crafty little gnome

Window Box Basics

2013-05-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

I'm on a mission this spring to get my front yard cleaned up and looking pretty. Part of my plan was to install some window box planters under the three windows on the front of my house. I've got them installed and filled with some flowers. Now the hard part, waiting patiently for the flowers to grow and fill out the boxes and crossing my fingers I don't accidentally kill them in the meantime.

If there is one golden rule of window box planting or container gardening in general it is: Don't forget to water the plants!!!

It doesn't matter how much money or time you spend if you forget to water them your time and money will be wasted. If you take anything away from this post it is to make sure you water your window boxes. They will dry out a lot faster than the soil on the ground so you will probably need to water them everyday in the summer.

The Container
You can make or buy window boxes out of many different materials, the most common being wood, metal or various plastics. I thought about building my own but I really don't know anything about carpentry and now being 7 months pregnant isn't really a good time for me to start playing with power tools.

I purchased these iron planter boxes off Amazon. You can attach them under a window, hang them off a railing or secure them to a flat surface. Since we have so much rain here in the pacific northwest I opted for metal rather than wood to avoid rotting. These planters were more expensive that I would have liked but they should last forever, all I need to do is replace to coco liners.

If you live in a drier climate wood is a great option because it is cheap and if you are handy you can build your own!

Vinyl planters are lovely but extremely expensive. If you can afford the high price tag, go for it. They will last forever and look amazing.

If you are placing them under windows the length of the planter should be within a couple of inches of the window length. Our windows are deceivingly large so the only place I could find large enough ones was online.

The Plants

When choosing your plants the important thing is to make sure they are all compatible with each other and with the amount of sunlight they will be recieving. If you choose some plants that are shade loving and some that need full sun and place the box in in the sunniest part of the yard obviously the shade lovers will probably perish. Some plants do better in containers than others. Small annuals like geraniums and marigolds are great but anything that will grow into a small shrub or is invasive, like mint is best to avoid.

Herbs are great for small planters and window boxes and strawberry plants can also do really well in small containers.

For these boxes I chose petunias, sweet potato vine and dracaena.

If you are installing several boxes next to each other like mine it's a good idea to make sure they all have the same plants in them. It would look really odd if each planter had a different type of flower in them. You can go with one type of flower for all of the planters which can look really lovely or mix different plants in each one. Different textures look interesting and dramatic. If you are going to add spikey grasses like the dracaena, place them towards the middle or the back. Place vines like ivy or sweet potato vine in the front or ends to it can grow and trail over the sides.

Make sure the colors of the flowers you choose don't clash with surrounding plants. Originally I was thinking of planting red geraniums but there is a bright purple lilac tree growing next to the house and I didn't think red would go with that shade of purple. I decided on pink/purple tones for the petunias. Contrasting colors can look great if done right. Bright yellow would have looked great with the purple.

Here are some plants that usually do great in flower boxes:
Geranium
Sweet potato vine
Coleus
Salvia
Morning glories
Zinnias
Marigolds
Petunias

Maintenance

Like I mentioned before, water every day when it's really hot and sunny out or as soon as the soil starts to feel dry! Use a fertilizer or compost tea up to once a week to replenish nutrients to the soil and make sure to pick off any dead flowers. This lets the plant use it's energy to create more flowers rather than spend the energy converting dead flowers to seed.

My planters are thriving so far and once the sweet potato vine grows longer and starts to trail over the sides I think they will look even better. What are your tips for window box success?

Weekend Time Warp May 19th

2013-05-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Guess which toes are mine?

Hi friends. Sorry for the silence lately. I have been super busy this week. I did extremely well with my Tophatter auction on Tuesday and have been trying to play catch up with all the orders I had to fulfill. I'm doing another auction of my handcrafted jewelry in a couple weeks so I will keep you updated when that one happens.

I have had a fun weekend. Yesterday I went out with my mom and sister for belated Mothers day. We had lunch and then got our nails done. I should really treat myself more often, it's always good to pamper yourself.

Today is house cleaning day and perhaps I will finally get the furniture set up in the nursery?! Once I get the crib and everything set up I can get to the fun part of decorating. Only 11 more weeks to go until the baby gets here!!

I will have some new posts for you next week. So come on back for some tips on creating a flower window box and henna for your hair!

Here are some posts you may have missed from this time last year:
Homemade nut butter
Tips for line drying clothes
How to grow mint

Shameless Self Promotion: Tophatter Auction

2013-05-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, just a quick note to let you know I am doing an auction tomorrow at 1pm PST on Tophatter. You have a chance to bid on items from my jewelry shop Crafty Little Gnome. I have most of my best sellers and lots of other great items up for grabs. Bidding starts at $1 for everything and shipping is free in the US. Can't beat that!
You can check out my items here and RSVP for the auction if you like!

Pregnancy Update 28 Weeks!

2013-05-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Classy bathroom shot!

First of all, happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there! Hope you are having a great day!
I have officially entered the third trimester! It's very exciting. My August due date seems so close yet so far! I'm sure time will go by quickly though. The past few weeks have been a little more challenging for me. I'm tired and cranky and have so much stuff that I want to get done yet I physically cannot do it. It's very frustrating! I feel like I can't walk more that 15 minutes without getting winded.

I started getting leg cramps a couple weeks ago. I will wake up in the morning with horrible charlie horse cramps in my legs and then my calf muscles stay stiff for the rest of the day while I am at work. My midwife recommended a magnesium supplement and I think it may be helping. Those charlie horse cramps are pretty much the worst thing ever, especially when you are cozy lying in bed and they suddenly strike.

We had a bit of a heat wave over the past week which is unusual here in the pacific northwest. My whole body decided to swell up and my feet and legs started retaining water like crazy. I started trying some natural remedies to reduce the swelling but it still hurt my feet really bad to walk. Now that the weather has started to cool over the past 24 hours I am already starting to feel better. I'm a little scared for the rest of the summer though. It will start to heat up here in mid July so it should be interesting...

I got the results from my glucose test and I am in the normal range which means I do not have gestational diabetes. Yay! My iron is low so I need to start taking an iron supplement. It feels like I am taking about a hundred different vitamins lately. It's fine though, whatever it takes to make sure my baby is healthy!

If you have any tips for me to help with my cramping muscles or swelling please let me know in the comments. I'll keep you updated in the next couple weeks!

Weekend Time Warp May 4th

2013-05-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

At the Tulip Festival last week

Happy weekend. Hope you are having a good one so far. We have beautiful sunshine here in Washington and it is supposed to last all weekend long! Goody! I have been working a bit in the garden and spending time outdoors in the sunshine. We went to my parents house in White Rock for a family dinner last night. Good times! We are almost done putting in the new flooring in the nursery and the room is painted so we can put together the furniture and start decorating soon.

I'm happy to report my potato plants are doing well. So far the Potatoes in burlap sacks experiment is a success!

I've also got broccoli and onions going strong and lots of herbs growing. Soon it will be time for pumpkins, sunflowers and tomatoes!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Here are some posts you may have missed from this time last year
Natural allergy relief with a Neti pot
The truth about pigs
Bathroom makeover gross to glam

My Desperate Landscape- Update with a Video!

2013-05-02T19:07:00.002-07:00

My front yard fall 2012

Remember a couple months ago when I showed you some photos of my ugly front yard? I decided my focus this spring would be on making my front yard presentable and making some updates to the fence and front porch. Next spring will be the backyard but for now it's all about the front.
I've ordered a few things and have other items picked out so hopefully there will be some significant progress over the next few weeks.
Funny story- after I posted those photos of my front yard I got an email from one of the producers of the show America's Most Desperate Landscapes on DIY network. She stumbled upon that blog post and wrote me. Basically the email went like this: "No offense, but your yard would make a great candidate for our show Desperate Landscapes. You should enter our contest for a $25,000 front yard makeover."
If anyone can laugh at them self and not take anything personally it's me. My husband and I decided to make a video and enter the contest. Here is our video- yes I look like a total nerd- ignore my dorkyness please

Sadly after all that we didn't get chosen, however, having a producer of a show called Desperate Landscapes emailing you telling you that you should apply to be on their show will light a fire under your ass like no other. So- it's on. Here are some of my ideas:

I bought three of these planters from Amazon for under the front windows. We installed them yesterday and I filled them with flowers. Once the flowers grow a little more and get full I will take some photos.

