A new terrarium

I love terrariums…and I love thrift store shopping. So this post is about the best of both! I found a glass globe, at the St. Louis Teachers' Reusable Resource Center in the Chesterfield Mall.  This was my second trip to the store, the first one I bought 10# of different items, including things like wine corks, stickers, contact paper, assorted glass jars, some beakers and test tubes in ALL sizes, some lace, some fabric.  All sorts of different things!

All this stuff is donated and kept out of the landfills, so it’s really a great concept…you don’t have to be a teacher to shop there. So anyway, back to my terrarium story.  I stopped last weekend to just check out the store for my second time on my way home from Mom’s house.  I spotted some new lab donated glass flasks and globes.  Big giant globes. 

Here is the one I bought, it weighed 7# so it costed $7…it came with this really tiny plastic base that it sits on.  I didn’t like the plastic look so much.

I cut a base out of wood that I had on hand, painted it bright green and it looks really neat.  I thought I did a pretty good job with my simple tools.

I was scared the globe would get cracked or broken so I kept it in a square laundry basket while I planted the terrarium.  I started with some marbles and some rocks, then added some activated charcoal to the bottom (like the kind you buy for aquariums). 

The charcoal is something I always use, I understand it is really only needed for closed terrariums but I always add to any terrarium I create whether the top if open or not.

I use 1/4 peat moss and 3/4 potting soil for my dirt, grabbed a few plants from my existing container pots on the deck since they would soon be frostbitten and die anyway. 

I added a few inches of dirt and then arranged the plants like I wanted them.  I have two ferns, some mounding moss and some creeping jenny in there.  Probably a bit too many plants but I can always trim them or pull them out later.

I added some polished rocks and put some more dirt around the plants, watered it all well and it was done!

I also added a water globe inside, but didn’t put any water inside. I just added it for some color.

Here it is in the jungle of the houseplants I brought in from the deck before the frost.

I might be linking to these parties!

White sweater pumpkins

You know I love me a good pumpkin!

This used to be a whole sweater…found it at the Goodwill store, it’s not wool, but a winter white cabled acrylic/cotton blend. I thought it might make a nice pumpkin or two. 

 

Aren’t they cute?

The difference between these and the orange sweater sleeve pumpkins I recently made is the stems.  I used the ribbing at the end of the sleeves for the stems. 

Since I made three pumpkins and we can all do the math on that (two sleeves per normal sweater, three pumpkins, you get the picture) I used the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater for the third stem. I cut about a 6 inch section of the ribbing off and sewed the short ends together to make a circle.

I just ran my long needle under the part of the ribbing that sticks out…and kept going around the section and pulling the thread snug until it looked like a stem.  Think pull really really tight!

Just sew the stem on the top of the pumpkin and they are set!!

I gave these to my mom for her birthday which happens to be this month. 

I used the sweater which was $3, the stuffing (FREE) which a friend of my mom’s brought her (a bag of batting scraps which I tore up and used as stuffing), a needle and some quilting thread (mom already had) and about 30 minutes.  Very easy and very cheap!

I am going to make myself some as well from the body of the sweater after I get back home.

I may be linking to some of these great parties!

Thrifting here and there

Here’s a few great deals I found in the past couple weeks…

The wool throw I found at the Restore in Loveland, Colorado for $1.  It had a big red X on one side, looked like it was marker.  I took a chance and stain treated the throw, tossed it in the washer and it looks perfect!  The pillow is a $3 find at Lowes…it had some dirty spots on it, but cleaned right up with a damp washcloth. Love how they look together.  The blue basket is a $1 find, it holds Milo’s toys and can usually be found turned on its side like this!

OK, so the pitcher is not a thrifty find, I made it when I was in high school maybe.  My mom just gave it to me, she has always displayed it proudly at home.  I had made some type of handle for it when I first made it, but don’t remember what it even looked like.  So I found a handle for it!  It was a mere $1 and came with a flat glass dish, which I re-donated to the thrift store where I found it. So, anyway, I love the way it looks and that it fits perfectly!

