Not Camera Shy!!!

While sitting on the beach reading my favorite jewelry magazines,

I noticed this Herring Gull watching me.
After 5 -10 minutes went by, I looked up again and

realized he hadn't moved! So, I slowly took my camera out

of my beach bag and started taking pictures.

Instead of flying away,

he seemed very curious and walked closer to check out my

shiny silver camera! Unfortunately, he got so close

many of the pictures came out blurry!

Later the same day, this little Laughing Gull

decided he wanted to be in pictures too!

Tracey :-)

This Storm Started Backwards!!

 While we were on our vacation at the Jersey Shore

I unwittingly captured this strange storm that actually started backwards?!

After having dinner on our deck that overlooks the ocean, I spotted this beautiful rainbow in the sky! I quickly grabbed the camera (which is never too far away) to see if I could catch what I thought was a fleeting rainbow. The day was hot and sunny---- perfect beach weather, for our first day at the shore! There was no mention of showers or rain in the weather report.

But, as I began taking pictures, I realized that the rainbow was beginning to change. 

Clouds began to form.

As the rainbow began to fade (left) this cloud formation began to form over the ocean to the right of it. The sun was beginning to set, giving the clouds a rosy/purple glow.

Then the rain began.

The rainbow was now totally replaced by this mushroom type cloud that seemed to rise from the ocean!

The sky looked threatening but it also reminded me of cotton candy! The gorgeous blue sky above this storm was such a pretty contrast to the cotton-like clouds. 

As the storm moved off into the distance I was able to see the rain coming down only from the vertical cloud. In the picture, it looks like a UFO hiding behind a large cloud!!

Eventually, the whole storm moved out to sea!

It was amazing! 

 I'm so glad I had my camera to capture it!

We had a wonderful week with lots of sun, and some rain (mainly at night!) I saw dolphins swim by, a whale spouting water several times before moving off, lots of surfers and even wind surfers! The waves were big and the sand was beautiful but hot, hot, hot! I picked up lots of shells for my mosaics and even found some wonderful pieces of seaglass!

Vacation is wonderful.....but there's no place like home! We were happily greeted with wagging tails, and doggy kisses by our family pets! 

Tracey :D 

A Gorgeous Collection of Beach Towels For Everyone In The Family!

Custom Beach Towels by kadydesigns on Etsy

Jersey Shore, Here We Come!!

Since my children were little, we've been going to the Jersey Shore for our vacation!

Having such hectic lives year round, we just love to relax at the beach!

Our beach towels have been well worn through the years and its time to search for some new ones. Of course ,I turned to my favorite shopping spots online, Etsy and Artfire to see what was out there! I was overwhelmed by the selection, there are so many wonderful beach towels and accessories available, that I thought I would share some of my finds with you!

Towels For Everyone in Your

Family!!

Custom Embroidered Loralie Beach Babe Towel by threadmagicians on Etsy

These fun beach towels come in a large selection of colors to choose from, and many   cute beach diva designs to fit your personality! 

Soccer Beach Towel by threetreesembroidery on Etsy

Great for the Soccer player in your family! These can be personalized with a name also!

Custom Fire Dept Towel by threetreesembroidery on Etsty

Too cute!

Personalized Embroidered Beach Towels by Freshvintageshop

A choice of several beautiful color combinations are available in this style.

Great for anyone, but I thought they would be good for your older daughter or son!

Personalized Beach Towels for Everyone in the Family by FabricYarnAndDesign on Etsy!

Perfect for keeping track of everyones towel during a day at the beach!

A Few Accessories For Utilizing your Towel to its Fullest!

Cabana Caddie Beach Towel by cabanacaddie at Etsy

I love that this is a duel functioning beach towel that keeps you comfortable & organized!

2 Beach Towel Clips by mardie9999 at Etsy

Great to way to keep your towel in place from shore breezes!

Towel Bags by SoxonyDesigns on Etsy

These towel bags are amazing!  They are made using a beach towel that folds up perfectly into the bag for easy transport. There is an extra large zipper pocket in the interior to keep your belongings out of the sun, sand and water!

PLUS - The bag itself fits onto the back of most beach chairs preventing your towel from sliding down your chair!

Great Beach Towel & Accessories For the Little One in the Family!

Hooded Peronalized Infant/Toddler Super Plush Towel by Snuggles of Love at Etsy

  Personalized Set of 2 Pacifiers Clips by snugglesoflove at Etsy

What a great way to keep those pacifiers out of the sand!

These wonderful shops are filled with lots of different items that have adorable designs and many personalized items! So check them out!

I hope this helped with some great ideas for beach towels and a few accessories!!