I also bought this bench off Amazon and assembled it today. It looks great under my Japanese Maple tree. Since we get so much rain here in Washington I decided to go with metal benches and planters to avoid rotting wood. Everything is supposed to be rust resistant so hopefully they hold up. Oh an make sure you read the reviews on this one. The name of the bench is the Lexington Steel park bench. Apparently Lexington Steel is also a male porn star. Hilarious.

To replace the chicken wire fence we have that separates the front yard from the back I think I am going to go with these no dig panels from Lowes. They look ridiculously easy to install and they aren't too expensive either.

For the walkway up to the front porch I am thinking of doing something like this simple paver path. Home Depot has the instructions. It doesn't seem too difficult. Of course I will be sitting on my garden bench relaxing while my husband does all the work.

We also need new front porch steps and a new railing but I don't have any inspiration photos for that yet.

I'm going for structural changes first- then adding shrubs and plants. Unfortunately being pregnant puts a bit of a hindrance on my physical abilities. Also, babies are expensive so I don't have all the financial means I was hoping for to get all this done. I have lots of help from family and friends so I'm just going to do the best I can. Any improvements are better than none!

Tulip Festival 2013

2013-05-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we made a trip about 40 minutes south to the Skagit County Tulip Festival. It's a fun event I try to go to every year. Basically all over part of the county there are fields and fields and fields of tulips and daffodils for as far as the eye can see. Some of the fields you can just drive by and stop to take pictures and there are also a couple of gardens full of flowers professionally landscaped. We checked out both. Here are some photos from the day!

The amount of flowers is absolutely amazing. If you are ever in Northwest Washington in April the festival is a must see. I can't wait to go back next year!

Weekend Time Warp April 27th

2013-04-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Humming bird nest!! So tiny!

Happy weekend friends. Hope you are having a relaxing spring weekend. We've got lots drizzling rain in northern Washington but it's still fairly warm and pleasant.
I had a great week. On Wednesday my husband and I attended an author event at the Wild Buffalo bar hosted by Village Books in Bellingham. It was called Adult Bedtime Stories and there were three authors there: Chelsea Cain, Monica Drake and the famous Chuck Palanhuik. Chuck Palanhuik is the author of a little book turned movie called Fight Club. You may have heard of it? He's also written a ton of other awesome books. Attendees were encouraged to show up in their pajamas and bring blankets and pillows. It was a ton on fun. Sadly I had to leave right after the event because I work in the middle of the night and I needed to go home and sleep but my husband stayed and got his book signed by Chuck Palahnuik. Here is a super blurry bad photo of the two of them:

The flash on the camera wasn't working :( Sadness

This upcoming week I have an appointment with my midwife and I get to do the super fun gestational diabetes test where you drink a bottle of weird orange liquid and then have your blood sugar tested. Hopefully the results come out okay from that.

In other news I have a new Facebook page. Feel free to follow me here on Facebook
I have finally joined Instagram. My screen name is Crafty Little Gnome. Follow me and I'll follow you back!

Here are some posts you may have missed from this time last year on Crafty Little Gnome
Simple Mirror Makeover
How Not to Cut Your Dogs Hair
Project Complete: Lovely Laundry Room

Guest Post: Four Ways to De-Stress in Twenty Minutes or Less

2013-04-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to share an awesome guest post for you today from Michelle of Skana Day Spa. Michelle has some great ways for you to de-stress in 20 minutes or less all in the privacy and comfort of your own home. We would all love to head to the spa on a regular basis to relax and rejuvenate, but lets face it, most of us just don't have time for that. Read on for some great tips from Michelle!

