MAKING Mondays….Valentine's Day Banner

It's hard to keep an old blog down!  Hi folks!  I've been hit by lightning inspiration lately and I've come to the conclusion that I'm missing this space.  Instagram is great but I miss my friends here in blog land and seeing the creative process through all of your blogs.  We live and learn all the way through life….just happy to be back!

I was looking to save money and repurpose to make some Valentine's Day decor for the house so I got busy cutting up old drapes.

Sketching out the design with pencil, stitching up the edging, painting with gold fabric paint and grabbing a stick from the yard and we now have a little love banner! 

And as for the garden I have been planning, planning, planning!  Here is where I'm getting some of my veggie seeds this year…..High Mowing Organic Seeds


As for what has been shaking over here while we are waiting for the ground to thaw…..

 winter vignettes in the garden

 bird projects with the beans

art making in the studio

 Happy Making, Baking, and Growing!  Thanks for coming by!

seeds and eggs

There is so much information out there on gardening.  Sometimes it's just best if you put the books down, go out and buy yourself a pack of seeds, throw them in the dirt and see if they grow.  Don't make it so hard but I guess that's just our nature.  We started some of our seeds.  I'm not an expert on the subject but I do know that I like saving money on the garden and this is one way to do it.  Plus the beans like to watch them grow.

They each picked out their packs and then we put them in some little cups for a soak overnight.  

Play in-between of course.

Me busy reusing the millions of old bricks from the old patio to line the back bed.  I figure if I lay 10 a day I may be done by July!

 Again my little station isn't fancy.  This is the kids art table.  I put command hooks on top and attach a shop light to hang under the table for my seeds.  We are growing all kinds of things from flowers to veggies.  Whatever takes is a bonus.  

Zinnias are starting to say hi!  

And because Easter is near we have started working on some eggs.  Washi tape and paper strips.  A fun and easy one!  

So there you have it!  Check out this fantastic lady for some organic seed companies....

VIA~Empress Of Dirt

Happy Making, Baking, and Growing Friends!

getting the beans IN the garden

I watched today as my beans jumped in mud puddles all over the backyard.  The melting snow coupled with warmer temperatures (finally) created the perfect day of mud jumping.  One of those sweet moments that I will have ingrained in my mind forever.

The beans are great.  

They each have their own favorite plants and are fantastic at caring for the garden.  They take time to look in the soil and explore as we go and they care if someone is careless with our plants.  Like when the tree trimmers were cutting back some branches from our gigantic ash tree and my son was concerned that they smashed our flowers.  He actually told one of the men that he hurt one of his mom's plants.  For me, it doesn't get sweeter! 

My ideas about the garden have changed.  LIVING in a garden with children is much more fulfilling than wanting a perfect space.  It has become more of an experiment with them working by my side rather than a museum of plants.

I hope to capture and encourage even more exploration this season.  Here are a few finds I thought were neat to get kids excited about being active players in the garden....

I found these organic seed collection boxes HERE  They carried many different boxes ranging from flower assortments to veggies.  

And I've been hunting for books.  This one is adorable.  It walks kids through planning and mapping out their space.  I have zinnia seeds I saved from last year to go along with the book.

We are going to be doing a little bit of journaling this season as well.  Probably just in note pads but this journal by Creative Kids caught me eye.  It has some great writing/drawing prompts for little ones.

And I think we may be trying some fun art projects like....

VIA

via-justinablakeney

Here is to getting people IN the garden!  Happy week everyone!  

embracing small....our edible garden plans for 2015

I'm not gonna lie.  I've been struggling with mapping out the veggies this year as I've been working very hard to embrace small plot gardening.  You'd think I'd have a grip on this by now as I have mastered (kind of) living in a 1600 square foot house with 3 kids.  The truth of it all is that my dream of having a rocking huge yard to grow every kind of fruit and vegetable possible still lingers around in my head especially when I come across gardens like this.....

via~myrevelment 

Dreams aside, and life in the now brings me to what vegetables I'm going to grow this year.  I find it very overwhelming to map out what veggies I want to grow so making a visual collage always helps me stay focused when seed and plant shopping.  Here is what's going in....

Peppers

Peas

Carrots 

Tomatoes-heirloom and cherry {cherry tomatoes in pots}

Salad {pots}

Cucumbers

Yellow Crookneck Squash {seeds from here...Seeds Of Change}

Eggplant  {pots}

Pole Beans {over my arbor}

I will be purchasing many of my seeds this year  from
All Good Things Organic Seeds.  

Via~Mano Farm

Now to save on space many of my vegetables will be going in pots as I have listed above.  Not in the list above are all of my herbs.  They always go in containers and those include.....

Basil

Parsley

Mint

Chives

Other edibles I have growing in containers are Autumn Bliss raspberries and strawberries.

The two plots I constructed for this season are each 4 by 6 feet so I will have room for my climbers in the far north bed {cucumbers and peas}.  

The Victory Gardens of the past always inspire me when dealing with my small plot.  It's amazing what you can create with a vision! 

So that's the start of the endless planning and mapping for the upcoming season...but my brain wouldn't have it any other way!  

Happy Making, Baking, and Growing Friends!

thrifting, repurposing, reworking, and planting

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!  We have been busy with Easter celebrations and getting back into the garden!  We actually hit the 50 degree mark for several days!  It's enough to make me sing!!


On the thrifting front, I found a couple of things at our local GoodWill last week. This battered mirror was a score because I've been looking for something narrow and long for the mantel.  I figure I can always use it in the garden if I can't get the finish the way I want it!

As for repurposing, I found this tequila box for a dollar.  It's a great size and is very sturdy for some garden extras I have lying around.

Here is the before...

And after....

 I lined the inside with pages from an old biology book I had in my library.  The outside of the box was primed, sprayed red, waxed with Annie Sloan dark wax, and sanded.  I finished it off with some chalkboard paint on the top of the box so that I can change what I want to keep inside.  My seeds have a happy new home!

Being an artist I feel as though I am surrounded by pieces that are unfinished or not quite right.  This is a painting I plan on reworking for the beans play area.  I like the composition but feel that it would read better with a lighter background on a textured surface.  I painted it on canvas but am considering using a wood board...thoughts???

We have not been able to plant much with the cold spring we are experiencing.  And with not many plants up yet (not even our tulips) my focus has been on transplanting several shrubs, getting our composting bin up and running, cutting perennials back, and planting peas.

Just a few bits from around here!  Linking up this week with.... An Oregon Cottage, The Shabby Nest, Osie Moats, Artsy Chicks Rule & Young Heart

~Thanks for the feature....Artsy Chicks Rule & Dukes and Duchesses ~