Flower Power in the Garden

For a wow factor in the garden sometimes it's all about numbers. The number of blooms on a plant, the number of inches across for each of those blooms, and the three numbers that must appear on the front panel of plant food and fertilizer packages. To achieve maximum number of blooms and maximum size the plant food you choose has to have the right numbers. I found an amazing product in my own quest to get the numbers right and the result was a garden with FLOWER POWER.

Last year I discovered Shultz Expert Gardener Bloom Plus.


 

 This product is a water soluble fertilizer that promotes rapid blooming, vibrant color, and strong root development.  This particular Schultz fertilizer product contains a 10-60-10 nutrient analysis. This is one of the highest phosphorous counts of many other brands. It also contains a variety of micro-nutrients such as chelated iron, manganese and zinc which are required for optimal plant growth. For me the results were lightening fast and shocking when I applied it to my potted plants. Take a look at these results! I give this one five stars out of five for effectiveness and bang for the buck.

                                                           Just two seed geraniums!

                                               
                                               Where is the foliage on this petunia??


                                              Then I tried it on an Oakleaf Hydrangea.

Baking Soda- It's not just BS

I have changed a lot in the last 10 years or so.  Much of it, I am sure, comes from being a mom of two and a wife (kind of sucks me dry).  No longer can I go out and blow money on the oh so many things I want, so I have been forced to get creative.  Well, I am trying anyway!  And I am thoroughly enjoying this chapter in my life.  But I miss those massages, pedicures, waxes, and all the other frivolous, incredibly enjoyable indulgences, that the princess inside me LOVES!


My grandmother was the first to teach me about the baking soda power and I have found it to be incredibly helpful through my life.  I, myself, am easily bothered by stings, bites, plants, allergies of all kinds, hair, ...you get the picture...and my son; well, he is my 6 year old boy.  Today he caught a bee.  I told him for weeks (longer actually) NOT to do that.  I might have said, "What, are you crazy? That bee will sting you!"  He, of course, continued to catch them and succeeded today with a sting to show for it.  

One of my son's favorite pastimes, much to his mother's dismay, is studying spiders (which means catching them and making homes in one of his many critter containers).  He has gotten bitten SO many times, and let me tell you...it is UGLY and PAINFUL.  

• Medicinal Uses- Baking soda is the answer.  Mix it with a few drops of water to create a paste and spread it over the sore.  It will draw that nasty, puss poison right out of there. Be persistent though.  It is not a once and done remedy.  This works for mosquito bites too.  If you do it immediately, no red welt will develop.  Another medicinal use comes with treating sunburn.  Sprinkle some BS in the tub to relieve stinging and calm skin.  Cradle cap can also be treated in this manner (just keep away from eyes).  Canker sores as well; mix warm water and baking soda and swish the mixture and spit.  Repeat every couple hours.  Even Fido can benefit from the power of the soda!  Use this solution to clean out your pet's ears.                                                    There is an awesome DIY recipe for a foot soak using baking soda and epsom salt at LIVESTRONG.com.  The baking soda soothes dry skin.

• Clean your dishwasher- Put a cup of baking soda on the bottom of your dishwasher and run the rinse cycle.  Cleans it right up!

• Water repellent-  Wipe some baking soda and warm water on your windshield and rain will slid off more easily.

• You ever burn a pan?  I have.  It is salvageable...fill the pan with about 1/4 water and a cup of baking soda and bring it to a boil.. Turn it off and let it rest overnight...in the am it should clean up easily.  The same idea applies with thermoses or containers that smell funky.  Put in some warm water and a tablespoon of baking soda and let it sit overnight.  

• Clean a drain- Dump down a cup of Baking Soda and a cup of vinegar and let it sit for a bit.  Then dump down a pot full of boiling water.  This is more of a maintenance things.  It would work on serious blockages.

• Fishy Hands?  Wash with baking soda and take that smell away so you can enjoy your dinner!

• Garbage-  Sprinkle some on the bottom of the can and leave it smelling fresh. 
  

• Clean out hairbrushes and toothbrushes with baking soda.

• Tomato Plants-  Sprinkle some baking soda in the soil to make those maters sweeter.

• Fluffify your omelets...can't get that fluff?  Put in a LITTLE (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) into your eggs and you should see nice results.

• Veggie Wash-  A baking soda bath for your produce is awesome.  It removes pesticides and wax.

DIY sidewalk paint...super cool when color pops after it has dried!

You will need:  

Muffin tin or small cups...shot glasses work!

Corn Starch

Water

Paintbrushes

Acrylic Paints...almost anything works!

Mix equal parts warm water and corn starch and add in some paint.  Use a plastic knife, something similar the stir...you king of need to work that corn starch, it's stubborn.