Four DIY Ways to De-Stress in Twenty Minutes or Less

(Photo credit: http://www.montgomerytxmoms.com/?attachment_id=547)

Most busy moms don't have the time to go get a massage whenever they're feeling stressed. Heck, a lot of us barely have twenty minutes to steal for ourselves, let alone an entire afternoon. This is why it's important to have a few quick and easy tricks up your sleeve to de-stress in a very short amount of time. Whether you have twenty minutes or two, these DIY tips will help you calm down and relax.

You Have Twenty Minutes To Spare

If you can spare twenty minutes for a relaxing shower, get energized and glowing. Swipe the used coffee grounds from your morning coffee and mix them with a moisturizing body wash to create a rough body scrub. The caffeine will promote circulation and diminish cellulite, while the rough texture with slough away dead skin cells. Afterwards, you'll feel refreshed and energized.

You Have Ten Minutes To Spare

Give yourself a very mini facial over the bathroom sink. Cleanse your skin with your daily face wash to begin.

In a small dish, mix:

-1/4 cup of white sugar

-2 TBSP of olive oil

-1 TBSP of honey

Massage this DIY scrub over your face and neck in small, gentle circular motions. When you rinse the scrub away, you'll feel a slight moisturizing film from the olive oil. Don't worry - olive oil won't cause breakouts and does absolute wonders for tired and dry skin. Plus, because of the moisturizing effects of the olive oil, you don't even need to follow with a face lotion or serum. Just pat your skin dry and you're on your way.

You Have Five Minutes To Spare

Saturate two cucumber slices in water and pop them in the freezer for three minutes. Afterwards, remove them from the freezer, lay back, and let them sit on your eyes for two minutes. When you take them off, any puffiness or dark circles under your eyes will have disappeared and you'll feel energized and rejuvenated.

You Have Literally One Minute To Spare

While preparing dinner or cleaning the kitchen, steal one minute for yourself. Grab your favorite scent from the kitchen cabinet, e.g. vanilla, almond or mint extract, and unscrew the lid. Bring the bottle under your nose, close your eyes and breathe deeply for sixty seconds. This DIY aromatherapy is the simplest and quickest way to de-stress in a minute or less and will give you a little energizing boost before you get back to your household tasks.

As you can see, you don't have to run out to a spa to de-stress. Instead, with these simple DIY tricks, you can treat yourself cheaply and quickly in the comfort of your own home.

Michelle Pino, is a Spa Manager at Skana, a spa in upstate New York at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. She enjoys DIY projects, healthy recipes, exercise, and all things related to skin care. If you have any comments or questions feel free to contact Michelle via email at michellepino@turningstone.com.

My Momma's Mocha Protein Shake

2013-04-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

Today's recipe comes from my Mom, Nicole. She has been making this smoothie lately and thought some of you might like it too! Considering you can pretty much never go wrong with anything mocha flavored I have to agree.

The recipe is originally from "The Weight Loss Prescription" by Ali Zentner MD

Mocha Latte protein shake:

1 scoop chocolate flavoured protein powder
1/2 cup cold coffee
1 cup chocolate flavoured almond milk
1 tsp instant coffee
1/2 cup Greek non fat yogurt
4 ice cubes
1packet splenda or stevia
place all items in a blender and blend until smooth
calories = 245, fat = 5.5g, carb= 15gr, protein = 43gr, fibre = 3g

Low fat and lots of protein! Looks pretty tasty to me. What's your favorite breakfast smoothie?

