Beyond A Garden

Wednesday's Wondering........Do You Know Of Any Other Creative Places To Hang A Swing?

2013-05-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

This swing is attached underneath stairs downtown Capitola Beach, California. My favorite hangout in high school -revisited.

This swing is attached to a board connected between two trees in Kenai, Alaska. I came across it while taking a walk last summer.

How To Make Lavender Guest Soaps With Melt And Pour

2013-04-30T16:33:00.000-06:00

Make these personal size soaps easily with melt and pour glycerin soap, lavender essential oil and lavender flower buds.

Melt glycerin soap in a glass Pyrex measuring cup, add the appropriate strength of lavender essential oil, stir and pour the melted soap onto a wax type paper.

Have the buds ready to sprinkle on the soap because it hardens quickly. Press in slightly with your fingers, if need be.

Within minutes the soap is ready to be cut with a metal cookie cutter or similar object.

I love this glass soap dish with lavender flowers that I purchased from a lady at the Farmer's Market in Willamette, Oregon. A perfect holder for the small soaps.

Wednesday's Wondering.....Do You Know Why One Shouldn't Put Daffodil's In An Arrangement With Other Flowers?

2013-04-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

In Flora's Dictionary: The Victorian Language of Herbs and Flowers (one of my favorite books) daffodil means chivalry, uncertainty, deceitful hope and regard.

Daffodil's secrete a fluid that promotes other flowers to wilt when mixed in a bouquet. If you want to add them to an arrangement, cut the daffodil stem and soak overnight to release some of the toxins.

I grew these bright yellow daffodils then simply cut, bunched the stems together, tied then placed in an aluminum container. I put smooth rocks around the stems to hold in place and added water.

For more information about daffodils go to The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Wednesday's Wondering.....Do You Know What To Add Garlic Chives To When Cooking?

2013-04-17T19:37:00.000-06:00

When I harvested garlic chives from my garden,

soups and salsas is where they ended up.

How have you used them in your cooking?

Seeds of Change S17175 Certified Organic Nira Garlic Chives

One of my favorite places to get seeds.

Wednesday's Wondering.....Do You Know The Plant Speick (valerina celtica)?

2013-04-10T21:14:00.001-06:00

Last week I was going through items that were given to me after my grandma died in 2003 and came across this 2 inch guest soap from Germany. Thinking back, I remember she was in Germany when my brother was born which makes this piece of soap almost 50 years old. When I searched the Internet for Speick I found the company and they are still making soap. The roots of the Valerina celtica contain the essential oil which is an ingredient in the soap. The aroma of the oil is a combination of chamomile and patchouli.

Irises With Sweet Aroma Dried For An Arrangement

2013-04-06T07:38:00.002-06:00

These dried flowers are Sweet Lena Irises that I let dry on the stems before I cut them last year. This past winter they made a decorative arrangement in this deep purple hand blown glass vase I purchased years ago.

Lena Irises from MaryJanesFarm are growing in my garden again this year. When you bend down and inhale the aroma is sweet and alluring.

Originally posted June 16, 2009 when I had my garden.

Wednesday's Wondering.......Do You Know The Names Of These Common Herbs?

2013-04-03T06:18:00.000-06:00

The names of these common herbs?
Please leave your answers in the comments.
A lady in one of my classes knew them all!

(The background is for all the yellow Daffodils and Forsythia blooms I am seeing around town.)

Eggs Displayed In Wooden Thrift Store Find

2013-03-30T09:56:00.000-06:00

This container caught my eye at the thrift store. I lined it with a recycled plastic bag, filled it with soil and rye grass seeds. By the time the grass was in need of a trim I received a free carton of cage-free eggs from a local producer. A festive display was created. (Decorated or wooden eggs can be used as an alternative.) The four protruding posts could hang wool chick's or words that correspond with spring or Easter.

Egg's hiding on the farm where I received the free carton.

Flower Hair Note Cards With A Whimsical Twist

2013-03-29T10:01:00.000-06:00

Artwork With A Whimsical Flair By Grace Mendez

These cards by San Francisco Bay Area Art Coach Grace Mendez are refreshing. Send one of these unique cards to a friend who loves flowers, daydreams or just had a bad hair day!

Eggs Displayed In Painted Jars

2013-03-16T09:43:00.001-06:00

Love glass bottles and jars!!

My aunt sent these jars to me years ago knowing how I make concoctions with herbs and essential oils. (I think they came with corks.) My goal this year is to use all the things I have collected over the years and actually create the ideas I've been saving them for or think of another use. If nothing comes to mind, time to give the "things" away! Going with a spring theme, eggs rested perfectly in these jar's openings.

Purchased this paint sampler made by Americana Gloss Enamels which can be used on glass for a permanent, durable, gloss finish. This project was simple and quick which I like.

Clean the glass with alcohol.

Roll the paint on only the 4 sides with a sponge roller.

Air cure for 21 days or bake after drying 48 hours.

To bake put the painted jars in the oven (I put the jars on a cookie sheet.) then heat the oven to 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Allow jars to cool in oven.

