Rolo Pencil Craft

* I originally posted this on 6/13/13 but thought I would re-post as it is getting close to back to school time.  Would be a cute gift to make for your child's new teacher or classmates.

Here is a rolo candy bar transformed into a pencil!  A Hershey kiss is glued to the bottom of the rolo candy bar and covered in scrapbook paper to look like a pencil and the metal part is just tin foil.

What to do with Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix? Make Ranch Meatloaf!!!!

To make the meatloaf:

In a bowl combine 3/4 pound ground beef, 1 beaten egg, 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs and 1 packet Ranch dressing mix. Form into a loaf and place in a loaf pan, Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 165 F. 

Allow the meatloaf to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

*The recipe takes five minutes to prepare, 40-45 minutes to bake and serves four people.

Bottle Review of Dr. Brown, Avent and Mam

I heard a lot of great things about the Dr. Brown bottles so I purchased some before my daughter was born. When I first took the bottles out of the box I was overwhelmed with all the parts! But parts were very easy to clean and assemble. We used the Dr. Browns exclusively for the first month she was born. My daughter had very bad gas the whole time. 

The Dr. Brown bottles started leaking and I am pretty sure it's my fault. I had purchased a new pan to boil her bottles in and since then they started leaking. 

I had samples of the Avent and the Mam bottles and decided to try them out and see how she liked them. I love how all three bottles are anti colic! I tried the Avent first and she had a hard time with the nipple. Her next feeding I tried the Mam and she loved it! The nipple is the same as her favorite pacifiers which are also Mam.  I love that you can sterilize the Mam bottles in the microwave!!!! I decided to go out and purchase Mam bottles and switched her to those exclusively. 

Since the switch her gas is almost nonexistent!!! The Mam bottles have a lot of parts, but so did the Dr. Brown. Mam is easy to clean and assemble and my baby loves them. 

Out of all three brands this mom prefers the Mam!

* This is my unbiased opinion and I am not endorsed by any of the brands mentioned. 

Recycled Juice Bottle Planter Experiment

The Experiment:

I am going to attempt to get this poor plant healthy using a homemade sub-irrigated planter out of a discarded juice bottle.

I learned about them on the website listed below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenscaper/sets/72157604735985648/

The above website shows you step by step how to make a sub-irrigated planter (Sip for short) out of a recycled 2 liter bottle. I am going to attempt this with a juice bottle because it is all I had on hand.


What is a Sub-irrigated planter or SIP?
Sub-irrigated planters (mistakenly referred as “self-watering planters”) are amazing systems for growing both houseplants and edible plants. SIPs hold reservoirs of water and air inside the planter, giving plants a constant supply of what they need to grow. With access to a constant supply of water and oxygen through the reservoir, the root system can now grow exponentially. Finally, the gardening adage of “the bigger the pot, the bigger the plant” now no longer applies! (Explanation used from: http://www.brooklynseedcompany.com/how-to-make-a-plastic-bottle-sip/ )

The plant I am attempting this on:

This plant has a few problems:

1. I put it into too big a pot. A pot that's much larger gives the roots too much space to grow into. The top of the plant won't grow until its roots begin to fill the container. 
2. Look at the crusty residue on the pot. This crusty stuff is an accumulation of soluble salts and indicates that high salt levels are building up in the soil threatening the health and vitality of the plant. 
3. I put it in an unglazed terracotta pot (I didn’t know you are supposed to pre-soak the pot in water before planting) Terracotta is a very porous material. When you fill an unglazed terracotta pot with moist soil the terracotta actually acts like a sponge and wicks/robs moisture from the soil leaving the plant thirsty. When clay pots "wick away" moisture from the soil they contain, they also absorb soluble salts. So this is why my pot is covered in this crusty stuff. If you presoak the pot it is supposed to prevent the pot from wicking moisture from soil. 

I love plants but kind of have a black thumb. My Grandma could make a popsicle stick grow roots. I decided to try and do some research on plants and learn more about them so maybe I will have better luck with them.

I will post pictures later showing the progress of the plant in its new home:) This poor plant is a couple of years old and has never grown due to the poor conditions I placed it in. My hope is to turn it into a healthy thriving plant! Wish me luck...

Trash into Treasure tin can planter

I had some small plants and decided to plant them in tin cans.  I got some jute, burlap a doily, popsicle sticks that I stained & decorated the tin cans.  I also used a nail to hammer small drainage holes in the bottom of the cans.  I think they turned out cute.

Anything Can Become A Planter

My attempt at the tipsy pots planter pole