Homemade Eco Friendly Soft Scrub Cleaner

2013-04-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a lot of posts on cleaning and organizing lately. Especially bathroom cleaning. I think I am going through that whole "nesting" phase of pregnancy where all you can think about is getting the house ready for the baby. With my belly getting bigger, my back is starting to hurt like crazy on a regular basis. Normally I take showers not baths but with all this back pain some tub time is definitely in order. Before I can relax in the tub I always have to give it a serious clean. Bathing in a tub that has not been scrubbed down to death gives me the creeps. I decided to try making a non bleach scrub for the tub to get rid of any scrum or cooties that lurk in there. I have to say this stuff works pretty great. Here is how you make it:

Ingredients
3% Hydrogen Peroxide
Baking Soda

When you buy hydrogen peroxide from the grocery store or pharmacy you are usually buying the 3% strength. This is the normal percentage for household use and first aid.
To make things even easier you can take a spray nozzle from a spray bottle and screw it right on the peroxide bottle.

Spray the hydrogen peroxide all over the shower and tub. Pour some baking soda into a bowl (about 1/2 cup to a cup will do) then slowly pour in the peroxide and mix it until you get a paste. Using gloves smear the paste onto the tub walls and use a scrubber to really get off the grime. The hydrogen peroxide acts as a bleach and the baking soda is gritty so it can help scrape off the scum. Leave for about 10 minutes and then wash it off with hot water. Simple and non toxic!

Winner! Spring Giveaway!

2013-04-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! The winner of an item of their choice from my shop Crafty Little Gnome Jewelry and Accessories is Allyce. I have sent you an email so please check your inbox for details!
Congrats!
Everyone one else can get free shipping on anything else in store this week by using coupon code FREESHIP at checkout!

Weekend Time Warp April 20th

2013-04-20T10:35:00.000-07:00


Who decided dandelions are ugly?

Happy Weekend!!! This weekend I have a baby shower to attend for my friend and just some cleaning and things to take care of around the house. It should be a good time.
I've been sleepy, sleepy sleepy this week. The little baby growing inside me has decided to take all my energy from me. I'm almost 25 weeks pregnant at this point and starting to get pretty big. I'll take a new picture of myself soon. My baby girl is kicking like crazy and you can actually see movement from the outside of my stomach now. It's pretty cool.

Spring seems to be in full swing on the farm. We have some baby goats and lots of flowers growing. I'll do a farm update soon as well.

Tomorrow I will announce the winner of the Spring Giveaway. Make sure enter today if you haven't already!
What are you up to this weekend?

Here are some blog posts you may have missed from this time last year:

My Creepy Bathroom
Tulip Festival
Adorable Animals: Pug Party
Things to Do in the Garden: April

How to Use Hot Rollers

2013-04-17T17:51:00.001-07:00

I've always liked using hot rollers to do my hair before a special occasion. They are easy to use and way less time consuming than using a curling iron. The hardest part is waiting for the rollers to heat up! Here is another how to video from It's Judy Time with the basics of how to use hot rollers. Enjoy! Here are the official rules for the sweepstakes Sweeps Rules (4/17-4/23): And here is the prizes and promotions page on Blog Her

5 Uses for Vinegar and Dawn Dish Detergent

2013-04-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

If you browse Pinterest occasionally (or if you are like me, all the time, haha) Then you will probably have seen the amazing DIY shower cleaner using Dawn dish detergent and plain white vinegar. I went out and bought a gallon of white vinegar and some no-name brand knock off Dawn and started scrubbing down my shower. It really does work great and it got me thinking, what other uses are there for vinegar and soap? Well, it turns out quite a few!

1) Dog Shampoo

Do your pups suffer from fleas? Try spraying a mixture of Dawn and vinegar on them next time you give them a bath. It will kill the fleas and get out any nasty odors from their fur. Take a squirt of the soap and add it to a couple teaspoons of vinegar and lather as usual. Please keep in mind that the Dawn acts as an anti-greaser so you should not shampoo them with it on a regular basis or it may dry out their skin too much. For more ways to keep fleas away from your pets check out this blog post I wrote last year

2) Weed Killer

Take a gallon jug and fill it with half warm vinegar and half water. Add 2 cups of salt and a half cup of dawn. It's important that the water and vinegar are warmed up so that the salt and soap can dissolve. Transfer to a spray bottle and spritz on anything in the garden you wish to kill.

