Mama's Mini-Vase

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!  It's an unseasonably warm 84 degrees, with bright sunshine and clear blue skies.  Needless to say, we were at the playground as soon as Noah could scarf down a PopTart and change out of his pj's (neither of which he thought were necessary).  As we walked there, he noticed that dandelions had sprung up overnight in all of our neighbors' yards.  Despite his hurry to play, he stopped and picked every one he saw and handed them to me with a grin, saying, "For Mama!"   He asked me to put some in my hair, which I did, and when I asked him why he had picked them for me, he said, "Because it makes Mama happy."  Is there anything sweeter in all the world than this little boy?

I had to carefully guard all my treasures as he played, then when we got home, he wanted me to put them in water.  Of course, none of my standard vases were right for the job, so I scrounged around for something that would hold such small flowers (most of which had virtually no stem left) and keep them alive for at least a few hours.  The only thing I could find that was small and narrow enough was an empty bottle of Hyland's Teething Tablets.  I stuck the flowers in, and Noah was thrilled.  Which gave me an idea...

Last summer, when Hubby and I were on a day trip to Alexandria, we were in a little art shop that featured something called Mom's Little Vase.  It was a tiny little glass vase designed just for this purpose.

There was a sweet little saying that went along with the vase which read:
Some of the most beautiful flowers we may ever receive do not arrive in long glossy white boxes from the florist, but are instead offered to us by small hands grubby from play... The stems may be short, the blossoms drooping and the flowers themselves what some might call weeds- but when given with love a dandelion can be much more precious than the most perfect long-stemmed rose. Mom's Little Vase is a special vase for those special little flowers.
I absolutely loved it.  I don't recall why I didn't buy one on the spot...possibly because I'm a little cheap careful with money, possibly because we had other stops to make and I was afraid of it breaking, possibly because Noah at that time was still a little small for flower-picking.  Whatever the reason, I found myself remembering the vase today and wishing I'd picked it up when I had the chance.  But then I figured, why not turn it into a challenge for One Artsy Mama?  Why not take that old teething tablet container and make a little Mom's Vase of my own?  Here's what I did:

MAMA'S MINI-VASE

Materials:

- one small empty container (any kind of pill bottle would probably work)

- scrapbook paper

- ribbon

- adhesive (I used the sticky dots)

- paper cutter, scissors

- Mod Podge

- paintbrush

STEP 1: Measure your container and cut scrapbook paper to the correct height and length to wrap around it.  Mine was 2 1/4" by 3 3/4".

STEP 2: Wrap paper around container and secure with adhesive dots...I apologize for the awful pictures; my Nikon got left in hubby's trunk yesterday after we visited the marshmallow Peep show, so I was stuck with the old point and shoot.  Waaah.  I definitely take my good camera for granted!

STEP 3: Optional: cut out small flower or other design from a piece of scrapbook paper and glue on with mod-podge.  You could also use a button, or punch out polka dots.

STEP 4: Paint Mod Podge over entire thing.  This is super important because it will keep your vase waterproof. 

STEP 5: Tie a coordinating ribbon bow around the top.

Voila!  Put in your special flowers, arrange, and enjoy!  I can't wait for Noah to see this when he wakes up from his nap!

Meanwhile, speaking of beautiful flowers, we took a day trip on Saturday with our best friends to Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia, PA.  If you've never been there before, go!  No matter how far away you live, it's worth the trip! 

From their website: Longwood's Conservatory is one of the world's great greenhouse structures. It shelters 20 indoor gardens and 5,500 types of plants. The Conservatory was built in 1919 and has been periodically expanded and renovated. At present, there are 195,668 square feet—or 4.5 acres—of covered display, production, and research greenhouses.

The moment we stepped inside, I had to catch my breath; it was absolutely gorgeous.  I didn't want to leave!  These shots are from the "Orangery" which is right where you enter. 

And you have to see the Children's Garden to believe it...all kinds of fountains with jumping water, dragons, and interactive things for kids to do.  Here are a few of my favorite shots.  The little cutie pie with us is Noah's "girlfriend" Rose.

This is a view of the Eastern Conservatory Complex.  While we were there, we saw a girl doing a pastel drawing and she sketched Noah in as we watched!

And here are a few other shots I couldn't resist sharing...I took enough to literally fill my memory card, but I promise to just share my favorites. :)

The Reflection Pool

The "Living Wall"

The Outdoor Fountains

Pretty Flowers...See, I told you I really do have a good camera!

And....us!

Thanks, Matt, Jess, and Rose for inviting us and sharing such a special, beautiful day with us. 
While we were there, Jess commented that she thinks heaven probably looks an awful lot like this...I think she just may be right. 

Well, I'm off to enjoy my sweet hand-picked flowers while I do a little cleaning up around here.  Hope you all have a day filled with beautiful things!

PS - I'll be linking up the vase idea on these sites: