Easter Floral Arrangement in a Mason Jar

Tropical Wally WoollyPocket

I mentioned quite some time ago that the #gardenchat consensus on simple wall mount planting was woollypockets, and I've finally gotten around to planting my first one :)
The fantastically large leaves brighten up this still bleak cold early-spring office!

5 Minute Furniture DIY

I think everyone has a piece of furniture like this - some generic flatpack shelf from somewhere like IKEA or Walmart.  Because mine is next to the stove and I rest my tea and ladle and all sorts of other things on it, the top is frequently grimy!  So I got some self-stick shelf paper from the dollarstore (it's like a giant sticker with a grid pattern on the back) and resurfaced the top to make it easier to wipe down.  I folded an extra strip down over the corner to really finish the edge.  Finally, I found a new home for my cookbooks and am only keeping tea under this shelf :)  5 minutes, and my kitchen shelf looks that much better!

Faerie Terrarium

Today, our interiorscaping class made terrariums!  And because I've been enjoying the recent trend of miniature gardens, with faeriesque charm, I brought in some whimsical dollhouse furniture I've been hanging on to :)

Full Circle Stupice Heirloom Tomatoes

My Stupice tomato seedlings are now transplants, living in my sunny windowsill!  These are the first plants I've grown from seeds that I saved myself :) and I have so many more types & varieties coming in the next few weeks.

The history of these lil sprouted seedlings?

1. Linda Crago from Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm came to visit our class and gave us the first Stupice seeds to set off our research.
2. We started growing the first round of tomatoes as seedlings at the Niagara College greenhouse.
3. They were transplanted and grown out in the Niagara College research greenhouse.
4. Running out of space on our research bench, I brought the first set of seedlings home around Christmas.   
5. In February, when the plants had grown huge and taken over the research greenhouse, I had to bring a few more plants home.     
6. A few weeks later, both sets were producing their first tomatoes!
7. I saved as many seeds as I could from the earliest (but also the tastiest) tomatoes.
8. Both sets of plants have continued to produce so many tomatoes... 
9. That I decided to try my hand at taking them to the farmers market!
10. A few weeks ago... it came full circle!  The seeds I had saved and planted finally sprouted :)

Edwardian Farm & Victorian Farm

Watch Full Episodes of Edwardian Farm on TVO



Watch Full Episodes of Victorian Farm on TVO

Rant in Pictorial Form

Finally! A replacement for Picnik!

When I first discovered Picnik, I fell in love.  Because I am always updating from libraries, internet cafes, couchsurfing hosts, freelance offices, and friend's houses my "computer" is a harddrive and I can't install all the programs I need each and every time.  In-browser editing, via Picnik, was a fantastic solution!  Though not as flexible as photoshop, I found it powerful enough. With diverse settings and a wonderful array of effects, type and frames.  Imagine my dismay when Google announced it was buying Picnik and while aligning many of the features into Google+, would be shutting down the original site.

I've been at a loss.. but I've just discovered the solution: PicMonkey!  From many of the same engineers and team that created Picnik, but with more features - its intuitively similar to its predecessor.  You can see above, a few samples of what I've managed on PicMonkey, I'd suggest trying it out :)

The Power of Introverts

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've come to realize that I am an introvert.
This video really helps me find the value in that fact :)