More gift-wrapping goodness...

I like this tutorial for making a gift box from a Christmas card -good for little fiddly things that need a bit of protection:
Using newspaper...

Magazines...you can see the tutorial here

And if you like using bits of fabric like me, there's always Furoshiki:

http://vimeo.com/2321507

Craft your own bird planter!

Check out this tutorial on Design Sponge to make your own bird feeder from recycled products!

Weekly Container Gardening Spotlight-Tutorial

I've been intending to do something about my pot plants for some time. I have quite a few cuttings(mostly succulents) that I potted a year or so ago and conveniently forgot about last summer as it was so hot everything in a pot except these died. We got a heap of new pots and pans for a wedding present so I decided to do something with the old ones. They don't look particularly pretty yet, but once they are thriving I'll post some decent pics.

The benefits of reusing the old pots are that you get to remove the crappy 'terracotta' plastic pots that so many plants are invariably housed in. These were cracked so they went in the recycle bin. Further, the pot handles make them easy to move and rotate when it's really hot (even putting them inside) so you don't kill them off.

You need:

• old saucepans/pots/big lids
• seedlings
• cuttings
• potting mix/succulent mix
• water (grey ish)
• power drill

Directions:
1.Get out power drill only to release the battery has died and it will require several hours of charging. Relax on the couch with the newspaper and a cup of tea.

2. Assembly motley crew of pots in the meantime to demonstrate productivity in between cups of tea.

3. Water all plants you will be repotting. I used water that had been used to rinse garden veggies for the veggie seedling and herbs and a little that had been for some mild cleaning for the rest. The succulents are pretty hardy and dont really know the difference.

Here we have thyme, cucumber, baby lettuce and baby spinach

Various succulents and some tired looking pelargoniums.

Do you like this watering can? Make Gardens Not War! Awesome wedding present!

3. Remove plants from their pots. If they are root bound like mine, chop em up as you wish.

4. Drill holes in pot and lid bottoms. Realise it is impossible to take an action shot by yourself. If you don't have a drill you could try a hammer and nails but that may only work on tin cans and olive oil containers.

5. Realise you forgot to take shots of soil filling and plants due to chatting with husband.

6. Fill pots with soil. If you are feeling really excited you could buy potting mix specifically for succulents which is a bit more sandy.

7. Cut and tidy succulents and replant in their improved glory along with the seedlings.

8. Arrange decoratively as you wish. These will be significantly more decorative once I get some more plants so I can make more pots.

I love the lid full of succulents here: The box is for our new bbq-the old bbq will be used as a herb planter once I buy more herbs.

You can see my pelargonium collection down the bottom. The pots were decorated by the wonderful Craftea Chat participants as a wedding present!


Close up of succulents. The jelly bean ones are cool.

Marvel at wedding present pots again. I still can't believe Rayna got asked for ID when she bought the spray paint for decorating the pots!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, give it a try and let us know how it goes.

Teapots are cool!

I saw these recently on the awning (I think that's the right term) of a cafe in Hawthorn


And I've always used teapots as vases for cut flowers. Here's a tutorial of how you can use them to hold plants:




And I love these windchimes made from recycled teapots and cutlery (sold at St Andrew's Markets):

Container Gardening Weekly Spotlight!

This week I wanted to dedicate to tyres. Yes, tyres. Now, I don't actually own any besides the ones on my bike. But when I was a kid, tyre planters and decoration were a proud possession of any neighbour who prided their front garden, and were usually handpainted and carefully placed on white pebbles (these rested on a bed of plastic).

If you fancy making your own, you can even find a tute here
by Ron. Here's an example of his work:

Here's some other examples

from here

oh lord, it's an entire flock!

sourced from here