Plant Yourself in a Book

Gives a whole new meaning to "book worms,"doesn't it??

I. Love. This.

I mean, I love it.

We've already hashed through my defacement of books here.

Books should be loved.

And, if they're no longer being read,

then they should be used and loved in a different way.

This is my way.

.

This one was snagged for a quarter at a sale. Unloved...

until upcycled.

We (meaning I) cut a hole in the cover, and through most of the pages.

Doesn't need to be very deep. Then line your hole with a plastic baggie. I failed to get a picture of that step.

Choose a small plant or grass seed, and pot it in your hardback!

Talk about a conversation-starter centerpiece!
Admittedly, that project was more for me, than for the kids.

Then I did a "school project," just to say I did one. ;)
Take an empty, clean bottle, and cut the bottom off of it.
Use a hole puncher to punch two holes, across from each other,
in your open bottom section.

Choose a small plant, and stick the roots in through the bottle spout, like so.Fill with dirt.Thread ribbon or twine through your punched holes, and hang your plant.

Yes, it grows upside down.

Why?

Because plants only need 5 things to grow:

soil, sunlight, clean air, water, and space to grow (not much space, for small plants!)

They receive all of these things upside down.

Most plants will bend towards the sunlight.

Why try upside down gardening?

It's a space saver, keeps plants out of reach of ground-crawling pests (including children!),

and because it's just plain neat!

After we completed ours, I realized that we probably should have put the roots through a small hole in a coffee filter, at the spout of the bottle, to prevent any soil from leaking out during waterings. I think ours will be okay, as it's in there pretty tight.

Just a tip, in case you are inclined to try it. :)

Repurposing plastic Easter eggs

I have yet another use for these super cheap plastic eggs. First, we did the alphabet and/or color matching game. Now it's time for some decorative fun.

Gather eggs, newspaper, acrylic paints, brush(es), and paint water. Start some music, if that suits you. :-) For this project, I only set out blue, silver, and white paints.

Paint, sponge, swirl, or whatever floats your boat.

Let dry for an hour or so.

Fill with sweet treats, use for decoration or...

do what I'm doing: Fill each egg with flower seeds, and lay them inside a real bird's nest. Pair with gardening gloves, or a potted plant (make the plant labels, too!), and use for your next hostess gift. :-)

(A gift for a mom with little kids would include the mammoth sunflowers, and other large-seed, fast-growing, delightful flowers. For moms with older or grown kids, I'd probably include moss rose or snapdragons...tiny seeds...)