Punkins and cement!

I don't think our pumpkins will be ready for Cinderella by October, but they were volunteer. And we learned that pumpkins have male and female flowers which don't always bloom at the same time. If it is too hot, just the males bloom and the females prefer a cooler temp. So, until about two weeks ago we had just one pumpkin (the orange one) and now we have maybe 4! Very fun!!! They are not very big, but they came up on their own, so we are not complaining!

And I have been playing with cement. I always wanted to make a concrete leaf and after reading many directions online, decided to try it. Mine used a pumpkin leaf and it was a learning experience. I just made several more today using a much bigger leaf of rhubarb and smaller ones of choke cherry and something else I can't remember it. The first photo is after it was dry (not totally cured, just dry) and the second is after I took some of the leaf off..which might be an uphill battle!

I also made some stepping stones using what is a cake frosting technique. You can see how the layers look on the rectangle stone. The first one was just trouble..which is why it is so funny looking! (it is the one with the plate pieces) The others are not bad at all. I particularly like Jon's camo one. They also need to cure and we will see how they hold up. Right now they are a tad crumbly on the edges. I don't know why, but we'll see how they look after curing.

Am reading a series that is not quite done yet. The last book comes out next month..of course! It is by Angie Sage. Fun author! I like her explanations at the end of the book.