Putting some Spring into your step! Or your lawn, or your terrace, or your patio...

I've been covering a lot of heavy stuff lately, it seems.  Not to say that any of that is unimportant - I wouldn't have posted about it if it wasn't.  However, I do feel that it's time for a much-needed change of mood!

Spring in GreenSwamp, Florida is a BEAUTIFUL sight.  There are so many different shades of green that Crayola would pee their pants if they came and hung out for a while.  Azalea bushes, Orange trees, Wisteria, Magnolia trees, Plum trees... the list of things blooming with beautiful flowers and scents is endless.

It is also THE time to start your gardens in GreenSwamp.

Here we have Kinder Major showing off her greenhouse and the seedlings we've started for our vegetable garden:

Those seedlings were planted by her in re-constituted growing pellets (the flat, hockey-puck looking discs of soil they sell exactly for that purpose,) and she also helped assemble our mini-green house.

Show right to left are Bell Peppers, Big Boy Tomatoes, and Zucchini and Crookneck Squashes.

Planting seedlings is probably one of THE best activities you can do with a younger child.  Their tiny little fingers are perfect for poking seeds down in the soil, and they (as I'm sure you well know,) really love to get their hands dirty.

You also don't need a fancy green house like ours to have seedling success.

There's a couple of different options available to you if you really want to actively ensure a proper sprout and start for your seedlings.  You can build your own green house for indoor seedlings, or you can build little individual greenhouse covers for seedlings you start directly in the ground outside.

For an indoor greenhouse, you can do one of two things:  You can buy a kit like I did, or you can DIY your own out of upcycled materials.

The kits can be found at any home improvement store and run from $50 and up.

Building your own can be done for under that amount, depending on what you have on hand and what you think you can get from freecycle/yard sales.

Start out with a three (or more) shelf bookcase.  I like the ones that have slats with spaces between them for shelves, because they allow the light to filter through to the shelves below, so you only have to use one light.  Install a shop light with a full-spectrum grow bulb under the top shelf.  (you will only be using the shelves below the grow light.)  Using a large piece of plastic sheeting like those used for painter's drop cloths, cover the bookcase on all sides.  Depending on how you arrange your plastic sheeting, you may need to cut yourself a flap for access.  Make sure to tack the sheeting down, you don't want it falling off the shelf unit.

Ta-da!  Easy, cheap greenhouse.  There are some excellent tips to be found at Charley's Greenhouse.  (I have no affiliation with Charley, I simply stumbled across his site when I was looking for ideas long ago, and have been visiting it faithfully ever since.)

The other option you have available to you  is starting your seeds outside, in the ground.  To ensure that they have the best chance at germinating, you may want to place individual portable greenhouses around them.  This... is ridiculously easy.

Get yourself a two-liter bottle, like the kind Coke or Pepsi come in.  Trim off the very bottom.  Wash out.  Place on top of planted, watered seeds.  Push down 1" to secure.  Remove cap.  Voila!  Insta-green house.  Removing the cap is important, because you want that area to be able to get air without letting out too much of that valuable condensation or heat.

These tips are guaranteed to help even those with the blackest of thumbs.  At the very least, we can lighten your thumbs to a lovely shade of beige. ;)

Go forth, plant and enjoy!  Live, Love, Garden.  :)

Tutorial: No-Sew pacifier clips for ring-style pacifiers

Ahhh, the pacifier.  Colloquially referred to as the "pluggie" in my home, it is my saving grace with Bug.  Because of his reflux, he has a constant desire to suckle.  The sucking action actually helps to calm the reflux a bit, so it's more than just psychological.

In order for me to satisfy his need and not have him attached to my boob 24/7 (which, while wonderful for bonding, is not wonderful for trying to manage a household and a four year old.) we have many, many pluggies.  I was incredibly annoyed with how easily they became misplaced, dirty, in the dog's mouth, in the cat's paws, in my pocket, bottom of the diaper bag, under his bum in the car seat, etc. and decided to look into the whole "pacifier clip" phenomenon.  Holy Cow, those durn things are expensive!  Well, the ones that aren't made out of plastic are, anyway.

In a fit of exasperation while walking around walmart at 2 AM, I decided I was going to make my own.  Now you can, too!  Materials total came to <$15 after tax for four (4) paci holders.  Compared to $6-$10 a pop otherwise, I don't think that's too shabby.