Looking for some kind of decoration for the eggs in my stash I found these decals. I cut out the desired designs and rubbed one on each egg with a popsicle stick.The fresh eggs in the picture will soon rot, but this idea could be used with boiled or fake eggs. Small blooms in the jars would be a nice spring table decor also.

Sea Glass Scented With Essential Oils

2013-03-10T22:30:00.000-06:00

Relaxing Essential Oils Blend

Grapefruit (citrus paradisi) 20 drops

Orange (citrus sinensis) 10 drops

Lavender (lavandula angustifolia) 8 drops

Geranium (plutonium graveolens) 4 drops

Ylang Ylang (cananga odorata) 4 drops

Mix a few drops of the essential oil blend with the sea glass in a glass bowl or put a few drops of the blend directly on the sea glass.

Beyond A Beach - Sea Glass Switch Plate

Hearts From Nature

2013-02-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Source: photofiddle.com via Desiree on Pinterest

These hearts were designed from items in my “creative” box. The box is a place where I keep things that spark my interest .The "things" come from my garden, nature walks, thrift store purchases and various other places.

MagCloud's February Newsletter got my creative juices flowing. They are asking for photo submissions of hearts using Instagram for a poster they are going to print. I ended up creating four hearts, then turned the pictures into a collage at Photofiddle Artwork.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Stationary Made With Herb Calendars

2013-02-07T14:10:00.001-07:00

This post is an excerpt from a blog article I wrote for the Herb Companion, now Mother Earth Living magazine.

Envelopes And Note Cards Made Out of Calendar Pictures

1.Take an envelope of any size, carefully unglue the edges and open it up to a flat position.

2. Place the opened envelope on a calendar picture where it would look best as a finished envelope. Trace and cut out on the lines, fold and crease to make the calendar envelope.

3. Close the bottom part of the envelope using double stick runner tape. Put a tape strip on each side of the closure flap and leave the extra paper strip on the tape until you use the envelope.

4. To make matching note paper cut out some of the designs or pictures from the scraps and glue them on blank stationery that fits in the envelope.

Envelope

Front of Envelope

(Stick an Avery Easy Peel Mailing Label on the front to address the envelope.)

Inside Note Card

Lavender Flowers On Chocolate Cake

2012-07-30T18:04:00.000-06:00

If you are fortunate to still have lavender flowers in your yard or garden, now would be a good time to cut and press some for projects this winter. I used some flowers that I pressed last year to decorate this chocolate cake made from scratch. Next time I would position them on the cake to look like a bunch.

Lavender Flower Cookie Recipe

2010-07-30T19:43:00.000-06:00

Easily make these cookies with organic ingredients (except baking soda). They are readily available and not to expensive. There is even organic vodka for making Pure Lavender Extract.

2/3 cup unsalted butter (softened)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt (sea)

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon lavender extract

2 cups flour

Icing optional

In a large bowl beat butter for 30 seconds with a mixer, add sugar, baking soda, salt. Beat until combined. Beat in egg, milk and lavender extract until combined. Beat in flour slowly. Chill for 30 minutes, if necessary for easy handling. Roll half the dough at a time on a floured surface and cut out with cookie cutters. I used a cookie press for the cookies in the photograph. Place on a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are slightly brown.

Recipe By Desiree Bell

Jacaranda Tree Seed Pod Stingray's

2010-07-15T16:46:00.000-06:00

These creatures from the sea were made from seed pods of the JACARANDA TREE.

While visiting my brother in Southern California,I admired this Jacaranda tree in his backyard. I picked up some seed pods off the ground and they automatically looked like stingray's to me.

Not thinking why that thought immediately came to mind, it clicked later that day. I had been to the Long Beach Aquarium the day before and watched stingrays swim and feed in a outdoor pool.

Simply glue on some movable eyes and it becomes a stingray.

Bees Made With Chenille Stems (Pipe Cleaners)

2010-04-01T17:42:00.000-06:00

Bees are one of my favorite insects, not only for the honey they produce but the buzzing sound they make while traveling from blossom to blossom collecting pollen.

To make the bees cut both the yellow and dark brown pieces of 12 inch chenille stems in half. Hold one color of each 6 inch stem together and twist around a fat pen to make one body.

Take the other 6 inch piece of dark brown chenille stem and bend accordingly to create the wings. Glue the wings to the body by inserting between the pipe cleaners and glue on eyes.

As a pre-school teacher I made a bee for each child in my class. They put it on their finger and buzzed the room looking for pollen on fresh or artificial flowers which I had placed around the room. After landing on a flower and collecting pollen they would fly their bee back to the hive. This activity is also fun outside in the spring.

Charles Leonard Chenille Stems, 4 Mm x 12 Inch, Yellow, 100/Bag (65440)

Charles Leonard Chenille Stems, 4 Mm x 12 Inch, Brown, 100/Bag (65450)

Cupcakes Made In Orange Peels

2010-01-09T07:09:00.015-07:00

Having a box of oranges from the holidays that needed to be used I started squeezing them for orange juice.

Orange peels have so many uses and can be composted. Trying to decided what to do with the ones I just squeezed and in a baking mood, I went to the local grocer and purchased an organic cake mix and cage free eggs. Had organic milk at home. I try to purchase "organic" as much possible, but have to consider cost and what's available in town.

