Sending Smiles ~

Another Fun Blog Post by Designer Nicole ~ Enjoy and send us photos of your Trees!  If you're anything like me, seeing the circle of life play out in gardening is absolutely astonishing.  Follow these easy steps and please let us know if you have results! Step one: Obtain a pineapple with firm green leaves (not yellow or brown).  Make sure it's not over ripe by tugging gently on the leaves.  If they pop off, your fruit is too ripe for this project.  Make sure there are no scale insects ( these look like small gray spots at the base of the leaves). Step two: Cut off the crown and strip some of the lower leaves so that some of the stem is exposed.  Trim any fruit flesh without cutting the stem.  The flesh could later rot your plant. Step three: Turn the crown upside down and let it dry out for about a week so that the cut end and the leaf scars harden. Step four: Float the crown in a glass of water until the roots grow out.  Be sure to change the water every couple of days and

Don't you love doing crafts during the fall? There are just so many fun materials to work with. Take pumpkins for example: Who says you have to leave them orange? We love spray painting them with fun colors like purple, gold, bronze and even silver. Add a little touch of silk berries, a silk leaf or 2 and a fresh touch of seeded eucalyptus and you have a fun accent for the dining room table or mantle. Another fun project is to stack one pumpkin on top of another, 3 or 4 high. This can easily be done by securing with long wooden picks. Put the largest at the bottom (don't forget to remove the stem), then go smaller, smaller and end with the smallest at the top. What a fun way to add some decor with height just outside your front door on the side of your driveway. Lastly, why not carve out a mini or medium size pumpkin and add some floral foam and design a colorful floral arrangement inside? Add some fall leaves, dried wheat, foliage and some long lasting flowers for a