Hanging Herb Planters

My house was built in the 1960s and is a little rectangular ranch with high windows and no window sills. Not good if you have cats (mine are confined to two large windows in the whole house) and not good if you like houseplants. I've seen a lot of really cute hanging planters recently, and came across this idea for attaching them to the cupboard. It's perfect if you want an herb garden in the kitchen but don't have wall space or a sill. Here's how I did it.

Supplies
Small plastic pots - Mine are from Ikea
Herbs
Command hooks - I bought the ones that hold up to 3 pounds, just in case
Drill
Drill bit - I used a 3/8" wood drill bit

Mini Succulent and Cactus Garden

I have many, many cacti and succulents in my home (and not just the fake ones I make for my Etsy shop). I loooove them ... There's so much variety, they hardly grow so they basically look the same all the time, and I can forget to water them for a month and they somehow still survive. So when I saw this post from A Beautiful Mess, I was inspired. I found the perfect planter for a dining table centerpiece at Salvation Army, then went to Lowe's and bought some cactus soil, a four-pack of succulents, and a couple cacti.

Since the pot doesn't have a drainage hole, I put some rocks in the bottom. The rocks are some I already had from using them as vase filler. Then I put a little soil in the bottom over the rocks ...

... Arranged the plants, then filled soil in around the plants and added some decorative stones to the top. This is what I ended up with:

I think it's pretty cute and makes a good centerpiece for our square table. This project was quick but a little more than I usually spend on my projects (around $30 for everything). I think it was totally worth it.

The Garden Build

Ready for a lengthy post? Planning and building a 450 square foot vegetable garden is part of what's been keeping me occupied this spring and summer. You may remember my garden of broken dreams from the past...

The worst part of this garden was that it was difficult to access, and the deer would still jump through the circus tented netting and eat the plants. It's also a difficult shape for a vegetable garden. Now this garden is back to a perennial garden (thanks to my great neighbor and all of the transplants I got from her!) and I've moved on to bigger and better gardens. Meet my new space:

My new vegetable garden has 308 square feet of planting space in one continuous bed. Here's the plan and lumber cut list:

When I was planning this garden, here's what I considered:
1. I wanted to use soaker hoses to water the plants and also didn't want to waste space between beds so the garden is one giant bed rather than eight separate 8'x4' beds.
2. Another reason why I made one continuous bed was for ease of installing deer fencing. If the beds had been separate, I would've had to build the fence around the beds, which means more fence posts, more mulch, and more fencing. The way the garden is now allows for one-100' roll of fencing to go around the entire perimeter with some extra left over for the door.
3. Maximizing lumber was essential. The dimensions of the garden allow for that. Even though I have to step into some of the beds to reach plants, it was worth it to me to keep the project economical. I used 1"x6"x12' boards and ended up needing 17 with little scrap left over. Each color on the plan above is a separate 12' board.
4. I wanted to be able to enjoy my garden. That's where the cut into the bed comes in at the top, straight back from the door. I left enough space for two chairs and a table.

After my plan was set and Bobby said he thought it was a good plan too, we started building! This is the site:

Free Cute U.S. Map Printable Download

I created this map to put pins in where I've made sales in my Etsy shop, but you could use it to mark places you've been, teach children (or adults!) the states, or frame it and use it as decor. Note that Alaska is shown at 50% scale because it's huge!

For printing, I took it to Office Max and had it printed on card stock for $0.70. If you have an inkjet printer, just watch your print margins and try it as "fit to page." Download here on Google Docs and enjoy!

Friday Findings - Tutorials

anemone magnets :: fabric project baskets :: fake calligraphy :: crochet garland

The Garden of Broken Dreams

Dramatic, I know. But there's a reason why I haven't done any garden updates recently! I really REALLY had high hopes for my garden this year. Here's the story: The problems started when I started my own seeds indoors. Everything was great until I took the cover off my plants and this pretty little girl, who eats everything from hair to dust bunnies to string, decided the plants were a good snack:

And yes, her eyes are always that wide. .. Unless she's sleeping. Anyway, a piece of poster board to keep the kitty away and the plants were growing again. Then I moved them into my cute little greenhouse outside.