Tracey :-)

Just Beachy Wine Charms

Summer is finally here! At your next party enjoy using these beautiful beach themed metal wine charms, featuring SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystals! These are fun, gorgeous and a practical way to personalize your wine glasses or coffee mugs at parties, picnics, shore house, or even at the office! Never mixup your glass again!

  Just Beachy Set of 6 Wine Charms

Growing up close to the Connecticut shore, I was at the beach anytime I had a free hour or two! During the summer months through college I worked on Cape Cod, MA, and after graduation found myself living along the Maine coastline. So, its safe to say I have always been inspired by the ocean environment.

  Something Old.. Something New...Wooden Heart Box

I now live in NJ far from the ocean---

it took some time to adjust driving several hours just to enjoy a little beach time!

However, many of the items I create are uniquely linked to a shore somewhere in the world. I love to incorporate many natural elements found along the shore into my mosaic boxes, heart boxes, jewelry, trivets and frames. I also have a  new line of ocean inspired mosaic glass and shell placques that I will be adding to my shops any day now.

Colors From The Sea Mosaic Trivet/Decoration

This is a One-of-a-Kind Trivet/Decoration! I used gorgeous genuine hand collected Sea glass, created in a beautiful mosaic, rainbow swirl of color! Each piece of sea glass has been collected from many places around the world such as Ireland, England, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, California, New England & Israel. Many of the colors are very difficult to find, some are even rare. 

A Sea Glass Lover's Dream Collection all in one beautiful,

decorative, and useful piece!

So take a peek at the wonderful variety of handcrafted items I have created using the ocean as my inspiration!

TKDesigns Etsy Shop

 Check back soon for a fun collection of Beach Themed items I found created by other great artists!

Daylilies

Thank you for stopping by! 

The daylily above is one of many I have flowering in my yard. They are so pretty, and grow wild along many of the roads and woodlands here in NJ. They are called daylilies because each flower only blooms for one day! Luckily, daylilies have many buds to extend their flower time!

See you soon!

Wednesday.s Woodland Walk

This is one of the many birdhouses scattered along our woodland path. I painted this birdhouse with my children about 10 years ago. It has had many occupants over the years, but the past couple of years I noticed during very bad rain storms, you can usually see a little face peering out! Our gray squirrels are quite inventive and have renovated many different items around the yard (many of them my birdhouses) into little safe havens! 

 

Goatsbeard (Bride's Feather's) - Arnucus dioicus

A wonderful 3-6' native woodland plant. Arnucus means goat beard in greek.  I love its airy white plumes of tiny white flowers that rise above many of the other woodland plants.

Orange Honeysuckle - Lonicera ciliosa

Vines are also an interesting part of a woodland setting. Many times here in the east you will find virginia creeper, boston ivy, escaped wisteria vines and many other vines, climbing up tree trunks, rocks, or along the ground.  Many of our trees were covered with wisteria vines when we bought our home.  Wisteria slowly strangles your trees to death, so we cut them all down and had to diligently keep an eye out for newcomers.  We also had virginia creeper, that too lovcs to climb up the trunks of the trees giving a beautiful vertical dimension to the woods, however, I like to keep them short enough to be able to keep it under control.  

 Along our back fence I planted orange honeysuckle vines for added privacy from our neighbors. They can grow up to 18' along the ground or scramble up fences and other vertical structures. They are so pretty with their beautiful yellow/orange trumpet shaped flowers. However, the berries on this plant can be mildly poisonous if eaten by people, so beware of planting this if you have small children.

Hummingbirds love these vines!

 

Yellow Foxglove - Digitalis grandiflora

  They really stand out in the woodland setting with their pretty pale yellow flower spikes and dark green leaves. 

Oakleaf Foamflower 

The native foamflower bloomed earlier in the spring, but this is a hybrid called the oakleaf foamflower, receiving that common name because of the shape of its oak-like leaves. It is blooming now during the late spring.

Thanks for joining me on my woodland walk. 

See you next week!

Great Gifts For Father's Day!

Wine Bottle Stopper With Dymalux South Dakota by massmans on Etsy

This is one of a gorgeous collection of wine bottle stoppers! Each piece is turned on a wood lathe and is a custom one of a kind creation. This would make any Dad smile!

Other interesting items created with local Missouri and exotic woods, are beautiful writing pens, kaliedescopes, bowls and more!

Microfiber White BBQ Towel- Plays With Fire by omasews on Etsy

Ok, maybe it's my silly sense of humor, or maybe it just reminds me of my husband at the BBQ, but I found this grilling towel hysterical!! I just had to include it!

I think this would be perfect for that Dad who loves to grill

and if you buy the matching apron you get free shipping!!

