Friday Flower Pick : Bougainvillea

Nothing brightens up a May gray sky quite like a bougainvillea bush,

exploding into a fabulous display of fuchsia and green leaves...

with it's teeny tiny white flowers, charmingly sprinkled about!!

The electrifying hot pink color is such a treat for happily tired eyes

...after a lovely week of sewing, crochet, and photography.

By the way, did you catch the delicate spider web in the third image? 

...L♥ve that.

Have a flower photo to share?!...
...or fancy a stroll through another flower photographer's whimsical garden musings?!
Check out my dear, lovely friend, Aquariann's Friday Flower hop!!

Happy♥Friday!!

Love,
Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Wednesday Words of Wisdom

Just living is not enough... 

one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

-Hans Christian Andersen

Love,

Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

May Gray Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day 

from a very May gray beach in Santa Monica!!

Warm and sunny days are simply made for relaxing in the sand and biking down the coast,

but I'm a big fan of cool and gray beach days too...

You know, the kind day that lets you cozy up in favorite sweater and leg warmers 

while working on a crochet project

 as you watch the waves crash. 

...No umbrella needed!!...
Although, the colorful stripes would look sensational
against this backdrop of shades of gray.

Love,
Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Friday Flower Pick : Cosmos

With a name like cosmos, 

how could you not want to sprinkle these lovelies all about 

your cottage garden?!

Long and leggy, simple and sweet-

cosmos were the first flowers I was able to grow in my own garden as a child...

so when I spot them around town now, they instantly conjure up fond memories of summers in the Wisconsin countryside...

As Memorial Day (and the unofficial start of summer) is upon us, 

I thought cosmos would be the perfect Friday Flower Pick 

to set a tranquil tone for a long, lazy weekend.

Happy♥Friday!!

Love,

Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Words of Wisdom : Mushroom Magic

"Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom."
--Thomas Carlyle

Love,

Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Crochet Project : Mystical Cape by Red Heart

 My clover 5.5mm crochet hook must be smokin' 

because I am just finishing one crochet cape after another!! 

Here are few snapshots of my latest handmade acquisition, 

crafted from my favorite go-to, always-on-hand yarn (Red Heart Soft)

and a brilliant free pattern on the Red Heart website.

I admittedly have an obsession with capes and capelets,

but I am happy to report that I do wear them all!! 

I threw this one on straight away, over a dress and lace up boots,

 for a trip to my neighborhood fabric shop=)

Find it (and me!!) on Ravelry.

Happy♥Crafting!!

Love,

Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Cloudy with a Chance of Roses

Bright sparkling sunshine is excellent for bike riding on the beach, 

or strolling along the pier or boardwalk...

But I'd never turn down a cloudy day!! 

...Moody grey skies and cool mists make for some magical rose garden photography moments. 

I spotted these beautiful pink blooms on one of those cloudy with a chance of roses sort of days...

Have a beautiful weekend!!
Love,
Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Friday Flower Magic

“The world is full of magic things, 

patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

-W.B. Yeats

 

Happy♥Friday!!
Love,
Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Mermaid Monday - Caftan Crazy

Happy♥Monday!!

...and welcome to a fabulous new week!!

...If anyone is looking for me, 

I'm completely buried under a pile of cotton gauze...

in a rainbow of colors of course!!

It's getting caftan crazy around here...

and I'm so pleased to introduce my latest - this lovely maxi ruffle caftan I'm working on!!

I think the red version would be just stunning styled with turquoise jewelry...

...Look for it (and all 24 colors) en shoppe in a couple of weeks=)

In the meantime, have a beautiful Mermaid♥Monday!!

 

 Love,
Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Friday Flower Pick : Cape Leadwort

I've been seeing these charming little powder blue flowers
around town for a few years now,

but we've only recently been formally introduced!!

It was a Dover coloring book (Tropical Flowers of the World to be exact) that put a name to the South African native plant for me.

I've often seen it cheerfully brightening up an alley way wall,

or spilling out onto a neighborhood side walk...

and it is always a delight!!

Happy♥Friday!!
Love,

Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Red Heart Lighthearted Tunic

I never saw a heart motif that I didn't like...

So when I spied this pattern on the Red Heart website, 

I knew I'd have to try my hand at stitching it up!! 

I chose a lovely and silky yarn that blocks with a nice drape (Red Heart Soft), 

in a cherry red and an off-white. 

It's a little Valentine's Day, a little Holiday, and would even look great over a swimsuit!!
 

For a finishing touch, I chained 100 and single crocheted two drawstrings that I wove through the sides (at the natural waist), just to create a more fitted and flattering fit on me.

It was an enjoyable, relatively easy, and engaging project 

that doesn't require much yarn!!

Get the free Red Heart pattern here.

View my project on Ravelry right here.

Happy♥Crocheting!!

Love,

Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Words of Wisdom : Nature

“Nature is painting for us, 

day after day, 

pictures of infinite beauty 

if only we have the eyes to see them.”

― John Ruskin

Love,
Mademoiselle♥Mermaid

Portrait of a Monday

"I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”

- L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

Exploring my tarot card deck, 

ruffling yards and yards of delicious tea-dyed fabric,

sipping fresh mint tea with honey, 

and catching the eye of some lovely spring garden ladies...

It was the sweetest Mermaid Monday and full of simple pleasures!!

Love,

Mademoiselle♥Mermaid