Looking Forward to Garden Season 2012 |

With all of this warm weather that we have been having I have been making plans for what we want to do with our gardens this year.

Last year I posted quite a few photo EARLY on in the summer, but not many from later in the summer when our flowers and veggies were growing big.

So I thought I would post a few 'reflection' photos of last year as well a few things that I want to try to do this coming season, based on what was successful last year, and what didn't really work out.


Here are some shots from our Garden 2011 |

Early Spring - Lots of Tulips in Bloom

When we cleaned out the gardens in early spring we put down brown mulch everywhere.

Fresh brown mulch.

The Front of the house once we cleaned out all the gardens and put down the mulch.

Our back deck planter, early summer. Herbs planted in the planter and two types of tomatoes and chives in the pots (see below for how big the tomato plant got).


We planted a birch tree in the back yard in late May, it was Ben's birthday gift.

We got two brown Muskoka Chairs and I made some outdoor pillows for on each of them.

Beautiful Bluebells.

LOTS of irises in late spring, purple, yellow and white.

An early summer rose attracting a bee.

Early summer Allium!

Pretty Solomon's Seal.

Mid Summer Lillies.

Beautiful orange roses on a bush that I got for my bridal shower.

In mid June we created this 'water garden' for on our deck. We got some water lettuce to put in the pot and a pump and fountain spout to make it more of a feature.

I planted Marigolds, purple potato plant and ivy in the front flower box.

A Snow Ivy and purple potato plants in the wall hanging at the back door.

Our table area on the deck with globe lights and green lanterns.

Our Fire Chimney.


I hung some plants and candles from an old curtain rod that I attached to the top of the deck planter.

The Rainbow Coleus did REALLY well in our backyard (as it gets mostly shade).

Mid August our tomatoes were almost ready for harvest!

Our Tomato plants did really well considering how much shade we get.

Plans for this coming season |

Last year we created a new garden area and I planted sunflowers and zinnia in it. BUT due to the fact that we get so little direct sunlight in the back yard they didn't do very well. So since the Rainbow Coleus did SO well in our back yard last year I definitely plan to plant more of it in that garden as well as in a few other areas such as along the garage and at the back of our yard.

I also want to plant a bunch of rainbow coleus along the front of the front garden to bring more colour to that area, as in July/August there wasn't a lot of colourful plants blooming in the front.

Last year we discovered that one of our lilac bushes right in front of our house had died (probably from the salt we had used on the front porch during the winter). SO we have taken that out this year and I hope to plant a nice Japanese Maple in its place.

While I liked having the herbs on the deck last year - there were some that I didn't use that often. I plan to plant Parsley and Dill again this year as I got good use out of those, but I plan to plant more florals in the planter this year to bring more colour to the deck area.

I would also like to fix up our fire pit area this year. The last owners laid cement slabs and have it off to the left corner of our back yard. It would be nice to center it in the yard and put some new stone down around our new fire chimney and maybe make some benches or table to place around the area.

Party Planning | Game Night Fun

Thought I would share a few fun features of our Games Night Gathering...


White Flowers with checker pieces and playing cards in the vases.

Game boards and dart board as centrepiece. Red, Black and Yellow Candy.

Game pieces and pencils on game board as decor.

Card theme plates, napkins and table cloth & white and red cutlery.

All different sizes and heights of glasses.

Playing Cards on the stemware to help guests identify which glass is theirs.

Sewn together playing cards to create a garland.

Game Boards as trays on ottomans.

Stack of boardgames on side table to add to the decor.

Black, red and yellow candy (to match the 'playing card' colour scheme).

Domino Brownies.

Dart Board Taco Dip.


A few more things I did but didn't take photos of:

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels.


Sandwich Checker Board - Tuna on Whole Wheat & Egg Salad on White Bread with cherry tomatoes and black olives as 'checkers'.


Cranberry & Ginger-ale Punch.

Chocolate Dipped Oreos - Mine were standing upright.

