Garden 2013

I think my first introduction to gardening came from both sets of my grandparents.  One side of the family were beef cattle farmers and the other lived in a smallish urban city and had two or three cherry tomato bushes in the front flower beds.  Later years in culinary school, I started getting the bug to garden.  I thought about it for a few years and finally planted some basil.  You have to start somewhere right?

Now we have seven small beds in half our back yard.  It's fenced off to keep the noisy dogs from getting into everything. First we had chicken wire, then white plastic fencing and now we had graduated to real metal fencing.  There is a mail box right outside the gate that is filled with our quick need gardening supplies such as clear plastic bags, hand spades, mini cutters, twist ties and gardening gloves.  It's our old mail box from a few years back.  I saw the idea on some garden show years ago and stored that idea away for another time.  

I would have hated to throw this box away so here it is.  It opens from both sides.  When mail started disappearing in our neighborhood, we opted for a locked mailbox.  This one got moved to the backyard for more use.

Here is the loaded down box.  It does come in handy.  Why should I store plastic bags for the yard under the kitchen sink when they are just as safe here and closer to the source where they will be used.

We decided that our water bill could not stand to be any higher than what it was.  I saw water barrels on a gardening show and decided we should give them a try.  We have five in all and are going to add two more if possible.Each one holds a different amount of water anywhere from 50 gallons and on up.  The down spout from the gutter empties into one main barrel which is then connected to all the others for overflow.  I have to say whatever it saves in our water bill, it sure takes it's toll on toting water back and forth to the garden.  If we had been smart we would have made our garden on the side of the house with the barrels.  The next garden will have more thought into it...I hope.  

We wanted to do some composting so here is the lone barrel.  We want to have one or two more but we are trying to decide where we can put them.  

Last year we had to order 1500 lady bugs to get rid of aphids.   We had stressed the plants by putting them too close together so we cut our tomato plants by half and they seem to be doing much better this year.  There are five plants in the bed.  They are loaded down with tomatoes this year.  Last year, it was touch and go.

This is bed #2.  There are potato plants in here as well as birdhouse gourds on a trellis.  Last year we had a hard time with the gourds not producing, but this year they are going crazy.  

Bed #3 has one tomato plant, one basil plant and the rest are green beans.  We eat a lot of green beans.  

In the foreground there are two containers loaded with carrots.  We tried them in the ground once and got the stubbiest little carrots so we decided two years ago to do them in pots.  It's worked really well this way so this might be the only way we get carrots.  They are taller than they ever have been.  So we shall see.

Beds #4&5 are both loaded with more green beans but the trellis has one penguin gourd plant. We tried sprouting others but they just never came up.  This one is going really well.  I will be excited to see happens to it as the summer goes on.

This is just another angle of the same beds above.  You can't see it but there is a little path between two small beds.  

This is bed #6.  It looks kind of strange because it has Jacob's Cattle beans (on the far end).  They are dried beans.  We plant them and leave them alone until fall.  They dry right in the bed and then when they are brown, I go collect them and pop them onto a cookie sheet and let them dry the rest of the way in the house.  Then when they are super hard, they go into a jar for eating this winter.  The other half of the bed has red potatoes and some really small bell pepper plants.  They are no doing so well so I am thinking we are not going to get bell peppers this year.  

Bed #7 is our lost bed.  Yes, I said lost.  We are not sure what this bed is supposed to be.  We had asparagus last year and left them alone.  This year only half the ferns came up.  We have never grown them before so I am not exactly what has happened.  The plants in the front are Boston Bib lettuce and some other mix that is going to see now.  This bed needs to be used better so I planted some kind of trumpet vine that hummingbirds will love and it will grow over it and give it some shade.  I think we are going to relocate the asparagus to some other bed because this one will be shady eventually.  I can grow more lettuce in this one, I think.

This is just a long planter where I used burlap when the coconut lining fell apart.  It works perfectly.  I have three that have the burlap lining.

So that is our city garden right now.  I think we are going to build the beds up and a few more boards in the fall.  I would like taller beds.  My back is killing me!  I will be back when we have more things from the garden to show.  

Butterflies

I have been experimenting with all the paper I have accumulated over this past year for the business.  I copied a pattern from Pinterest and have been trying to get it to work for what I want it for.  I finally finished the first prototype.  This is not a huge post but I did want you all who come and read, that I have not forgot about blogging.  

Yesterday I got a friend, Juanita, to put my Etsy shop on my Facebook page.  I am hoping that it will give my business more exposure and eventually more sales.  I don't think anyone with an Etsy shop would ever turn down more business!  I know I sure wouldn't.