Recycled Bike Gear Bottle Opener by steeltoestudios on Etsy

  I think this would make a great companion to that towel!!  Looks like a very handy tool to open Dad's favorite beverage while barbequing..... And perfect to take anywhere with its attached keychain! Check out their hand forged buckles and handmade belts too!

 

Gold tone circuit board Desk Clock by HandAndHook on Etsy.

This clock is awesome! It's created with a recycled hard drive circut board! 

There are many great designs to choose from and would make a very unique gift for Dad. What a great conversation piece to have on a desk!

I will have more great ideas coming up in the next few days!

If you have any other great items, just drop me a note and I will be happy to take a peek

and possibly feature them!

Necklace Inspired by Lilies of the Valley

Surrounded by lilies of the valley, my cat decides to sit right in the middle of them! Their beautiful white bells dangle off a single stem between two big green leaves. I have always loved picking them in little bouquets to bring into the house. It only takes a few stems of these little bell shaped flowers to fill a room with its wonderful scent!

Each spring they fill my front yard with an incredible sweet aroma!

No wonder they use this wonderful scent in perfumes! 

They have pretty orange/red berries in the late summer/fall, but I'm always sad to see their flowers fade!

Simply Sophia Antiqued Brass Necklace

I created this wonderful antiqued brass necklace to capture the graceful beauty of one of my favorite spring flowers! The Lilies of the Valley! Two Swarovski bicone crystals frame each side of this lovely stamped brass pendant, giving it a gorgeous sparkle!

I wanted to keep this necklace simple.... like the flowers it represents!

I love creating items that are inspired by the nature

that surrounds me!

Wednesday's Woodland Walk

Jack in the Pulpit- Arisaema triphyllum

These amazing plants are so unique and perfect for a woodland garden! They received their common name because the flower looks like a pulpit with a person inside! Why they called him Jack is a mystery to me!

Another very interesting fact about this plant is that it changes it's sex!! I'm not sure what triggers this change from  male to female, because in my garden it can be a male for several years and then come up female another year!

Male flowers are usually on plants that have one set of 3 leaves, and the female flowers seem to produce 2 sets of 3 leaves with a second surprise in the late summer/fall by producing pretty bright red berries!

Nature is incredible when you stop and look around!

Jack-in-the-Pulpits are 1' to 3' perennials that thrive in average to rich organic soil in partly shaded conditions ( but will grow in light shady spots). They also need average to moist soil, the latter being the ideal. They are found in moist woodlands and the edges of swamp lands from Canada to Southern, USA. These unique flowers bloom April to June.

They are a wonderful addition to any woodland path or garden.

Like all wildflowers, never remove them from the wild and remember to purchase them from Nurseries that guarantee they are 100% nursery propagated!

I hope they find a place in your woodland garden!

Pink Wild Geraniums and yellow flowers of Green and Gold

Creeping Phlox

Geranium

As I was walking through my woodland path today, the birds suddenly fell very quiet. It felt a bit eerie!! You don't realize how many wonderful sounds are in the woods until everything goes quiet! Then I heard the piercing cries of the red tailed hawk. I've seen him fly over head occassionally, so, I guess all the creatures went silent hoping they wouldn't be his next meal!

He landed in my neighbors tree on a limb that looks over her bird feeders. He was pretty close! But while trying to get closer to get a good picture, off he flew! He could have at least waited a few minutes to pose for me!!

Oh well, I'll try again when he returns! 

  Until next week!! :-) 

What I Fished Up on Etsy!

Large Wood Polka Dot Fish Wall Art

By recycledwoodart

Grey Whale with Seaweed and Fish Original Watercolor Painting

By UnitedThread

Fishing 

By Wyllow

Shoulder Frame Pouch, Quilted, Fish in Emerald Green

By TagoDesign

 Natali - Fish Lampwork Beads

By rhnatali

Oddly enough, I felt destined to write about fish this evening!

Last night we had fish for dinner! Today, I spent the afternoon catching my front yard goldfish and moving them into my backyard pond. (the pump to my front yard pond broke) It wasn't as easy as it would seem, my fish are quite fast and proved to be a challenging game of hide and seek!!

 Once they were all happily swimming around in the larger pond, I came inside to rest for awhile, only to be informed by my son that he was going fishing with his friends at the local pond! (thankfully, they always throw the fish back in!) 

Was it fate? I don't know, but I decided to go catch myself some whimsical fish on etsy!!

  ENJOY!

Etsy artists never let me down with their ability to make me smile!  They're always amazingly creativity!

Birdhouses & Recycled Soda Cans!

Swirling Flowers Birdhouse

I just love creating these wonderful whimsical birdhouses! They can be found in my Etsy and Artfire Shops.