Mixed up the batter and filled the orange peel cupcake holders.

Baked according to the instructions on the box.

Made up a quick orange flavored frosting and decorated them with orange curls.

Note: You could scrape all the pulp out the orange peel so more batter could be placed in them. Time wise I left the pulp in them which also gave the cupcakes a slight orange flavor. The cupcake is small when removed from the orange peel. That's ok, now you can eat 2 or 3 of them. Orange you glad for this appealing idea!!!

For larger cupcakes try grapefruits.

Hens and Chicks Hairdo For The Lady

2010-01-03T13:46:00.015-07:00

Greetings To All For A More Sustainable Year!

A teacher where I work purchased this planter at a thrift store for her room, but the plant she had in it died, so she gave it to me and I've had it sitting on my shelf at home for a couple months.

While visiting the local Habitat For Humanity ReStore last month for an article I was writing for a local magazine there was a box of unplanted Hens and Chicks sitting on the counter that someone had brought in for reuse. Since they were dying the manager gave the box of them to me. I shared as many as I could. The rest have been sitting in the garage freezing. While on Christmas break garden fever set in and I decided they would make the perfect "hair" for the lady.

Sugar Made From Sugar Beets

2009-12-28T17:10:00.076-07:00

There is a distinct smell this time of year in the town I live. “Yek,” is what people say. The smell is the sugar beets being processed at the Amalgamated Sugar Company.

Trucks hauling beets from neighboring towns get off the freeway on their way to the sugar factory and some of the beets from the load fall to the side of the road. So I decided to go pick one up off the road and try making sugar for a sugar scrub. The beet I picked up is in the picture above and was 5 pounds.

Scrubed the dirty thing......

Sliced in half and peeled.

Cut into slices.

Shredded.

Added water...way to much.

Cooked until the shreds were sort of clear and the liquid tasted sweet.

Drained the liquid into a pot. Placed the pot on a burner with medium heat, hoping to crystalize the liquid like sugar. Since I put to much water in with the shreds it took hours to solidify.

After a couple days of drying it still wasn't granular.

So instead of using the 3/4 cup of beet sugar for my original idea, a sugar scrub, I made bannana muffins! The "sugar" tasted like beets, but used in the muffins the beet taste disappeared. Yea! It's one of the very few vegetables that I dislike. And the muffins tasted good!!

Decorated Aloe Vera Plant For Christmas

2009-12-24T16:56:00.004-07:00

The aloe vera plant I have in my master bathroom needed some cheer so I decorated it with fresh cranberries.

Merry Christmas
and Happy Holidays

Cornbread Baked In Cast Iron

2009-11-22T09:18:00.011-07:00

I found this cast iron ware at a thrift store and purchased it for $5.00. Thought it would be fun to make CORN bread "cobs" in it. They turned out a little dry, but they were festive and perfect to pick up with your fingers and eat with a nice bowl of hot soup.

Hollyhock Flowers Pressed And Decoupaged

2009-09-21T19:45:00.016-06:00

I cut and pressed some Hollyhock flowers are blooming in my garden.

I placed the hollyhocks between 2 pieces of paper, then put a piece of cardboard on top. Continue with as many layers as you like using a flower press like this one which was made for me from recycled wood, recycled cardboard and hardware.

This piece of wood was rescued from the garbage can. I drilled a hole through one side. Put a layer of Modge Pod on it then placed 6 of the pressed dried hollyhocks on it. Then carefully brushed a coat of Mod Podge on top of the flowers. Let them dry and put a wire through the drilled hole for hanging.

It didn't turn out the way I thought, but others have said, "this is neat, where did you get it." For now I've hung it on wall in my front living room where it fits with the decor.

This tin I decoupaged with one of the flowers. I like the way it looks, but the Mod Podge looks a bit sloppy on it. If the Mod Podge was brushed on the tin lid a little neater and maybe trimmed with something on the edge, a special gift could be placed inside.

Bird Nests Display

2009-09-07T20:29:00.016-06:00

I have found a few abandoned birds nests over the years and saved them to show children in my Pre-K class. Various people have given nests to me, also. Now I have about 14 nests from different birds. I wanted to display them, but did not want to pay a couple hundreds dollars to have them framed in a shadow box. When I was at a thrift store with my daughter, she saw this $4.00 box from a winery. Washed and rubbed the box with Murphy's Oil then put the nests in it. Hung a shelf on the dinning room wall, that my daughter was no longer using in her room. Placed the box of nests on it. Finally nests on display.

Placemat Scrapbook Cover

2009-08-25T14:11:00.017-06:00

I purchased 6 of these nature themed plastic placemats for 25 cents each from a thrift store. I am not a fan of the plastic, but I liked the print. They were to be used on my kitchen table, but slid off to easily. This is what I decided to do with them.

Fold in half and crease folded side with a ruler. Use paper clips to hold close.

Open and crease again and insert paper.

Staple folded side.

Slide on a report cover bar.

Sew a button on the top side of cover and one on the bottom side.

Leave enough string on the bottom side button to use as a closure.

Scrapbook or journal.