Adventures in vegetable gardening (pt 1 of 3)

As you can see, last summer's drought killed much of the St. Augustine in our side yard. Rather than re-sodding this sad little sunny spot, I was inspired to start a veggie garden. It should be a better investment since we will (hopefully!) reap a bountiful harvest of fresh produce instead of watering an inevitably thirsty patch of grass over and over.

"Oh no," my husband groaned. "Another project."

But he was soon on board, like a real trooper, shoveling out the weeds and dead sod to make room for installing a raised bed. Our daughter was on earthworm patrol, pointing out all the creepy crawlies for us.

Just because I was taking photos doesn't mean I didn't put in my own sweat equity. Here's the cleared space.

We bought two raised bed kits from Home Depot. At $29.97 each, the Greenes 4-foot-by-4-foot Dovetail Cedar Raised Garden Kit was simple to assemble, with hardware included.

Along the way, we checked to make sure it was level, but with the overall grading of the soil still tilting away from the house and toward the fence for drainage purposes.

Another little helper pitches in after his nap. :)

Originally, we configured the kits in two separate 4x4 ft. beds. That's before I had the "duh" moment that it would have been smarter to make one large rectangle (4x12 ft), essentially adding 33% more planting space.

The next day, I got out there with the drill to reconfigure the beds.

Ah, progress.

Now, on to the soil. I used 4 bags of Miracle-Gro Expand 'n Gro on the bottom, followed by 3 bags of Miracle-Gro 2 cu. ft. Garden Soil for Flowers and Vegetables and 4 bags of .75 cu. ft. generic top soil.

The Expand 'n Grow soil is condensed and dehydrated, so you add water after pouring it.

It's supposed to increase in density up to 3 times out of the bag. For me, it doubled in size after I added water.

Here's the finished result after I got all three soil varieties mixed in, six inches deep. Stay tuned for planting day details! :)

Total project time from start to finish: 6 hours. 

See also:
Part 2
Part 3

Time for a trim

We all love some before-and-after shots, right? Especially when it documents proof of your progress after a project takes longer than you expected (read 2 hours) and gives you an extremely sore back. Well, I hope the results are worth it. 

Here is our backyard. I just recently did some work on the edge of the grass that was creeping into the "alley" or whatever that gap is....ahhh, inheritance of landscaping from previous homeowners. And I also trimmed up the climbing Carolina jessamine at the back left.

But the project of the day was tackling that horribly shredded and yellowed mass of foliage at the base of the tree near the center. I affectionately call it "the tree tutu."

Last summer's drought really ravaged the poor plant (can anyone identify what it is, anyway?), but I was determined to try and rescue it.

So, here you are folks. All those deep green leaves were hiding beneath. 

It was a real chore to individually trim out all the dead leaves. But, I keep staring out the window at the vast improvement it's made.

Now for some color in the backyard other than brown and green. More on those adventures later!

Chalk It Up to Love Valentine

Don't know about you, but isn't there enough chocolate and candy to go around on Valentine's Day? Do the other moms a favor and give the kids this alternative instead.

Supplies

• Zippered snack baggies (6.5 in x 3.25 in)
• Strips of scrapbook paper or wrapping paper in Valentines-y print (6.5 x 4 in, folded to 6.5 x 2 in)
• Stapler
• White paper to print messages on
• Glue stick
• Bucket of sidewalk chalk

Instructions

1. Take a plastic zippered snack baggie and place one sidewalk chalk inside and seal.
2. Fold over a strip of scrapbook paper to cover the zippered top and staple at the two ends.
3. Print off your message, sign it, trim to size and glue it to the strip.

Easy peasy! Here's the printable message page (8.5 x 11 in, lettersize) with room for your child to sign his or her own name.

Travel cosmetic roll

I'm finally learning how to sew (gasp!). For one of my first projects, I had success in using Nested's pattern for a crayon pouch. The next step was adapting the pattern into a travel cosmetic roll, which wasn't awfully challenging.

Here's the one I made for my sister's birthday. The overall dimensions are 7.5 in x 13.5 in (floral fabric), with the compartment section (solid pink felt) at 4.5 in x 13.5 in. The width for the individual makeup compartments range from 1–2 inches in width. You can just guesstimate the sizes as you go, or measure the items you're planning on inserting and do some customizing that way.

