My Urban Garden Part 1

 Finally I'm ready to share my Urban Farm.
It's mostly done, I still have to plant the veggies
and the citrus, but that will happen today.

First things first though.
We needed to build a grow box for the veggies.
Since we are on a shoestring budget for this Urban Farm
I needed to get creative.
Luckily I was able to score loads of pallets for free off
Craigslist and I haven't even scratched the surface of using
what I have.

It's kind of an obsession.  I see them everywhere.
I'm not kidding. I still have a lot of pallets in the side yard and for some reason I want more!

So nearly all the wood used here I got for free.  Even the 2x6's that are the top edge of the grow box.  I just went to my local home construction site and asked if I could take some of their scraps.  They gladly obliged since it's less trash weight they have to pay.
They're happy.
I'm happy.
Win ! Win !

The only thing I paid for are the long pallets you see along the fence.  Those were $2 each from my local salvage yard.  I'm going to cover them with chicken wire to allow my vining plants room to grow.

I also splurged on a high quality exterior house paint to paint the boxes with. I needed them to last for a while and that was the best option to prevent sun and water damage to the wood.

I chose a fun blue color to off set all the green that will be happening soon!
I painted the interior and the exterior of the boxes.

But let me share a little of the process.

First we decided how tall we wanted the boxes to be. Then measured the pallets and cut them down with a rotary saw.  Luckily I scored some super heavy duty pallets that were not coming apart anytime soon.  Those were the main structure for the grow box.Since all the pallets had openings between the slats, we needed to used some other pallet wood to cover them up.  The kids loved helping pound nails into the wood.

And really since it's pallets, I didn't care that they were perfectly spaced. 

Kind of adds to the rustic-y-ness.

You should also know that no one in my house is a master carpenter.

Again... rustic-y-ness.

Our dog Daisy was just happy to be outside with everyone.

As was all the kids!

Definitely a family affair.

Working alongside the kids is 

a necessary experience for all of us!

After all the slats were nailed in place,

we joined the pallets with screws and extra boards on the outside

and the tops were covered with the 2x6 boards.

It kind of makes a U shape that we pushed up against the back wall of the yard.

We used a few pieces of Rebar to pound in the ground and secure with

metal U straps.  I'm going to paint them to blend in with the rest, 

but haven't gotten to that yet.

Since our yard was all rocks before we moved in,

we saved some when we scraped them all off and used that as

the base of our grow box.

That was a nightmare job if there ever was one.

If I never have to scrape up rocks again it will be too soon.

After the box was painted inside and out, it was time to fill it.

I am using sand and sawdust.

The sand was $20 from Home Depot for a 1/2 ton.

I got 3 large bags of sawdust from my uncle who really is a master carpeter

with a sand alone shop and every tool you can imagine.

I just asked for his extra sawdust and he happily obliged.

If you don't have an uncle like that,

check with your local Home Depot or Lowes and ask what they do with

the sawdust from cutting lumber.

They will probably let you have it for free.

I'm using the Mittleider method for gardening.

It doesn't use soil, just sand and sawdust.

You feed the plants exactly what they need when they need it.

No weeds.  No extra cost for soil.

Hooray!

We added the sand and sawdust in layers, then everyone stuck their hands in and mixed it all together.

Very fun and therapeutic at the same time!

Then my Husband climbed inside and smoothed out the whole thing with a rake.

Here's a pic of my youngest dreaming of fresh fruits and veggies soon to come.

Well at least that's what I imagine him to be dreaming about.

That's what I'd be dreaming about.

One last look before I fill it up with plants.

I'm sooo excited.

And I literally spent less than $50 on the whole thing. 

Not to bad!

Come back soon and I'll show you my potato box, garden plans and more pics of the yard.

Polka Dots and a Sheer Maxi

I know.  Another one.  I seriously can't help myself.  I still have 2 more pieces of fabric calling to me from my sewing room to make into maxis.  Although one piece will probably be a midi dress.  I have a few ideas I want to try.  Plus the fabric is super cute.

