Garden update

Our patio garden is going strong! We ate our first blackberry , picked our first tomato, and have a bell pepper about the size of a golf ball. We still have a lot to look forward to. This week we had a new garden pest. I think it was a looper caterpillar nibbling a bunch of our leaves, but now we seem to have it under control. Here's a collage of the garden's progress.

Plant stand

I wanted to buy this plant stand (left) on amazon, but then I got that "hmm I bet I could try to make one myself" vibe. So using an old chair frame and a shadow box picture frame box, I made this planter (right). I added a few plants to the underside to grow upside down and a few plants to the top to grow upwards. I might add a shallow planter box to the bottom but I want to wait to see if the upside down plants need all of this room below.

Spinning compost bin

A few weeks ago, I made a compost bin from a tote bin. It is slowly working on our compost. I read a few articles about how much faster a compost pile decomposes in rotating bins. In less than 1/2 the time and it's less of a dirty job with no need to shovel the pile regularly. That sold me. What didn't sell me was the price. So expensive for my budget. So after a few google searches, a little brainstorming, and a trip to our garage to find a few odds and ends to work with, I came up with a rotating composter using a large bucket with lid, a metal pole, a storage bin with lid, rubber bands, a soda bottle, and a drawer knob. I'm not saying I'm the first ever to make it this way, but I couldn't find instructions for this design easily online.

The kids love "feeding" the composter. Now we wait and see how long our scraps take to make food for our garden :)

Grow garden grow!

Grow garden grow!

I'm so excited about our patio garden. It continues to thrive despite my lack of overall gardening knowledge. I hope to learn enough quickly to keep up. We now have the following growing:

Aloe
Asparagus
Assylum
Beets
Blueberries
Broccoli
Basil
Chives
Cucumber
Carrots
Eggplant
Flax
Gerber daisy
Green onion
Green beans
Jicama*
kohl rabi
lavender
Leeks*
Lima beans
lettuces
milk weed
Mints
Melons
Okra
Oregano
Peas
Peppers
Radishes
Raspberries*
Rosemary
Stevia
Spinach*
Sunflowers
Strawberries
Squashes
tarragon
Tomatoes

I think that's all of it. I know not all will end up surviving but I hope most will. The * means I'm still waiting on the seeds to sprout.

It's so satisfying to watch each plant sprout and grow in a matter of days and then grow inches over each week. I am getting a little anxious waiting for my first harvest. Hopefully sooner than later.






Just a few of the many photos :)

Paper pots

I haven't posted as often, but that just means I have been crafting away :) We are on spring break and have been outside most of each day enjoy this great florida weather We also just started a container garden in our backyard on the patio. It's been fun to watch seeds grow into little plants. My kids really enjoy this project too. I'll be sure to post photos of our garden and the ladybugs we added to it.

Now more about this project. I received a trial issue of "organic gardening" magazine and really enjoyed reading it. Might have to subscribe now. One article demonstrates how to make paper pots for sowing seeds in. The pots are cute and a great way to recycle paper. Then I thought why not make little boxes instead? Using origami techniques, I made square and rectangle boxes from recycled computer paper. Very simple, and sturdy to sow seeds in. I can post a link to the instructions to share so you can try them too. Now I off to go play in the dirt with my kiddos on our last day of spring break.

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Today's national deal on Groupon has me smiling ear to ear. I love shutterfly (if you haven't figured that out about me yet you will). and I really love their photobooks. so anytime I can get a good deal for them, I am so excited and then have to tell everyone I know (even those that aren't so into photobook craziness like I am).

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If you are already a Shutterfly fan and a photobook junkie, then by now, you've probably already clicked the banner above to buy this groupon because you know how good of a deal this is. Enjoy!!!

Noteworthy plant tags

I made these plant tags for our patio garden from cute notecards I got free from shutterfly. This project is all shutterfly. I even used the orange shutterfly envelope for the stakes. I laminated them so they can stand up to our upcoming rainy days. Now if I can only get the kids to stop pulling them out if the dirt....

