as I receive your address.  

So get those comments rocking and I hope you'll come along for the ride! 

creating the corner

I'm happy to say that I finished the bookcase. (you can read about the process here) It took me about a week and I am pumped at how it turned out!!  All of the bookcases we were pricing out ran for over 1000 dollars so I am thrilled that I saved our fam some dough!

On to corners.  Corners of rooms are tricky.  Take ours for example.  It sat like this for over a year.

This corner is in our main floor living room. The color is Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter.

An unused space just collecting dust.  The thing is, when you have a small house every space has to function.  Our needs for this corner are large!  We need extra seating for parties, a place for the kids to play games and do homework, and a cozy spot for mom to read!

I'm not done styling up the bookcase and I'm still waiting on a library floor lamp but here's what we have so far......

The bookcase!  See black would so not have worked here!

my art finds-you can read about it here

With a little bit of elbow grease I was able to get the look I was after.  Hmmm what's next?!?!

Linking up with....
Miss Mustard Seed
Jennifer Rizzo
Funky Junk Interiors

The Shabby Nest
Somewhat Simple
The Shabby Creek Cottage

Savvy Southern Style

Between Naps on the Porch
(Primp)
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Coastal Charm
A Bowl Full Of Lemons
Designed Decor

  

why should we settle

I have been working the night shift, literally, at my house.  Get the beans in bed, make sure books are read and songs are sung and then I'm off to the dungeon (really need to create a workroom this year) to work on the bookcase.

Furniture buying on a budget leaves you with few options in the color department.  But why should we settle?  Colors for this 115 dollar bookcase were your basic black, white, or expresso.  Problem is, none of those colors were going to work.  White is too bright, black is too dark, and I'm over expresso.  But, you get what you pay for and my budget for this project has to stay in check.   

The project-----Making something out of this empty corner.  More on that when the paint dries.

The color I went with is Urbane Bronze from Sherwin-Williams
inspired from Nest Egg-here

Perfect! Now it's time to get down to work

   Refinishing laminate furniture 

(I must note that I was hunting thrift stores and antique shops in hopes to repurpose something but no luck on this one...one of my goals this year...repurposing more than consuming new)

1.  Sand everything down.  I used 220 grit sandpaper

2. Prime everything

This stuff has been my friend...it works like a charm!

3. Paint

4.  After sanding, priming, and painting I used some of my left over Annie Sloan Dark wax.  

I brushed it all over the bookcase.  It seals the piece while also adding some visual depth.  You can also sand it again and apply more wax to give it some more distressing.  

The one on the left is without the wax and the one on the right is with the wax.

The corner reveal will take place next week.  I'm excited to get it DONE!

hold tight please

I have been noticing a lot of traffic with one of my posts.  And I have to say it is something simple that I like to see as well.   Plant combinations.  here

In an effort to learn more myself about how plants compliment one another in the garden, I'm adding another goal for 2013.  It is titled quick combos.  My goal is to find weekly plant combinations to share with all of you! The above photo was taken at a local garden by my house.  So hold tight please.  We have a couple more months of winter.  I'm looking forward to the challenge and hope we can all learn something new to bring home to our own gardens.

V-Day

Yeah Yeah, I know it's a bit early for this.  And to be honest with you, it won't go up officially until February 1st, but I came up with some easy Valentine's Day decor and I thought I would share!

I got this frame on Ebay for 20 dollars and wrapped a piece of cardboard with some fun paper.  It is our love sharing board!  I figure we can save the letters in a box and have fun looking back on them over the years!

This one was super easy! Mason jar + skewers + paper hearts = Heart Skewers!

linking up tonight with Nifty Thrifty Things

goals and whites in 2013

This year I am thinking white.  I'm not sure why, but I keep envisioning white in my head so I'm just going to roll with it!

Last year I moved my Autumn Clematis.  It was planted behind my Amur Maple which frustrated me because I could never see it from the kitchen window.  Big mistake.  The drought fried it.

Garden goal #1 for 2013- be patient and don't rush things

So in this empty bed along the fence where we actually do get some sun,  I will be purchasing and replanting an Autumn Clematis.  I enjoy the white blooms and vigor of this vine.

Next on the list is to fill this area in.  It isn't a large bed but it could be a neat little area with stepping stones for the beans!

Garden goal #2 for 2013- try new things 

I ordered some seeds from Burpee for this bed.  I went with the White Wedding Zinnias.  An average flower to most but, their symmetry and shape always draw me in.

As I said in a previous post here I am going to take Larry Hodgson's advice and plant a fast growing annual vine to give me some show while I wait PATIENTLY for the clematis to fill in.

Garden goal #3 for 2013- use more annuals

This Moonflower should do the trick along the fence to give me some instant gratification!

More plant ideas for the space.

Japanese Anemone                      

via-Fine Gardening

White Coneflowers

                                                Longspur barrenwort, Bishop's hat

Hey, it's a start!

Garden goal #4 for 2013- go with what you like and just plant already!

supporting my habit

As I look ahead to the spring months, I am excited about some new steps I will be taking in the garden this year.  With much work ahead, I have to get creative on how I will pay for my habit!

That's why I went here today....

A delightful experience really, with a crew of characters young and old.  I handed over a couple of small items that had been sitting in a box unused for years.  As the gruff man behind the counter was doing his inspection, I spied this mirror.  

HMMMM lovely!  And only 12 dollars!  

The whole time thinking this will match the gallery i am creating in the weeks ahead.

Some inspiration for that project...

via-hautefavesdeux.tumblr.

via-Pinterest (original source unknown)

via-Shades of Gray Blog

via-Pottery Barn

  It was meant to be.  The owner handed me some cash and because people can be just plain good, he threw in the mirror for free.  Score!  I will be visiting this shop again as it had some lovely vintage pieces for a steal!

For now the cash is tucked away in a little envelope and will be used when the gates of my local nursery swing open!

http://www.thegrowingplace.com/

Lastly, I was truly tickled today when I learned that my bedroom redo was featured on a design blog.  Thank you Kelly at Restyling Home by Kelly for making this little blog smile.  You can check it out here 

     

linking up with The Shabby Nest..... here