My Husband's Garden Addiction
My husband Joe is wonderful. We met in college at a random party and have been best friends ever since. Our passion is planning, executing, and dreaming about DIY projects together.
This summer Joe has become obsessed with landscaping. Early in the summer, he realized that the Lowe’s near our home has a clearance section for annuals and perennials. He was able to purchase some amazingly healthy plants for incredible prices.
This summer Joe has become obsessed with landscaping. Early in the summer, he realized that the Lowe’s near our home has a clearance section for annuals and perennials. He was able to purchase some amazingly healthy plants for incredible prices.
So now, I have been harassing my dear husband by calling him an “addict.” Since he made this discovery, he’s been to Lowes nearly every day checking out what plants have been marked down and never coming home empty handed! There have been several days where he has made multiple trips (like today…he went four times!) He is hooked on the thrill of the find. This is, as you will learn if you actually care to follow my blog, more like me than him. For the last several months the routine has been: baby goes down at 8 pm and Daddy is out in the yard by 8:01. He’ll stay out there most nights planting, digging, weeding, and watering until 11 or longer! ! I can’t seem to be out in the yard in the evening for longer than 20 minutes before I find myself covered in bug bites! And so, our yard… thanks to my fabulous husband …has never looked so good.
We found this great little house….excuse me “Cedar Chateau” at Sam’s Club for under $300! It was a great find. Check out all the fun little details. I added some of my own custom touches like this sign. Come on…how cute is that?
Sewing Machine Gone Cold
I’m not the kind of person that has decorations for every holiday, or makes a habit of dressing the color of the occasion. I do however love the idea of Halloween costumes and CAN NOT wait until my daughter is old enough to play dress up with me! There is something about being both a mother and crafter that makes me want to make outfits for my daughter. I suppose I have always wanted to have a baby girl to dress up in fun clothes like a doll.
This was last Halloween...
Here’s the thing…I have yards and yards of fabric and seven sewing machines...well four that work (not including the Playschool one…that’s my daughter’s) and I have not sewn a mechanical stitch in a really long time. Between moving 6 times in eight years, loosing my father to cancer, starting a few businesses, and having a baby, I never seemed to be at the right state to make my sewing dreams reality.
Over the years I have managed to horde away an extensive amount of fabric, buttons, and other sewing materials. I have used the fabric in small projects, (like my lamp revamps) and other no-sew or minimal hand stitch projects like the owl in my daughter’s nursery. But, haven’t turned my machine on more than a handful of times since….well since I got it. It was the last birthday gift I received from my father before he passed. I needed it to replace the one I had been using for years that no longer worked very well.
Now though, I am ready. I have the workspace, I'm working on a rolling cutting table (details to come), my fabric is organized (sort of), and the inspirational sewing artwork is in place. Now, I just need to sew….
All hail the power of Baking Soda!
I have been obsessed with baking soda and all it's many uses for sometime now. My husband has joked about getting me an "I heart baking soda" t-shirt. If he ever actually did...I swear I would wear it! Arm & Hammer has not paid me a dime.... I am just floored by how many uses there are for baking soda. From skin care to toilet cleaning, baking soda is my bff - helping me avoid the costly toxic alternatives! My love affair for the powder started when it dawned on me that I could use it for cleaning the bathroom instead of the pile of sprays and liquids that had my head reeling from the fumes.
Helpful Uses for the Wonder Powder
Helpful Uses for the Wonder Powder
- Mix with water to form a paste to clean teeth
- Clean counter tops, toilets, tubs and dishes
- Take the itch from pesky bug bites
- Clean silver
- Remove mildew from showers and outdoor furniture
- Remove stains and scuff marks from fabrics and other materials
- Remove burnt food residue from pots and pans
- Cut back on the "wet dog smell" after your dog's bath (sprinkle on and brush off)
- Clean your child's toys safely
- Add it to your diaper pale between smelly poops or sprinkle in the bottom of your regular trash can before adding a new bag.
