Cactus Rocks

Well what do ya know? I found a plant that I can’t kill. That's right. I do not need to water it or feed it. It’s cactus rocks!

I saw this cute little idea of painting rocks on Pinterest the other day and since I like to paint and do crafty stuff, I thought I’d give it shot.

Francilina stole three rocks from the Wendy’s parking lot and the fun began. 

(Name has been changed to protect the guilty).

I took these rocks outside one 98 degree day and painted away. I never even broke a sweat. (I ran a 5k a few weeks ago and didn’t break a sweat then either, but that's beside the point). Our large dogwood now hangs over the patio enough to give it a nice afternoon shade. I enjoyed my time alone painting rocks. However, it was not easy! 

The base color was easy but trying to paint the tiny prickly hairs that cactus have was ridiculously hard. Oh and by the way, don’t use paint brushes from the dollar store. The bristles kept coming off in my paint making them look hairyeeeee....Wait, I just had an idea. I should have just glued the tiny brush bristles onto the rock to really give a prickly look. Oh well, it’s too late now.

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I know, I know, they look terrible, but from a distance I think they are ok. Sort of adorable actually. I think I will take them to work and put them up on a shelf in my office.

This would be a great idea for moms, teachers or babysitters. You can create many cactus rocks of different sizes and shapes. Purchase some small planters or cups along with some pebbles from the dollar store. The kids can have fun creating their own little cactus gardens over and over. I mean, it’s not like they will break. They are rocks! Just make sure little Johnny doesn’t stuff the pebbles up his nose. 

Red Tassels

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July.

I’m just glad I got the day off! However, my day did not start off as planned. I woke up with a terrible eye infection. It was itching and burning so bad, I was ready to gouge it out! It was red, filled with green puss and swollen. I literally looked like I had been in a fight. The doctors office was closed so my husband skipped his morning walk to take me to the nearest “minute clinic” so I could get started on some medicine. I was diagnosed with pink eye. I was pretty miserable all day.

Later we attended a cookout at my brother in laws. I really hated that I could not pick up my little nephew and get sweet hugs from him. I did not want to chance spreading my eye infection. I was told I would be contagious for 24 hours after I start the medicine. It did not keep me from over eating on banana pudding and fruit cobbler though! 

Before we left the house, I wanted a pair of red earrings to match my outfit. I wore khaki shorts, white eyelet top, a red bandanna in my hair and of course, my new red sandals (mentioned in previous post). I thought for a minute on how I can accomplish making a pair of earrings. That's when it donged on me that I have some red embroidery thread and some earring pieces in my craft closet.

I wrapped the red thread around three fingers twenty times. Then cut the loop to make straight strands. Then I added a little hoop to the earring hooks and put the clump of thread through the hoop then folded and tied it closed. I added an extra little hoop around the tassels to add some glam and also help hold it all together. 

It took me all of fifteen minutes to complete and I was ready to go. 

I took a goofy side view to hide my monster eye on the right side. I’m pretty excited how the earrings turned out. No beads or fancy stuff were added to them. I just wanted some accessories and you can’t go wrong with tassels. 

We never went to see fireworks. Our neighbors were texting for us to hurry home so we could all meet up and watch them shoot some off. They said they had enough to make the cops come! I was all in because who doesn't want to be a rebel sometimes, right? We got home as soon as we could but unfortunately we missed the fun so we sat in the yard and watched over the trees at other fireworks from around the block. It ended up being a nice evening and no laws were broken.