Garden Update:  I picked our green bean plants within an inch of their life and thought I would skip two days and then see how the garden was going.  Much to my surprise, I picked at least another pound of beans.  I have to get those ready to give to my next door neighbor.  They are always so nice to us and I am in love with the dog, so they get some garden love.

So that's it for today.  Of course there will be a Wordless Wednesday picture for tomorrow.  Haven't decided what yet, but there will be one! 

The pattern for this mobile came from Pinterest

A picture of Quilled butterflies

These are what I made from looking at the photograph above.  I haven't done anything with these guys yet, but hopefully they will be used in a project for my business. I am trying to come up with new Quilled items to sell in my shop and to sell at craft show this fall for the Christmas shopping crowd. If you have any ideas you would like to see quilled or in a mobil, leave me a comment.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

First Green Bean Harvest Summer of 2013

Yield: 2 pounds

Swaying in the wind

Ever since I was a kid I have loved mobiles.  That is why I only own three; two of which are in the house.  I know my obsessive personality would have them hanging everywhere.  I have seen houses where the whole yard was covered in them.  For me it's like doing a presentation on a client's plate; less is more.  

I made this mobile with basic directions from this site.  I already made the charms you hang on purses and key chains.  Maybe a mobile would be possible?  I wanted to combine all artsy things that I love into one item.  So this one combines three.  The first is a mobile, second is jewelry making and the third is Zentangling.   

Here's how I did it.  I took a heart rubber stamp I already had on hand and stamped it a billion times on a piece of card stock that I had randomly painted.  I tried to create a different tangle in each heart but after a while I found this to be more work than what I wanted to do.  So there are duplicates of many of them.  I assembled them like the charms.  I cut them out and then punched holes at the top and the bottom of each heart. 

I didn't know how this was going to turn out so I didn't want to make the foundation circle too large.  I used a large gauge wire to make the foundation circle and then wrapped it with smaller wire.  I went back and took seed beads and wrapped them on the foundation circle.  The reason I use the seed beads is to keep the hanging items from slipping around and causing the mobile to list from one side to the other.  

Jump rings were used as well as some wire links and everything was assembled.  I wanted to make sure the hearts had enough weight so they would hang well.  They are extremely light.  So I added one bead at the bottom of each heart.  It's a time consuming project but worth it in the end.  I would like to perfect this idea and then sell them in my Etsy shop.  

Here is the whole mobile hanging.  I have some adjustments to make on the top but that shouldn't take very long to do.

Here is a closer picture so you can see the Tangles on the hearts.

You can see the backs of some of the hearts in this picture.  

If you have any ideas on how I can improve this, give me a shout in the comment section.  I have a ton more hearts that are ready and waiting to be turned into a mobile.

Wordless Wednesday

First Lavender Harvest 2013

Diva Challenge #123

Since taking a Zentangle class I have been doing it everyday.  I have filled up one book and one -third into another book.  I decided that just looking at my work wasn't enough.  I need to see and be inspired by others who love doing this as much as I do.  So I took the plunge and entered myself into a challenge issued here.  

So here is the challenge for this week...The challenge for this week is: can you do a Zentangle without  using existing patterns or tangeleations* of them? And what are your experiences while doing so?  

Being so new at doing this, I am not really sure what makes something an official Zentangle and what makes it just a run of the mill doodle?  Many people who do Zentangling have doodled for years.  I am one of those people so that line between what is a Zentangle and what is doodling is a bit blurry.  

The challenge was to come up with something that is not an existing pattern or a variation of an existing pattern.  I think it would be harder if you had been doing this for a while.  Your mind is wrapped around remembering different patterns. I found myself sitting and starring at the square and thinking before I put pen to paper.  This seems counter intuitive to me since Zentangling is supposed to be free flowing and relaxing.  Towards the end, it was relaxing but trying not to do something I had seen on Pinterest, Facebook and in a book, was a true challenge.  

Here is my entry for challenge #123.

 I called this pattern Elongated Tulips. I have no idea if there such a pattern.  I thought the challenge was a genuine challenge.  

 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Provence Lavender

The Charmed Life

I have so many interests that it's a bit overwhelming when people ask me what I do.  I have tried to use more than one hobby to enhance another.  What I am about to post about is the perfect example of this.  I have been making jewelry, paper beads, paper bead jewelry, quilling and now learning the art of Zentangle.  I wanted to combine two of those hobbies together and I think I have figured out a way to do that with Zentangle and jewelry making.  These aren't officially "jewelry".  These are to suitcases, zippers and key chains as stitch markers are to knitting.  It's  jewelry for your stuff.  Don't understand?  Look below.