If you use a fat paint brush and be very generous in your paint usage, you will see that as the paint dries, it becomes colorful.  At first my kids were a bit disappointed because the color doesn't show immediately.  After a few minutes they were all giggles.  It is magic:)

Tye Dye DIY...for Paper

Ignore the terrible shadow!

This is a very simple, but messy project.  The results can be real cool!  And the kids just love it.  Of course, I am a bit of a paper freak.  It's the scrap booking thing.  I can't help myself.

You will need:

A can of shaving cream-  Go cheap.  I got a huge can at the dollar store.

Food Coloring or some paint-  I have used both.  My opinion; the food coloring makes for a prettier result, the washable kiddie paint is sooo  much easier to clean up.  Food colors WILL stain.

Card stock (again, makes for a prettier outcome) or Index Cards-  The index cards worked well with the kids because they could do more.

 I just used some pie plates for the index cards.  When we made larger sheets we used pizza pans.  Just squirt and spread.  They loved it.  We talked about the texture of the shaving cream while trying to smooth it out.

There's something cool about just squirting it on the plate-

I filled a big bowl with water to dip hands in before swirling in the colors.

We placed a few drops of food coloring...or a teaspoon of paint...and swirled it in with the opposite end of a paint brush.  Then take your paper and press it flat into the concoction.  I couldn't get a picture of this next step because I was a mess at this point...  When you lift the paper out, take a ruler or something with a flat edge to scrap off the shaving cream.  

This is what you will have left!  

Now I need to find a craft to do to use this beautiful paper.

Not Just For The Hair Spray

Over the many years of hair spray usage, I have picked up some other, more creative things, to do with my hair spray.  It all started with good ole' Aqua Net.  The hair spray for ultimate hold...on those feathered, eighties bangs (don't act like you don't know).

These days I change things up and try new products, but two of my favorites are John Freida's Luxurious Volume spray and Big Sexy Hair Spray and Play.  Check out our favorite product page for more info-

Bug Bites- A shot of hair spray to the ailing bite and viole'... the stinging is gone!  I have also taken fire directly at bugs with spray.  That works too.

Stop The Run-  Okay, girls. This is not a new one, but it must be mentioned.  Spray that stocking run with hair spray and watch it stop in its tracks!

To Combat Nail Polish-  If you drip on the rug (or your little diva spills), squirt the spot with a bit of water and hair spray.  You should be able to lift it up after it takes on a gummy consistency.

To Help Nail Polish- Spray a light coat over freshly painted nails for a longer wear time.

Faux Dye- Use some Kool Aid to color your hair, and hold it in place with some hair spray.  I can't wait to try some funky colors with my daughter this summer!

Hair Roller Substitute- Spray a tissue with hair spray and swipe over furniture to pick up animal hair.

Do It Yourself Children's Furniture

Okay, so I tackled this project with lots of enthusiasm, but it was a bit harder than I expected.  I got the inspiration from Pinterest (as I often do), and decided to try to make a piece - A PIECE - of furniture for my kids. That is exactly what I did, but now I am thinking I need a table to go with this chair.  Also, my 6 year old son is asking for one of his own.  GAH!

The hard part about starting this project is finding the right boxes.  Unless you want a crooked chair or a slide,  you're going to want to use matching boxes for the arms.  Other than that you'll just need a nice, fat box for the seat, and a long box for the back rest.  After much digging (and bugging my mom to look through her boxes), a few weeks after I decided to do the project, I was finally ready to give it a go.  You MUST have good boxes, even if it means waiting.

Another key to making this project a success is reinforcing the seat.  Since numbers give me a headache, I did not measure out and fit in a nice X in the center of the seat (probably would have been best).  Instead, I took some pieces of cardboard, making sure that they were the height of the chair (Yes, I did do that at least...didn't want it to cave in), and I put them in in various directions closely resembling the X design I should have followed.  After that, I found some cardboardish paper stuff that came in a box my mom gave me.  I shoved that in all the open spaces.  Sloppy, but it worked!  And, who cares?  Once the box is closed you can't see it!!!  So lots of things could work to create a stable seat. 

As you can tell with my picture, I also made sure I taped all the boxes closed.  All the bumps and uneven places will be seen on the finished project, so I tried to minimize the bulges and bumps. 

The next step was fastening all the boxes together with my little bitty glue gun. I piled books on top to help get a nice, tight seal.  It took maybe 15 minutes.

I thought I took pictures of this next step, but apparently I did not.  

This mass of boxes went out to my deck along with Mod Podge, scrapbook paper and an old paint brush.  

I was not really happy with my finished upholstery job because I did not have enough of the rose paper I began with.  Oh well, I made the best of what I had.  I  have learned that gluing on bits of tissue paper will help smooth the seams and make, ehhem, problem areas less noticable.

 And this is what I got.

 All in all it was a successful project.  Even though she does not look pleased in the picture I took (haha), my daughter loves it.  It is holding up quite well too.  We have had it for over a month now and it is still going strong!  So...a table to match?????