- Add to your shampoo for fuller more manageable hair
- Exfoliate your skin
Tutorial: Easy (No Sandpaper) Distressed Finish
I was given this blue peg shelf from a fellow vendor at Artique...thanks Meg! I decided it would be a great way to display some things my husband and I have collected from our trips to Maine (we love Maine). The problem: bright blue paint that doesn't go with our bedroom color scheme.
Follow these simple steps to see how I quickly and inexpensively created a distressed look without sandpaper!
STEP 1: Apply tan or white based acrylic paint, lightly in scattered uneven strokes, to one area of your work using the the wide part of a foam brush.
STEP 2: Immediately after applying the paint, use a sheet of foam packing material (or another non-absorbent material) to wipe the paint strokes. Be careful to blend the paint into the wood in the direction of the grain. You usually see this material packed around electronics like televisions and printers.
Continue STEP 1 and 2 until the entire surface has been covered. It's important that you do this process in sections, as acrylic paint dries quickly and the blending process must be done before the paint dries completely.
STEP 3: With a sage color acrylic paint (or other color of your preference) use the pointed tip of the foam brush and paint streaks unevenly over the white washed affect. Again, be sure to work in sections. This second coat of paint helps to add some more color depth.
STEP 4: Again before the paint has a chance to dry, use your trustee sheet of foam material and blend and wipe in the direction of the grain.
Repeat STEPS 3 and 4 until the entire surface of your work has been covered.
Follow these simple steps to see how I quickly and inexpensively created a distressed look without sandpaper!
STEP 1: Apply tan or white based acrylic paint, lightly in scattered uneven strokes, to one area of your work using the the wide part of a foam brush.
STEP 2: Immediately after applying the paint, use a sheet of foam packing material (or another non-absorbent material) to wipe the paint strokes. Be careful to blend the paint into the wood in the direction of the grain. You usually see this material packed around electronics like televisions and printers.
Continue STEP 1 and 2 until the entire surface has been covered. It's important that you do this process in sections, as acrylic paint dries quickly and the blending process must be done before the paint dries completely.
STEP 3: With a sage color acrylic paint (or other color of your preference) use the pointed tip of the foam brush and paint streaks unevenly over the white washed affect. Again, be sure to work in sections. This second coat of paint helps to add some more color depth.
STEP 4: Again before the paint has a chance to dry, use your trustee sheet of foam material and blend and wipe in the direction of the grain.
Repeat STEPS 3 and 4 until the entire surface of your work has been covered.
The Garden At Dusk
A little dusk shooting with my Cannon 20D. I'm still learning about this camera. So much fun to play with.
Terrarium Woes
My daughter, my wonderful Ella, was turning one and I was going to throw her the most magically perfect enchanted forest-themed birthday party imaginable...that is until life stepped in and complicated things. After some pretty time consuming crafting hours were logged and I agonized over all the details I never got to complete, the party needed to be postponed. Ella came down with a pretty high fever the day before the long-awaited day, so we decided to move the gathering to two weeks later.
I had planned to give all the kids their own little terrarium as a thank-you gift for coming to the party. I gathered the glass sauce containers from our recycling, cleaned them, spray painted the lids red, and glued little paper whole punch circles on top so they would look like toadstools. I filled the jars with small stones, a mix of charcoal and soil, laid moss on top, and stuck in little plants (ok...weeds that I pulled from between the bricks on the patio). After I laid out and printed cards explaining how to care for them (haha), I tied them to the jars with twine. I had ten terrariums ready to go when the scheduled party date came and went. Unfortunately, by the time the new party date arrived they had become cute little decorated jars of mush!
At the risk of being cliché…I have a black thumb; I am just not good with plants. I love to admire them but can’t seem to give them the right thing to keep them from turning brown, white, soggy, or crispy. In my defense, we have a small home and no optimal way to store ten jars of living plants requiring a certain amount of sunlight (it was still too cold to have them outside). Of course, accidentally covering them up with a tablecloth is not a good way to store them. So on the day of the party, all I could do was hang my head in shame as I watched each guest walk out the door without a terrarium. : (
Determined to make it right (granted, over two months later) I've cleaned out the mushy jars and I'm ready to give it another try. Wish me luck!
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