DIY Rustic Herb Planter

I have decided that this year the majority of the gifts I wanted to give would be homemade.  Not just because it's a bit more personal but also because it's downright fun!

When it comes to my sister she is always super easy to buy for but I wanted to make her something this year that would blow her away and just be totally her!

If you know my sister you know that she loooooves gardening but tends to be so busy that she can barely make it out the door to her garden through the summer.  So keeping that in mind when I saw an idea for a rustic indoor or outdoor her planter on Mama's Style (which is one of my most favorite blogs!) I just had to try it out! 

The planter that they had made was much smaller and only for one herb or for many in the same pot but I decided to go bigger!

My Dad had some barn board in his shed from his old family farm on Manitoulin Island that he had taken away after it was torn down so I knew that a piece of that would be perfect! And he was willing to part with a piece!  

He also had some fantastic old canning jars from his Grandmother that were yearning to be used in a neat way!

Here's what you will need to get going with your own rustic herb planter:

-old barn board or if you want a newer cleaner look some nice pine or cedar

-old or new canning jars

-L brackets

-plumbing clamps

-screws (deep enough to get some good bite into the wood, keep in mind there will be dirt in the jars)

-picture wire to hang

Start by laying out the jars to decide where you want everything placed.  Once you have decided where everything will go, attach your L brackets under the jar for support.

Position the plumbing clamp using the jar while it is in place.  Make sure to have the clamp high enough so that the jar won't fall over and will be stable once it is filled.  Once attached tighten the clamp so it is snug around the jar but not too tight (you don't want to break the jar).

 

Repeat with each jar until they are all attached.  String your picture wire through the top (there were already holes in the board from when it was attached to the barn so for me there was no drilling required!)

And there you have it! A rustic (or neat if you do it the "new" way) herb planter.

I also picked up some herb markers from Lee Valley the last time we were in London so she can stake out what each jar holds!

I loved this so much that I wanted to keep it! But I'm still going to give it to my sister and make myself one this summer maybe!

Have fun trying this one out!

Candy Cane Bark

I was perusing my email and got my daily dose of Today's Parent which featured recipes for your kids classroom parties... there was this awesome and super easy recipe for Candy Cane Bark I had to try immediately since I am still working on my Christmas baking and knew that I had everything in the house already!!

Start with the following:

One box of Candy Cane chocolate cookies

Crush up the cookies into smaller pieces, I just used a chopping board and a really big knife!

Melt an entire bag of semi sweet chocolate chips over a double boiler (the website had said to use white chocolate but I didn't have any so I went with the yummy stuff!)

While the chips are melting down, line a baking sheet with wax paper and spread all your cookie bits out.

Once the chips are smooth pour them out over your cookie bits.  Try and get some chocolate on as much of the cookie bits as possible.

The site that I was looking at said to mix the cookie bits in with the chocolate in the same bowl you were melting the chips in, however in my excited haste to make this I never made sure that the bowl would be big enough for everything...thus the pouring.

Once all your cookie bits are covered shake some festive sprinkles over the top!  I went with some Christmas sprinkles I had picked up at the Dollar store!

Let the bark harden and then break it all apart!

Et Voila! My bark isn't hard enough to break up just yet but you get the picture!!

If you would like to try out the original methods please take a look at the following link!

http://www.mommysavers.com/c/t/213002/holiday-treats-christmas-cookie-bark

Hope you give it a go and enjoy!

Stay tuned for more Christmas goodies coming to the blog! I've been doing all kinds of DIY Christmas presents that I can't wait to share!

Merry Christmas!

DIY Fruit Fly Traps

Good Morning All! 

Everyone can agree that one of the major annoyances in life is most definitely the fruit fly! I can stand the little pests but we seem to get them all the time in our house since we always have fruit about...namely bananas since Xan loves them!

So after trying various pre-made, store bought traps we gave up and decided to try out some home remedies!  The best one that we have found works is below and it's something my Grandma Leila has been using for decades! And it's fantastic!!

Here's what you will need!

1 Mason Jar (I used a small shallow one)

Apple Cider Vinegar

Dish Soap

Put about 1/3 of a cup of apple cider vinegar into the jar, add in about a tablespoon of dish soap and swirl the mixture.

Place the trap wherever the flys seem to be the most and voila! The irritating little dudes LOVE this stuff and fall for it every time!

The below is from being out for half a day!

EWE!

Thank you Grandma for another successful home remedy!

Happy Fly Catching!

DIY Makeup Brush Cleaner

Good Morning!  Now that I have the Christmas chaos under control I can work on a bunch more posts!

