The Mint Needle

Hello friends! This past weekend our family got to enjoy a little getaway. We headed north to Niagara Falls, Canada to enjoy some waterfall views and take in some of the maple leaf country. What a fun excursion it was! And I can't believe how much has changed since we were there years ago! So... I'm going to tell you all about it, listing some pretty cool things to do if you're traveling with tweens! For starters, Canada is packed with botanical gardens. No matter where you stand, you will always be in perfect view of gorgeous trees, shrubs, and roses. We really enjoyed the scenic drive to the  Botanical Gardens & Butterfly Conservatory  . Home to over 2,000 butterflies, this magical haven was packed with more than colorful wings and flowers. Grab a quick bite to eat at the little cafe and enjoy some beautiful native plants. Although there's no pictures from  Clifton Hill , we were too busy having fun going into haunted hou...

Our beautiful tea rose bush is in full bloom once again and oh what a lovely sight it is! I usually spend time making rose syrup, which you can find  here , but since I've been trying to take it easy on the sweets, I opted for a luxury mist:) After all, who doesn't love to be pampered? And who wouldn't love a little spa-like pick me up in the middle of a stressful day? Right? Soo.... I gathered some supplies and got to work! You'll need:  -  tea roses (about 7-8 blooms) -  2-3 aloe vera stalks -  Vitamin E oil -  Essential oil of choice (I used Niaouli) -  one water bottle -   funnel -  glass dish -  enamel coated cookware (for boiling the rose petals) Do not use stainless steel as it will make your water a dark purplish blue. This happens from the oxidation. -  wooden tongue depressor (use it for mixing, pulling out the petals from the boiled water, and scraping the aloe vera stalks. -  spr...

And just like that, my friends, May is coming to a close. Hard to believe that almost half the year has already gone by. Time sure flies! The girls are eagerly awaiting summer break (just 1 more week left!!!). I don't know who's more excited, us parents or the girls! I mean honestly... how sweet it is....that first day of sleeping in! I've been scratching about on a few projects and managed to finish a little quilt top. I absolutely love large block quilts and oversized shapes and sizes. I came across a nice pattern at kitchentablequilting.com ! My finished piece consists of four 24" April Blocks. For anyone interested in learning how to quilt, this design is complex enough to give someone the boost they need, but definitely not difficult to understand or piece together. I used Art Gallery Fabrics, solids and one floral. Now that it is complete, I can't help but reimagine how different it would've looked had I placed the florals elsewhere in t...

Recently on Instagram, I had a blast taking a sneak peak into the #quiltvsquilter posts! They had a picture of the artist in the center with various finished projects, the best of the best, displayed in little images all around creator. It was fantastic! Snipits of information, who they were, things about them and so forth.  And though I didn't join, I realized, that I don't give too much of myself away on Instagram or in this blog. So... today... I'm going to let you know a little bit about moi. For starters, I love animals. We have lots of them around our house. At times I feel like it's Snow White's forest. The animals we intend to feed: our wonderful super dog Charlie, Dora and Lucy (the cats) and our 6 chickens (Pecos, Clara, Betsy, Dahlia, Gina, Pena) ~ all named after streets in Colorado. Hence, we decided to get the chickens on our family trip. And NO, I'm not happy about the fact that they were named. The animals we don't intend to feed: coyo...

Even though it's Spring in Ohio, we are not feeling it.... The cold just won't go away. On the warmer days, that being 46 at the highest, I've managed to clean up the garden, clean up the flower pots and cut back our tall grasses. Yes, it was cold, but at least sunny. Still, we're yearning for those gorgeous greens to start popping throughout the trees! If only there was a way to tell mother nature, enough is enough. On the sewing front, bright colored projects are swooning about. It's been a mad case of trying to utilize my current fabric stash and finding the right outlet to use them in. Take a look at what's been going on! I finally finished this project, started umpteen months ago. The blocks came together making me wish I had purchased more fabric to make this into a colossal quilt. I've never been one to favorite the color orange, but this piece has my heart melting blending with the greens. I love it to pieces! I did that binding I...

Hello friends! It's a gorgeous sunny day here in Ohio. Nothing in comparison to the days we've had. The flu hit our house in a very hard way. One of the girls had pneumonia and the other one the flu. Yes... it was inevitable that me and hubs would eventually get it. But now that things are finally tapering down and everyone is getting back into the groove of things, the sunshine felt super swell :) Being sick has its perks ya know! Like all the free time you have to start spring cleaning, organize, and sew....... Yup! I was able to finish quite a few projects and gain momentum on some strewing ideas. Take a look at one of the things completed! A colorful Bearpaw quilt!  And those sexy boots? Thank you to my dear hubby who's such a sport! I know I can always count on my best friend to make sure this quilt doesn't get sopping wet during picture time! Especially since I'm vertically challenged. I'm just loving the random colorplay a...