Our one-day show in Lakewood, Wisconsin is a blast for two reasons....it's full of fun and enthusiastic shoppers and it's close enough to our cabin on the Peshtigo River that we can spend a couple of days there. It's heaven. This is a picture of the river (with very low water!) right in front of our cabin. That's Tom trying to find a trout. We can open the windows and listen to the rapids all night long.

I had fun this afternoon decorating this chunky green mirror. The workshop is bustling, trying to get ready for our big September and October shows. It is always my busiest season, and full of shows that I love to do. Once it starts on Labor Day weekend, however, there's not much time to do anything but pack, drive, do the show and repeat!

I did the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts in Minneapolis last weekend.  My booth was facing the historic Pillsbury Mill and behind my booth was the only falls on the Mississippi River as well as downtown Minneapolis.  I have never been in that part of the city before and thoroughly enjoyed it.....my only regret being that I was so busy that I could not get out of my booth to enjoy some of the regional bands that were playing during the show.  There will be many gardens in Minnesota that will be a little bit brighter after they've been decorated with the birdhouses and other whimsies we sold, tho..... and I am a little more familiar with all the one-way streets in the city.  And I LOVE that vertical neon sign on the Guthrie Theatre! 

Yes, birds will use them!

Welcome, summer!  It was a long, long winter in the North and we are happy that our sunny summer season is almost here.  Our painted steel sun face is 21" in diameter.  There is a keyhole in the back for hanging.  $60.

A little pink bouquet, perfect for Mother's Day!  Steel flowers painted and sealed so they're suitable for indoors or out.  The container is a vintage sap bucket from Quebec which I painted and decorated with a tin flower.

6 flowers (2 ft tall)......36.00

Sap bucket...28.00

INSTANT GARDEN, NO WATERING REQUIRED

These are our new little 2-foot tall painted steel flowers.  No worries if you plant these in your garden!  No need to water or weed......just enjoy.  A bunch of 6 is $36.00.  Multi color.

The watering can is a vintage European can that I painted and decorated with a flower made from salvaged ceiling tin, reclaimed copper wire curly-cues and a few glass beads.  The flowers in the background are painted steel and look charming in a garden.  No fuss!

Tomorrow's the last day of the Flower Show.  We're exhausted but happy!  Thank you, Philadelphia, for a great time.  We enjoyed the show as much as anyone (amazing displays, and the first time I've heard opera live). Great food, too!  We have a long drive home, but will enjoy a little quiet time in our small town after the energy and activity of the city.  And I think that after all the birdhouses we sold here the wrens will have some hot digs in the East this Spring.

We won a ribbon for Third Place-Garden Accessories at the Flower Show last night....a good feeling after all the effort that goes into preparing for and doing this show.  We've seen lots of our customers from last year and a lot of new ones, too.  It's quite exciting for a couple of small-town midwesterners to do a show in a major metropolitan area.   (Not that we've never been in a city before, of course......we do shows in Chicago, Detroit, Colorado Springs, and Minneapolis to name a few).  We've been enjoying the Philadelphia friendliness and especially the food.  It's been a memorable experience so far!

Philadelphia Flower Show

The flower show's official start was today, and there were huge crowds here to enjoy the wonderful displays.  This year's theme is "Bella Italia".  The designers have created courtyards and gardens full of ancient-looking sculptures evoking both ancient and modern Italy.  There's even a garden portraying Atlantis peopled by mermaids and other fantastical and mythical sea creatures.  My favorite!

Heart to Heart is headed to Pennsylvania this week for the Philadelphia Flower Show.....the biggest flower show in the United States!  It's an awesome display of garden artistry, and this year's theme is "Bella Italia".  There will be many huge displays built from live plants, from flowers to full size trees.  Last year there were even ponds and streams in the gardens.  Incredible!  There is a marketplace where our booth will be, full of everything from jewelry to garden tools.  I'm taking my camera and will post from the show to share the beauty.

This is a salvaged raised door panel that I decorated with cut ceiling tin pieces. I rather like how it turned out, and hope I can do a few for my shows. I'm not sure if there's a message behind this design, but I think that little flower is happy to be blooming.

We just finished a batch of these nice big birdhouses.  They're roofed with steel shingles that were salvaged from one of the biggest old Victorian houses in New Holstein, where I live.  I love knowing just where the stuff we use to make our birdhouses comes from and knowing a little story about it is that much better.