If you like Mint...

Hey Master Pinners,

If you liked my beginner's tale about Growing Mint then you'll want to check out some great gardening fabrics on my Spoonflower Pinterest board.

Garden Tools with Stripes by ruthevelyn

Imagine the possibilities of garden patterned fabrics; full aprons to keep the dirt off, gardening bags with flat bottoms and pockets to keep your tools and gloves in the same place, curtains made of herb packets for the kitchen, or easy washable bags to take to the farmer's market with you.

BK

Etsy Planters!

Hey Eager Etsy-ers,

My Growing Mint post got me thinking about replanting cuttings in cool planters to give as gifts so I scoured Etsy for some really great planters. I'm really digging the self watering jumbo wine bottle planter. They're minimalist and recycled!

1. Art Pottery Planter by TheBlueRam
2. Blue Planter by brookhousepottery
3. Porcelain Egg Planter by RevisionsDesigns
4. Recycled Self Watering Jumbo Wine Bottle Planter by Rehabulous
5. Window Planter Box by Lilpicker
6. Glass Pyramid Planter with Air Plant by JechoryGlassDesigns
7. Reclaimed Wood Garden Planter Box by andrewsreclaimed
8. Neon Orange Rhinoceros Planter by CoastalMoss
9. 16" Large Planters by RopedOnCedar
10. Upcycled Herb Planter by SouthernRestoration

BK

A Midsummer Night's Dream in Cincinnati

Hey you Creative Cats,

I recently choreographed William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in Cincinnati, OH. The design is centered in a jazzy night club of a forest so I had a blast doing research in the 20's and 30's. Take a little looksee and if you're in the Cincy area, come see the show in its final weekend. Tickets are flying!

BK

PS The Brittany he speaks of at the beginning; that's me.

Growing Mint, A Love Story

My mint plant's current bushy state

The last time anyone saw the Cilantro alive

Hey Green Thumbs,

All kinds of window gardens have become popular lately whether its terrariums and succulents, herb gardens, or pots of wildflowers. My chosen path has been the useful, fragrant herb garden.

It was a rainy day in March when I couldn't take the gray anymore and ventured out to the greenhouse. I started with plants instead of seeds because I am a true garden beginner and I needed the green right away. I picked Spearmint and Cilantro to start slow and expand when spring actually came and the greenhouse had more of a selection.

Well, the cilantro died. Then I bought some basil. And the basil died.

But the mint persevered! Mint is a great starter plant if you're new to the gardening game because it is super hardy and tough to kill. Plus, it grows like crazy when it gets enough light and H2O. You'll get excited to see the quick growth and therefore quick usage. I know I did!

My cutting from the mother plan(e)t

Mint likes lots of light and it's soil needs to stay moist. I put my mint in the window that gets all the early morning to midday light and water it once to twice a day. Make sure you have a pot that has plenty of room for the roots to grow. And pinch the tops off of it as it shoots up. That keeps the plant short and full of leaves.

After my mint plant seemed like it was going to keep fighting the good fight, I made a few cuttings. A cutting is a small section of your plant that grows into it's own plant! Cuttings from your mint plant are great gifts because they're useful, pretty, and show you take the time to cultivate a cutting for a friend. The lil guy at the right started out an inch tall and is now four inches tall!

This Patrick de Pinguin site is a little random but it gives you a nice overview of what you can expect when growing mint and a jumping off point on specifics to search more about.

Stay tuned for my adventures in planting seeds..
BK

Pinterest

Hey Productive Pinners!

Looks like everyone is getting on the Pinterest train. Why don't you go ahead and follow my car! I have several different boards including items from Etsy and Spoonflower, and boards on Crafting and Holidays. Although, my favorite board is HiFiSciFi. Geeks, Unite!

http://pinterest.com/kuglerbk/

BK

Ladies Craft Night: Bi-triangles

All the Crafters is the place I'm calling out to ya!

The latest Ladies Craft Night was all about folding paper. It was the first Ladies Craft Night in a while and I knew we would need to ease back into group crafting slowly, so a simple paper craft would do the trick. We made bi-triangles with this Mr. Printables Blog tutorial. Bi-triangles are just what they sound like; a shape that has a triangle on both sides.

All you need to make bi-triangles are paper and scissors. For the most part, the ladies took the first first triangle as a trial and error but by the second and third they had the hang of it and were pretty proud of the shape their crafts were taking.

I made this mobile, as suggested by Mr. Printables; with fishing line, seed beads, and a few heavier beads at the bottom out of the group's efforts.

Mr. Printables is a great, creative, colorful kids crafting website. If you need a rainy day activity to take your mind off the lack of Spring, click your fingertips right on over to Mr. Printables.

BK