DIY Waterfall

We have been preparing for our new waterfall/pond, off and on, since starting our backyard makeover last February. 

Saturday we were ready to start construction so we had 5 tons of rock delivered. That is in addition to the 1.4 tons that we picked up ourselves for prep work last weekend. 

So the work began...

The delivery came about 2:30. 

The kids helped move the rocks to the back while Ron began forming the wall.

By about 5:15 most of the rock was in place. 

Of course we were anxious to try it out

so we filled the pond with water, then turned on the pump 

to see how it looked. 

Water splashed everywhere!! 

Most of it went behind the rocks! 

Not quite what we expected. 

Even after moving the stones around and trying different configurations it wasn't working the way we had planned. 

Finally we decided we needed some MORE rocks! 

This time we wanted to hand pick a few nice flat ones to direct the flow of water 

so Sunday afternoon we headed to the landscape center. 

There were a lot to choose from. 

Just what we needed! 

Now it looks like this....

There is still some work to do. We need to clean the water and put in the filter, hook up the lighting, add some paver bricks in front for seating and more plants need to be added 

but it is coming along. 

"Royal Hawaiian" creations

"Royal Hawaiian Tea" 

PARTY FAVORS!

Each guest was given a folder that included the tea party program, playlist, menu, a map of Hawaii, a poem and some interesting trivia. A card was printed with their Hawaiian name and inserted in tiny slits inside the folder on the bottom left. On the right side a "mahalo" card was inserted. I used my "Aloha" graphic on the cover to carry over the theme from the plane tickets. The folders were embellished with glitter, a rhinestone, rainbow ribbon and their plane ticket seat number was attached. Other party favors included boxes of Hawaiian Host Maui chocolates (available locally), their own personalized Aloha bingo card and Hawaiian Lei's. 

CANDLES & MATCH BOXES

These sweet candles and match boxes were also party favors. I made them out of maps, tour guides and advertisements I had collected on trips to Maui. I used rainbow ribbon, a ticket stub, glitter and rhinestone jewels to embellish the candles and match boxes. Each guests plane ticket seat number was stamped and attached to the candle and used as a seat marker. 

The 

"CROWN"

I made this crown for the guest of honor. I used my collage again to continue the theme throughout the party. To make my collage, the crown, banner and signs I used old magazines and recycled grocery bags. Again I embellished with rhinestone jewels, glitter and natural rafia.  

For more tropical tea party ideas go to: Royal Hawaiian Tea

MAHALO!!

Tropical party food

The

"Royal Hawaiian Tea"

MENU:

Polynesian Shrimp

Hawaiian Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber Sandwiches

Mango Salad

Tropical Fruit Skewers

Hawaiian Muffins with Devonshire Cream

Hawaiian Banana Bread

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Pineapple Upside Down Cakelets

Coconut Lime Bars

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Hawaiian Island Tea Company Tea 

Mango Maui

Passion Fruit

Hawaiian POG 

(pineapple, orange & guava juice)

For more tropical party inspiration go to: Royal Hawaiian Tea

Aloha!

Royal Hawaiian Tea

Summer is the perfect time to have a tropical party

 so how about a:

"Royal Hawaiian Tea!"

That was the theme of my tropical mother/daughter tea party. 

My invitations were DIY plane tickets!

 I designed my own ticket template to look like original paper plane tickets, which I happened to have,  giving me the ability to customize them with party information. I also wrote a poem that I used as the itinerary giving guests more details. On the tickets I assigned each guest a gate and seat number, everyone was assigned first class of course, which I used on place markers, party favors and programs. I created my own "Aloha" stationery graphic to decorate the back of the ticket. The tickets were folded at the perforation line and then tied with natural colored rafia, a silk hibiscus and a Hawaiian Islands Tea Company tea bag tag was attached. 

I made the batik pineapple tablerunner and napkins from fabric I purchased at a quilt shop in Maui. The centerpiece decorations were souvenirs that I collected on vacation. 

The image on the card under each plate is a copy of a collage I made and gave as a gift at the party. On the  back of each card is a custom "Aloha" bingo game that I made. 

I will post more party details tomorrow!

abundant gardens

One benefit of this unusually cool, wet summer weather is that 

it is making our gardens grow!

In fact,
the zucchini in our vegetable garden is big enough now to start picking
so

I cooked up the first one last night.

 It was wonderful. 

Should have more soon. 

Also, our summer flowers are finally filling in and starting to bloom 

which makes the yard so colorful. 

 And our tomatoes have taken off and are beginning to produce a nice crop... 

...but they might ripen a bit faster with some warmer weather. 

If not,  I may need to find a recipe for

"fried green tomatoes"!

family work day

Where is SUMMER?? 

 We decided to take advantage of the lousy weekend weather and get some more work done in the backyard. 

Remember this: Cement Day?

This was the result of cement pouring out of a hose on that windy, rainy March day...

...cement spatters all over the back of the house! 

So Saturday we painted, but only the lower back for now,  as the entire house will be painted later this fall. Since it's raining again today we'll finish up this afternoon by painting the trim and adding another coat of stain to the ceiling. 

Much better! 

We also picked up some rock 

which had to be moved from the trailer in the front up hill to the back. 

Now, when the weather finally gets warm and sunny our work will be done (some of it at least) and we can do this: 

shed mural 2

Summer of 2007

Prep for the new mural.  

The original mural, which can be seen here, was painted in 1991 and after sixteen years the shed was in need of new paint and a new mural. This time, however, my parents had already decided what type of flowers they wanted to have painted on the doors. It would be blue hydrangeas. 

To prepare, we took pictures of different hydrangeas around their yard and I practiced painting on a grocery bag before applying paint to the shed doors. As a final touch I painted tiny ladybugs on flower pedals and leaves, each one representing a grandchild. Now for fun we can search for the 8 little ladybugs when we're out at the shed. 

Since the second mural was painted the shed has undergone an addition which doubled its size. Of course, special care was taken by the handsome builder to protect and preserve the doors. The building project is now complete but the entire shed will need to be painted except for the doors which, by the way, made it through the addition without a scratch. The body color of the shed has always been blue but a new color has been chosen this time around! When it is finished I will post new pictures. 

Happy Friday!!