3) Oven Cleaner

Sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of your oven and spritz it with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and dawn. Wait 6-8 hours and then wipe it up. Your oven will be so clean!

4) Fruit Fly Killer

Got a problem with fruit flies in your kitchen? Set out a cup with apple cider vinegar with a squirt of soap and it will attract and kill those pesky flies.

5) Clean your Make Up Brushes
Heat a half cup of vinegar in the microwave and pour it into a small spray bottle. Add a few squirts of Dawn and spray it onto a soft cloth. Swirl your makeup brushes into the mixture and all the gunk will come off. Rinse them in hot water and lay flat to dry.

That's five other uses for vinegar and Dawn. What other uses around the home can you think of for these two awesome cleaning ingredients? Let us know in the comments!

Weekend Time Warp April 14th

2013-04-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

Rob Christopher Titus and Me!

Hi friends, hope you are having a great weekend! Last night my husband Rob and I drove a couple hours south to Tacoma Washington to see Christoper Titus at the Tacoma Comedy Club. It was a great time and we got to meet him after! He's a super nice guy and stuck around to meet every fan that wanted an autograph and picture taken. Good
times!

Yesterday I went to visit my mom who had bought a bunch of baby stuff for me at a garage sale. She scored a BOB jogging stroller for $25! She also got huge bags of baby clothes for super cheap. Amazing deals! My baby is going to be riding in style!

I've also been working on the vegetable garden. So far I have onions, strawberries, broccoli and cucumber planted. I also planted parsley, oregano, chives, sage and lavender.

I've got a busy week coming up with hopefully more gardening, working on getting the nursery ready and lots of other errands to run. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Here are some posts you may have missed from this time last year on Crafty Little Gnome:

Thing s to do in the garden April
Natural Ways to Scent Your Home
Natural Flea Control For Your Pets
When is Homemade Compost Ready?

How to Clean Your Bathroom....While you are Using it.

2013-04-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

How to clean your bathroom...while you are using it

Okay, this post may seem really weird to some of you but personally I really don't like cleaning and I especially don't like cleaning the bathroom. I always try to come up with ways to make cleaning fun and to turn chores into games and challenges. I started trying something different for cleaning my bathroom which I try to clean once per week. I figured it made sense to clean the bathroom while I am doing daily showering/ tooth brushing routine on Sundays. Sundays are lazy days for me and I don't spend time in the bathroom after I shower putting on make up or doing my hair so it makes sense to clean the bathroom since I am in there anyways. Basically I am multitasking. Here's the routine I started using that has worked out pretty well for me.

First, get a little caddy of cleaning supplies together and keep it under the sink so it's ready when you are. I have a bucket with a few rags, paper towels, shower cleaner, glass cleaner and all purpose cleaner plus a few extra garbage bags and a scrubber for the shower walls.

Turn on the shower and put the bucket under the faucet and fill it up while you are waiting for the water to get hot. Once the bucket is full pour it into the toilet so that it empties itself and then spray your toilet cleaner into the bowl. Let it sit.

Take the shower head and spray it around the shower walls then spray shower cleaner on the walls. Now this is the part you might find icky but it works for me and if you clean your shower regularily it doesn't get very dirty- Hop in the shower with your scrubbing sponge and clean it while you are in there cleaning yourself! I use homemade eco friendly shower cleaners so it's not like I am in a shower steaming myself full of bleach or anything. Just quickly scrub down the walls and faucets and then wash your hair and body. So easy.

Next, after you get out of the shower the rest of the room will be really steamy and it makes cleaning it super easy because all the dirt is loosened up. Dry yourself off and get dressed then spray the mirror with glass cleaner and wipe it clean with a rag.

After that I will brush my teeth. While I am brushing I clear off the counter and wipe everything down with a rag and all purpose spray. Once I am done with my teeth I clean out the sink and wipe down the faucets.