This is a photo from last year, when I was smart and had the long side of the greenhouse against the house. This year .. not so smart! I had it turned perpendicular to the house to allow for a better view of the backyard from the house, and in a strong wind storm, the whole greenhouse tipped over. Onto the ground. With all of my plants inside. Unfortunately I was too distraught to take a photo, but I managed to save a little over half of them.

For deer prevention, I thought I was so clever in fending off the deer. Check out my circus tent style draping of deer netting over the garden:

Seems super smart, right? I draped it several weeks before planting so the deer would realize it was there and could even totally destroy it before I put in the plants. We'll come back to the netting. I set up my trellis that I made last summer inside the netting. This is what happened during a tornado warning - destroyed!

Two words when you make a trellis: wood glue. Along with the staples it probably could've held up. Also, I need to pay attention to wind direction .. again.  I have to admit, this post is kind of fun to put together after the fact, now that the shock of everything going wrong is gone.

Back to the netting. The netting did work, until about three weeks after I planted. Then they decided to just hop through anyway, tearing it down, and eat, eat, eat. Again, distraught moment, no photo. After the first attack, I still had enough plants left alive to re-drape and attach strings to the netting so the deer would maybe notice that it was there. A week later they tore it down again (they liked coming on Sunday nights for some reason..), this time pulling up plants that they didn't eat. Out of twenty tomato plants, most of which I planned on using for canning and I wanted to try some varieties I hadn't grown before, I had eight left. One cucumber plant from two. No squash from one. Thankfully they didn't touch my eggplant, and my three jalapeño plants had enough leaves left for all to survive.

And so, I downsized. I transplanted the tomato plants that had more than one leaf left into the front little garden. The back garden only has about a third of the area occupied now. The tomato plants that seemed almost hopeless (one leaf left) I transplanted into pots by the porch. This is what it looks like today.

Whose idea was it to make lawns out of grass that dies when it's not watered, anyway? 

Everything that's left is thriving and the deer haven't bothered the small gardens in over two weeks, other than chowing on a tomato plant through the fence. No telling what the yield will be (probably low), but I'm just happy to have tomato plants that have tomatoes on them and a garden that's finally able to grow.

Daily Notecard Calendar

My sister and I both have horrible long term memories, and it seems like often photos from our childhoods end up turning into memories (does that ever happen for any of you?).  I saw this idea for a daily calendar on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try. I bought some notecards and used my printing kit to stamp the dates on the top of each of the cards. Yes, this did take forever. So far I've done through August, so once I get there, I'll be stamping again. I keep the cards in one of my revamped oatmeal boxes on my nightstand so each night (or every few nights if I forget) I write a line about what happened that day.

I'm really excited for next year when I can see exactly what I did one year ago. Even the mediocre days will be interesting to see! I started mine on January 1st but you can start any day of the year. And all you really need is some note cards and a pen. Easy way to keep memories!

A Monster Baby Shower

I had the great honor last weekend of throwing a baby shower for my friend Kristyn. And the theme? Monsters! Kristyn didn't want a set theme for her baby boy’s room, so she has done an amazing job mixing monsters, robots, owls, and other cute ideas into his new nursery. I decided to take one and run with it! Take a look at the photos of her pretty party below.

This was the start of my planning. I made the poster and went from there. Making up little monsters is so fun!

Little monster water bottles with different coordinating colored paper made these little bottles super cute. I drew out these monster circles on Adobe Illustrator, and made five different designs and changed colors.

Monsters everywhere! For favors, I made cookies from this Cowgirl Cookie recipe and put them in bags with ribbon and little thank you monsters.

I made this banner from some inexpensive, thin fabric I bought at JoAnn's (the table runners in the other photos are also made from this).  

Food! Cake stands (thanks, Amanda!) were perfect for adding height to the table and displaying garlic parmesan pull-apart bread, veggie cups with dressing in the bottom, coffee cake, and petit fours.  Thanks for the help with food and set-up Amanda, Cathy, Mandy, and Shauna!

I also added a couple signs to the food that wasn't self-explanatory (see under the garlic parmesan bread). And coordinating plasticware, napkins, and plates!

Counter space was used for drinks (that's a punch dispenser) and food overflow.

Super adorable petit fours by Amanda

Look how excited the momma to be is! :)

Momma and Poppa to be

A few of the guests .. Ladies from our church small group!

End of shower! Momma takes home the decorations!

