Let's Grow A Waterlily In A Pot...

The 'Let's grow a waterlily in a pot' project began in a few weeks into Spring... 

The temperatures in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand 
range from -3 degrees celsius in the winter to 27-32 degrees in the summer.

So the summer in my region is amply hot enough to grow water lilies.

The first thing to do is select a pot...
Plug the holes in the bottom with a waterproofing sealer.

As this pot was not glazed on the bottom, 

I used my gloved hands to spread the sealer covering the bottom in a thin layer.

Put aside for 24 hours to dry.

When completely dry seal the inside of the pot.

I used the same silicon sealer that I used on the bottom.
Leave for another 24 hours.

Fill the pot with water.

This is the cross your fingers bit.

Leave to stand for an hour to check there are no leaks!
If there is, find the leak points and seal again with sealer.
Leave to dry.

When the pot is watertight, 

move to the position where it will permanently live,
remember that the water lily will need at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.

Refill pot with water, 

Proceed to the next stage 

which is potting the waterlily.

I found a gorgeous tropical blue waterlily at Bunnings.

(Have you worked out I do a lot of shopping at Bunnings?)

The tropical blue water lily is my absolute favourite!

So I potted it up into heavy loam soil, 

and sunk the potted lily into the bottom of the pot,

It sat 12 inches exactly below the surface.
Within 3 days the  first leaf was floating on the surface.
After three weeks of leaf growth,
a bud...

That turned into a beautiful flower...
and then there was another bud....

Buds...

and flowers...

The photograph fails to show the true blue of this lilly...

But this one is probably the truest.

So PRETTY!!!!

And did you know that water lilies are perfect picking flowers?

The bud colour hues are intense...

That colour fades into a gorgeous soft blue mauve.

 Growing a waterlily in a pot was such a success
and you guessed it - 
incredibly SIMPLE!
So much so,
next season I may grow another...
Maybe in a pot twice as large as this...
A miniature water lily might be nice!

The summer sun was so bright by the end of the photoshoot,
the last photograph was completely unaltered by photoshop,
Snapped as is in the moment...
so here is a little water lily POP ART 
- just for you.

Vintage Chrysanthemum Printables...

In love with vintage?

In love with Chrysanthemums?

Here are some fabulously gorgeous vintage images from the 1890's just for you!

Simply click 'save as' to your computer,
print and use...
Note: These images are for personal use only.
If reshared on a blog, elsewhere on the Net, or privately, 
please link back to:
 http://miabellapassion.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/vintage-chrysanthemum-printables.html 

Aqua Baby Budgie Love...

Today I'm sharing a little bit of bird love with ya all!

Cleaning out my enhanced photographic cache yesterday,

 I came across this photograph of a sweet baby budgie.

I'm loving the aqua colouring.

What's not to adore?

Aqua is one of my all-time favourite colours!

I hope you enjoy this pic too...

In love with Whiskers, and Macro Photography...

This is my very first attempt at macro photography...

and believe me, so much skill is required.

It is most definitely NOT as easy as one may think 

even with a specialty macro lens attached to the camera body.
But I am hooked!

My steadiness of hand is non existent!

And to get a windless day where I live is nigh impossible!

(wind and macro photography do not work well together.)
A tripod, aperture changes, a few online lessons and a whole lot of practice
may be the next steps in my Macro photography journey.
The dewdrop and flower subjects were complete fails 
(lets blame the wind!)

However Shanti-Rose was the most forgiving model, 

as I photographed her beautiful cat face and whiskers.

 In love with whiskers,
and Macro Photography...

In Love With Carnations...

What is your favourite flower?

I enjoy many, from lilies to roses...

but I have a deep love of carnations.

Perhaps it's because the clove like smell of the old fashioned carnation 

returns me in a moment of my Grandmothers garden.

They are wonderful to pick...

and last such a long time.

'Dianthus Passion' is one of my favourites,

 wearing a bold deep red colour and emitting its spicy clove scent.

Don't you think they look fab in this quirky pig teapot?

DIY Starburst can flowers...

What a quick and simple way to upcycle aluminum cans. 

These starburst can flowers are perfect 

for fun and funky fence art,

to adorn a letterbox,

or as I have used them,  

to decorate the side of a shed.

If you create these - remember to be safety conscious.

This one is an 'at your own risk' activity.

Here's what you do:

You will need two aluminium cans per flower.

Using a stanley knife cut the top off the can. 

 It will be a bit rough,

 but use scissors to straighten the edge.

With the scissors cut strips to bottom of the can. 

 Fold each strip down to create the starburst.

Cut the tips to a point.

Do the same with the second can, 

but cut five thicker strips.

Cut these into short petals as shown.

 Fold the petals back.

 Slot the short petal can into the starburst petal can.

 Attach with a bolt to the side of the shed or structure.

EASY TO MAKE - Themed birthday cake...

Have you ever had one of those moments of panic 

when you need to create a fabulous Birthday Cake,

and you have NO TIME?

Well here is a great idea for a themed cake using

(dare I admit it)

Packets of cake mix, 

the trusty home printer 

and shop bought accessories!

Step one - make the packet cake according to the instructions.

I used two packets and a large baking pan to bake it in, 

as I needed extra cake, 

and the length to place my toys on.

Prepare your themed accessories:

mine were; 

The little yellow digger...

the yellow truck...

and construction printables found free on the internet

 that were printed and cut out.

(Don't stress about the printer ink running into the cake icing,

as the printables were on thick grade card, 

and the cake was put together, delivered, 

printables removed before cake cutting, and eaten within a few hours,

so there was no leaching of ink.)

This is how I cut the cake before icing...

Icing done.

Printables placed,

Some printables were taped on skewers for height...

Toys on...

Candles placed...

The three year old Birthday boy loved his cake!

Everyone raved about the 'Construction Cake'!

Just think about what you could create for future birthdays...

You could make a farm animal cake,

sea themed...

Train...

Mermaid...

Frozen or other movie themes...

Rainforest...

Fishing...

Shell...

Beach...

Barbie...

My little pony...

Pokemon...

Dollshouse...

The possibilities are simply endless!!!!

SIMPLE - oh how I LOVE that word...

And this EASY TO MAKE birthday cake was exactly that!!

Create a simple Driftwood Heart...

What a cutie this driftwood heart is...

So easy to make.

And a great excuse to go to the beach,

driftwood collecting is so much fun,

and the sea air is revitalising!

It's also the perfect holiday activity for the kids,
as it is complete in a few hours.

What you need to create a simple driftwood heart is:

A heart template.

Sturdy cardboard (from a box)

Scissors.

Paint in a colour of your choice

Glue

and

small driftwood pieces.

Tape and a piece of jute rope to hang.

Cut out your heart template if it is printed on paper.

I used an elongated heart design.

http://www.craftideas.info/html/country_heart_template_b.html

Use this as a template to transfer the shape on to the cardboard.

Cut it out.

Paint the heart shape and set aside to dry.

Glue the driftwood pieces on to the heart.

Once again leave to dry.

Tape a piece of jute rope to the back of the heart

Hang on your wall and enjoy!

2014's Most Popular Mia Bella Passions post!

2014's  most popular post was...

the DIY tin can wreath.

 It was imperfectly wonky and completely wrong!
It was almost a DIY disaster!
But... 
You Loved it...

You hated it...
It was pinned...
It was Shared...

It was featured...
It went viral...
with 34k hits!!!

So here it is again

Mia Bella Passions 
most popular post for 2014!
http://miabellapassion.blogspot.co.nz/2014/11/diy-tin-can-christmas-wreath.html

Flax Flower Love...

It's not just about pretty flowers...

can you see the beauty 

in the more unusual forms and shapes

 of the soon to be seed bearers of some plants?

I am particularly fond of flax flowers and seed heads,

so today's Mia Bella Gardens Photograph is of a flax seed head.

These photographs were shot just before dusk.

I adore the way the light orbs dance in the background,

and how you can see the delicate strands of spider silk..

 Beautiful!

Can you see where raindrop is hiding?
Found on a smaller variety of variegated flax

these flowers dressed in lime green, yellow, red and orange are very dainty, 

 compared to the size and shape of ones on the large standard flax bush...

I think they are simply beautiful!