What a Treat!

I have been patiently ( okay not so "patiently") waiting for my orchid cacti to begin their blooming season. They spent a rough winter in the greenhouse surviving on what I thought was enough attention, only to discover that in reality, the attention they received was just barely enough to keep them going. Since moving them outside however and discovering my mistakes, I have repotted them and begun feeding them on a regular schedule and they are so much happier.
I started doing the " happy dance"

last week when I noticed that a bud was forming. Then yesterday I noticed the bud was turning upward, so I knew it would be opening soon. It stormed off and on all day . Last night I went to check on the bud just to make sure the rain hadn't knocked it off the plant and much to my surprise, this is what I saw:

This gorgeous Epiphyllum Strictum only blooms at night. In fact these pictures were all taken at about  1 AM last night. By 8 AM this morning it was closed up and the show was over.  This particular plant will normally form buds and bloom for me off and on through the summer. Now if I can just get her day blooming friends to do the same. If you are interested in learning more about these wonderful cacti, there are lots of great websites and forums on the web. Check them out. If you are interested in cuttings or starter plants, I will be listing both soon in my etsy shop or on
ebay.

Fresh from the Forge... Well sort of....

My mind went on vacation last week and left the rest of me home pouting, but I still kept busy. I managed to spend some time making jewelry, but not enough time in the garden or on the beach. Anyway, I thought I would offer a sneak preview of some of my new jewelry pieces. I will list them in my Etsy shop later on this evening. I will also be listing some things at eCrater as well as ebay. Most of these involve more chain maille than forging, but I just couldn't resist the title.

This bracelet and earring set features turquoise dyed howlite rondells with little wooden spacers and hand forged sterling silver infinity symbols.

These earrings might just be some of my new favorites. The little crosses are made from mother of pearl and indoors they look kind of gold, but outdoors the colors looked a little more rosy. The gemstones are garnet rondells and the ring is a gold plated solid twist circle. They are light weight and easy to forget you have them on.

I've also been playing with pearls and chain maille. I just love doing this. It's so much more fun than going back to work.

If you would like to see more, check out my shops at etsy and ecrater. I don't have an ebay store, but you can find my listings there as Sandypetals.

Have a wonderful Monday!