Today I have an awesome mix for DIY makeup brush cleaner.  I researched different blogs and crafty sites to see what was the best method of making your own and tested out a few options over the last few weeks and here is the best one that I found works and conditions your brushes!

You'll need:

1 small bottle (I recycled a small shampoo bottle from Lush)

measuring cup

funnel

olive oil (for conditioning)

dish soap of your choice! (for cleaning)

I added 1/4 cup of dishsoap and a 1/4 cup of olive oil to the bottle.  There are a few sites that say more olive oil and some say more soap, I played around with it and this works really well for conditioning and cleaning the brushes.

Super easy!!

I made sure to use a bottle that has a lid with an opener on it so it's easier.

The best way that I found to clean your brushes is to start with a dish and a SMALL amount of cleaner...I have a bad habit of using too much.  I would say use a dollop the size of a quarter for each brush.

Swirl your brush around like you are cleaning a paint brush...

**major caution on this one! Try not to get the cleaner all the way up the bristles and to the handle since it can breakdown the clue holding the brush and bristles together**

You will start to see makeup come out pretty quickly.  Then take the brush and swirl it in the palm of your hand for a deep clean.  After that I take the brush and clean it off under warm (not hot) water in the palm of my hand to get the residue off.

Squeeze out most of the water gently and shape the brush back into it's original form.  Then lay the brush on a paper towel to dry.  For powder brushes I let them dry most of the way and then stand them up with their sleeve on to maintain shape.

This is what you are left with in the end...

Ewe!

So that's it! It's pretty simple to do.  Before each use make sure to shake up the bottle to mix the oil and soap and you're ready to go!

Happy Cleaning!

DIY Christmas Wreath!

This year I have decided to make my own Christmas Wreath for our door since I have looked everywhere and have yet to see one that I like in color or style...

I went to my most favorite place of all...Michael's... for anyone who knows me, 

I WOULD LIVE THERE!

I found everything I was looking for there and had it put together in under an hour!

added in some embellishments...

I went with metallic blue, silver and diamond for the color combo... LOVE IT!!

I separated the berries from their wrapping which was super easy...

After fluffing up the wreath (by the way this is my least favorite thing about this time of year and I try to avoid it! Kind of a bummer but with this it was quick and easy) separate the branches and randomly stand them up to attach the berries using their own wire...

After all the berries were attached I filled in the larger gaps with the bells.  I used green garden wire to attach them to the branches the same way as the berries...

And here you have it... it still seems to be missing something but I'm going to wait on it for a few days so I can see if there is something else I can add out there... I may just have to go back to Michael's...

So here is the price breakdown.. which I didn't find too bad...

wreath $3.99

berries $.91 ( I only used 1 pack)

bells $4.59

gardening wire $3.49

Total... $14.67! Woo Hoo!

Hope you try this out too! It was super easy and a bit of stress relief with all the twisting of the wires!

Until next time!

Xander's big day!

So this is a huge day in our house... this little guy...

is turning TWO!! It's nuts! It's crazy and everything is zipping by in our house!

I thought that I would post a little something for him since 

well, in a way this is a blog for my kids too for later on.

So to be the mushy Momma here are a couple more shots of one of the loves of my life!

It is just totally beyond insane to think that I was sitting in a hospital two years ago waiting for this little man, and although the last two years have been completely crazy I wouldn't change a single thing!

So here is the little man...in the best shot I have of him recently with his new baby sister... love these kids to pieces!

Happy Birthday Little Man! 

The newest edition to our house!

So, as promised here is what I have been working on...but first...

The new baby in the house... so pretty!!

I have started working on a few projects for my wonderful sister in law who is expecting her third baby any day now! We are going for a visit in a few days and we're hoping the new little guy (her first boy after two girls!) will be there!

I started with some burping cloths...which you can never have too many of!

I really love the cute little bears!

And then I decided that the little guy will need a taggie since my little girl loooooves hers...so I had to find a boyish but cute fabric!

I found this awesome turtle print and backed it with some chocolate minky!

And the finished product!

And I also made a crib blanket with the same fabric to match!.. This little guy is set... now if he can only get out here! 

And to keep going I have been working on some embroidered tea towels for my mother in law... we are celebrating her Birthday while we are visiting so this is what I came up with...

Pretty simple and my embroidery skills could use some work but for a first project it turned out pretty good...hopefully she agrees! ps...Meme is what all the grandkids call her... a play on the french Memere.

So that's what I've been working on so far! I have sooo many more projects to get going for Christmas so once we get back from our trip I will be kicking into high gear to get more finished... 

The new baby in the house will be getting quite the workout before the year is done!

Stay tuned for more projects!