Name that Flower!

These were such pretty flowers that I had to take a picture.  But what is the name of this beauty? 

Aren't they nice with the other blue whats-its?  They are at least 3 feet high, with plummy-mauve petals and creamy white petticoats.  Yes, I am just making up the flower terminology here. 

Can you also see the purple spikey things?  Like most of my photos, these will enlarge if you click on it.  I was very impressed with these flowers, and when I get a garden again maybe I will plant some (if I can figure out what they're called).

Decoupage Patio Table

This table is part of a patio set bought some time ago.  The table originally had a tile top that apparently was extremely fragile.  Yes, I broke it easily when attempting to move the table.  My goal was to get a top for the table that would be less fragile and not as heavy as that darn ceramic tile top.  Here is the poor unfortunate table without any top.  How can I rest my lemonade on this?

As I was browsing in a local A.C. Moore store, I found an easel that was just the right size.  I removed the metal clips and painted it with DecoArt Americana paint in "Mississippi Mud", a taupe color that coordinates with the patio furniture.

I cut photos of flowers for a floral decoupage and mod podged the living daylights out of it.  At first I had issues with wrinkles in the photos, but I was putting too much mod podge on each piece.  The first layer needs thin coats.  Then I used a roller to smooth out the photos and added several more coats of mod podge, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly before applying the next. 

The finished project is a nice little table which brings the look of a flower garden on to my little patio.
I'm ready to relax outside with my lemonade now!