Duct Tape Rainboot Rescue

Five years ago I was so excited to get a great pair of purple rainboots with cupcakes all over them from Target online. My boots have served me well through many pacific northwest rainy seasons, muddy corn mazes, and puddle jumping. Recently, though, I realized my beloved rainboots were done in. The rubber was just too old and was starting to crack in a lot of places. When your rainboots are no longer rain proof, that's a problem!

I'd been trying to scope out some new rainboots but due to my feet of very large size in combination with my budget of very small size- it had proven to be a tad difficult to find something that would work for me. I'd considered trying to repair my boots with pretty duct tape but didn't want to spend the money on two rolls of patterned duct tape only to find out that it wouldn't work - then I'd have even less to spend on new rainboots!

I was so excited to be picking some garden things at my local dollar store when I saw that they were carrying small rolls of patterned duct tape. I figured a $3 risk was a risk worth taking! I grabbed 3 rolls of zebra print duct tape and spent about 45 minutes waterproofing and snazzifying my old boots.

These were what my boots looked like before:

This is what they look like now:

Some tips on rescuing your rainboots with duct tape:

• This should go without saying but: Start with clean boots. Tape sticks better to clean boots and will make them more waterproof.
• If you're using patterned duct tape, over estimate how much you'll use and buy accordingly. I ended up needing close to 30 yards for mine (3 dollar store rolls).
• Use the good stuff underneath. Use high quality tape (silver duct tape is fine) you already have on hand to patch holes and reinforce weak areas or seams first. The pretty stuff will cover it up anyway.
• Wear your boots while you tape the foot area. Especially if they are already a bit snug
• If your existing trim is in good shape, don't cover it up. Work around it and use it as your guide (like I did with the purple parts in my photos).
• Work in pieces. Tear off strips and layer them in different directions. Don't try to wrap the tape around in a continuous piece.

In the end, it's kind of like paying $3 for a new pair of boots! Plus now the old ones didn't have to take up space in a land fill.

Love it!

Green Your Easter: Grow Your Own Easter Grass

It's getting to be that time of year again. When our cultural traditions threaten to make every plastic-averse parent tremble in fear. When toxic chemicals combine with sugar to make our children run around in a weird haze. It's time for...EASTER!

Ok, so maybe it's not that dramatic.

But I hate unnecessary plastic and I feel like Easter "grass" is the epitome of unnecessary plastic. It's not pretty, lacks any kind of real purpose, is not recyclable and it gets tracked all over your house before getting dumped in the trashcan. Last year, we started a tradition of growing our own Easter grass and I love it!

Three Reasons to Grow Your Own Easter Grass...

1. It costs less. I paid $0.30 for enough wheat berries to grow 2-3 large baskets worth of grass. That's $0.15 per basket instead of $1 or more for each basket's worth of plastic shreds. That's an 85% savings! 
2. It's a fun activity to do with your kids before Easter. (plus Easter Bunny believers will love leaving it out as a fresh snack for their favorite cottontail)
   
3. No waste. You can compost your leftovers.

Look for wheat or rye berries in the bulk foods section of your local grocery or natural foods store.

What You'll Need: 

• A basket or other container (I used a small plastic storage tub I got at the Dollar Store)
• Approx 1/2 cup or wheat or rye berries per basket
• Water
• Small amount of potting soil
• Approx 7 days of growing time

Get Started!

Step 1: Get your basket or tub ready
If you are using a woven basket, line the bottom with a piece of foil or plastic wrap to protect the basket from the dirt and water. Roll up the edges to create a lip to hold in any excess moisture. I'm re-using a small plastic storage tub so I didn't need to line mine.

Step 2: Spread in some dirt
Spread out a thin layer of potting soil in the bottom of your container. Make sure that is is thoroughly damp.

Step 3: Generously scatter the berries
Generously sprinkle the rye or wheat berries across the top of the damp soil.

Step 4: Sprinkle with water.
Sprinkle the berries with water. I used a sippy cup which had the non-spill stopper removed. If you don't have a sippy cup, you can use a spray bottle or sprinkle the water with your hand.

Step 5: Put in a warm place and wait
For first few days I kept my basket on top of my fridge where it was warm (the plants don't need sun until they start looking like plants). On day four I moved the basket to a sunny window during the day and kept it warm at night. Make sure to keep sprinkling water on the seeds once or twice a day to keep the growing plants happy.

It's really quite amazing how quickly this stuff grows! If you're homeschooling, you can use this as a fun way to incorporate science and math (measuring!) into your curriculum, too.

After six or seven days, you should have some pretty hearty growth:

Please note: Do not be alarmed if the basket looks a bit sparse because you can still see the seeds when you look straight down into it even after about a week:

Once you add basket filler (it doesn't take much!), it shifts the grass around and you will have adorable tufts of living grass peeking up from between your eggs and other baskety gifts. This is the same "sparse" looking basket five minute later:

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This project is so easy and fun that I hope I've encouraged you to start your own Easter grass growing tradition, too!

Linking to:

* Made by You Monday * Brassy Apple *

Garden Bling

If pink flamingos, garden gnomes and flashy garden art aren't for you, cute plant markers are a great way to add a subtle hint of style and fun to your garden.  I've been working on a few different styles of garden markers lately for Fat Dog Farms and have had fun both making them and sprinkling them throughout the garden.

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Stamped Silverware Markers

Make these from used, thrifted, or inexpensive silverware. You'll need to pick up a metal stamping set (I got mine on Amazon for about $20). I've got a mini tutorial for how to make these that lives here.

Glass Gem Markers

These are made with large glass gems from the Dollar Tree. Printed designs are mod podged to the backs of half the gems (the backs of the other half are painted white). The gems are then glued together and to the top of the sticks. I twisted some raffia with a drop spindle to help twist it to a more rope-like texture and wrapped  it where the stick and gem pairs meet. The tutorial I piggybacked on to make these is here.

Stamped Clay Markers

I saw some cute stamped clay markers over on the Reese Dixon blog that I loved and was planning on making until I saw someone combine clay and what looked like vintage knife handles on Facebook somewhere so I went this direction instead. I love these! I think they are super fun and colorful.

Chalkboard Markers

Little wooden plaques painted with chalkboard paint and framed with twigs make fun little markers. Probably not super practical for using in the middle of the garden where it might be subject to downpour and sprinklers but sheltered porch plants or plants growing inside would be great homes for these fun little markers. I ended up selling all of these so I didn't have any left for me, but I'm planning on making more for the fall sale.

Fat Diggity Dog: Our first Fat Dog Farms sale round-up

The blog's been quiet lately because the first full week of June I was pouring all my spare time into getting ready for our first semi-annual Fat Dog Farms garden and craft show. Then the week after that I've been recovering!

We had a blast! Fat Dog Farms is my dad and step-mom's "farm" / very large garden / "wonder emporium" (as my cousins like to call it) a 35 minute drive outside of Portland, OR.  It's been something that's been talked about for a while but we finally organized (and when I say "we" I mean mostly Michelle with a teensy bit of help from me) a garden & craft sale with stuff from local crafters / gardeners and it was an absolute blast.

Funky Plant Markers (and mini-tutorial)

Silverware plant markers are by no means an original idea, but I sure love how they look!  I'm getting ready for a Spring Garden and Crafts fair on my family's farm next month and I've made a few of these both for my garden and for the fair.

I've got some "serious" ones for actually labeling plants:

And some fun ones that say more clever things:

Read the rest to check out how I made them: