“Take time to smell the roses!” With the fall frost date quickly approaching, make sure you take time to go outdoors this weekend and enjoy your roses and other garden flowers at least one more time. These are photos I took of our roses this past week, it seems that they like cool and rainy weather.

Happy Weekend! Enjoy!!!!

Do you know what cucamelons or Mexican Sour Gherkins are? I had never heard of them until my daughter gave me some to plant in my garden. She started them from seed and they were quickly growing and needed garden space.

They grow best in full sun and really need a trellis, fence or some type of support. This is what they look like in early summer when their vines start growing. The have small leaves and tiny yellow blooms. By the way -all of this is from two plants!

This is what they look like in late summer! Wow! They grow fast and the vines are deep. You have to lift up sections of the vine to see and pick the cucamelons.

The cucamelons (or Mexican Sour Gherkins) are shaped like baby watermelons. They are about one inch long, about the size of a grape.

They have a cucumber taste, with a touch of citrus flavor.

They are delicious added to salads and just to snack on. They would make adorable garnishes on a charcuterie tray. They can also be pickled.

This could be a new item to add to your garden next year. It could also be a wonderful “cottage vine”, next to your potting shed. Enjoy!

Once your flowers have been pressed and are completely dry, you are ready to “play.” Look for craft supplies that you can use in your bookmarks.

You can use a variety of papers – from rag paper, scrapbook paper, construction, paper, pages from old books, or print background images from online sources.

Cut your paper to the size you want your bookmark to be. It is fun to layer the papers and it adds more colors and textures. Laminating them creates a durable bookmark and the flowers stay protected. The laminating pouches make this easy!

Once they are laminated, you can cut around each one, leaving about 1/8 inch around the outer edges. If you want to add a tassel, use a paper punch to make a hole and thread it through.

I lay out my flowers, papers, tassels, etc and match them up to create styles that I like.

Another option is to use petals to create bookmarks. This one has petals from yellow blanket flowers, orange zinnias and red drift roses. I used a laminating pouch and put a grid underneath so I could keep the petals in a row. Then I carefully lowered down the top of the pouch and laminated it.

The finished project. The pink one was made with craft paper and red drift rose petals.

You can use whole flowers, petals, buds, leaves, and stems. Just try to keep the bookmark as flat as possible.

If you don’t want to use a laminating machine, another option is to place a strip of clear contact paper over the flowers. If you use the rag papers, this allows the jagged edge to show.

After you have put the contact paper on top of the bookmark, you can use the paper punch to make a hole and add a tassel.

All of these were made using contact paper. This method works better if your design is not completely flat. Fun project to make with the kids! Try to remember to add your name or initials and the date, then it is a keepsake!

Enjoy!!!!