No bunny was harmed in the making of this post...(Inspiration MacKenzie-Childs)

I spent much of Friday moving plants from a friend's garden to my own, and even went back Saturday, despite rain and mud and mosquitoes, to bring home a few more things. This may not seem like much to most gardeners, but first, may I remind you that I'm the class clown in garden club, known for my fabulous patch of dandelions and creeping Charlie. Second, may I point out that the flower beds I'm planting did not yet exist, and required a good deal of sod-busting, as my dream is to replace the front (ahem) lawn with a cottage garden.


Friday went well, and despite being bone tired, I was pleased with the amount accomplished. Saturday morning it poured, but a quick check of the hourly forecast assured me it would let up by mid-afternoon. By 9:30 that night, all possible plants were moved.  I was soaked to the skin, covered in mud, and my finger tips were too raw to scratch the gazillion mosquito bites I had incurred, but I was again pleased with the amount accomplished.


Niemanmarcus.com (you can click it, it's a link) carries these hand-crafted garden finials from the MacKenzie-Childs studio, if you wish to purchase, rather than make.  My eye is drawn to both the colors, and the "collars" at the base of the finials.

 Sunday was forecasted to be hot and humid, so I planned an afternoon in the studio, making finials to top the hose guide stakes. I had been prowling pinterest a few days earlier and spotted some sweet ceramic ones by MacKenzie-Childs. Though to the best of my knowledge, Richard and Victoria MacKenzie-Childs no longer own the brand, nor produce the wares, Nieman Marcus still charges $130-$190 apiece for these!  I don't think the original artists are profiting from the fame of their name, but the finials are at least hand made in the USA.  Anyway, I love the patterns and riotous colors of their signature wares, but even if I was willing to spend that much on one little garden ornament, I'd rather make my own, and in this case I decided I would rather create the patterns with mosaic than paint..




Glass spheres, such as light globes, vases and votive holders for the globe part, bud vases for the part that connects to the stake, ruffly-edge glass dishes for the collars, lots of glass pebbles, some mastic and nippers...

  I headed to the basement, where I happen to have a wall of glass-filled shelves, and a table of china and tile, and rounded up what I needed.  Yeah, I actually have this stuff on hand.  I'm not a hoarder!  I used to have a boutique, and I made stuff like this to sell.  Now, I just keep a well-stocked stash so I can get all my friends hooked on my little addictions.


...and a box full of china and tile bits.  Tea cups are extra good for doing mosaic on round surfaces.

After a good bit of nipping, sticking, grouting and gluing, here's what I came up with...

Heh-heh-heh!  Bunny in a blender!  Actually, this is the step where you turn them upside down to glue the vases on the bottoms, and the blender was the only thing handy that would hold this one.  Really, as I said, no bunny was harmed.

 Okay, maybe upright in the garden would be better...




They were nice just round, like the inspiration pieces, but I do like finials with extra height, so I raided the basket of  figurines and salt shakers. 



Since I had left-over brown grout from last week's mosaic fireplace, I decided to try it here.



A little bluebird for happiness.

They aren't really very similar to the inspiration pieces, but that's the way of art.  Another artist's idea sparks one of your own, and off you go, following your own inclinations.

They were a lot of work, mostly because I'm pretty fussy about assembling my mosaics, but at the end of the day, I was again pleased with what was accomplished.  This is a good thing, because as I sat working on these Sunday, the heat was being driven by fierce winds that wreaked havoc on the poor new transplants, and then late in the afternoon, came the rumble of thunder, followed by hail.  I'm hoping the garden looks better in a few days than it does right now, because if not, I may still be the goofball of garden club, now with a fabulously decorated patch of dandelions and creeping Charlie.  Sigh.

When not attempting to be a gardener, I paint some pretty cool walls and things (like the rabbit-in-a-garden kitchen cabinets at the top of this page).  You can click on over to my website, theartofthehome.com, to see my portfolio, and find all the information on how to hire me.

Feel free to ask questions or leave comments below, or by emailing me at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.