Store bought grapevine wreaths are not that expensive but if you have vines growing in your garden they are a family-friendly start to a weekend project.
21 Handmade Mother’s Day Gift Ideas for Garden-Loving Moms
May 3, 2012 By 8 Comments
Moms love to get handmade presents from their children. The time and love that goes into creating the present exudes priceless thought and consideration. Whether you’re 2 or 42, here are 21 handmade gift ideas sure to brighten her day.
For moms who love the garden you can surprise her with garden-inspired creations like 1. Block Printed Tea Towels, 2. a Hanging Globe Terrarium 3. Lavender Sachets 4. Serenity Now! DIY Lavender Eye Pillows, or 5. a Salad Bowl Terrarium.
Some moms need a little pampering. Whip up some of these recipes from the Natural Skincare Series and present it in a vintage mason jar. 6. Easy Homemade Bath Salts, 7. DIY Bath Bombs, 8. Simple Sugar Scrub, 9. Cold-Process All-Natural Handmade Soap, 10. Hemp & Honey Lip Balm, 11. Mango Citrus Body Butter
…
If making crafts just isn’t your thing here are some gorgeous handmade items available on Etsy that any gardening mom would love. UPDATE: a few shops are offering discounts to Garden Therapy readers which is listed after the item link – woo woo!
12. Spring Garden Grass Green Half Demi Half Apron $30.00 (Use Coupon Code GARDENTHERAPY and save 15% on aprons and other stuff in http://www.akitschykitchen.com shop), 13. Keep Calm Spoon Plant Garden Marker $10.00, 14. Mini Patio Mix Kit For Miniature Gardens $16.95
15. Garden Therapy Handmade Sunflower Photo Print Pillow $80.00 (use code SPRING for 10% off), 16. Coin purse – Autumn Patchwork print $23.00, 17. Green Leaf Earrings $22.50, 18. Fabric Flower Brooch Pin Yellow Poppy $10.00, 19. Oat and Poppy Scrub Soap $10.00
20. DIY Succulent Wreath Kit $45.00.
21. While these modern plant labels from aHa! Modern Living aren’t handmade, they are just too adorable to not be included.
Participating in these link parties: Between Naps on the Porch, Tip Junkie, Not Just a Housewife , The Thrifty Home, Savvy Southern Style, Delightful Order, My Romantic Home, Funky Junk Interiors, Under the Table Dreaming, Nifty Thrifty Things.
DIY Summer Blooms Garden Apron
March 17, 2012 By 13 Comments
This cheery garden apron combines the functionality to keep your tools and supplies close at hand while adding a bright lift to early spring days. The vibrant bright pattern will be right at home in the summer but for now–as spring arrives–it provides inspiration for a summer filled with gorgeous blooms.
This apron has large, deep pockets so you can fill them with seed packets, plant labels, and various tools. It is quite wide, so that you can fill the side pockets with all sorts of stuff, and still bend over to dig without getting stabbed in the belly by a weeding fork (!). I also made a loop to hold my pruners off to the side so I can draw them quickly when encountering a showdown with unruly branches. I like my ties to be extra long so they tie in the front with lots room to make a pretty bow.
Here’s how to make your own.
Materials:
Sturdy weight fabric – plain for apron back, pattern for pockets, waistband, and sash cut as follows:
- 1 – 20” x 14 plain colour fabric for apron back
- 1 – 23” x 10” patterned fabric for apron pockets
- 1 – 20” x 4” patterned fabric for waist band
- 2 – 42” x 4” patterned fabric for long, wraparound sashes
Directions:
1. Cut all fabric to the dimensions listed to make a ladies’ large apron. Adjust size up or down to fit. Hem the two short sides of the back fabric, the top and bottom won’t matter, and hem the top edge of the pocket. Using a glass, cut rounded corner on the bottom corners of both the back fabric and the pocket fabric.