 Move in ready! These adorable wood birdhouses are both pretty and functional for outdoor use by any lucky bird!  (nice for indoor decoration also)

Recycled soda cans create these funky flowers, birds and other decorations that make each birdhouse unique. Copper and brass nails, securely attach all the flowers and edges are sanded for the safety of our feathered occupants!

Recycled Charm Birdhouse

These charming wooden birdhouses have been hand painted with a high quality outdoor acrylic paint in a variety of beautiful colors!  The inside of these houses have been left natural for the safety of the birds.

There is a front latch for security and easy cleaning. Venting in the back allows for good air circulation. A wire hook is included on all birdhouses to provide easy hanging!

If you think your backyard birds may like a different color combination, I would be happy to make one that will make them sing!

The dimensions are 7”x 5 1/2” x 8”ht. It has a 1” hole.

Love Birds Birdhouse

Springtime is the busiest time for house hunting, so hurry and treat your birds with a beautiful place to live! Look for more houses coming soon!

Treat yourself and family to a wonderful opportunity to watch nature in action!

A great gift for any Bird lover or Gardener. 

My Collection of Trilliums on Wednesday's Woodland Walk

 Trillium erectum 'album'

Ahh, I just love trilliums! It has taken me years of patience to finally be able to enjoy a woodland path that is dotted with a variety of these amazing flowers! It can take up to 6-8 years for a trillium to go from seed to actually flowering, but it is soooo worth the wait!

Trillium

I discovered my first trillium while digging up ferns from a property that was going to become a road into a new housing development. I had obtained permission from the builder to take whatever plants I wanted since they were clearing everything and would soon be paved over with asphalt!  (Note: It is always important to get a property owners permission before taking a plant.  Many wildflowers are in decline, some are endangered, because of people taking them from the wild or over development. So I highly reccommend finding a nursery that grows wildflowers to buy from, unless, like this situation where the plants will be killed from construction).

It was a little nodding trillium, standing alone in the path of destruction. I'm so glad I was there to rescue it!  They are not the showiest of trilliums because its flower nods down below its leaves. After years of it blooming for me, the past two years it abruptly stopped, it is growing heartily and has actually multiplied into several plants now, so where the flowers are is another mystery!  I only have a picture of its leaves, which I'll spare you!

Purple Trillium - Trillium etectum

Many of my trilliums came in a mail order of purple trilliums years ago, they were shipped to me bareroot by a wildflower nursery. To my surprise, I think I only received a couple of actual purple trilliums.   After many years, some are just now blooming and they look a bit different!  So, I'm a bit baffled as to the exact name of some of the trilliums that have now begun blooming, one is even yellow! (I'd be thrilled if someone could identify them for me since I have spent hours on the internet trying to accurately ID them.)  It is important to make sure that the nursery you purchase wildflowers from, commercially grow them, and don't collect them from the wild. A practice we don't want to encourage since they can deplete them from an area. )

Sweet Betsy (Yellow form) orToadshade Trillium - Trillium recurvatum 'Shayi'

Whatever their names, I enjoy being surprised with their beautiful flowers each spring!

Yellow Trillium - Trillium luteum

Trillium means three-parted lily. Trilliums have three whorled leaves and a three petaled flower that comes from the center of the leaves. They can vary in color, size, mottled or solid green leaves and a host of other differences, so they can be a bit difficult to identify correctly!

Western White Trillium -Trillium ovatum (?)

White trilliums start to turn pink once they have been pollinated! This really confused me before I learned this fact. One day I was looking at a beautiful white flower and then a few days later I came out and found a pink one in its place!! I thought maybe the garden fairies were playing a trick on me!

White Trillium - Trillium grandiflorum

 Some interesting facts about Trilliums: 

* The White trillium has been known to symbolize the Holy Trinity in the Christian faith, because it's parts are in three's representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as being one.

*It is said that picking a white trillium off a mountain brings rain!

*The white flower of a White Trillium often is used to symbolize purity, beauty or recovery.

* The root of a trillium is used in natural medicine for a variety of ailments. 

*It was given the nickname birthroot by the indigenous North Americans who used it as a birthing aid!

*It is the state flower of Ohio.

*It is the emblem of the province of Onterio, Canada.

* Ants are the main source of how trillium seeds are spread!

Prarie Trillium - Trillium recurvatum (?)

Trilliums are often a favorite flower for the white tailed deer to dine on. Picking a trillium can seriously injure or kill the plant taking years for it to recover. Before we raised the wire fencing on our property, I had to put wire cages on my plants so they wouldn't be eaten by our local deer!

A little collection of trilliums along my woodland path!

Hope you enjoyed your walk with me today!

Have a great week! :-)

Tracey