On to the fun part!

Your materials are as follows:

Suspender clips, they come two to a package for $2.42.  I used two packages.  Your needs may vary.

Please forgive that there's only a photo of the packaging - I didn't think to make this into a tutorial until I was part-way through the project.   Now, if you decide to do this with some forethought, you could probably hit up your local goodwill or thrift store and find a pair of used suspenders for a dollar or less.  The suspenders themselves don't matter, as you'll be cutting the elastic off the clips anyway.  (Note, these suspender clips did come with a two inch piece of elastic attached - just snip the clips out of the elastic and discard.)

Straight pins.  I had these already, but I believe you can get something like 100 for $1.00.  These are factored into the total cost of the project.

E-6000 epoxy glue.  This stuff is so awesome, there just aren't words that adequately describe my love for it.  Please note:  Fumes are strong and can cause headaches and dizziness. Please use in an adequately ventilated area.  As per the manufacturer's help line, E-6000 is completely non-toxic and non-flammable when dry, so it is safe for use on children's toys and garments, as well as pet products.  Cost of 2 oz. tube is $2.97.

5/8" ribbon.  There's an entire aisle of Wal-Mart dedicated to ribbon.  9' spool for $1.98.

3 mm velcro taping.  $2.97 for 2'.

Okay, now that you have your visual on the materials, on to the exciting part!

Fabricating the Pacifier Clips:

 First, cut your ribbon to your desired length.  I used eight inches, personally.  You must be careful not to make them too long, as an excess of length could pose a strangulation hazard.  Make sure your cut is clean - you're going to be ensuring there's no fraying without sewing, but you don't want any frays present when that happens.

Once you've cut your desired length of ribbon, thread it through the suspender clips about 1/4" and fold over.  Pin it horizontally, as shown.

Once pinned, flip the flap up and apply a thin line of E-6000 glue.  Being careful to avoid getting the glue on your skin, gently press the edge of the ribbon down into the glue.  I like to use the ball head of another pin to do this.  In the process, spread some of the glue that has oozed out from under the ribbon flap back on to the top of the ribbon, as shown above.

Now, repeat the pinning/folding/gluing process at the other end of the ribbon.

At this point, I recommend getting up and getting a snack, starting dinner, or taking a nap.  You want to let that glue set up for about two hours before you proceed any further.

Okay, so now that your glue is dry, you want to cut your pieces of velcro.  These will serve to anchor the pacifier securely to the clip itself.  I find it easiest to join the velcro before cutting it, but it's not necessary.

The pieces above are approximately 3/4".

 Now separate the pieces of velcro and apply a medium-thin line of glue to the back (non furry or non-scratchy) side of each piece.  You're going to want to leave a bit of space at each end to avoid oozing.

With the glued edges of your ribbon still facing up, apply your velcro.  At the end, leave just a fraction of ribbon ahead of your velcro, but make sure whichever piece you put at the end covers the glued edge.  About 3/4" away from the inside end of that piece of velcro, put your other piece.  You want it to be able to accommodate all ring pacifiers, some of which can have a ring with a 1/2" width.

Now, once I had glued down my first pieces of velcro, I realized that I really didn't like how long my pieces were, so I trimmed them.  The three to the left are the final length, with the one on the right showing how much I removed.  Once I trimmed the rest of my velcro, I repeated the process from holder #1.

 

Once all of the velcro pieces are glued down, you can call it a day.  The entire project at this point needs approximately 24 hours to cure and dry completely.  Remember, the E-6000 is still considered toxic until fully dry.  Please make sure your project is put someplace out of the reach of naughty paws and sticky fingers!


 








24 hours later, we have the finished product, still facing back-side up.  At this point, slide your ribbon through the ring on the pacifier, fold over, and secure.  Then secure the clip to your babe's clothing or seat.

















Here you see Bug wearing his.  And Smelly Cat.  Smelly Cat,
 however, does not get a pacifier clip, despite his fondness for playing with the pluggies. ;P

Bug really putting my hard work to good use.  Yay, no more lost pluggies!  Happy Baby, Happy Mama, Happy World. :)

Total cost of project:  $12.25 after tax, which breaks down to $3.06 each.  Total time needed: 24 hours including drying time.  Total amount of Awesomeness:  Inestimable. :)

Enjoy!