All that is really left is the toilet. A quick scrub with the toilet brush and wipe down the outside with some old rags and that's done too. Again, if you clean your toilet regularily it won't get very dirty so it doesn't bother me that I am cleaning the toilet after I am freshly showered. I also use gloves.

Take a moment to go through the bathroom drawers and toss out any empty bottles or trash in the vanity and then take out the garbage and replace the bag. Then on your way out take the hamper with your towels and other dirty laundry with you.

In our small bathroom there isn't really room for a laundry hamper. Clothes ofter get thrown on the floor so I figured the easiest way around this is to leave a hamper in the bathtub. It's out of sight and doesn't take up room. You just have to remember to take it out of the tub before you turn the shower on :)

Each of these steps only adds a few minutes to my routine so by the time I'm showered and dressed in the morning my bathroom is also spic and span!

What tips and tricks do you use to ease the pain of cleaning?

Potatoes in Burlap Sacks: 2013 Potato Experiment

2013-04-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years I have tried growing potatoes a number of different ways. In tires, in the ground, in straw to name a few. Potatoes are really easy to grow and I like to eat them so I keep trying new ways to grow them. I was going to try the stacked tire method again this year because it seemed to work the best so far but I have grown weary of the possibility of chemicals from the rubber leaching into the taters. I wanted to try growing potatoes in some sort of container that would not leach chemicals and that was also cheap. So here is what I came up with: Burlap sacks.

I bought a bunch of burlap sacks off ebay for just a few dollars. I'm sure you could also get some from a local coffee shop if you went in and asked for some.

I placed a pallet on the ground first to help with drainage and to keep slugs and other critters away then I added some soil to each of the bags and added my seed potatoes.

For more info on how to prep your seed potatoes for planting you can read my previous posts here and here.

I rolled the sides of the sacks down and added a bit more dry soil and composted leaves on top. As the potato plants grow I can add more soil and unroll the sacks so they are taller. It's essentially the same concept of the tire stacking method. At the end of the season I can dig up the potatoes and then hopefully reuse the sacks for other gardening projects like weed barriers or lasagna gardening.

So how do you think it will turn out? Will yummy potatoes grow in the burlap sacks or will the whole thing become a rotten mess? Stay tuned I will keep you posted throughout the season.

Welcome to April

2013-04-01T12:41:00.001-07:00


Mr Robin hunting for worms

Happy April!!! Spring is here! Finally we have some sunny warm weather and it almost feels like summer!
I hope you all had a great Easter weekend. Here's a couple snapshots I took over the weekend. Spring time is a great time to live on a farm.

Cute chickens clucking around

Pretty horse basking in the sunshine

Teenie tiny flowers

Look what popped up overnight!

Daffodils are always so cheerful

Whats happening in your neck of the woods??

Weekend Time Warp March 30th

2013-03-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

Doug the Pug, chillin. Pug Life!!!

Happy Easter Weekend!
Hope you all are having a great weekend and get to spend some time with your families.
We aren't doing too much for Easter this weekend. I want to finally decorate my eggs today and hopefully stock up on some Easter chocolates. Yum yum.

It's been a weird week. We are dealing with a leaky pipe behind the shower and it leaked into the bedroom beside it. We had to shut off all the water in the house. So ya...fun times. Hopefully we can get it all fixed in the next week or so.

I've got the nursery almost completely painted and most of the house organized. It's time to get started fixing up the front yard. I think the grass is officially long enough for the first mow of the season.

Here are a few blog posts you may have missed from this time last year:

What counts as water?
Common Seed Starting Mistakes
10 Alternative uses for coffee

Have a great weekend and Happy Easter

Spring Cleaning Extravagaza

2013-03-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again. It's finally warm enough to crack open the windows, let the breeze flow though the house, roll up your sleeves and start spring cleaning. The changing seasons and extra daylight hours always gets me in the mood to get cleaning. It's always at this time of the year after being cooped up for months with two dogs that think they rule the house (I guess maybe they actually do) that the wet dog stench seems to overwhelm my home.