I found this great pillow cover at a thrift store, the pillow form inside was new, still in the store bag and there was a lace trimmed white pillowcase inside as well. I thought this was a great score for $2. 

I found a plain chenille bedspread for $2 at Salvation Army.  I am going to use it to make some pillows covers!

The new curtains in the guest bedroom I made from two XL twin sheets…I bought two XL twin sheet sets (grey and white wiggly plaid) and used the flat sheets to make the curtains and threw the pillow cases onto pillows for the bed.  And I have the fitted sheets to make something out of as well if I so decide.

The bed looks so inviting now!  Love all the grey, turquoise and the red.

$18 I paid for this fern stand.  Love it, but it’s painted gloss white, so I am working on refinishing it.  I always have a ton of plants I bring in before the first frost so this will come in handy.

I bought this power tool stand (Craftsman) for $1 at Restore.  I bought it for the legs, probably will make a stool or a small table. 

I might be linking to these great parties!

 

Upcycled Phone Case for Kate

My mom always says that it is hard to cook in someone else’s kitchen…I find it difficult to sew or craft away from home.  My niece Kate asked me to make her a new phone case…

So I challenged myself to create one from a few thrifted items.  I found a tea towel (50 cents) and an old wool/cotton baby blanket (I think $1) at the Restore in Loveland, Colorado.

I borrowed Kate’s sewing machine which was almost exactly the same model as one of mine, so that part was easy, I also borrowed her sewing supplies.  Problem was, her straight pins, well they just weren’t straight.  I got her a new pack of straight as machine rent so she doesn’t have to deal with this…

I found some 1” masking tape in the garage and used it as a guide for quilting. I quilted the tea towel with the baby blanket tucked inside and measured Kate’s phone and cut it to the appropriate size.

A Velcro closure and a iron on applique monogram were purchased to finish up the deal!  I would have used my serger and would have done the flap a bit differently if I could have used my own machines at home, but I still think it turned out pretty nicely!!

I love this photo prop rock at my niece’s house.  Tried to stuff it in my suitcase, but it just wouldn’t fit!  Such an interesting frond/leaf pattern.

I might be linking to these great parties!

Sweater Sleeve Pumpkins

I’m out visiting family in Colorado this past week and a half.  Actually I am nannying a sweet 16 month old great nephew while his parents take a 10th anniversary tropical vacation.

Here is my charge Brady and he runs 90 to nothing about 95% of the time he is awake!  He is so sweet and snuggly unless of course he has something to investigate.  Then Brady is a boy with a mission!  He is a great assistant!

This was my office while Brady took his middle of the day naps, taking in the beautiful Colorado scenery.  My sis was with me for part of this trip so we hit the Restore and Goodwill stores as we came across them. 

I found this awesome (but not wool :( ) variegated sweater in shades of oranges and a vague shade of pink here and there.  I cut about 6-8 inch segments of the sleeves to make the pumpkins, just straight across both thicknesses of the sleeve. 

With the sleeve right sides together stitch up what will be the bottom of the pumpkin with a long running stitch and heavy thread, then turn right side out.  Now stuff the pumpkin with Polyfil stuffing. You can make it as big or little as you want by adding more or less stuffing.  Now gather the top of the pumpkin with a long running stitch and heavy thread. 

This one I gathered the top really snug and used it as the stem, wrapping it with jute twine. I used the green mohair/wool sweater I found at Goodwill to make the leaves.  I just printed off a an outline of a pumpkin leaf and made two sizes.

I added curly willow branch cuttings for the pumpkin tendrils.

These all came from that same pumpkin…you can see the variations in color.  I got two pumpkins out of each sleeve and I made two more “sleeves” from the front and back of the sweater.

I added them to a newly spray painted plum color basket.

I may be linking to these great parties!