Keeping it Simple for Monday

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a nice weekend.

Today I'm, well, keeping it simple. In fact, I'm trying to do that as much as possible, these days. It's my 2014 "thing".  For this project, I went back to the simple pleasure of making a hanging planter in 5 minutes. Gotta love that. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Oh, and the entire "project" cost about $6.

Take any rope, twine or sturdy ribbon, and add a few bangles as the anchor. I grabbed my bangles from the Punjabi Market near me (20 bangles for $4). Added a house plant from the corner store, and a pearly pot, I already had, and I was ready to go. 

I used 4, 8ft, pieces of cotton rope, and 3 bangles for this. Fold rope in half (so each piece will end up being 4ft), and loop through bangles. Pull the ends through to make a tidy little knot on the bottom of bangle. 

At about 14" down, I made a simple knot creating 4 sections. From there, I made 4 more knots, about 6" down by grabbing one piece from each pair, and knotting with it's next door neighbour. Does that make sense? I used to make this all the time, as a young girl, and never had a real plan of action, but they worked. Should make a criss-cross pattern. 

Knot all ends together, about 6-7" down and trim if you like. I left the ends the way they were. Place your potted plant in and hang wherever you like. 

What I really love about a project that's so simple, and with few materials, is that it doesn't look like a bomb has gone off in my studio, after I'm done ;)

I'm sure many of you have made hanging planters yourself, and often more elaborate, but I'd love to know what you consider a "simple pleasure". Please share!

Have a great day!

janis

x

Weekend Observations

How was your weekend? Hope it was a good one.  Here's a bit of what I got up to...

Popped out to see my friend Heather, at her blueberry farm, to chat about an upcoming project. Heather's book, Farm-Fresh Recipes, was just released. Do you have a copy yet? Lots of recipes inspired by life on a farm, with her 5 year old daughter, Lily. 

I know you've seen them "pinned" all over the place, but I made a mini terrarium from a vintage mason jar that Colleen gave me, while on a shoot. It had been filled with cookies, and now it's filled with mini plants...not nearly as fattening.  

Played around with my Lensbaby for my Canon. Love how it makes this cityscape look. 

Loving my SX-70. My week with the ladies of Instant Love and the fantastic group of women that also took part. It really renewed my love of instant pics. This weekend I experimented with Impossible Project film and different lighting (bright sun, cloudy, showers, and indoors). 

That was it for me....well, and hanging out with my mom, of course. What did you get up to? 

Back soon!

janis

Weekend Observations

It's nice to be back! I hope you had a great weekend.

Slowly getting back to normal around here. This weekend, I worked on the shoots I had last week, lounged around a pretty beach, and checked out some wall garden action.....

Check out Rose and Pistols here. 

Shot for Style at Home and Today's Parent.

These really are the last days of summer around here. The smashed sand pail sort of said it all, to me! Crescent Beach is about 45 minutes south of Vancouver. A beautiful spot. If you visit, don't miss Hooked Fish Bar. We had fish tacos and fish & chips. Yum. 

What did you get up to? If you're in the northern hemisphere, were you trying to enjoy the last bits of summer too? Fill me in. 

Have a great day!

janis

Weekend Observations

How was your weekend? I hope you had a good one!

A little of my rain soaked weekend...

That was a little of my weekend. What did you do? Any of you getting anxious for spring, like I am? 

Back soon!

janis

What's Your Garden Style?

Mine is a little controlled chaos, I think. We have a small back yard that is in plain view of our living area. It has undergone 4 complete transformations over the 10 years we've lived here. My poor husband. It's hard shooting beautiful gardens all the time, let's just say.

I'm trying to work out plants for our back yard. We want to have an edible garden and a little more privacy. Thought I'd take a look at a few small, urban gardens I've shot for some inspiration. Would love to hear what your garden style is. Any of these gardens fit the bill? I like bits of all of them.

This garden was shot for Garden Design. I love all the privacy, and the lushness of plants. Designed by Kari Renaud.

 You really could make use of this garden for a good portion of the year. Shot for Style At Home, designed by Ron Rule. Heather Cameron propped and primped.

A Japanese inspired garden. The magnolia was so pretty, along with all the Japanese maples and mosses. Shot for Gardening Life, designed by Donna Chomichuk.

Perfect garden for entertaining and the homeowners, Mark and Daryl, do a lot of that! Again, this garden has heaps of privacy and lots of lush plantings. Love the succulents. Shot for Canadian Gardening, designed by the homeowners. 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on gardens!

On a final note, a huge thank you to Sarah at Flourish Design + Style for the little Q & A she did with me. I'm usually more comfortable being "behind the scenes", but Sarah made it all so easy and fun. Her blog is beautiful - check it out!