Perfect...and Not So Perfect....

So this summer, I spent a morning taking photos.

It is not something I do every day.

Just some days.

Often I will take lots of photos one day and then use them for a dozen posts later.

I was taking pictures of different places outside.

Shifting up and down a few inches to change the look.

Trying to make sure you don't see anything I don't want you to see.

I moved from one area to another.

I always love to take flower photos.

Rudbeckia is a favorite.

As are these African Daisies.

While I was taking the daisy picture, I noticed this little guy.

He is not as perfect.

I would normally shift left or right to find a better picture/specimen.

But then I got to thinking about how a lot of us do that.

Focus on the perfect one.

Glance past the flawed one.

And I decided to take different photos.

Real photos.

Normally I would shift for this one so you could not see the trash cans.

And I would shift left so you would not see the stuff on my work table.

Silly, really.

I am proud of my work table.

It is from a high school science lab.

I love working at it outside.

You can see it has wool sweaters on it here.

Cutting the wool outside keeps all the fuzz and lint out of the house.

And I get to breathe fresh air, listen to the birds and look at my yard.

This little spot serves to camouflage the trash can area.

I stacked the cement blocks to build a little wall. 

 Then I put flower pots and boxes around it to hide the plain cement blocks.

Morning glories climb an old trellis I made from bamboo...

And a few of my rustic mushrooms provide some visual appeal (to me anyway).

Looking back at my work table from the other direction...

Normally I would shoot this at a different angle so you could not see the trash cans.

Why?

Most of us have trash cans, right?

Why should I pretend they are not there?

My trash cans don't match.

Do yours?

You can see how I throw two burlap coffee sacks over the fence for photos...

Now you know my behind-the-scenes tricks...

If I turn around, you can see my clothesline.

I love my clothesline.

It is green and natural and my clothes smell so good when I bring them in. 

 I love hanging things up too.

  It is meditative.

Turning the other direction, I show you real again.

See all that grass growing between the cracks in the sidewalk?

I don't like when that happens.

So I would normally angle the camera up, so you would not see.

In front of that round brown shed is my secret garden.

I love the mishmash of plants and herbs and flowers. 

I never have a plan.

  I just plant them.

And seeds blow around and seed themselves...

There is my hypertufa experiment from a few years ago...

My rough birdbath...

This rustic little birdhouse sits outside my round shed.

Normally I would not show you my rain barrels with their peeling paint.

Or my stakes for fairy lanterns that are bare right now.

So today I am sharing some of the not-so-perfect parts of my yard.

Trust me, there are many, many more.

But I wanted to get real today.

Because we all have weeds, and trash cans and things we just have not made perfect yet.

Thanks for stopping by...

                  Linking up with these great blogs.

Reinstating Workbench Wednesday...What is new this week....Silicone Molds... A Tutorial too...

For me, it is officially summer now.  

That means more time to create.

YAY!

I decided to reinstate Workbench Wednesday.

This week on the workbench... Silicone molds.

I have long been amazed with Rebekah Payne's beautiful flower beads.

You can see some of them as well as her other amazing designs here.

 I have been dying to try to make my own silicone molds.

So I did some R & D by reading her blog post several times.

 

And then I got started.

I gathered 2 acrylic blocks, the silicone, a couple pens and some flowers and weeds from the yard.

Rebekah recommended pressing the flowers gently between the blocks so you can see how it will look.

I used the pens to press the leaves and stems into the silicone.

I love that weeds work so well for this, because, well, I have a lot of weeds....

This mystery plant fills half my front flower bed.  

Its leaves have beautiful texture.

I mixed enough silicone to do about 3 molds at a time.

The hard part is waiting the 20 minutes for the molds to cure.

Once they have cured, I gently removed the leaves and flowers.

They LOOK good.

I hope they work well too...

Wow!

I am in love.

I am always amazed at the detail the silicone captures.

I love this one...

Yup, check out the detail from those mystery plant leaves...

So, that first batch worked.

It was the test run.

Back out to the yard for some more plants and flowers.

They are all pressed in...

Waiting....

Waiting....

The pen helps to push the very thin leaves into the silicone.

 Let's try a grape leaf and tendril...

The one below was a lesson learned. 

 I was mixing enough silicone to do about 3 molds at a time. 

 Then I decided to mix a little more.

The fourth mold started to cure before I could press the plants in fully.

I think it will still work, but there is not the same level of definition.

I love lavender!

Some leaves and a bonus dog hair....

Sorry about that.

Time to remove the plants.

Yay!

I cannot wait to try these out with clay...

Who knew weeds could be so sweet?

I hope this lavender one works.

I love this one.

The tendril is quite pronounced on the grape leaf.

I am definitely in love with this process.

Out to the yard again.

I will say, I prefer going out and only picking a few at a time. 

 The flowers and leaves begin to wilt quickly so I would rather work with them while they are fresh.

More weeds and flowers.

I am going to try to do this process several times this summer to harvest various flowers as they bloom.

I am trying all sorts of flowers to see which kinds work best.

I pressed some blades of grass in too.

I love the texture.

I hope these turn out.

Grass and weeds are beautiful too.

Waiting is done...

Here is the last batch finished...

 A pretty collection.

The more complex blossoms need to be picked out of the silicone.

Leaves...

And a dog hair.

The flowers with thinner petals did not leave as much of an impression even though I pressed them a little with the pens.

I am so excited to try the clay in these.

So much detail and texture in there.

I wish I had pressed these in a little more.

Love the grass texture.

Not a bad haul on the workbench for a couple hours work.

I am in love with this process...

Like I said, I will be bringing in flowers and goodies several times this summer to expand the collection.

What is on your workbench this week?  

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these great blogs.