Raised Garden Beds!

Remember those seeds we planted a while back?  We decided it was finally time to give them a permanent home!  Following the instructions on this blog I found on Pinterest, we built the beds.

I started out envisioning a 4' X 8' garden bed, but quickly changed my mind when I realized I would not be able to reach across the whole thing, and since we will not be able to walk around the back, we switched to two 4' X 4' beds.  This way we will have a walkway in between them, and the kids and I will be able to get more up close and personal with the plants.

We decided on plain, untreated cedar boards because I did not want chemicals on the inside.  The guys at Home Depot cut my boards for me so I didn't have to worry about that part.

Originally I bought regular screws, but about halfway through building the first one, realized I should have gotten galvanized (they don't rust), so I replaced them all one by one.  I was able to stabilize the boards myself for the first two layers, but had to get Baldy's help when securing the boards to the baluster pieces in the corners.  We also added a piece of baluster board to the middle of each side for extra support.  Every baluster board we bought was badly warped, so this part took some muscle.

 

Each bed is 3 boards tall, and I left the baluster pieces sticking out of the tops.  Baldy wondered if we should turn them upside down and use them for stability, but I wanted them on top in case I need to use them when I make freeze covers for the beds later.

After they were built, they stayed in the garage for a week while I tried to decide what colors to paint them.  The Mouse and her friend Cinderella helped me paint one side of the first one before they lost interest and left me to finish.

 

 

I ended up getting purple, yellow, and blue acrylic craft paint from Michael's to finish the sides.  Baldy was doubtful about the color choices, but I assured him they would look good once all the greed plants grew.

I left the fronts of the boxes for the kids to paint, and they added their handprints to them in the form of flowers.  My little brother even added his own while he was here on spring break.  My Mom was able to help me get them painted and filled while they were visiting, which was a total blessing, because it ended up being a bigger job than I was imagining.  She helped me paint the polyurethane sealant on the outsides, too, so the rain and sun will not damage them as quickly.  We used Minwax Indoor/Outdoor Spar Urethane.

After they were dry it was time to move them outside and get them filled up!  We talked with a guy at Home Depot who said we did not need to line the bottoms with cardboard or newspaper, since we were placing them on mulch already.  He advised that the cardboard would just mold and rot, so we should not use it.

Here is what we used to fill them up:

Layer 1: Mulch for water retention (2 bags for each bed)

We put the mulch down, then stomped on it to help it settle (or just because it was fun), and watered it down.

 

Layer 2: A mixture of potting soil (2 bags), compost (2 bags), and vermiculite (1/2 bag)

  

We mixed these three together in the small kiddie pool we happened to have lying around, but you could spread them on your grass, a tarp, or your driveway.  I'd also talk to someone who is familiar with your particular area for what types of soil are best.  We tried to use products that were organic and chemical-free.

After it was all mixed, we filled them up!  Everyone got in on the action, and the beds had about 8 inches left in the tops.  I was glad the soil did not come to the very top because I was worried about a certain small boy digging in the gardens.

  

After they were full, we transplanted our seedlings and watered them some more!  Now the hard part... waiting to see if anything will grow!

  

-Lisa

Art Wall

I recently got to have my Mom, Dad and little brother (who is not so little anymore, watch out, Grandma!) here for a whole week.  Mom and I are both incapable of sitting still, so we got a lot of projects accomplished, and a few more started so I can finish them later.  The first one was my raised garden beds.  I'll post about those later.  Today we will take a peek into my hallway...

This project has been on my list for months.  The hallway leading to the kids' rooms has become parking for their cars, and the wall above was collecting random artwork via staples and push-pins.  I envisioned a hodgepodge collection of cool frames in different sizes and colors.  I don't have a "before" picture, but trust me, it was a mess.  We do A LOT of projects around here.  The Mouse and Monkey ask to paint, draw, color, or "do school projects" almost every day, so the paperwork piles up quickly.  Our playroom has this setup, so I wanted to do something different for the hallway.

I thought I would shop around goodwill, or garage sales to find the frames, but we ended up using some I already had lying around, cutting a few ourselves, and buying the rest from Michael's with 40% coupons.

The white, green, purple, yellow and blue frames were from Michael's.  We cut the red circle and Orange diamond-ish one ourselves.  Black was a small wooden frame I found in a drawer.  The fish picture is a watercolor I did in the 4th grade.  I've been in cahoots with my mother-in-law to get one of Baldy's elementary school art pieces to add to this wall later, too.

I wanted to make it easy to add and remove art, so I hot-glued clothespins onto each frame.  Luckily I had some leftover from a Christmas project.  Large, white clothespins were surprisingly difficult to locate in December, so I used the backside of some of the decorated ones.  Bonus!  I can also balance art on top of them.

 

This canvas has been hanging on the wall for over a year, with only the kids' hand and footprints on it.  I had intentions of hand-lettering a cute quote about kids, but it never happened.  My Cricut Mini cut out some great vinyl letters easily enough, and I didn't have to make a decision about which quote to use!

All in all it was a pretty inexpensive project and it turned out even better than I thought it would!

