This is How My Garden Grows (May 2013 Update)

I have been so busy lately that I have been horrible at weeding my garden, and planting seeds this spring. Thankfully rhubarb doesn't take much care so I already made a rhubarb pie!

The raspberries are trying to take over the whole garden area. I've been pulling shoots out of every section lately. The bees are busy pollinating, which is what I like to see! There are already too many berries starting to grow that I can't count them all. :) In the picture, don't mind the patch of dandilions that currently occupy the raised bed.

This year I'm trying out those Topsy Turvy tomato growers. I hope that having them in a sunnier spot will produce more red tomatoes instead of being left with a bunch of green tomatoes in the fall. A bonus is that while out for a walk around the neighborhood a couple weeks ago, I found a table with FREE tomato starts! I'm Dutch, so anything free is awesome!

Another new addition to my garden this year is the strawberry tower. I got the idea when I was on a field trip to Seattle Tilth with my pre-k class. I figured it would be easy enough to DIY so I drew a mock up on Google SketchUp first, and then handed the plans over to my Dad. Thanks to Stacy for the strawberry starts to put in it! I'll transplant the rest of my strawberry plants after they finish producing fruit this summer.

Last but certainly not least, is my flower bed. Which has actually been getting more attention lately than the garden. I noticed dahlia shoots coming up so I weeded around them. I had to cut/pull out some of the vinca ground cover to give the dahlias and iris more space to grow! I aslo took out the sticks that were supposedly supporting them as they grew, and replaced them with tomato cages since I won't be needing those this summer. A nice addition of rabbit poop fertilizer, and they're growing wonderfully. Now if only the slugs would stay away from them. :(

I'm hoping that blogging about my garden gives me more motivation to finish weeding so I can plant more. What have you planted in your garden this spring? What would you like to grow in your garden?

DIY Laundry Detergent Update & Pictures

Happy New Year! Every year I make the goal to post more often, and in 2013 I'm hoping I'll do better than I did in 2012 or 2011. I like posting about crafts I do with my class. It seems the most traffic to my blog is from Pinterest (thanks!) to craft projects I've done. So I'll try to post more of those, too! Since it's been awhile since I posted I've got a few posts ready to go already so here I go...

About a year ago I posted about my little adventure making laundry detergent after I broke out in hives. I'm happy to report that I'm still using the same box of Borax & Washing Soda, and I just finished the big pack of soap I bought at Target. I was making a single batch every few months, but when my Mom got hives too (she still used a generic detergent) I've had to start making a double batch each time since it's being used more often.

Here are some pictures to demonstrate how it's done:

One batch uses 1 bar of soap (I use Up & Up Sensitive Skin but any kind will work), 1/2 cup Borax, and 1/2 cup Washing Soda.

 

Start by finely grating the soap into a bowl.

 Add the Borax

Add the Washing Soda

Mix it together and you're ready to do laundry!

If you're new to my blog please follow me! Also, I love your comments and feedback. :)

Versatile Blogger Award

Looking at my blog traffic sources the other day I found a blog address among the usual Pinterest and Google searches. So I clicked on it and it took me here.


Turns out she was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award, and listed my blog as one that she nominates for the award. Thank you Stitchknit for the nomination!! Up until now I never knew there were awards for blogs. Like her I can knit & crochet better than doing things on my laptop so bear with me if not all the links work properly since I just learned how to use the link feature. There are a few rules that go along with being nominated:

• Thank the person that nominated you...check
• Link back to their blog...check
• Tell that person 7 things about yourself
• List 15 blogs you follow & nominate for the award

Here are 7 things about me:

1. Living in Seattle, Starbucks coffee is a necessary part of life. I'm a proud Gold card holder! My favorites are the Salted Caramel Mocha in the fall/winter, and either the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino or the Green Tea Frappuccino in the spring/summer.
2. As I've written about on my blog, I love to garden! I find that pulling weeds is a great way to decompress after I get home from work.
3. I love creating! Anything really it doesn't matter if it's knitting, crochet, sewing, card making, scrapbooking, or making sample crafts for my pre-k class.
4. I like to travel, but wish I had more time and money to do so (who doesn't?). My favorite trip so far was to Hana, HI on Maui.
5. Also previously seen on my blog, I have two adorable rabbits. Although I admit Teacup is in the spotlight more often since she's only a year old, and is very curious. Pumpkin is older, blind, and is content to snuggle (which I don't mind).
6. I love to cook and bake! Experimenting in the kitchen is one of my favorite things to do. I admit that not all of my adventures have turned out like I thought (for example the chocolate peanut butter pillows I found on Pinterest), and I admit sometime there are tears. It doesn't stop me though.
7. Lastly, I'm addicted to Pinterest! I know I've mentioned it here before, but it's true and I'm not ashamed to say it.

Now for 15 blogs I follow and nominate:

1. Decorating with Lola! 
2. Moore Babies 
3. Thrifty Decor Chick 
4. Skinnytaste 
5. Longing for Home 
6. Julie's Stamping Station 
7. Happy Dog Buttons 
8. The Dainty Daisy 
9. The Purl Bee 
10. Never Not Knitting 
11. Speckled Owl Studio 
12. Make It and Love It 
13. On the Refrigerator Door 
14. House of Smith's 
15. A Friend to Knit With 

 Okay, I think all the links will work. A note to the nominees: you're not obligated to accept, but I highly recommend that you do since I've have fun doing writing this post. :)

Pinterest Challenge No. 1

One of my favorite blogs that I follow is Young House Love. Last week they came up with a Pinterest Challenge (details found here: http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/07/another-unsuccessful-attempt-to-keep-it-cool/). I'm addicted to pinning things on Pinterest, and especially LOVE finding new crafts and recipes. So I decided to try a new recipe, and it turned out to be delicious! Here's my original pin for Sopapilla Cheesecake: http://pinterest.com/pin/83769872/ (the link to the recipe is in the top right corner). And the picture above is my success! I made only half a recipe since a whole 9"x13" pan of this would completely reverse my efforts to work out. Anyways, it made the house smell lovely and tastes just good.

Here's the link for YHL's completed challenge: http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/08/320-pins/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YoungHouseLove+%28Young+House+Love%29

I'll let you know when the next one happens so you can join in on the fun!

A Few Changes

First of all, I hope everyone is enjoying the latest Etsy feature!

Second, I added 2 new tabs above the posts for you to enjoy. I've talked about how much I LOVE treasuries as a way to discover new Etsy shops, and the talent everyone has. So now I found an app on Etsy that generates a HTML code for treasuries. One tab is treasuries a few of my items have been featured in, and the other is treasuries I've created. I'm hoping both lists will grow so be sure to check them from time to time and discover new Etsy talent.

That's all for today, and thanks for reading!

Re-design

I've been reading other blogs and getting tips on how to add things to my blog. So things might look a little different now. I'd love your feedback if you like or don't like the changes.