Monday, June 27, 2011

DIY Hanging Upcycled Strawberry Planter

Drawing inspiration from a strawberry topsy turvy I decided to craft one of my own. Its basically a plastic bag cylinder. Besides... Its $10 + shipping. And I'm rather fond of my money.

And upcycling.

So I ironed about 8 plastic bags together (how to iron together plastic bags)and sewed it all up on my sewing machine. My mom saved 3 strawberry plants for me from her surplus, so I cut 3 asterisk shapes in the front (evenly spaced).

Then I popped the plants in the holes and filled it with (my mom's) dirt.


I hung it on my car's laundry hook and took it home.


Doesn't it look happy on my front porch? My neighbors across the way paid for theirs. If only they knew how to fuse plastic.


FREE TIP!

Notice how on every strawberry topsy turvy you see the strawberry plants at the bottom are runty? The plants on the top (where the fertilizer and water are deposited) are hoggin' all the food!


My solution? Cut two small snips in the back, poking a funnel in there for water and pushing in fertilizer from time to time.


Opps, there's my neighbor... Another tip: don't water your neighbors.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Easy Seedlings on a Balcony

Container gardening on your porch or balcony doesn't have to be a chore, or a seemingly daunting task. You and your little one(s) can do what I did and take it slowly at first.

Starting your plants off as seeds is the more economical (and educational) way to go about doing it.

Here's how we did it:

Get some plastic wrap, scissors, seed starter, seeds, and a used cardboard egg carton.


Cut the top off the egg carton and save it.


Cover the top in plastic wrap and place the bottom on top of it.


Put in the seed starter.


Put your seeds in and label them.


Keep them moist for the next 24 hours. Water from the bottom up. Take a water bottle and water in between the egg carton layers, making sure only the top layer gets wet. The bottom layer is protected from the water by the plastic wrap.


Your seeds should sprout after a 3 - 7 days. When they're ready to move to a bigger container, just tear off the individual portion and plant. Your plant will grow its roots through the wet paper.


When ours sprout I'll post more pictures of that, as well as when I transplant them.

Happy gardening!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Dinosaur Appliques!

Last year I got these great dinosaur appliques.


I couldn't quite decide what to do with them, so when I finished my latest rag rug adding a dino applique to the baby blue fabric just seemed... right.


My son really loves it.


But alas! Twas not to be. This rug is going on Etsy.


I love rag rugging. It's a great form of upcycling.


And the backs are just as pretty as the front!


You can see this listed on Etsy here.

My sister has asked me for a companion cube pot holder made from crochet fabric... Stay tuned.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Etsy, Here I Come!

I've recently been getting in touch with my crafty side.

As a strong supporter of upcycling I'm loving Etsy. FULL of items made with love from repurposed goods.

Time to test the waters with my latest creations:


^ A cupcake pot holder / hotpad. (Available here.)


^ And a lemon slice hotpad. (Available here.)

Don't hold back, tell me what you think! Are these something that would sell? Will my toe dip into the Etsy crafter's world give me frostbite?

Come visit me at my shop!