Tiny Porcelain

Flowers Reloaded

As I mentioned before, I love flowers and am hunting for the best ways to share inexpensive ways to have them in the house. Last week, I posted my bouquet of lime roses and blush hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are not the most hardy of flowers, but I can’t resist their little lacy petals that form a soft puff ball. This flower, was a leftover, so basically this was a freebie for the week. Always remember to re-trim the stems using a knife. If you use scissors they can compress the stem and restrict the water.

This next arrangement is a 5 stem bouquet of daffodils. They aren’t quite open yet, but already this morning they are showing more and more yellow. The cost was $3, and again it put them in a small vintage jar, but anything will work. You can find little glass holders everywhere. These are sitting on the fireplace mantel. Three of the roses are sitting in my bathroom on the edge of the tub.

Now for the rest of the roses from last week. Roses are very hardy and these are doing quite well. In this arrangement I have 9 of the roses and I added filler from a small bouquet purchased from the grocery store for $4. These are in a beautiful Waterford vase I inherited from my grandmother. These are very special pieces and if you can afford to purchase one, it will last forever. It is very nice to have things that have been passed down, and nice to know I can pass it on to my children as well.

Here are a few vases I found that are similar to mine. Mine is a 10″ vase and these are around that size. Please enjoy!

 

0 Comments

Flowers for All Times

If you have been reading you know that I love flowers and am trying to find more ways to keep them in my life. Luckily I have a beautiful grocery store that has a lovely flower department. This is my selection for this past week.

I love the light pink hydrangeas and the green roses. The hydrangeas were $8 for three and the roses were $12 for a dozen. I cannot find another place to get this amount of flowers for $20. But! I was once a college student, and then a young adult with my first job out of college. At those times an extra $20 a week – therefore $80 a month was too much. But, this doesn’t mean you are our of the equation. All people, at all times in their lives need beauty and need to take care of themselves. Tomorrow, I will be featuring options for those along the whole spectrum of wealth! Until then, take care and be well.

0 Comments

Decadent flowers

Flowers are a key ingredient in my life. There is something so soothing and relaxing about their beauty and of the cool petals. Alas, they can be expensive and therefore unattainable for our everyday lives. I am exploring the possibilities. I am looking to wholesale markets, local florists, big box stores and the internet to find the best way to keep flowers in our lives! Keep watching to see the results!!!

If we can’t have flowers at least we can have fruit. I have a very annoying habit-and I am not giving it up. When I select my fruit for the week I always buy apples. I don’t buy a big bag though, rather, I choose them one by one. I chose a red one, a pink one, a green one, a yellow one. Each piece is a little different so that the fruit bowl is more beautiful. Sometimes I add different pears and clementines for more variety and texture. Find ways to incorporate the things you need into something beautiful you can enjoy!

0 Comments

Do We Need Beauty?

Is beauty for the shallow and the vain? Is it something that only the wealthy can have while the rest of us are just trying to survive? Is beauty only relevant when we reach the point of “self actualization?” Much of my life I would have said that beauty is not a need. It is a superfluous desire that doesn’t deserve merit or thought, and certainty not in a category of a need. Beauty is a want at the very best, almost a weakness or a distraction from true goals. Function and practicality were far more important than the idealistic idea of wanting beauty.

Now I am older-which doesn’t that I am old, but, I am older. All my life I have pushed myself. Whether it was in school, work, taking care of family or friends I could always find the strength to keep going, continually on path to my goals. I am persistent. . .maybe stubborn.

Then there was an accident and I got hurt. Most of my life was stripped from me. I lived in nothingness.

I am still stubborn. I have been clawing myself back to life. This is a reexamination of what life means and what is important. Beauty is important. Beauty can help us to find peace. It can create a stillness that allows us to rejuvenate. We can look for beauty and become more aware of the world around us. We can create beauty, and in creating, we grow. We can use it to express ourselves.

Painters have a canvas, potters have clay, dancers have the stage. These are examples of mediums artists can use to express themselves. I am not a painter, potter or dancer but maybe I can still create art. This can be my canvas. My pictures and words can be an expression to others. This is my journey. These stories and pictures are my paintings and the blog is my portfolio.  I hope you like it.

 

 

0 Comments

The Beauty of Love

One of the things I have been cherishing more and more these last few months is love. Of course, the love from our partner and children is beyond special, but I have been thinking about the other people in our lives who we love.

Most, especially my thoughts are on my friendship with other women. Friendships with women can sometimes be hard. We hear silly words like frenemies. With women, often an amount of competition exists. This is silly because no one can really take away what makes us special. Another woman’s beauty, jewelry, or possessions has absolutely no bearing on us. They cannot diminish us at all. In fact, they are maybe people we are jealous of. Let that turn into inspiration. Their beauty is not hurting us. We are hurting ourselves.

In our darkest hours, it is true real friends who are revealed. As in everyones life, I have had to go through dark passages. We have all been in a labyrinth of darkness, pain and fear. It is while we are in these caverns that we find our treasure. Like a miner deep underground, we also find a precious gem. We find a real friend. In finding a gem we should treat it well. And with humor. . .sometimes even naughty dark humor! And presents! Wine, chocolate, a meal – anything to show that you care and are thinking of them. This is one of my resolutions for this year. I am going to show more love and express the thoughts and feelings that I have.

Below is a silly gift I found for one of my friends. She is a person who has stuck with me through some pretty murky paths. During this time she was going through a divorce, and dealing with returning to the workforce. Plus her boys-custody-and all the other heart wrenching issues. Its too much for anyone! Anyway, I saw these and thought they would make her laugh a little. When she looks at them in the kitchen, or in the laundry, or cleaning up messes, they are a little reminder that she has a friend in her corner. We aren’t all alone. Tomorrow, I will show them all dressed up and beautiful!

0 Comments

Why Tiny Porcelain?

Teacup of the Month

Why is the site called Tiny Porcelain? It is simple and complicated, much like life. So first Tiny: I didn’t grow up to be very big. As a child, I was tiny, so it represents me. Each persons size is so small in comparison to the world, but each tiny individual counts and matters. Next, porcelain, it is a strong, vitreous, translucent ceramic material. When I was growing up my grandmother had fine bone china teacups. They are exquisite and were a valued possession. Bone china is surprisingly strong even though you can see your hand through it. The porcelain represents a delicate strength. I am small, but tough.

These treasured teacups were passed down when my grandmother passed and I have several of them. They are special and so we tend to keep them safe and not use them. This is wrong. We should use our most treasured things. We should see their beauty and let it enrich our lives. What can feel more special than preparing a cup of tea? Not it a mug, not in a to-go cup, and not a drink we carry around with us as we clean the house, but rather, a lovely cup of tea that we sit down for, sip and enjoy. Take the time for beauty. Beauty is all around us; just look.

This site is to remind me, and maybe inspire someone else to look for the beauty in life. Like everyone, I am doing 5 things at once and hardly have time to catch my breath. Here are tiny bits and bites of my life. I hope you enjoy them.

0 Comments
© 2024 Tuulikki - Designed & Developed by Ilgelo Design