Holiday season is just around the corner, and I’ve been longing for a chance to make handmade gifts. Lots of gardening and crafting have been on my mind lately.
Simple Joys is a blog series where I’ll be sharing small happenings or objects which brought a smile to my face.
Growing cutting flowers
When we bought our house, it came with a big protea tree. The big pink flowers make stunning floral displays in a vase, and they also make wonderful impromptu gifts. A bunch of flowers from your own garden, tied together with a ribbon makes you really appreciate the different seasons.
I now have a small plot in my front garden for growing flowers. Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein has been helping me plan what to plant, when, and how to maximise blooms.
A planting system
Seeds, regardless or size, just gets lost in my garden beds. After several failed attempts, I now have a planting system. It starts with sowing seeds in a small pot in a sheltered area. Once they grow to 5cm (2″), I move them to the ground in a spot where they receive more sun. Summer is almost here, so I have happy sunflower seedlings growing in pots right now.
I can just picture this dress
Yuki is almost 6 months old, so we have moved her to her own room. She sleeps much better now, in what used to be my sewing room. Opportunities to sew are rare these days, but I’m doing plenty of planning! This Nani-Iro floral linen would be perfect for this drop waist dress, don’t you think?
Dreaming of a fabulous new sewing machine
I really love sewing, but for some reason, I’ve never invested in a fancy sewing machine. Especially not one with embroidery capabilities! Wouldn’t it just be wonderful to sew with a machine like this Brother Project Runway sewing machine? Well, one of my partners, Ultimate Bundles is giving one away, along with 19 other crafting prizes. It takes two minutes to enter the draw, so make sure you go over here and register to win before November 26, 2017 (EST)!
Steps towards a more conscious Christmas
Since becoming more and more aware of the waste we produce, I’ve been making small, manageable changes to our consumption. For Christmas presents this year, I’ve decided to gift these produce bags and beeswax food wraps, both of which have integrated smoothly into our low waste home. Umi helped me to make wrapping paper using old packing paper and stamps made from wonky carrots from the back of the fridge.