2. Lay the larger pocket cut of fabric on the back fabric, and pin 3 pleats along the bottom edge so that the pocket fabric now is the same width as the back. Sew pleats with a double stitch about 1 ½” up from the bottom.
3. Place the back fabric with hem facing upward, and then lay the pocket fabric facing downward on top. Pin and sew along the side and bottom edges. Turn right side out and make a decorative stitch along the sides and bottom of the apron. Sew two straight lines to create the pocket dividers.
4. To make the sashes, fold the fabric strips in half lengthwise and inside out. Sew the two long ends together making a long tube. Turn tube right side out with a chopstick and some patience. Fold the ends of the sashes inward and stitch to finish the ends.
5. Sew each sash to the top sides of the waistband. Iron the waistband in half, and then fold over each end by ¼”. Fold waist band over the top edge of the back fabric and covering the two sides where the sashes are attached. Sew along the bottom and sides to secure and along the top edge for continuity.
6. Make a loop to hold pruners or other tools by folding a 2” x 5” long cut of fabric lengthwise and folding the edges in. Sew top bottom and sides to secure the “ribbon”. Attach to apron back by sewing the right end to the apron back, then sewing the same end 1” to the right. Loop the ribbon around to the other side, sew the left end near the right end, and then again sew 1” to the left of the third line.
Thanks for visiting for the weekend project!
DIY Plantable Seed Paper = Valentine’s Day Cards
February 11, 2012 By 16 Comments
What’s better than a gift that sprouts up beautiful flowers or yummy veggies when planted? For this weekend project you’ll make plantable seed paper then turn it into Valentine’s day cards.
Materials:
- 8-10 sheets of shredded paper
- 1 packet of seeds
- 1 heaping tbsp dried lavender or other dried flowers / leaves
- Old towels, strainer, blender
- Stencils or cookie cutters of woodland creatures
- Card stock
- Printer
- Scissor, glue, etc.
Directions:
1. Shred or tear up a bunch of paper. Scrap paper, old craft paper, anything without a glossy finish will work best. To get coloured paper like the pink shown in this project, add one sheet of shredded red paper to the mix. Place paper in a big bowl or the sink and soak in warm water for 45 minutes to an hour. The paper should be soft and break apart easily at the end of the hour.
2. Scoop paper into a blender, filled about halfway full and scoop a cup or so of the water it was soaking in into the blender. Pulse a few times until you get a mushy pulp like that shown here. Add more water as needed to get this consistency.
3. Pour pulp through a strainer to remove some of the moisture. Don’t squeeze it all out or your paper will not form together very well.
4. Add the seeds and dried flowers and gently mix. Shown here are lavender buds, bergamot petals, and dried mint leaves for flecks of interest in the paper. Radicchio, Rhubarb chard, and Alta Globe radishes are the seeds I have chosen as each will produce an edible red plant and they can be planted at the same time (started inside now and they can be moved to the garden once they have true leaves). Other good choices are flower mixes, like butterfly or bee blends that attract pollinators to the garden and produce a variety of flowers.
5. Set up a few towels on a flat surface where you can leave the paper for a day or more to dry. Dump the pulp out onto the towel and spread out gently patting paper. You can use a rolling pin to flatten the paper out a bit, but be gentle as to not crush the seeds or break the pulp. Leave undisturbed to dry.
6. Trace and cut out woodland creatures out of the dry seed paper. Decorate cards with cute messages and with a few little glue dots, affix seed paper critter. Include instructions on how to plant the seed paper by copy /pasting or writing the following on the card back:
The critter on this card is made of plantable seed paper containing radicchio, Rhubarb chard & Alta Globe radish seeds.
Directions for Planting
Rip seed paper into many small pieces and spread throughout the garden or in a pot filled with good potting soil. Cover with 1” of soil and water regularly until you get yummy veggies.