Here's what's on my agenda for Spring Cleaning this year:

Wash all curtains and upholstered items that I am able to:
Curtains, throw pillows and blankets, area rugs and shower curtains that will fit in the washer. If some items like throw pillows cannot be washed then I will put them in the dryer for 30 minutes to kill germs and mites.

Wash the windows inside and out.
I might as well go ahead and clean the windows since the curtains will be taken down to be washed. It's a good time to wipe down the window sills too.

Wipe down door knobs and light switches.
Everybody touches them with their dirty hands but how often do they get cleaned? Pretty much never right?

Clean out the fridge.
I should have done this a long time ago but it's definitely time to get rid of the nasty food and give the whole thing a good scrub down.

This is just a small part of my spring cleaning to do list but these tasks can get done in a day or two which is nice. I'm still trying to go through the whole house and compile things to take to Goodwill. I also really need to make a trip to the local dump and get rid of all the stuff that's in the sheds.

My mom came over the other day and helped me organize the spare bedroom that we use for computer storage and basically everything else in the house that doesn't have a home. It took us 5 hours!!! No joke. But wow is it ever nice in there now. We are also in the process of finally ripping up the old carpet in the bedroom and replacing it with peel and stick tiles. We need to get rid of that nasty old carpet before the baby comes!

What tasks are you doing for spring cleaning this year? I have a cleaning board on Pinterest with lots of cleaning tips if you are interested. Check it out!

Perfect Hardboiled Eggs: Three Steps

2013-03-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Maybe you're getting ready to decorate some eggs for Easter this week or maybe you just like eating hard boiled eggs. Whatever the reason here is the step by step way to cook the perfect hard boiled egg every time.

Step one:
Place your eggs in a pot with cold water. Water should be one or two inches higher than the eggs in the pot.

Step two:
Bring the water to a rolling boil, then cover and remove eggs from heat for exactly 12 minutes

Step three:
After the 12 minutes are up remove the eggs from the hot water and place them in a bowl with cold water until eggs are cool .

Store in the fridge for up to one week.
Perfect every time!

Weekend Time Warp March 23rd

2013-03-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

New photo of me, the Husband and baby!

Happy weekend friends! Spring is here and I'm loving it! This weekend it's time for some spring cleaning and Easter egg dyeing. Hopefully I will get in some gardening and exercise too.
I have a new giveaway happening so don't forget to enter!

Here are some posts you may have missed from this time last year on Crafty Little Gnome:
How to Chit Potatoes Part 2
Before and After Raindrop Bathroom
Natural Treatment for Chapped Lips
Things to do in the Garden: March

Hope you have a great weekend! I'll share some of my decorated eggs and spring cleaning tips next week. Stay tuned!

Spring Giveaway

2013-03-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

The first day of Spring was just a few days ago and what better way to celebrate with a giveaway? I recently changed my Etsy shop name from Adrienne Audrey Jewelry to Crafty Little Gnome Jewelry and Accessories. It's the same shop, just a new name. I'm still transitioning all my social media pages to reflect the change so bear with me with that for a few more days :)
One lucky winner will get to choose one item from my shop under $30!

Gold Butterfly Earrings

Here is how to enter
1) Follow this blog. Either through Google Friend Connect or email on the right sidebar
For additional entries:

Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on Pinterest
Leave a comment and let me know all the entries you are entitled too
The contest will run until April 20th.
Good Luck!

Blue Agate Geode Necklace

Create Bangs Without Cutting Your Hair- Video!

2013-03-21T14:00:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday was the first day of Spring! Hooray! There's always something about the change of seasons that makes me want to get a new hairstyle. Spring is the perfect time to get some highlights or chop your hair off into a stylish bob. Have you ever wanted to see how you would look with bangs without having to take the plunge and cut your hair? This video from It's Judy Time shows you how to Fake a Fringe. It's pretty cool, check it out!

Looks pretty cute right?
There's also a sweepstakes with a chance to win $100 check out the details here .
The contest rules are here.