-Lisa

Cold Weather and Cookies

Does anything go better with a cold, icy day than cookies? I think not.

We woke up to freezing weather and cancelled school today. Any hint of a freeze shuts down Austin, so we weren't surprised. Baldy left for work and suddenly I was faced with a long day inside with two very active kids.

We had some car races first. Our house has a straight shot from the front to back door, and the kids race their cars up and down this path multiple times a day.

I knew that wouldn't satisfy them for long, though, and soon The Mouse went to her room and got herself dressed to go outside.

Because cowboy boots, a hat, Scooby Doo, and Teddy will prepare you for any sort of weather.

The Mouse declared, "it is a beautiful day to ride a scooter!"
The Moose started to cry because he removed the gloves I put on him almost immediately, and his fingers were cold.
So we went back indoors.

Now maybe there's a better way to deal with cold weather than by letting the kids watch way too much TV, but that's been my method lately.

However, I think we are all a little sick of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song, so I decided to do something else.

A few weeks ago we went to Costco and after sampling some pumpkin flax seed granola, the kids insisted we buy it. Ok, it was The Mouse, but The Moose was helping too. Anyway, we haven't touched the box, but I decided to try to make some cookies with it.

I found this recipe and set forth.

Satisfied customers!

Planting Seeds for Spring

Since it's the end of February, and the kids and I are sick of the cold weather, we started plotting about how we are going to plant a garden in the backyard for spring. The Mouse does not eat tomatoes, but was super insistent that we get tomato seeds to plant.  We went to Home Depot for our seeds, and the kids picked out:

Roma Tomatoes

Sweet Cherry Tomatoes

Broccoli

Cantaloupe

Watermelon

Carrots (both orange and multi-colored)

and I picked out Green Onions

We bought a seed tray to plant them in, some seed starter soil, and a spray bottle to water them, figuring that letting The Mouse and The Moose be in charge of the watering would be easier if they only had a spray bottle.

We filled the tray with soil, and I let the kids poke holes in the soil and drop the seeds in.

Hint: A 3 1/2 year old and 19-month-old are terrible at dropping seeds in evenly.  Obviously.

The north side of our backyard has been a little empty for some time.  I planted a small bush there last spring with the intention of filling the rest of the space with a tree, but Baldy protested, as it would be too close to the house.  The bush died in the summer heat, and shriveled into a stick bush during the recent frosts, so I pulled it out and was left with a big, empty space.

So we (and by we, I mean I, because Baldy didn't really get a choice here) decided to use this space for our garden.  It gets a lot of sunlight, is fairly level, and because we already have the mulch area, I don't have to worry about killing off the grass underneath.

I searched Pinterest for raised garden bed ideas, and found this tutorial, which seemed pretty straightforward. We decided on an 8X4 foot garden bed.  In a few weeks when the seeds sprout, we will start building!

Peasant Dresses

I can't enter the fabric store without shopping for fabric for The Mouse (and now her friends).  Recently we were attending a birthday party for a girl who loves her dachshund, and when I saw this red flannel I knew it was perfect!  

 Since I didn't find it until the day before the party, I had to whip up something quick, so I used this tutorial from Prudent Baby.

I had used it before when I made one for The Mouse, and knew it was easy to do.  The pattern takes almost exactly one yard of fabric for a 2T-3T size dress, and I made mine in snuggle flannel so they could wear them during these chilly winter months.

Christmas Stockings!

Now that the Christmas rush is over, I have time to post a few projects I did this year!  My first one was making stockings for our family.  Mom embroidered the designs from emblibrary.com and I used their stocking tutorial to make us a set.

 Aren't they adorable? You'll notice in the picture above I added our names to them.  The Mouse loved being able to pick hers out by reading the names!

 I also made some for our neighbors, which turned out cute as well!

If you're looking for an easy stocking pattern, I recommend this one.  Each stocking took a yard of fabric, and they came together really quickly.  If you want me to make yours, email me at onepairofscissors@gmail.com!

Appliqué Pillows

I finished another Christmas present tonight! Hopefully I'll be able to get them in the mail in time.

These fun "Kiss the Girl" pillows were inspired by some canvas art I saw on Pinterest. The link to that post is here. Since the recipient is a talented painter, I decided to sew them into pillows for her!

I had some snuggle flannel on hand that was perfect for two soft pillows. I printed a coloring book picture out, enlarged it until I got it big enough for what I wanted, and traced it onto the fabric (I had already ironed Heat N Bond onto some black and white scraps).

After I played with the layout, I ironed it all down. When you're making appliqué projects some iron-on backing doesn't require sewing, but I like the finished look of sewing it all down and the security of knowing it won't go anywhere.

I sewed around all of the edges of the design (why did I make the seaweed so curvy?!) first. This took longer than expected, but it was worth it in the end.

I pinned my tags in place and sewed around the outside edge, leaving right sides together. After I sewed almost all the way around the pillow (leaving an opening to stuff fluff into) I turned it right side out and sewed around the edge about 1/4 in. I like the distinct edge this gives the pillow, but you don't have to do this step.

I used an entire bag of fiber fill between the two pillows and sewed them both shut!

Now to get them to the post office!