​I had these beads sitting on one of my beads containers and suddenly I said, why not make me a set with odd combinations of beads and colors. After all, it is me the one who will wear it, smile.

I did some research about this tree. Technically known as Coccoloba uvifera, this tree is native of south Florida, Bermuda, Bahamas, North and East of south America Brazil, Mexico, central America, and the pacific coast of south America to the south of Peru.
 
It takes about 3 years to grow however, the whole development can take between 7 and 8 years. And of course, I grew up in Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean, where it also grows. I always knew this tree, loved it and ate lots of its grapes.
 
This is what you do to harvest some of the grapes and munch on when you go to the beach. You take one of the big tree leaves, twist it to make some sort of a cone, pin it with a toothpick and fill it with grapes to eat as you go. Great memories.

​There is not much to say about this post, simply because the beauty of Mother Nature is Unique and Spectacular. Plants, Animals, Bodies of Water, well, you get the point.
Nothing seems to surprise me more than Mother Nature and the many things that I see daily, that I know for sure that men cannot create. Therefore, I will continue to enjoy the privilege to see the beauty of nature every day!
 
Enjoy these beauties!

When I travel my primary goal is to capture nature and anything interesting or historically from where I go.
 
This time, I photograped these birds in Florida. Haowever, I am afraid to confess that I don’t know what kinds of birds they are, well, other than the gray sandhill cranes and the doves. Needless to say, they always make me happy and I appreciate the fact that they did not fly away as I became closer and closer to them. They are all such sweet beauties.
 
When I was about 9 years old, I remember my granddaddy opening the gate of a bird cage to free some birds he was given as a gift. I will never forget his words when I asked him why he was doing that. He looked at me and asked; “Would you like to live in a confined cage? No? Well neither do them!
 
Sometimes, the best things in life are free, simple, nature related and thank you Lord, are not connected at all with today’s hectic-crazy schedules and technology-overload. (Although I must say that I have to thank my Iphone, so I could take the photos of these beauties to share with you, smile…)

​SIMPLE AND ELEGANT DIY. You can bring BRIGHT AND BOLD colors to your home in multiple ways. In 2017 be adventurous by introducing black and yellow or any other companion color of your choice, to match the colors that you already have at home. The goal? To make a new piece to enjoy and to practice your creative skills.
 
For this arrangement, I decided to use black as my bold color and it did not disappoint me. So, go ahead and give it a shot, create a new piece to enjoy, something new.  After all, it’s for your home and I am sure that it will look amazing!
 
Materials Cost: Approximate $5.50 or less
 
1 Flower container, use the color of your choice ($0. I used an old water pitcher I had.)
1 focal silk flower $2
Few mixed silk flowers to use as fillers $3
1 piece of green flower foam to hold the flowers inside (.50)
 
Tuck the foam inside the container, it should fit tight.
To start, arrange the fillers to your like and then add the focal silk flower in the middle.
Done!

Yes indeed!
 
Ok, cheer up; it is not all that bad. We all know that during this time of the year we can’t expect to see flowers or interesting trees outdoor. However, surprisingly enough, and tucked into all the snow, you still can have color in your garden.
 
One thing should be clear; inevitably we will have snow if we live in a northern or even a southern state. Therefore, it is up to us to keep some colors here and there to make it exciting when you need it the most.
 
It’s all good! It only takes a tiny effort, and that effort will be making you happy after the storm.
 
So, enjoy the colors of my Winter Garden.

Better yet, after I finished I realized that the whole arrangement cost me $3.80 since the flowering material came from nature.
 
If you live in the southern part of the country, chances are that you, your neighbor or the roads are packed with the Brazilian Pepper Tree. Unfortunately, the pepper-tree quickly spreads into natural areas, taking over native plants. It's against the law to sell or purposefully plant Brazilian pepper-trees. 
 
Therefore, you can cut 3 branches and there is 100% chance that you are not going to kill the plant. Smile. I heard that tree branches are often used as Christmas decorations in Florida.
 
If you don’t feel like doing so, then go to your local raft store and purchase 3 berries springs with some greenery and you will have the same final product as I did.
 
Remember, Christmas decorations don’t need to be expensive, just take a short walk out and assess the abundance of plant materials that surrounds us!
 
Materials (Total Cost: $3.80)
 
1 basket (you can use any size/shape you may have at home now) ($1.00)
3 pepper tree cuttings (about 12 to 15 inches each) (FREE)
2 flowering light green 10” cuttings from a shrub (don’t know the name) (FREE)
3 long pine cones (FREE)
Some gold spray to paint the pine cones (.50)
1 ½ yard of golden ribbon for a bow ($2.00)
Glue gun or Tacky Glue (.30)
 
Get a plastic container, fill it with water and tuck inside the basket. You can secure it with newspaper on the sides so it won’t wiggle.
Begin the arrangement by adding the 3 pepper tree branches and the other 2 cuttings.
Spray paint the pine cones and glue them together.
Make a bow (or purchase one) and glue it to the basket.
 
DONE! Time to get busy to make your own! 

Yes, just few dollars will make this wreath possible to decorate your front door. However, the expense is nothing comparing to the satisfaction of knowing that you made it and your front door will remind you daily.

​I am sharing two versions of the same wreath today. It just happened that at the last minute I decided to add few real natural pine twigs to my store bought wreath to make it look real. See if you can tell, smile!
 
Approximate Cost: $10.00
 
1 Wreath $3.00
6 Decorative picks @ 2 for $1.00 approx. $3.00
Spray paint (gold) (2.00)
7 Gold ornaments @ the dollar store = $1.00
1 yard of ribbon ($1.00)
3 Garden Magnolia leave painted in gold
Assorted pine cones from your garden
Glue gun
 
To assemble, follow my attached slide show for ideas. However, anything goes, you can make it work to whatever you like. After all, is a gift for your home J

This basket arrangement cost me nothing! It’s FREE thanks to Mother Nature’s plant material. You can make one too.

Again, I sound like a broken record, but please, go to your backyards and look for interesting evergreen plant materials and pine cones. Then cut few branches, (You are not hurting the plants because they are dormant until spring, then in spring, they will develop new growth.) I had an old basket in my craft room and decided it was time to bring it alive!
These are the materials that I found in my backyard:

3 pine twigs
A bunch of oregano (the small leaves hanging on the right)
3 small Holly twigs (the shiny leaves with the red berries)
5 pine cones
1 purple stem from my balcony hanging baskets

To assembly the basket, start by just placing the pine twigs in the bottom, follow with the Holly on top. Then, insert the oregano in one side and the purple stem in the opposite side. Finally, add the 5 cone on top at random. All these material were just placed in layers inside the basket, nothing is attached or glued.

If you want, you can also add a big red bow, or glass ornaments, or fake berries picks and you are done.

How many of us have been given a dozen of red roses? The answer is many of us. The real question is what do you do once the roses begin to fade? I actually tight them at the bottom with a string and hang them upside down in my craft room in the basement to allow them to dry. Then, when I need them, I do what I did today, made an arrangement. Easy does it!
 
I also had this round cheese box that cost me .25 cents at a yard sale. I made a bow, went to my backyard and grabbed some pinecones, bake them at 200 degrees for few minutes to kill any bug that made them their home and finally, spray painted them with golden craft paint.
 
Materials needed:
The dry roses (If you don’t have them, use silk flowers)
Glue gun
4 to 5 yards of Ribbon
1 round or square tray to glue the roses and pinecones to it
Craft spray paint of any color you prefer
A piece of ribbon to glue in the back to be able to hang it.
 
For ideas, follow my slide presentation.