Draft Stoppers: How to Make DIY Door Socks
January 15, 2012 By 11 Comments
These DIY draft socks are super simple to make, inexpensive, and work well to stop the chilly drafts from under doors or from window sills.
Oh, and they are freakin’ adorable too! Here’s how to make your own.
Materials:
- Socks – pick nice long ones. Men’s woolly work socks are shown here, but knee socks would also be a great choice
- Dried popcorn
- Stuffing from old pillows, an old sweater, etc
- Fabric scrap
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
Directions:
1. Measure the length of the doorway or window you would like to use the draft sock on. Cut a length of fabric that is 1 inch longer than your measurement and 10 inches wide (you want the sock just slightly longer than the doorway, so it fits in snugly). Fold the fabric in half and pin. Using your sewing machine or needle and thread sew one end and the length of the fabric so that you have a long tube that is open at one end.
2. Fill tube alternately with dried popcorn and the stuffing you have chosen. Popcorn is used for weight, but it is also inexpensive and won’t go rancid like some other dried goods. The stuffing helps to give the sock a nice shape and insulates against the cold air. When the tube is really packed full all the way to the end, pin the end and sew it shut.
3. Turn socks inside out and sew the heels straight so that when the sock is covering the tube, the heels don’t protrude.
4. Pull the sock over your hand still inside out. Grab the end of the filled tube with your sock hand and unfold the sock over the tube.
5. Add the second sock of the pair to the other end, and overlap the first sock.
That’s it! An easy, cheap, effective, and stylish door sock in no time at all.
Garden Therapy Handmade: Now Open!
November 14, 2011 By 14 Comments
We are so proud to announce the launch of Garden Therapy Handmade on Etsy. This labour of love involved combining the passion for gardening, photography and home décor into one unique project: Studio Blooms.
But a harvest? Why, yes! Flowers were grown in our home garden, photographed in studio, then enlarged to mammoth proportions in order to showcase the magnificent details of each individual flower. The photographs were digitally designed to be giclee printed on a beautiful linen-cotton canvas and sewn to perfection. Little details like expensive hidden zipper closures and feather/down inserts were taking into account. Then each one was hand washed, dried, and ironed, ready to go to it’s new home.
Was it easy? Um, well, no. There were months of prints and reprints to get just the right detail to each inch of fabric. There was wash testing. There was cuddle testing (that was a particularly tough one). In the end, it was so worth it. We think these soft but durable pillows are the perfect art for the home. We hope that you agree!
Please visit the Garden Therapy Handmade store to check out all the designs, 9 in total. Favoriting, liking, tweeting, or any other social media sharing would be greatly, greatly appreciated and happily returned in kind. And thank you for your support.
DIY Rock Spiders
October 27, 2011 By 8 Comments
These airy little sculptures are simple made of stone and wire but they take on the feeling of movement by appearing to crawl, jump, hang, or run along like the real thing. In our garden there are many of these little critters crawling around the pots and plants. Here’s how to make them:
Materials
- decorative rocks approximately 2″ in diameter
- craft wire (choose a gauge that is pliable enough to bend around the rocks, but sturdy enough to hold them up)
- needle-nose pliers
- wire cutter
- hot glue gun (optional)
.
Step 1:
Using the wire cutters, snip off 4 equal lengths of the wire 12″-20″ long. The longer the wire the longer the legs the spider will have.
.
Step 2:
Holding all 4 wires together, place the rock about 1/3 of the length of wire, and wrap the long ends around the rock.
.
Step 3:
Fold the other set of wires around the rock and twist with the needle-nose pliers to secure. You may also use a dab of hot glue at this stage to secure the wire to the underside of the rock.
.
Step 4:
Flip the rock over and spread out the 8 ends of wire. Using the piers to create a bend in the legs so that the spider can stand on it’s own 8 legs. You could also create a bend at the end of each leg to create little feet.
.
Step 5:
Place spiders around the garden but be careful they don’t get away…
.
Hey, get back here!