You can see that my stitching is far from perfect, but it gets the job done. I'm figuring out my sewing machine on my own after a short lesson from my aunt, and it's a process! I think I may have had the tension too tight for this project. See how the whole thing puckers?

Another way I adapted the original Nested pattern was that instead of having the ribbon tie, I opted to sew on some Velcro on the righthand edge of the pouch and about halfway on the opposite side.

This pink ribbon is purely decorative. After all, it's a gift, right?! :) The roll is actually secured by the Velcro. I figured tying and untying the ribbon after each use would get annoying.

Happy crafting, everyone!

Organized craft closet

I suppose most people have catch-all closets, which is what became of this closet, originally intended for craft and sewing supplies. Crammed with clutter (although the perfect hide-and-seek spot for my kids), this closet was begging to be organized!

And, voila! Not a really dramatic change, but oh so much more functional. All I did was shift everything around into zones using existing drawers, boxes and other organizational tools.

SEWING ZONE: Color-coded fabric in an organizer right next to my sewing machine.

SEWING ZONE: Three drawers stash small sewing supplies like thread and needles, cross stitching miscellany and scrap fabrics.

GIFT AND CARD ZONE: A simple slotted rack on the wall displays greeting cards to choose from more easily than if stored stacked in boxes. I can also see, at a glance, which occasion I need to restock (anniversary, birthday, get well).

GIFT AND CARD ZONE: Rolls of wrapping paper and gift bags are stowed in a corner, along with tape and tissue paper.

GIFT AND CARD ZONE: Extra envelopes, address labels, standard thank you cards and stamps are tucked away on the wall adjacent.

IN PROGRESS ZONE: I tacked up some corkboard tiles on which to pin projects in progress, as well as magazine clippings and ideas. A tray on the desktop just below holds bulkier unfinished projects.

FILING ZONE: A row of magazine files are labeled according to my most frequent filing needs.

ART SUPPLY ZONE: I reserved the top middle shelf for miscellaneous art and craft supplies. Labels on the outside of clear drawers cut down on wasted time spent digging for stencils, stamps, scrapbook paper, etc.

---

It's nice that everything has a "home" now, so I'm much less tempted to just pile things on the desk or shove them into a corner on the floor. I can walk in and find what I need quickly and have more motivation to put things back where they belong when I'm through.

How do you sort and organize a closet? Does "zoning" work well for you?

Embellished tote bag

Inspired by this Prudent Baby tutorial, I adapted the French pouf design by using some scrap fabric I had on hand.

I added some beads to the center of the poufs and safety pinned them to the canvas bag (although I could have hand sewn them, I kind of like that they're removable and I could reposition them later, if needed).

The project was complete after I added some ribbon as trim to the top and then used fabric paint to write the word "Ballet." (I must admit that I should have matched the pinks better, but it still turned out pretty sweet.)

My daughter now totes her beautified bag to ballet/tap class! This would make a cute gift, don't you think?

Lemon and lime party

 

With the tremendous help of my dear family at Rambellwood, I threw a summer citrus-themed party to celebrate my son's first birthday and the arrival of my niece. Double the fun!

Invitation | Lemons and limes set the theme (and color scheme). No custom design this time around--I just found a seasonal invitation, from Shutterfly.com.

Decorations | A homemade pennant banner using lime green polka dot print and an alternating solid yellow. Three paper lanterns float above the food table. Miniature chalk boards painted in green and yellow display the names of the two guests of honor: Henry and Lily.

Food and Drinks | What's better than homemade ice cream AND lemonade!? Sweet and tart combo...so delicious.

 

Food and Drinks | Work your way through the chicken salad sandwiches, pineapple and spinach salad. Then, indulge in these key lime tarts topped with zest! 

Games | My creative cousins came up with a fun game for partygoers, old and young! Each guest was given a lime or lemon pin to wear, essentially dividing them into teams for games. The Limes and Lemons battled at Pin the Lemon/Lime on the Tree (see photo), a songwriting challenge and pictionary to boot!

Happy birthday, little man!

Photos courtesy of Johanna Ramsey.