We Played 'Wits and Wagers' in couples | Great Game



See more 'Game Night' Ideas that I Pinned HERE

Spring / Summer Family Photography DEAL |

Check out KO TWO's Spring/Summer family photo session deal!

(Click to enlarge flyer for details)

Celebrating 50 Sales | The Mini Newspaper Program

Today I sold my 50th Mini Newspaper Wedding Program since I started offering them in my Etsy shop last summer.

To celebrate I thought I would do a blog post featuring a few of the recent programs I have created for couples from all over. As you can see each one is as unique as the couple themselves, fitting into various wedding themes and settings.

(*Be sure to click on each paper to view it larger)

Colette & Tom | This UK couple got married on the shores of Loch Goil in Lochgoilhead Scotland. They are avid kayak-ers who love to explore any lake, stream, river or bay they can! They included a fun 'Ask the Experts' section in their paper that featured marriage advice quotes from their friends and family as well as an 'Epithelium (A lyric ode in honor of a bride and bridegroom) for Two Canoeists' written by the mother of the groom.


Jessica & Pierre | This couple got married at 'Olcottage' in Massachusetts on the sea where the bride grew up vacationing each summer. They were able to share these special memories and details about the significance of their wedding location with their guests through their newspaper program and also did a 'food and style' section and were also able to include french and English translations of their ceremony readings for their non-biligual guests to be abel to follow along with what was being read.

Lauren & Mike| This Barrie Ontario couple was having an Alice in Wonderland theme wedding! Their 'Wonderland Times' paper added to their theme by featuring a 'Mad Hatter Tea Room' advertisement, whimsical font, an Alice Through The Looking Glass quote and of course the 'Top Story' sharing the Fairy Tale of how the couple met, got engaged and planned their furture together.

Wesley & Kara| This sunny couple had a destination wedding and got married on 'The Casey Key' in Florida, which is where they got engaged! In their 'Top Story' they shared the details about how they met and the details about the proposal on the very beach they were getting married on. They also added a fun 'Guess that Love Song' section to entertain their guests.
Caroline and Paul | This adventure seeking couple from Nenagh Ireland was having an intimate ceremony and celebration in their backyard. They included a section in their paper in honor of the "Best Man", Noah, the bride's son! They wanted to create a coupon for 'Busters Bootcamp' as the groom (a.k.a Buster) is a personal trainer. They also included a fun 'Death of a Bachelor' section to let all the ladies know the groom was now off the market.


I have recently had a request to create a newspaper program for a sweet 16 birthday party that would feature the birthday girl, her friends, the party's events and menu as well as the sponsors of the event. So this could open up a whole new area for my papers and I even think they would be great for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs as well as anniversary parties and corporate events. So feel free to contact me about these possibilities as well.

Find my Newspaper Programs HERE in my Etsy Shop.

Spring Umbrella Wreath |

This year I made a few Spring Umbrella Wreaths for myself, my mom, my aunts and my grandma.

They are super easy to create...

WHAT YOU NEED:
- An umbrella
- Ribbon
- Faux Flowers (of varying heights and types)
- A door hook
- Scissors

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN:

Simply turn the umbrella upside down and begin arranging your flowers in the umbrella. Once you have them how you want them simply tie a ribbon around the umbrella, making sure that it holds all of the stems in place. Then you are ready to hang your 'umbrella wreath' on your door (either inside or out!) making a lovely spring display of flower and classic wreath alternative.

HERE ARE A FEW THAT I MADE:

Blue & Yellow:

Multi-colour:


Purple Tone & Pink Tone Umbrellas:

Happy Crafting!

Peach Inspired Colour Paletts |

Valentine's Day Pins |

I have a 'Gal-entines' get together coming up (basically a movie night with 'Gals' in celebration of what we love about each other) so I wanted to peruse Pinterest for some cute ideas to see what I could make/ bring to the party. (pictures of what I make to come).

If you are in need of some last minuet Valentines Day inspiration for a craft, card, treat or decor take a look at my hand selected pins HERE.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!