Here I Am!

Here's some of what I've been up to since you last saw me:

With the help of my lovely husband, we transformed my hillside garden into beautiful raised beds! It took almost 200 retaining wall stones and three cubic yards of composted soil, but doesn't it look pretty?! Now onto deer control ..

Enjoyed my favorite season (even though I might not look like it here)!

Started making iPhone and iPod cases first for my new phone, then to sell on Etsy. I like the versatility that printing on fabric lends. Check out my Etsy shop here!

I've been going to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Nothing beats going to Kerrytown and exploring the market and the stores.

Turned 24!

Studied for and took the GRE. Now I have some more free time on my hands and don't feel guilty about spending it not studying. And, no, I didn't embroider this as an ode to my GRE studying days. It's part of a Christmas gift!

Invested some time into making Mario and Luigi costumes for the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Fry!

Meeting the Neighbors

We're in the process of cleaning up, painting, and moving into our new house. SO exciting! One thing that has come up with moving into a new neighborhood is figuring out how to best introduce ourselves and get to know our neighbors (not always the easiest and least awkward thing in the world!). He thinks that we should go door to door and say hello, I say we meet them as we see them outside. I wouldn't want to be showing up at a bad time or have them feel like we're invading their space. I saw these door hangers online today and they seem like a cute, simple way to say hello without invading. Then, we can let them know when they can stop by if they're free because the invitation is open to them.

You can find the PDF download, so you can say a little hello to your neighbors, and the insight into how they were created on Candy Chang's website!

I Love Thursday & House

The hubby and I closed on our house yesterday! We are officially homeowners. Yesterday after we closed, we started cleaning house (washed walls, etc) and had a HUGE shopping spree at Lowe's. Then today he's has been there all day painting trim and cleaning more. I can't wait to move in. And I especially can't wait to start my garden! I'll be sure to document my garden experiences here.

So today is Thursday and I don't have work tomorrow because of Good Friday! Since tomorrow we're painting, cleaning, and picking up a washer and dryer that was donated to us (perfecting timing!), today I'm showing you items from Etsy that show my love for all things tea. Enjoy!

Ruffled Tea Towels from CottageRuffles

Petit Fours perfect for tea from Dulce de Luna

Dress by AfterShowerShop

DIY Tea Bag Kit by CookOutsidetheBox

Bloomsbury Mug by Summersville

Outer Space Tea Towel by LeahDuncan

I Love ... Organizing

Yesterday, I joined Pinterest! I have had the invitation sitting in my mailbox since January, and finally decided to do something about it after learning what can be done with it. Click here to follow me!

I have been getting super frustrated recently because I bookmark and save tutorials on my Mac and on StumbleUpon, but it's so difficult to actually remember what I wanted to make. Then I end up with 200+ favorites and no way to see why I favorited it in the first place! Enter Pinterest. On Pinterest, you can pin a website, but then you choose the image from that website that you want to appear on your pin board. So. Incredibly. Helpful. So my next project is to go through my favorites and transfer them onto Pinterest. Can't wait to get organized!

About our house, we got the clear to close yesterday and have a closing date set for next Wednesday! Can't wait to move in! It won't be for a couple weeks, but it'll be great once we do move. Much of my making has been on hold because of the lack of space in our apartment, so I'm excited to get another table and make some DIY storage/organizing!

"I Love..." Friday

This week has flown by for me! We heard back on our house and, thankfully, the cost to regrade the backyard is well within our price range. I know everyone always says that buying a house is stressful, but I didn't know it would be like this. 

I'm slowly trying to get back my motivation from my lazy month so there should be some new goodies in my Etsy shop soon! It's been a struggle recently with working full time, then going home to create for the shop. I'm always reading the articles on Etsy titled "Quit Your Day Job" and think that I could do it if I put in a little more work on the side. A lot of the women that are interviewed say that it was like they were working two jobs before they branched off to focus solely on their business. I would LOVE to do that! I already love creating and being able to do it as a job would be fantastic. I'll keep you posted on how this venture goes!


Today is Friday! So here are some Etsy items that caught my eye for this "I Love ...":

Viking Mug by CircaCeramics

Frida Earrings by tamar

Light Blue Alarm Clock from TheBig8s

Three Nesting Lotus Blossom Bowls by whitneysmith