My DIY Compost Bin

We are planning on having a small organic vegetable garden next summer so I knew I would be needing good compost.  After looking at the prices of most store-bought compost bins I realized I would be much better off constructing my own.

We made this little compost bin and having been using it for the last 3 months and it is working wonderfully. 

 It's been so much fun watching our vegetable scraps turn into dark rich soil right in front of our eyes!

Everything I read said your compost needs to allow oxygen to flow through, moisture with adequate drainage, a lid to keep critters out and retain nutrients, and a way to turn or mix the compost periodically.

To accomplish this we bought a large trash can with a lid at the Dollar Store and drilled holes all over it - the top, the bottom and the sides.  

The holes do 3 things....

1) Allow the compost to breathe (I gather this is super important)

2) Since the compost needs moisture the holes allow some water to come in through the top when it rains

3) The holes on the bottom of the bin allow excess moisture to drain out the bottom.  (We also raised the bin off the ground by putting it on a couple scrap 2x4 boards so it could easily drain and breathe out the bottom) 

I have been keeping a mix of about 2 parts green waste to 1 part brown waste and it has been working wonderfully.  

Click Here for a great chart of what is considering brown or green.

Below is a pic below of how it currently looks inside. 

 I put in half an old watermelon (diced up) and half an old cabbage in at once at the beginning (with dead grass and leaves) and the watermelon and cabbage are already completely gone and turned to black soil!

The main thing that has surprised me about my bin is that it DOES NOT STINK!  If you are keeping your ratios correct with browns and greens, with the right amount of moisture and oxygen you will not have an odor, even though it's loaded with decaying food.  

For more information on composting you can google home composting and find lots of great online resources.

Are you home composting?  I would love to know how it's working for you and any advice you have!

Oh, and there are now kitties at our house!

One will stay and one is going to Felicity's grandparent's house when they get bigger.  She is in love with them and pretends they are her babies.  

Due to request from our wonderful customers we are offering the 25% OFF sale again!

An Ode to the Flapper Girl

If you've seen many of the headbands & hats in my children's line you know I love large head pieces, feathers and pretty much everything flapper style.  

I was in need of some creative inspiration last night and did some research on flapper fashion and found some fun information and photos I just had to share.

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Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong era, like maybe something about you just doesn't fit with the time you are living in?

When I think of living in another era, the 1920's is where my mind immediately goes.

I often wonder how fabulous it would have been to live in an era that saw so much change for women (and of course fabulous pearls and feather boas), but then I think about having to live through the Great Depression that followed the 20's and living in that time suddenly becomes less appealing.

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According to Wikipedia, "Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms."

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A few fun facts I learned about the Flapper era were:

-This was the time High Heels came into style

-Flappers made the word "Jazz" popular in the context of referring to something fun or cool

 -Flapper girls were not just an American thing, other countries such as Japan, Germany, England and France had their own flapper girls dressing fabulous and daring to boldly rebel against their own social norms

-Flappers made the raised hemline (right at or barely above the knee) acceptable for the first time

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The feathers and styles of the era have inspired so many of my designs.  Especially our Peacock feather headbands and feather hats, and after looking through so many fun fashion photos of the time I have some really wonderful inspiration and ideas in my head for some future pieces.... now I just have to get to work and put it all together! 

Here are a few of my favorite flapper inspired designs....

 

  

 

The Mysterious Pumpkin Patch

The most odd thing has been happening in front of my sister's house....

These large vines with squash-like leaves have been growing all summer and we have wondered what in the world it was.  What could be growing astoundingly fast with no human care... 

no seeds ever planted, no watering, no fertilizing....

... then one day, peaking out from underneath the sprawling leaves were pumpkins!

The mystery of course was that she has never planted pumpkins - NEVER!

So what triggered the growth of these beauties?  

Well last year after Halloween she threw her dying shriveling jack-o-lantern over the side of her porch.  

Apparently, that one little pumpkin from last Halloween has produced an amazing little pumpkin patch that has tended itself and is now producing rapidly growing green orbs!

It's a wonderful reminder of just how amazing Mother Nature is when we stay out of her business, leave her alone and allow her to do her own thing.

 

I think I'm more excited about these cute little guys than my sister.  I am hoping enough of them make it to maturity that I can swipe a couple to decorate with Felicity.

While we wait, Felicity and I have been finding plenty of things to keep us busy!

I spent half a day doing something I despise... Dusting!  I went through the whole house and dusted every square inch: baseboards, shelves, electronics - everything.  I was quite proud when I was done.

I finally took down the little canopy tent I had constructed for Felicity's Mad Tea Party and organized all her clothes, getting ready for Fall and Winter.

Oh, and I got to babysit my sister's new puppy!

Her name is Lilly and she's a Chiweannie (no clue if I spelled that right or not).

And before I go I must show you this sweet new picture added to my site of a little angel wearing one our Pearl White Feather Headbands

(Photo by Lil Bit of Photography in Lenapah, Oklahoma)

I never get tired of seeing pictures of little cuties wearing things I've made.  

I took Felicity out to try and get some good new pictures of our Leopard Glitter Headband....  

I couldn't really get a great pic because it was too windy and it made her hair wild, but this one was okay.  She had fun picking flowers (weeds) and bringing them all back home.

Anyway, I need to go get to work.  So many fun Fall shows coming up including "An Affair of the Heart" in Tulsa, OK and I'm no where near prepared at this point.

-Pamela

{ Wordless Wednesday } New Modeling Photos & Out-Takes

P.S. 

Don't forget to enter our Giveaway on our Facebook Page.

A Shabby Blue & White Dresser Makeover

One night a while back I decided it was finally time to tackle my little chest of drawers in the living room.  When I get the urge to do something I want to finish it immediately so I always end up using just whatever I have on hand and this was no different.  

I started with this below, which had previously been painted all white and had a couple broken handles.

I liked how the white paint had chipped and distressed itself over time and didn't want to loose all of that, so I only painted the drawers.

I used lavender and dark blue acrylic paint I had on hand.

I did one coat of lavender paint, followed by a coat of the deep blue paint.  I then sanded the blue paint on the edges here and there to show touches of the lavender underneath.

I replaced the original handles with the brown ones above.  

I wanted the handles to pop a bit so I used some white Valspar paint leftover from my kitchen cabinets and did one light stroke across the top highlighting the raised parts of the design.

I let the paint sit for about 15 seconds then used a towel to rub off the excess paint.

Also, I alternated the handles back and forth, with some facing up and some facing down.

P.S.

Don't forget to enter our LOW ENTRY "Share it to Win it" GIVEAWAY for lots of our handmade baby / little girl accessories on our Facebook Page.

I've also added a couple new things to the shop.

Vintage Halloween Lace Headband

Leopard & Turquoise Hair Bow

Pink & Leopard Feather Hair Bow

I'm linking this post up at some great blogs.  Click Here to see who they are!