I am sorry these are turned this way.  I did change the photo to make them where you can see them but for some reason they reverted back.  I can't see to figure out how to change them.

I can't make something and not doing some knitting pictures.  I might be knitting much these days, but I still love to knit.

These are charms.  They were all hand drawn and painted by either watercolor, watercolor pencils or makers.  They are pretty small and each has a chain that you can attach them to a suitcase, a zipper or your key chain.  

This is what most of the backs look like.  They are covered in a metal that is able to go through a Cuddlebug.  I have painted them like in the video and then sanded them.  It just gives them some depth.

The chains to attach the charms are from Tim Holtz and can be purchased at AC Moore and Michael's.  I think that package ran me $4.99.  The charms package can be purchased at the same two stores.  They are different sizes and shapes.  There are forty of them in a package and cost $9.99.  I hate paying full price so I use my coupons to always get at least 40% off. I have nearly 100 of them done but still need more chains.  I will be selling them in the fall at the craft shows along with the jewelry and quilling I make.  They will run anywhere from $1.00-5.00.  I will not be posting them on Etsy because it's just not cost effective.  If you are interested in any of these, give me a shout and I will make arrangements with you to get them.video where I learned to make them.  Mine are different from hers but the concept is still the same.  They would make cute little gift tags for Christmas gifts.  You could put someone's name on it and then they can attach it to their key ring later.

 They were super easy to make and they are so much fun.  If you are not art inclined then you can paste something on the charms instead of drawing something like I did.  You will have a great time doing these!

Wordless Wednesday

Wanted:  Humming Birds

Trading Cards

Since discovering Zentangle, I have bought about eight or nine books mostly written by Suzanne McNeill.  I read in one book about how people (Zentangle artist and artist in general, I think) use Artist Trading Cards.  Cards can be a series or each can be different.  I stumbled on to them at Jerry's and decided I wanted to try them.  So last week when I should have been doing so many other things, I created my own artist trading cards.  I will put all of the ones I have made so far.  I have my favorites but won't tell you until later which ones I favor.  

 Leaves and Sky

 Purple Tulips

 Flight

 Happy Yellow

 Betwix and Betweed

 Confusion

 Garden

Betweed

Each card can have a mixture of Micron pens, watercolor paints, watercolor pencils, and a shading pencil.  I sprayed a Workable Fixative so that nothing will rub off or run.  I found the trading cards in Bristol board, Watercolor paper and there was another kind of paper which totally escapes me now but they all measure 2.5X3.5 inches.  They don't fit into a business card case so if you carry any of these with you; it will require a special case.  I read that people give them names, number them, then put down the artist name and I think a state.  So there are my first attempts to tangling Artist Trading Cards.  I have three packets of them; two in watercolor paper and one in bristol board.  Each packet has ten blanks.  I have no idea who I will give these to but just thought it was such a cool idea.  What do you all think?

Problems

I had plans to post pictures for Wordless Wednesday and do posts but my desktop has been having problems.  We spent all of Memorial Day Monday, backing up, wiping  out and trying to reload things to the desktop.  Some things went well, and so not so much.  All the pics are on the desktop.  I am using hub's laptop so nothing is getting done for the time being.  I just wanted to leave a note to let you all know I wasn't trying to disappear for a year again; just until the desktop is squared away.  Hopefully things will be done soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

This is an owl created by the artist Jo Corso.  She sat next to me in my Zentangle class.

Tomato Smoothie

Mr. Hunter/Gatherer and I have been playing at being Mr. and Mrs. Farmer Brown for the last few years.  We have a nice sized backyard so we are able to have a garden, a deck, a little room for five water barrels and the three dogs.  Every year we either add a new water barrel or we add a new bed in the garden.  We aren't able to add to the garden this year but I have a feeling there will be a new water barrel for front lawn watering.

Our garden consists of six raised beds of different sizes and shapes.  We rotate our crops and we even try to compost as much as we can in our one compost barrel.  Composting is slow and some of our crops have suffered because we did not realize just how often we should be giving them extra nutrients.  One example of that, is our tomatoes. 

We love having slicing tomatoes for sandwiches but mostly we love those little Romas so we can either can or freeze them for later use.  Last year I didn't get very many from the eight plants we had.  We had bottom rot.  I have also seen it called BER (Bottom End Rot).  I pin loads of things on Pinterest on a daily basis and have seen a few home remedies for this, so this year I tried the Tomato Smoothie (this is my term).

