DIY Plant Markers from a Plastic Bottle

After last year's seed starting fiasco, I considered not starting my own seeds again this year. Buying plants at the store is so inexpensive, you don't have to worry about your cats eating them, and you don't have to spend the time taking care of them. But, my super great husband got me this four foot grow light for my birthday last year, and so I plant again!

Planting seeds is really only worth it, in my opinion, if there are varieties of plants that you want that can't be found at the store. Yesterday I only started some heirloom tomatoes and peppers, and some random seeds I had left over from last year. I put off planting these for close to a week because I didn't have plant markers and didn't want to spend money on buying some (I know, I get hung up on little things when it comes to getting things done!). Many of the DIY plant markers require rocks, wood, popsicle sticks, or clay, none of which I had on hand. So I roughly followed a tutorial on how to make them out of a plastic bottle.

Click on photo to enlarge.

1. Get your container. I used a vinegar bottle, but you can use a milk jug or any plastic container you can cut through. 2. Cut down the center of your bottle. You may have to use a craft knife to get it started. 3. Cut off the top. 4. Cut off the bottom. You will now have a sheet of plastic. This is the time to wash the plastic well. 5. Cut the strip into 3/4" or so strips. 6. Plant markers! You can cut the bottom to a point but I found it unnecessary. Just write on them with a permanent marker and you're good to go! The tutorial I saw this on said they would hold up to watering, but I have yet to find out.

Cross Stitched iPhone Case

My sister bought this case for me as a gift for my birthday back in November, but I just got around to spending some time on it in the last couple days. Isn't it cute? I saw a similar pattern online, and used some thread I bought from a garage sale. The case I have is no longer available on Amazon, but you can find a similar one here.

Friday Findings - Tutorials

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

Andes Mint Cupcakes

Here's another sweet treat I made for my mom's birthday (along with the coffee syrups) and they were so yummy. I halved this recipe to only make about 16 cupcakes for a small celebration, but you can see the full recipe here. It looks intensive because of the long ingredients list, but it was really pretty simple. You could even use a box cake mix for the cupcakes and just make the frosting and ganache. Also don't substitute peppermint essential oil for peppermint extract like I almost did. The bottle was open, ready to be poured when I had an "aha!" (or maybe more like a "stop it stupid!") moment to make me come to my senses. Peppermint is known to be awakening, after all.

Make Your Own Coffee Syrups

Here's a super easy way to make your own coffee syrups. These recipes come from A Beautiful Mess, but my recipes below are halved to fit in these 7 oz World Market bottles. See below the recipes for a gift wrapping idea! This is the perfect inexpensive and easy gift.

Vanilla syrup: 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Heat water and sugar in a pan over medium low heat, stirring constantly until dissolved. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour into container.

Caramel syrup: 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup caramel. Heat water and sugar in a pan over medium low heat, stirring constantly until dissolved. Stir in caramel until disolved. Pour into container.

For a raspberry syrup recipe, click here. They also have lavender and honey recipes here.

I gift wrapped the bottles in the box they came in. This is the box before decoration. Reusing this box helps so the bottles won't fall over in the gift bag and possibly leak. You can purchase the bottles for $3.99 (for both!) at World Market.

For the next part, all you need is some kraft paper, a pen, double sided tape and a bit of scrapbook paper. For the bottle labels, I just wrote the labels and designs on kraft paper, cut the circles out, and used double sided tape to stick the labels to the bottles. For the box, simply cover the printing on the front with a written label. I gave these to my mom for her birthday this weekend and she didn't know that I made them until my husband told her!

My Daily Reads

There's nothing I look forward to more on a working morning than checking my email for new posts from my favorite bloggers. The blogs listed below are my must-reads. I hope you find in them a blog you love too!

Craft Blogs

Petra does a lot of crocheting and sells her patterns online. Right now she's doing a 365 photo series and I like seeing what she's working on each day. Zoom Yummy

The Hawthorne Threads blog complements their online fabric store. They show what's just arrived in their store and some projects they're working on. Hawthorne Threads Blog

I originally started following Suzanne's blog because she does a lot of pattern making and sewing clothing. Now she just purchased a house, so there are many home DIYs on her blog. Adventures in Dressmaking

This blog has cute crochet projects, inspiration, and some craft business info. I love any modern crochet blog. The New Crochet

Random craftiness, including her recent office interior designing project. She's a sparse blogger (like me!) but I like reading her posts when she does write. Compulsive Craftiness

Novita, who lives in Tokyo, blogs about sewing projects. Most of the posts I've seen have been for pretty undergarments. VeryPurplePerson

The latest textile trends and releases, both domestic and international. She provided a really extensive review of the new lines at Quilt Market in the fall.  True Up

Food Blogs

Andie is literally the only blogger whose recipes my husband trusts. We regularly make her meatloaf, chicken parmesan wrap ups, favorite meatballs, and alfredo sauce. She's super great. Can You Stay for Dinner

Kristen is a really fun blogger and I've found several recipes of hers that I like. Her blog is a good daily read. Iowa Girl Eats

The name says it all. Yummy treats, including one I'll be making soon: Lemon Lavender Cookies. My Baking Addiction

Lifestyle Blogs

Elsie and Emma have a great blog about everything: food, style, DIY,  etc.  The best part is they often post up to three times a day. A Beautiful Mess 

I love reading about Kristy and her family in New Zealand. She also has great cookie recipes. Paisley Jade

Business Blogs

Everything Etsy really has something for everyone crafty, but I have this under business because I receive her business newsletter with posts about photography and selling on Etsy. Everything Etsy

Seth Godin's blog has thoughts on marketing and business. I'm personally inspired by his emphasis on being creative, and I always have something to think about after reading his blog. He has some great TED talks too. Seth Godin

DIY Little Wooden Houses

Here's a cute tutorial that's super quick if you have a compound miter saw. Ours is being loaned to us by my husband's parents while we build our coffee table, and I think I might get one since it's so handy! You can also use a jigsaw (as shown in this tutorial, which was my inspiration), but the compound miter saw will allow you to have exact angles ... just how I like them.

Supplies
1-2x2 piece of lumber
Compound miter saw or jigsaw
Fine sand paper
Paint

1. Measure to the middle and make a mark at each end of the board. Draw a faint pencil line lengthwise down the center of the board.
2. Set your compound miter saw to a 45 degree angle. Place your board pencil line side down on the saw base and cut across the board near one of the ends.
3. Flip the board over. Find where the angle you just cut meets the pencil line on your board. Line up the saw and cut so the pencil line is at the peak of the little house's roof.
4. Set your saw back to a 0 degree angle and cut off the board however tall you'd like your houses (mine are approximately 1.5", 2", and 2.5" tall).
5. Sand sharp corners and pencil marks.
6. Paint the roof.