Sunday, February 22, 2015

Hastypearl in the Tomato Garden!



Hastypearl in the Tomato Garden!

Well, I know that its not universally true, but its getting Time in Texas, 
that gardeners start getting itchy to get their hands dirty.
I Am One of Those :)

After almost 40 years of gardening, I finally got a little help 
and for the last two years, hired two men, 
to spend two days, cutting back my perennials.
I have miles and miles of them and  
I cant TELL you how much weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.
That subject could be its own blog posting...but if you are 
burdened with an area in your life...get help!
It has made being in the garden Joyous again, 
and given me back some time for other areas in my life that I enjoy, 
like being Hasty in my art studio:)

So, our local grocery store has recently enlarged 
and added a beautiful garden center.
I was extremely surprised this week, 
to find a number of Heirloom varieties of Tomatoes 
and like a moth to the flame...I bought them!

Heirlooms tomatoes are often less acidic, which my body loves, 
and also usually, a bit smaller in size.
So, if you are looking for one of those softball sized tomatoes, 
I don't think that Heirlooms will accomplish that.
Otherwise, the flavors, colors and shapes are Amazing!


One thing that you can do to get your tomatoes up and going and larger 
at planting time, is to get them into pots, 
larger than the size that they generally come in.

Sure death for most plants, is to plant them below the crown, 
which is the junction where they were growing when you bought them 
(unless they were originally planted too deep).
Tomatoes on the other hand, love to be planted deeply 
and will just sprout new roots along the buried stems.
More roots, stronger plant!


I took my small plants, some empty 1 gallon buckets that I had saved 
from previous purchases, my shovel and I headed for my soil pile.
Every couple of years, I have a load delivered 
that is mostly compost and fertile soil.
It waits patiently for me to use up, and then I get another delivery!
That's not necessary to have of course, 
a nice bag of potting soil will do the trick.


I placed a small amount of soil in the bottom of the pot
 and then placed the small plant deep in the bottom of the pot.


You can see how much of the stem that got covered with soil.

Don't forget to place the plant identification tag in its pot.
 There's no WAY that you will remember which is which
...even though you're sure that you will!



After I got all of the transplanting done, 
I moved them into the greenhouse 
and gave them a good drink of water.
A nice sunny window will accomplish the same thing.
It will be fun to see the plant begin to settle 
into its new pot and begin to Grow.
Don't be surprised, if you even see a 
beautiful yellow blossom appear, very soon!

I will periodically give them a little sip of some organic food.
There are lots on the market, FINALLY! :)

When you are past your last frost, 
you can pop them into the garden 
and just think how much farther along the plants will be,
 than if you were to plant the small plants.
The Bigger at planting, the sooner you'll harvest those Juicy Tomatoes!

Don't think that you have to have a separate Vegetable garden.
Tomatoes look fantastic next to your flowers, shrubs, perennials or roses.
I love a full bed mixed with wonderful variety and surprises.

This little project, is a wonderful thing to do with your little ones.
There's SO MUCH to learn from gardening.
It hurts me to think how many children never eat a tomato 
or even know where one comes from.

I Hope that you enjoyed this garden project 
and that reading this posting 
got you all Itchy for Spring!

If its still a long way off for you, most nurseries will begin 
carrying bulbs and seeds that you can force to bloom, right on a windowsill.
Go talk to any nursery worker bee and you will see that 
they LOVE to teach you how to plant!

Send me some pics of your garden...and tomatoes!
I would LOVE to see them :)

.....as always...thanks for stopping by....Laura 

ps. You will notice along the right side of this posting, lots of opportunities to follow hastypearl.
If you are into FB, or Pinterest or Instagram, I am, too!
I'd love for you to add me to your list!
There's so much Hastiness to share :)












Sunday, February 8, 2015

Hastypearl Mixed Media Angel




Mixed Media Angel

Well, this posting is Both a Happy :) and Sad :( tale.

Ill get the Sad part over first.
I lost the photos that I took to make a step out tutorial, for this piece.
OK. So, not sooo sad, but I was certainly disappointed. 
Not only those images were lost, but also, 
the ones that I took of a family luncheon that I hosted.

You know how it goes.

I am constantly trying to learn more about photography.
Wow, what a steep learning curve it is.
So, I followed some steps for changing 
my camera from the settings that it came with.
I turned left when I should have turned right 
on one of the steps, and I don't know how to 
retrieve the missing photos.
At least I figured out WHY it happened 
and corrected it so that it doesn't continue.

I've learned along Life's way, to try to not have regrets.
There will always be another time, for more photos.

So, the Happy part of the tale, is that I had 
a Wonderful time creating this piece.
It just came together with ease!
I love it when that happens.

Basically, it is comprised of layers and layers.
Starting with a Very Old Lace tablecloth, 
I built up, I think it was 10 layers.


The wood piece in the middle is a paper thin 
piece of wood, that came out of a beautiful wood cigar box.
I thought it gave the piece a little more structure...stability.



I ultimately used grommets in the front and back, 
so that the rusty wire that I strung through them, 
would feel a little more finished.
There is a layer behind the angel wings of some of my 
hand painted watercolor paper, some tulle, 
some stenciling...I used Roxanne Evans Stouts Stencil Girl stencils...
they are beautiful, 
and of course, I used a Ton of ephemera.  




I ran a border of checked ribbon that I saved 
from a purchase, from Trudi Sissons.
If you've never bought anything from her...you should!
The explosion of wrapping fun starts on the OUTside 
of the envelope and the surprises go on and on!

Both artists are as Great as it Gets for Mixed Media Art 
and they constantly provide me with Inspiration! 



So, the recipient of this gift, 
is our newest baby family member.
Girls have been little hard to come by in our family, 
however, it seems to be finally turning 
a bit with this new generation!

There's NO real protection from this angel...
That will come from God, 
but it will be colorful and fun for her little 
busy eyes to enjoy as shes growing.
Her name is Blakely, so that's why you see 
the Vintage Letterpress Letter B.

I hope you enjoyed the "Very Short" Step Out instructions :)
I guess in the end, a tutorial just wasn't meant to be.
Maybe this Mixed Media Piece, 
was just meant to be Viewed and Enjoyed! 

Lesson Learned?
Yep! 
We just need to roll with the punches and enjoy the ride!

Thanks for stopping by!
If you would like to get email alerts when I post, 
just sign up in the space provided in the right side column.

I promise I wont overdo it:)

And as always, I hope that you will pop over to 
my hastypearl Etsy shop periodically, 
to see what's going on. 

I hope that you will keep me in mind for your 
2015 gifting purchases.
Etsy has made it Very simple to shop.
All you need is a credit card and the rest is Easy.

Handmade is Best and even Better, it gets Delivered right to your mailbox!!!


xo...as always ...Laura