Crafty In Cobb

Do you love color but are overwhelmed by choice? Or you need help pairing colors or determining a color theme for a room you are decorating? Crafty In Cobb presents "Color Cues", a regular post that demonstrates beautiful color combinations inspired by photographs from around our amazing country. We are so fortunate to live in a union of 50 states where we have beaches, oceans, mountains, lakes, deserts, rivers, valleys, flatlands and farmlands - often within a few hours drive. The first of the series is a palette derived from a recent trip to Jekyll Island, part of the Golden Isles of Georgia. If you are in the area you cannot miss a pre-dawn photo trip to the locally famous Driftwood Beach. Occasionally referred to as a graveyard for enormous oaks and pines, a visit to this beach as the sun rises is anything but. Unusual and inspiring it's hard not to feel totally alive there. Colors by Glidden.

There are many advantages to planting flowering bulbs in the fall. First, most bulbs are perennials . So, once you plant the bulbs they should return year after year. Also, you can plant the bulbs on a cool autumn afternoon, wait until spring or summer and enjoy. None of the heavy lifting involved with digging holes for potted plants. Fall is the best time of year to plant bulbs, before the ground freezes . Depending on where you live that could be anywhere from early October to mid November. I visited the Farmer's Almanac website and found these great tips for planting bulbs ( http://www.almanac.com/content/fall-bulb-planting-spring-blooms ). Select high quality bulbs. Cheap bulbs will likely disappoint. Larger bulbs will usually provide a larger bloom. Weed the area where you plan to put your bulbs. Plant soon after purchase. Plant your bulbs in a sunny spot. In the ground or in a planter. Either is fine. Be sure the soil drains well. Plant lots of bul

  Liliorope is a go-to plant for most gardeners. This perennial favorite is attractive, available at most nurseries and almost indestructible. Because it is shallow rooted liliorope is also slow to spread but easy to split and plant elsewhere in the garden. The list of why this pretty plant is popular can go on. Here are a few reasons why I love them and have them planted all over my yard. The purple flowers arrive at the mid to late summer summer are very pretty and can last for weeks. They are low maintenance. Heat and lack of rain is not a problem. They need watering but not everyday. They can be planted at the base of trees without issue. They are very hardy don't generally look rough around the edges. They make a lovely border that can last a half year or longer. Deer don't especially like them. They come back year after year and are a good price point for the budget gardener. The more the better. Large groups of them look absolutely amazing when in bloom.

Do you want see something amazing that you most likely have never seen before? It's not in Cobb County but just around the corner. World renowned glass sculptor Dale Chihuly returns to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens after a 12 year hiatus. The exhibit runs through October 30.     The boldly colored glass art is installed throughout the gardens and even impressed my 8-year old son. He said "I thought this art would be boring and it's not." I know that's not a perfect plug for the event. But, those are pretty positive words for a boy who's been taken to a large city garden against his will for the afternoon. Chihuly is a master of appropriating naturally derived forms from plants and the ocean into his chosen medium of glass. Somewhat abstract and other worldly. Somewhat familiar and comfortable. Always vibrantly colorful and very pretty to view. The setting of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens is quite extraordinary and not to be missed. The s

I taught a 2-day youth ceramics class to 4-6 year olds a few weeks ago. Boy, did I have my work cut out for me! The class had 12 children enrolled, most of whom were 4 or 5. I think I was a little ambitious in terms of what a group that large could do. But, I believe they had fun during our two 1-hour sessions. Week 1 COLORFUL PINCH POTS - The children made pinch pots and were instructed to use at least 3 colors of engobe (a clay-based paint). They were given a round ball of clay and shown how to form using pinches to make a nice little pot. This skill would help them with their Week 2 work. ART MEDALLIONS - There was time to paint a second piece. I prepared medallions for the students to paint. After firing they can become art to hang on the wall. Week 2 PINCH POT PETS - The children were good at making pinch pots. This day they made them again but flipped them over and made them into a cat or dog. Most chose cats. These took some time and the children were very p

