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

Ramona Flowers Star Purse Tutorial

Hey Constant Crafters!

Long time no type, Fellows of the Craft! My summer gig kind of took over my life and I am very glad to have had the forethought to take a break from the blog and focus on the work at hand. But I am just as jazzed to be back on the keys and back to my most "constructive" (I had to do it) hobby, crafting.

Let us start this winter with my favorite holiday, Halloween. This year the old ball and chain and I decided to be Scott and Ramona from Scott Pilgrim vs the World. I hemmed my thrifted green khaki dress, cut the wig, and made my purse from my own pattern. Add in my Mary Janes, steampunk goggles, finger-less gloves (not pictured); and for warmth: leg warmers and a hoodie. My sweet fella searched Etsy for a purse or a pattern and found a few but, cmon, I can create a round purse so... that leads up to our 

FIRST TUTORIAL OF THE SEASON!

Ramona Flowers Star Purse:

SA=Seam Allowance

You'll need:

• Yard of fabric (I used duck cloth, it is thick and treated for outdoor use), color of your choice (Ramon had several versions in the movie)
• Fat quarter of the Star's color (use a faux leather)
• Thick interfacing (may be iron or sew in, your choice)
• A dinner plate
• Zipper, at least the length of half the circumference of your dinner plate
• Thread in these two colors
• Sewing Machine
• Tape measure
• Iron

*For my star, instead of a fat quarter, I bought a black, fake leather purse with one large side big enough for my star; then I also had the use of all buckles and O-rings on purse. Possibly the zipper too if you're diligent and careful.

1. Use your dinner plate to cut two circles of fabric and interfacing (you may also cut two additional circles of fabric if you do not want to see your interfacing inside your purse). Use 1/2 at SA.
2. Using the entire length of the fabric, mark and cut your strap and width of the purse in strips.

1. Strap: This width can be made to your preference. I marked  3.5 inches wide strip; quarter inch SA and a 1.5 inch wide strap. Fold in a quarter inch on each side (ironing as you go), fold entire width in half, and top stitch on both sides.
• If you are using hardware from another purse, measure how wide the buckles and rings are so you know how wide to make your strap. Adjust measurements as needed.
2. Purse Width: Here I cut two 2.5 inch wide strips, including .5 inch  . You'll need two strips so you can sew your zipper in between them.
3. Sew purse width straps together, pressing SA open. Find center of width and follow instructions on package for an invisible zipper, making it about half the circumference of the purse.
4. For Star: Find a picture of a star on the interwebs, save and adjust size to fit circle, and trace or print a  pattern. Cut out star.
5. Iron or baste interfacing to fashion fabric circles. 
6. Top stitch star to one circle.
• This is where you would baste your second fashion fabric on the inside to hide interfacing.
7. Pick a star point as your top center and find the center of your zipper. Start at those points and pin fashion sides, sew purse width to one circle. Repeat on other circle.
8. Sew excess width closed at bottom. Turn right side out!
9. Decide how long you want your strap to be (take into consideration your buckles and rings, at this point you're on your own or comment for help). Close the ends (fold in and top stitch if you haven't already done so) Top stitch just below the zipper.

• You'll see on mine, I had O-rings. I cut a short length of strap to go around the ring and top stitched to purse and to strap.
10. Press the seams so they're not rolling and you're done! Make sure to avoid the star, as whatever plastics faux leather is made out of will melt on contact with your iron (I learned that lesson the hard way).

**For a more XP, you may also use a slightly smaller, contrasting color star top stitched on the bottom star and piping in your contrasting color around the circles.

BK

Take a Load Off!

Hey Loyal Crafters,

As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't updated in a while. Directly after my very fun and competitive turn with So You Think You're Crafty I moved and have taken a new, more demanding job this summer, pushing me to the limits and this blog right off my plate. You can expect to see a bright, shiny new blog post in October, but until then I am going to have to take a small sabbatical while I'm learning more about my field and how to grow into it.

Thanks for all your support and get ready for a creative winter!

BK