The Hanging Gardens of Konradland

So, as you all know, we have been working on gardens galore!  It has been such a delight to get outside and work with our hands and sweat!  And, watch the birds in our yard.  Some of them are truly beautiful.  The other day I heard something very noisy adn when I looked over to see what it was, there were three Steller Jays hopping around our feeder.  We've even been naming some of our birds (although, I can say with certainty that the birds assigned said names are interchangable as there is really no way to tell them apart).
Due to space issues, I wanted to put my herbs on the side of the house.  I found this idea on Pinterest!  I thought it would work with a little tweaking, but I ended up making several tweaks! 


Here's what you need:
-Wood pieces (mine were scraps left over from our table project)
-Hose clamps
-Screws
-Pots/ jars
-plants of your choice

First, I like the look of things that are labeled, so I stamped the herb name on the boards.

Second, we didn't really want to screw things into the siding.  I decided to hang them with chain from hooH\ks at the top, but anytime the wind blew, it was so loud it sounded like Bo Jangle was trying to break into our house!  I am home alone a lot at night so that didn't sit well with me.  Untimately, we decided to screw them into the siding!

Third, I started with the mason jars, but I quickly realized that I needed something that could drain. We live in Western Washington, which is equivalent to mold and mildew.  I want fresh herbs not mottled ones!  So, I went with the terra cotta pots so that they can drain.

When all was said and done it wasn't a hard project, I just had to change it up so it took a bit more time than I had anticipated. 

I am obsessed with Cilantro and Basil.  I cannot wait to pick it fresh and throw it in some delectables!

Spring Flower Wreath

I literally am in love with Cherry Blossom trees this time of year.  I wish I could have a ton of them, but Matt is anti-leafy trees (as he's the one that has to clean up the messes in the yard).  I might have talked him into a bush form of them, but definitely not getting a blossoming tree.

So, since I can't have them inside, I try to bring the look inside.  I have a vase fill of limbs but I wanted to round out the look with a wreath across the room.  So, I took a wreath made from twigs (found at most craft stores; this one was left over from our wedding!) and literally glued the blossoms from one bunch onto the wreath!  It was the easiest, least time consuming wreath thus far.

Scarves UP!

I don't know a lot about Soccer, but I know that our Seattle Sounders rally cry with scarves and I keep hearing..."Scarves Up!"  Well, if you know me, you know I have an addiction...making things, to coffee, but most importantly, to scarves!  The first step is admitting it, right?!?  My addiction started in London on Notting Hill Road I was in a little shop full of silks from East India. Now, I order them in bulk from an online retailer (because you have to order a minimum, but they are WAY cheaper) and give them as gifts...and keep a few for myself. 

I have yearned for a system to keep them in order and neatly hung, because, more often than not, they are on the floor like this. 

You take the following:
-a hanger (the sturdier the better)
-shower curtain rings
-clothes pins (my addition)
-SCARVES!

How to:
1. Put the rings around the lower part of a clothes hanger. 

2. Thread your scarves through the rings!

3. I put clothes pins in between because as it was they all slid to the center and therefore were not hanging pretty and were all jumbled.

4. Hang up in the closet!

I finally found this idea on Pinterest, but I added a bit more structural stability.  The idea I used from Pinterest wasn't quite holding up under the weight of my vast array of scarves.

Easter Egg Wreath!

I have seen these everywhere for years and thought..."Hey! I can make that!"  So here we go!

Supplies Needed:

Foam wreath

grass

ribbon

lots of plastic Easter eggs (variable sizes or uniform)

glue gun and glue

Here's the HOW TO:

1. Purchase a foam wreath form at whichever size you would prefer from whichever craft store you would prefer.  We have a HOBBY LOBBY now, so I went there.  And, it has a "Made In America" stamp.  It impressed me.  Sorry, I am weird!

2. I bought a pretty big bag of pull-apart grass in a "friendly" color and began adhering it to the wreath form to just cover it a bit.  This might work well with felt or fabric too.

3. I slung a coordinating ribbon around the wreath to serve as a hanger.  I bought this one from the $1.00 bin at Michael's and I think I got 25% off if I am not mistaken.  I LOVE a good deal!!!