But for today I had just enough sheer Polka Dot left from my scarf I made, it needed to be done.

This time I added a piece of black lining to the pattern.

It's a little tricky to get the waistband just right since you are

using two layers, but if you baste them together before doing the

elastic in the waist, it's easy.

Since I'm using sheer, I needed two layers.

I didn't really want to try to find a long slip to fit, 

so the last time I went to SAS, I picked up a piece of black lining.

Cut two pieces according to the pattern above.

Seam the pieces into a tube.

Baste the two pieces at the waist together.

Measure the elastic to fit your waist.

Serge or zigzag the sheers to the elastic.

Hem or Roll Hem with a serger to the bottom edge.

Done.

It's a nice light flowy skirt.

Plus I love the Polka Dots!

Happy sewing!

I have some exciting things to share with my Urban Farm.  Please come back soon!

Buckwheat Waffles

I recently discovered buckwheat at the class at Shars where they talked about sprouting.

In the class she used sprouted buckwheat to make granola.

I also learned that Buckwheat isn't really wheat at all.  Really it dosen't even look like wheat. 

It's more related to Rhubarb.

The health benefits are fabulous.

They are working on using it to treat Type II Diabetes, 

lower plasma cholesterol, and fat loss. 

It's also very high in protein, iron, zinc, and selenium.

Really who couldn't ask for more.

I have yet to try it in granoal, but I did buy some to try in waffles.

I think I'm in love!

We eat a lot of waffles at my house, alternating with the Heavenly Cream of Wheat,

and in moments of weakness, or tiredness... we have cold cereal.  

Sigh...

But when I ask what the kids want, they usually want waffles.

While I do love my whole wheat oat waffles, this new version is very tasty

and seems to stay firmer than the regular version.

It's super easy to make and this recipe makes about 9 waffles.

Buckwheat Waffles

Grind 3/4 cups of buckwheat

3/4 cup hard white wheat, or a blend of grains like spelt, kamut, and wheat.

Put 2 cups water in the blender then add,

2 cups fresh ground flour

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup applesauce

2 Tbsp honey or sweetener of your choice

Blend well.

Pour on waffle iron and let cook acording to manufacturers directions.

Serve hot.

This is my favorite way to eat one with a little peanut butter, applesauce, bananas, and strawberries.

For Valentines Day I made these for my kids.  I added 3 strawberries to the batter in the blender and some food coloring, then sprinkled chocolate chips on top before closing the waffle iron lid.

Either way, a super yummy power packed breakfast for you and yours!

Some V-day 'stache's!

Valentines is almost upon us and I have to make 60 cards for the kids to take to school this year. Sheesh, that's a ton!  Luckily I know and love Photoshop and put these cute little cards together pretty quick.  Feel free to print as many as you like.

The mustache brush came from Brusheezy here.

There are some fun 'tache's on those brushes and I will defintely use them again.

I printed mine on cardstock, cut them out, and will attach candy to each one.

Thanks to my local WinCo, I'm well stocked!

Gotta love those bulk bins!

You will get 8 cards per 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of cardstock.

 Have a Fabulous Classy Stache Valentines!

And feel free to pin my page or share with everyone, but not for resale.  That's just not nice.
Please leave a comment if you download my cards. I'd love to hear from you.

My neighbor Kristy has some super cute Robot Valentines with free printables here!

Happy Valentines!

Rectangles and Maxi Dresses

Yeah! More Maxis.  I am seriously obsessed and since they are so easy to make, I just can't stop myself.  Maybe I'll have to keep myself from going back to SAS again.  I always find something fabulous when I go and it's so cheap, I just can't resist.  I guess it's a good thing it's about 35 minutes away.  This latest piece I found is so fun and funky.  I love the pattern and colors.  I really didn't have to do much to it to make it a super cute maxi dress.