For many months now I have been saving all the coffee grounds from my Espresso machine and my eggs from cooking on the weekends.  I have a small bowl by the coffee machine and save the "pucks" until the bowl gets full and then dump them all into a gallon freezer bag along with any eggs.  I keep the bag in the freezer so one, it won't stink and two, it takes a while to save up enough to make a Tomato Smoothie.  Here is how I did it...

 Here is the one gallon bag with the eggs and coffee grounds.  I thawed them out before I did the next step.  It took overnight before that whole bag thawed.  I had two bags saved up.

At first I tried putting everything into the dry grind pitcher for the Vita Mix thinking it would blend it down into a nice coffee/egg powder.  Nope. The grounds were too dense to let the machine do it's job. The Vita Mix put up a fight.  I didn't want to burn out the motor so I added water to loosen it up.  That was fine until I figured out I couldn't get the whole gallon bag into the smaller container. 

 What a mess!

 As you can see it was not a nice clean operation.  I deployed every tool in my arsenal to get the job done.  I had coffee splattered everywhere on my white cabinets.  Ugh!

 Finally, I switched to the larger pitcher and added way more water.  The contents of the blue bucket is two gallon bags beaten to a pulp which created a texture similar to a smoothie or a nice brownie mix.

 Farmer Brown went outside and stirred the mixture up and then poured it around the tomato plants.  We had to hurry because it was going to rain and we wanted that stuff to go to the roots.

 Here is the Tomato Smoothie poured on the ground.  Yummy!

 Then it was blended into the area around each of the plants.  It did rain but we won't know for a while if this worked.  I have never tried this before but if nothing else it made a nice liquid compost for the tomatoes and an odd blog post.  I will let you know as the summer goes on if this worked.  I am not sure how often we should be doing this but I have a new bag of eggs and coffee pucks started in the freezer.

 

Art and Soul 2013

I found out about Art and Soul over a year ago.  I went with some friends to their vendor night and really wasn't that impressed.  I had no idea what the big deal was...until I attended this year.  I went to a site where I do business and they have a craft show alert that tells you all the craft shows and classes in your zip code.  For grins and giggles I keyed in my zip code and Art and Soul popped up.  I went to their site and read about all the classes they were having and decided there was one that I really wanted to take.  I had been doing this craft my whole life as many have.  So I signed up for the class and spent eight hours at a hotel conference room full of kindred spirits; crazed crafters wanting to know more about this new hot phenomenon...Zentangle.

Zentangle has been around for a while.  I have seen it on Pinterest and even created a board for it.  There are some really creative pictures on the board.  So taking the class helped me understand what the fuss was all about.  Many people who use Zentangle are scrapbookers and art journalers.  I am neither.  Well until now...

When I got home from the class, I could hardly wait to get some books and dive more into this following.  So I ordered four books from Amazon written by the woman who taught my class, Suzanne McNeill, CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher).  I looked for books that Suzanne wrote to give me a good start.  I ordered Zentangle Basics, Zentangle 2, Zentangle 3 and 8.  Suzanne has written eight books on Zentangle so far.  She mentioned at the class that 9 and 10 are in progress.  I am hoping I dropped enough hints to hubby about filling in the gaps.  We shall see!

I bought my first art journaling book, pens and watercolor pencils to get myself started.  I have been having such a great time.  It's so relaxing and doesn't have to make sense to anyone but me.  Here are my first efforts.

This is my very first Zentangle.  It's rough but it was so much fun.  There have been a ton more since class.  I can't post all of them now, so I will post bit by bit.

While I am not a huge fan of drawing owls, this was our second effort.  I got a bit carried away but I did learn some things.  Just as in cooking, sometimes, less is more.

This  our third project.  We used a punch in the middle of the card.  This is the front of the card.

This is the inside.  The color comes from watercolor pencils that the lady who sat next to me let me use.  She has been doing Zentangle for a while.  She had books that were well worn and she knew what she was doing.

 

So this is the beginning of art journaling that will turn into something else I am sure.  Well it already has but I will save that for another post.  If you are a chronic doodler, give this a try.  All those doodles that you have been doing your whole life, have been given names and put into books.  If you want to see some amazing pictures and you are on Pinterest, key in the word Zentangle and see what pops up.  You can find all kinds of beautiful applications for Zentangle besides on paper.  Just Google it and see what happens. You will be amazed and inspired.