4. Then I began to glue eggs on, carefully spacing them out so as to not allow same colored eggs to touch.  (Something about the history teacher in me and all those political maps I colored with my hundreds of students!)  I found a bag of 42 large eggs at Walmart for less than $2.00 and a bag of 24 small eggs at Hobby Lobby for 87cents!  I used all of them...66 eggs!  There are a few small gaps that I think I will eventually fill in but it looks great as is too!

Finished Product! 

   

I like it a lot and it was WAY cheaper than any store I've seen them in.  They retail for 20-30 for this size.  Mine was about $7.00!

The finished TABLE!

The finished table top!

It looks even better now with the beautiful bouquet of flowers I got for no reason last week! :)

Who forgets Birthdays?

Apparently me!  And Matt!
So, I saw this craft idea on Pinterest a few months ago and now it is a great time to make it!  Here it goes.

You need:

• board
• paint
• wood chips (small wood circles)
• eye screws (local hardware store)
• jump rings (found in the beading section of your craft store)
• markers
• ribbon

Here's what I did:
1. I painted the main board and the wood chips.

2. Then, I drilled 2 holes, opposite one another, in each wood chip and the main board for hanging.

3. I chose to paint a tree.  I finger painted, literally.  But only because I don't have paint brushes!  I just dabbed my finger in the paint and then gently touched the board.  I think this turned out pretty cool, especially the blue bird!  It makes me laugh.

4. Then I screwed in the eye screws.  You will need 12 of them and depending on how large your wood chips are, you will need to space them accordingly.

5. Then I organized each month's chips and wrote the name, date of birth/ date of anniversary and year on each chip, making sure to keep the holes on the top and bottom of the chips.

6.  I added the wording.  I stamped the word "FAMILY" and then I wrote out birthdays and anniversaries.  I also wrote the abbreviations of each month above the eye screws.  Some of the written part is very faint.  I need to get a thicker marker.

7. Here is the finished product!

I'd like to think this will help me to NEVER forget another family birthday again...but seriously, I probably will, so please forgive me (us) in advance!

Gardening with the Konrads...

I have many fond memories of gardening with my mom when I was a little girl.  She had a pretty big vegetable garden and planted flowers in every nook and cranny.  We would eat tomatoes like apples, carrots with dirt on them, and more peas raw than I can remember.  We initiated kids to the neighborhood by showing them our "red celery" AKA rhubarb and some of them even tasted it!  We played baseball in our back yard with ghost runners, and got paid to pick slugs of the potato plants (If I remember it was only a couple cents per slug)!

I've been attempting to garden the past few summers with very little luck.  Container gardening in apartment patios probably works if you are determined.  I wasn't.  The summer I met Matt, I had an awesome tomato plant that grew like crazy, but it frosted before any of the tomatoes turned into actual edible tomatoes.

Well, now that we have our own place, this is something I have wanted to do.  We have a pretty big back yard, although the back 2/3 of it is wilderness (we made a fire pit up there so it feels like we're camping whenever we want!).  Anyway, we put some raised bed garden boxes around the patio today.  Hopefully on a warm summer night, we will get fresh smells of growing plants wafting around our patio as we share a BBQ dinner with friends or family!

Here's what we needed:

• several untreated pieces of wood (no chemicals in this garden)
• screws
• we needed a saw to cut some of the wood, but if you know what you want and don't have one Lowe's will cut wood for you.  Home Depot will not.
• a power drill will come in handy!

Here's what we did:
--We planned to build 3 boxes.  The first at 12 ft x 4 ft.  Another at 16 ft. x 4 ft.  These two will be 12 inches high, so we'll need to double up the sides.  The last at 3 ft. x 3 ft.  This one will be just one layer.
1. Cut wood pieces to desired length.

2. We started by assembling the ends of the boxes.  We drilled the actual exterior panels to a block that works as a stabilizer in the corners of the boxes.  Then we added the sides on.  To make sure that the sides were aligned and stayed in place, we put another stabilizing piece about half way on each long side.  (Sorry there are not pictures of these stages. I was either 1. helping Matt, or 2. attacking the weed patch!)

In all, it took us about 2 hours to build them and set them in place.
 
Now for the DIRT! And a new patio table and chairs!

(Some friendlies!)