Unfortunately there's this seam through the middle, 

but fortunately it fell right where my waist would be anyway.

It made joining the top and the skirt easy peasy.

This is that pattern I used again for the skirt.

 For the top I cut two rectangles.

I measured my waist and added about 4 inches, then divided that number in half. 

This will be the width of the rectangle.

The length is up to you.  

I added an inch at the top for the casing, 

and an inch to the length so it would be a little poufy at the waist.

Fold the 2 pieces in half and cut an armhole like shown.  I cut it a little deep

since I'll always be wearing a shirt underneath.

Just my modest style, but you can cut it wherever you're comforable.

I cut two more rectangles for the top ruffle.

I used one in the front and one in the back.

Then one long strip of the folded fabric to make the neck band/straps.

Sew the side seams for the top, then sew a rolled hem for the arm holes.

For the top create a casing of about 1 inch like shown.

 For the ruffle I did a lettuce finish with my serger, pulling both sides of the fabric as it fed through the needle.  Do this for the 3 sides of the ruffle pieces.

Pin the ruffle right sides together and sew in place at the casing stitch line.

Do this for the front and back of the top.

Flip the ruffle down and the top is done.

Next lets finish the skirt.

Sew the skirt into a tube.

Repeat the lettuce ruffle on the bottom edge or hem like normal.

I added 3 elastic thread stitches at the waist because I wanted it to be a little gathered,

 rather than straight down from the top.  

Elastic thread is kind of tricky to get wound around your bobbin and sometimes your machine might not like you for using it, but just play with the tension and it can be a dream for gathering up stuff.

Turn the skirt inside out and pin to the top making sure the seams are in the right place.  

You don't want the back seam somewhere in the front.

Stitch the skirt to the top.

Now for the shoulder straps.  I folded the long thin rectangle sides into themselves, kind of like an M and stitched down the out side.

Using a safety pin, thread the strap through the casing of the front and the back. 

Now go try on the dress and figure out how long you need the straps to be.

Since I was alone, I just tied the straps together where I wanted them.

Sew both ends together and cut off the excess.

Slide the joined ends into the casing and you'll never see it again.

Done!

When I tried it on, it seriously needed a belt.  

I have a skinny and a wide black belt but it just didn't work.

Then I remembered I had some left over T-shirt material from my scarf I made recently.

Luckily I didn't throw it away.

I cut up the sleeves, joined the ends just like the scarf, and made one long strip.

I wrapped it around my waist a few times and knotted it.

Love it!

 Another Happy Maxi Day!
You betcha I'll be wearing this all the time when it actually goes back to normal Arizona weather.
It was rainy and in the 50's all day today.
Almost like I'm back in Seattle.
I just wish I could have the warm weather and the Pacific Northwest trees at the same time.
Ahhh... wishful thinking.

Ruffles and Maxies

 I'm kind of obsessed with Maxi Skirts right now.  Well Maxi Dresses too.  So for the next few posts I will share the different one's I have made.  Since it's almost Valentines, we will start with a pink one with ruffles.  These are super easy to make.  All you need is about 2 yards of knit fabric and some elastic.  I found this super cute fabric at my last trip to SAS.  It was a total score at $2.99 a yard.  I used my serger to put the whole thing together and make the lettuce ruffle edge.

Here's the pattern I used to make the skirt.

Put right sides together and sew the back seam.

Add elastic to the waist.

I used some 2 inch wide elastic I got from SAS for $0.25/yard.  

Another huge score!

I cut another 4 strips for the ruffle at the bottom, 

2 strips per ruffle that were the total width of the fabric.

For each strip I used the rolled hem stitch on my serger

pulling both sides of the fabric as it went through the needle.

This gives it the lettuce edge.

Gather the strips using either elastic thread in the bobbin or gathering foot or basting stitch.
Pin in place along the bottom edge of the skirt.
Sew ruffles in place and you're done!

I love the texture of the fabric.

Happy Maxi Day to you!

More Maxies to come!