I was thinking about buying one of those Aerogardens that are so popular around gift-giving season. I thought I might get a leg up on the upcoming spring planting by starting some seeds indoors -- a project that has failed every time when I've attempted the traditional methods. But I didn't want to shell out the money on something that might not work the way I wanted it to. (Besides, I'm still paying for this most recent gift-giving season.) You can find the original Aerogarden online (including ebay where some successful knockoffs exist as well) and in stores. I first saw one advertised in an in-flight magazine a couple of years ago.
Wanted it!
Still, I'm not sure it will work for seedlings so I figured I might want to experiment with a recycling version first ... except I don't know what the ingredients are. Google it, silly!
There it was, an immediate hit ... someone who thinks of gardening not as a hobby but as an obsession ... on how to create your own air and water garden for about ten bucks. (A thorough guide, well written, with a sense of humor, no less. What a treat!)
Not as pretty as the patented item but as an experiment, it's worth a try. When I decide to do this I'll post pictures of the final product and I'll let you know if the final product can be transplanted outdoors in real soil. I think I might be on the trail of a success story at last! Come on Spring! (Now, how my plants will survive in the desert is another question altogether.)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A Quick Note
One of the people who reads these ramblings (I don't make him read it.) and checks my cyber skills asked me why I post just the amateurish craft projects I've done ... and why I post the old ones. (And this is a friend?) He knows the answer but I guess a little repetition won't hurt.
This blog has a number of purposes, so let me count some ways. It serves as a feet-wetting experience verifying the ability to think it, do it, and make it part of a routine. And that's a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say, for someone who kind of falls down when it comes to true discipline. (Hmmm, perhaps this is the diary and writer's journal I never kept.)
Also, I figured, if I do this, I can convince my sister to give it a try. She's the one with real talent in the family. While she insists she's electronically unskilled, I know better. (Check out her blog: http://pennaphotos.blogspot.com/ ... you'll see.)
And, I wanted to contribute just a little bit of positive (I'm using that as a noun here, even though I know better) to the world. Take out the paper and the trash, yes, but instead of letting it sit somewhere trying desperately to decompose waiting for your grandchildren to deal with, reuse as much of it as you can. Repurpose (Is that a word? Spell check doesn't like it.) it So what if your friends (You know who I mean.) think you're missing a few important brain cells. Do it anyway!
See, good stuff all, don't you think? Light, positive, fun, whimsical, and never, never too serious.
This blog has a number of purposes, so let me count some ways. It serves as a feet-wetting experience verifying the ability to think it, do it, and make it part of a routine. And that's a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say, for someone who kind of falls down when it comes to true discipline. (Hmmm, perhaps this is the diary and writer's journal I never kept.)
Also, I figured, if I do this, I can convince my sister to give it a try. She's the one with real talent in the family. While she insists she's electronically unskilled, I know better. (Check out her blog: http://pennaphotos.blogspot.com/ ... you'll see.)
And, I wanted to contribute just a little bit of positive (I'm using that as a noun here, even though I know better) to the world. Take out the paper and the trash, yes, but instead of letting it sit somewhere trying desperately to decompose waiting for your grandchildren to deal with, reuse as much of it as you can. Repurpose (Is that a word? Spell check doesn't like it.) it So what if your friends (You know who I mean.) think you're missing a few important brain cells. Do it anyway!
See, good stuff all, don't you think? Light, positive, fun, whimsical, and never, never too serious.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The real deal ...
So the pictures of the homemade bench -- which is actually a foot stool kind of thing -- weren't that great. I know. But tonight I was organizing files on my desktop, (I use for storage mostly, opting for the laptop most of the time) and I can across this photo. It shows the finished product being used as it was intended. That's a wild grapevine in the background. It sprouts every year then gets burned by too much direct sunlight. The plant outgrew the pot so it was transplanted. It was one of those cheap plastic pots anyway so it didn't have any aesthetic appeal. I think the plant is a lot happier in its new home. The stool isn't talking.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Falling in Love ... Sort of ...
I never heard of (author) Simona Hill, wasn't aware of a company called Lorenz Books, but someone at work gave me a catalog of upcoming titles, and that gift gave me a totally new craft to enjoy.
Let me begin by saying I never had much interest in the mosaic arts. In fact, having cut myself way too many times on broken glass in childhood, I considered myself wise to stay away from this kind of product. (I am very good at breaking things, by the say. My friends won't go to gift and china shops with me.)
But then I found The Practical Guide to Crafting With Mosaics, Ceramics & Glassware and I was hooked -- without even seeing the book. I had my local bookstore order it for me, and when it arrived, I discovered way more than I thought existed on this subject. Okay, let's be truthful. I never gave it a thought at all before I saw the cover of this tome.)
Of course, I'm not one to start with the basics so I jumped right into the whole of mosaics. I discovered a we had a glass shop in town, well hidden and not exactly teeming with foot traffic, but I paid them a visit. I didn't really want to buy glass but ... There in the corner, for about $12, were some nice size plastic containers of broken glass, bits and pieces left over from projects, from whole pieces specially cut for customers and shards of glass that accidentally met its maker.
Hey, this is about recycling, isn't it?
I bought a container and carried it home.
It took weeks before I found a dented old copper bird bath that had seen better days. Instead of aging gracefully with patina, this sucker was growing new life! (I won't say exactly where I found it; it's kind of embarassing.)