Show's over

Our playroom has a huge bay window. It's great for getting sun light throughout the day, but at night even when the blinds are closed people can see straight into our house. I hate feeling "on stage" the minute the sun goes down, but I've avoided tackling the challenge of fitting curtains on this window. I finally gave it my all today and made this curtain. It's huge. I had to piece it together using a shower curtain and two flat sheets. Even then it needed more length so I used the pillowcases from one of the sets. I'm satisfied with its length, but need to figure out the curtain rod and fixture set up. This set up works, but I might change it...later. For now I'm done with this project. It serves it's purpose: to be able to draw it closed at night so now our nighttime shows are over :)

It started with one yellow leaf...

On the way out the door for the daily shuttle to school, I spotted the most beautiful yellow leaf. I had to pick it off our tree, run inside or put it in a tub of water. I made plans to take photos of it later. Yes totally random, but not uncommon for me to get sidetracked. Luckily, I had no definite morning plans so I decided to head back home to snap photos of my yellow leaf. I ended up adding two other leaves and my kids to the fun. I liked the photos so much I ordered prints, framed them and hung them in our living room. Matches the new color scheme too :)

thank you cards

Classic Black 5x7 folded card

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

my cup of tea

Blank Project Collage Mug

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Our train and city on wheels

I finally secured the tracks and am happy our "city" on wheels still fits under his bed. The stores have to be removed, but everything else slides right under the bed. So happy about this project. I had to share it again :)

Dollhouse gets drapes

I thought the dollhouse needed these. Easy to make curtains from an old flat sheet. I didn't pin and measure perfectly so if the flaws are really noticeable...don't tell me you see them ;)

Mom look! It worked!

My mom and I were talking the other day and she put this idea in my head. The idea was to make a larger storage solution (like the smaller cabinet and drawers I made last week) using cardboard boxes and paper mâché paste. I used 3 identical boxes from a local wholesale store. The're available at checkout so I grabbed them as we left from our shopping trip. I stacked and taped the boxes, then paper mâchéd it using old brown paper that comes in our boxes from online orders and then painted it. I plan to cover it with fabric or wrapping paper and either add drawers or doors to the front. Still deciding. It's going to store dress-up clothes and accessories...I think. To be decided :)

Toy cabinet all grown up

I love the piece of furniture. It is huge and very heavy (just ask my husband and brother-in-law who had the job of moving it here). It stores most of our games, toys, an entertainment system, puzzles, movies and more. Up until last night I had to look at most of the stacks through the cabinet doors. Always bothered me but I just never made time to cover the doors. I finally did and so glad it's done. Makes this piece the most "grown-up" piece of furniture in our playroom.

Middle of the night project

Because I couldn't sleep. Here's what I did. I took 4 boxes and a photo to make these book-sized storage boxes. It turned out pretty close to what I envisioned. I might paint the boxes black on the sides closest to the photos...maybe later. For now, the project helped me most by burning off some of the energy that prevented me from sleeping through the night. So now I'm headed back to bed before the world around me wakes up.

Thinking outside the box

In my attempt to better organize the house, I've purchased several storage bins, boxes and totes. The cost adds up really fast (even with all bargaining shopping finds). So I thought "why not try to make my own?" I considered sewing boxes similar to the collapsable fabric bins, but decided to start with a regular cardboard box, cover it and line the inside with paper, fabric or both. I also paper mâchéd a few of the boxes to make them sturdier and to cover any print on the outside of the boxes (so it wouldn't show through after I covered it). The process is simple, but does take time to dry. Cost is cheap and now I can continue my organizing mission to give everything a "home" to tidy up our home.

Valentines day pizza

Put love and creativity into everything

Mini chest of drawers

I took 3 boxes and stacked them together. Glued them together and covered them with scrap fabric. Then I lucked out while shopping, I ran across these empty red display cardboard boxes. I asked the ok to take them with no idea they'd fit* in this project. Then I added rope as pulls to each drawer.

Kids paper mâché project: lady bug

I'm so proud to share photos of the kids' first paper mâché project. I pieced it together, but they helped rip paper, apply with paste mix, and paint it. It's hanging in our playroom. As you can see it's a pretty big bug. I think they legs spook it up a bit, but the kids wouldn't have it any other way. No legs? That's silly!