Photo from: http://www.backyarddiva.ca/chinese-balloon-flower/ If you live in Cobb County or anywhere in the Atlanta area you know that we all love our flowers. And we have a climate that accommodates some variety or other pretty much all year long. I love a good flower and a good garden but I don't want to spend a huge amount of time tending to them. If I have to water them every day they're done for. Maybe even every week... A bit over 10 years ago we were in a bad drought and I looked into drought tolerant flowers. The drought was an opportunity for me to learn about what plants need less water. Less watering means that if there's another drought I can do my part and leave my garden alone. There are two lovelies that I discovered - sedum and platycodon. Today I'll talk about the latter. Platycodon are commonly called "Chinese balloon flowers". They are a perennial and in Georgia start growing in early spring and bloom until late summer. They conti

I like to make little things. And a lot of the little things I make have no purpose other than to amuse me or whoever I decide to give the thing to. But sometimes they have a function outside of just being cheery. So, I bought a set of 5 mini canvas totes from Michaels last week thinking I could sell them at the local markets I do. I also love to make things that kids enjoy and know that parents don't want to throw down a lot of $$ for something they will outgrow or lose. I'd love to think they hold onto them for years but I have an 8-year old. So, I'm realistic about that ideal. These little bags are perfect for a little one walking by or visiting my booth. This project is also great if you want to make customized party or gift bags. Or keep and use yourself. I use mine to hold a few bucks and my phone. I'm always losing my phone in my purse and the mini tote helps me find it fast. Or it's a cute way to send a snack to school with the kiddos. Any-hoo.... so

Need some stress relief or something to get out of a rut? Try coloring. It's all the rage right now. I've been coloring since I can remember. It is very soothing and might be exactly what you need after a hectic day. Or give to your little ones so that you can enjoy an early evening glass of wino or cup of tea while they enjoy themselves. In order to print each picture just click on each and print individually. Enjoy! If you like these I will be giving out FREE prints to kids at the Acworth ArtFest this weekend. No purchase necessary. I will be in Booth 163, right by the KidZone.    

Lewis and I planted some flower seeds 9 days ago and wanted to show off their progess. Look at 'em grow! All it took was a little watering every day and the morning sun. Based on past experience they're going to get bigger but not look especially different for awhile. I'll post next when they're ready for planting outdoors. If you haven't tried planting from seed before it's really easy and seed packs are pretty inexpensive. You don't need a yard either. Just a planter, a sunny spot, dirt, seeds and water. As we all know, in addition to being pretty plants also help oxygenate your home. That's a win-win in my book! Every pod has something growing in it. Very exciting!   These took just over 7 days to show themselves.

Do you like to draw or maybe just like the idea of drawing and don't know where to start? Drawing, like any other skill, is learned. And you have to start from somewhere. I find the best place to start is with simple and colorful shapes. The following post will show you step by step how to make a colorful leaf drawing. There is no pressure to be perfect here. This is a small drawing. It's just a matter of you finding a half hour to an hour of time and some very basic materials. You will need a piece of paper, a ruler, a pencil,  eraser, a black pigment marker (I use Faber Castell but a thin Sharpie is fine) and some color pencils. Do not use a ball point pen as it will smear. Do not use crayons as they will also cause the ink to smear. This drawing will fit a 5x7" mat or frame. Draw a box that's just a bit larger than 5x7" on your paper. Using your pencil draw the shape you see on the left. Erase as needed until you like the shape. Draw two li

Live in the Atlanta area and want something fun to do next weekend? The High Museum and Woodruff Art Center are hosting a FREE Family Festival from 12-5pm on Sunday, March 13. (Note: Parking is not free and costs $10 if you are not a museum member.) The festival will be celebrating the works of two artists, Vik Muniz and Jean Michel Basquiat. In celebration of these two artists there will a live Haitian musical performance and also Brazilian music (not live from what I can tell, but still probably pretty fun). The live performance will be given at 1 and 2 pm. There will be also be two creative activities for children - art making with unusual materials and kite making. The grounds are quite large and children can fly their kite right on the grounds! Click HERE for the Festival webpage. I don't know much about Vik Muniz but from what I can find his work is quite whimsical and he often chooses unlikely materials to make art. This is something that kids of all ages can wr