I took it home, soaked it in a tub of bleach, scrubbed it with an abrasive pad, and immediately knew what I was going to do with it.
I have no skills here, although I am fairly good at primitive drawing so designed this abstract sunflower (There seemed to be enough glass for the leaves.) and plunged right in.
There you have it ... a project of recycled copper birdbaths and recycled glass.
I found a certain Zen when doing this project. I was absorbed enough to realize--later of course--that I hadn't given thought to any of the bad traffic driving through my life. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle without a clue what it was going to look like.
I think this birdbath turned out quite well based on community opinion. At least two people have asked me to make one for them. We'll see what the next attempt looks like. And there will be a next project.
You should try mosaics. They are as calming as meditation.
Let me begin by saying I never had much interest in the mosaic arts. In fact, having cut myself way too many times on broken glass in childhood, I considered myself wise to stay away from this kind of product. (I am very good at breaking things, by the say. My friends won't go to gift and china shops with me.)
But then I found The Practical Guide to Crafting With Mosaics, Ceramics & Glassware and I was hooked -- without even seeing the book. I had my local bookstore order it for me, and when it arrived, I discovered way more than I thought existed on this subject. Okay, let's be truthful. I never gave it a thought at all before I saw the cover of this tome.)
Of course, I'm not one to start with the basics so I jumped right into the whole of mosaics. I discovered a we had a glass shop in town, well hidden and not exactly teeming with foot traffic, but I paid them a visit. I didn't really want to buy glass but ... There in the corner, for about $12, were some nice size plastic containers of broken glass, bits and pieces left over from projects, from whole pieces specially cut for customers and shards of glass that accidentally met its maker.
Hey, this is about recycling, isn't it?
I bought a container and carried it home.
It took weeks before I found a dented old copper bird bath that had seen better days. Instead of aging gracefully with patina, this sucker was growing new life! (I won't say exactly where I found it; it's kind of embarassing.)
I took it home, soaked it in a tub of bleach, scrubbed it with an abrasive pad, and immediately knew what I was going to do with it.
I have no skills here, although I am fairly good at primitive drawing so designed this abstract sunflower (There seemed to be enough glass for the leaves.) and plunged right in.
There you have it ... a project of recycled copper birdbaths and recycled glass. I found a certain Zen when doing this project. I was absorbed enough to realize--later of course--that I hadn't given thought to any of the bad traffic driving through my life. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle without a clue what it was going to look like.
I think this birdbath turned out quite well based on community opinion. At least two people have asked me to make one for them. We'll see what the next attempt looks like. And there will be a next project.
You should try mosaics. They are as calming as meditation.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
More fun with the jigsaw...
I sent my blog url to a friend whose first response was, "Why don't you put up some of your really nice projects?" Ha. Good, bad, ugly or close to perfect, I love all my work because I'm doing it for personal entertainment. Besides, those toy soldiers weren't half bad, I don't think. And it might be scary but it's not horrid.
Can't wait to see what the response will be when I post this, my second project.
My bench started out of what I think was a cutting board of some sort. It was a nice piece of hardwood with some some kind of fasteners that are pretty much unobtrusive. It measured 17" by 10. I had one of the old shipping pallet left that was two feet long and almost 6 inches high. I cut into two pieces (with the trusty jigsaw, of course). I used a paper plate to use as a guide for the arch in these two pieces... so what if it didn't turn out round. Oval is better anyhow.
With two more pieces of scrap 1 by 2 strips six inches each, I had all the pieces I needed to make the bench.
Everything is screwed together except for the 1x2 crossbars on the bottom. I used wood glue and I was going to finish off with some screws but I forgot. (Hey, this isnt' a sitting or standing bench. It's just something to hold a flower pot on the porch. Can't you see the water mark on the top?)
I tried to get as much of a uniform color as possible from an opened and half-full quart of stain I picked up at my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. (If my photographic skills were better you'd see that the bench is actually a deep reddish color and not that faded milky looking picture.)
I like it. And it looks nice with a big pot of mums sitting on top of it.
My favorite projects seem to start with wood or tiles or glass. (Wait till you see my mosaic birdbath!) But if I see anything that looks like it could be recycled, I'll be busy doing figuring out how to turn something old into new.
Can't wait to see what the response will be when I post this, my second project.
My bench started out of what I think was a cutting board of some sort. It was a nice piece of hardwood with some some kind of fasteners that are pretty much unobtrusive. It measured 17" by 10. I had one of the old shipping pallet left that was two feet long and almost 6 inches high. I cut into two pieces (with the trusty jigsaw, of course). I used a paper plate to use as a guide for the arch in these two pieces... so what if it didn't turn out round. Oval is better anyhow.
With two more pieces of scrap 1 by 2 strips six inches each, I had all the pieces I needed to make the bench.
Everything is screwed together except for the 1x2 crossbars on the bottom. I used wood glue and I was going to finish off with some screws but I forgot. (Hey, this isnt' a sitting or standing bench. It's just something to hold a flower pot on the porch. Can't you see the water mark on the top?)
I tried to get as much of a uniform color as possible from an opened and half-full quart of stain I picked up at my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. (If my photographic skills were better you'd see that the bench is actually a deep reddish color and not that faded milky looking picture.)
I like it. And it looks nice with a big pot of mums sitting on top of it.
My favorite projects seem to start with wood or tiles or glass. (Wait till you see my mosaic birdbath!) But if I see anything that looks like it could be recycled, I'll be busy doing figuring out how to turn something old into new.
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