Bittersweet Boots

Happy Friday!

With wet spring behind us, I began clearing out our shoe closet aiming to put away the winter boots and rubber boots until next winter and spring.  I came across two pairs of boots that all four of my girls had worn and that all four girls had outgrown.

Looking back at these little boots I was flooded with memories... Sammy in the ladybug boots with matching ladybug raincoat; Nicole in the orange boots and nothing else.  Seriously, our eldest loved being naked and spent so much time during the months 9-12 that I was seriously concerned what her profession later in life might be.  Thankfully at 13, nakedness nor boots are an issue.

These poor boots were not fit for donation and I just loved looking at these tiny pairs so this morning I turned them into planters for the front fence.

 This project really is a great mash up of crafting, gardening and power tools.

Love me some power tools!!

First thing was first... using the drill I made a few more holes to add to the worn out soles for drainage.  Just a few little ones.  I filled the bottom of each boot with a little bit of gravel from the driveway also to help with drainage.

Next, the boots were filled with a soil/manure mix and some little annuals that our local supermarket had marked down to $1.49 - SCORE!

Back at it with the drill, each boot was screwed through the back of the leg of the boot into the split rail fencing.

The nice thing about rubber boots is that they LAST... I am hoping to use these as planters for a few years to come.  Though the feet in the house have grown so much bigger, these little boots hold overflowing memories.  :)

Jeanette

Over the Garden fence {{WORDless Wednesday}} June 15, 2016

Happy Wednesday!  

Take a walk around our veggie patch!  Its so exciting to see what is growing!  And, of course taking note of what is needing a little help... Come on carrots!!  

We have: pumpkin, watermelon, four types of beans, four types of cucumber, celery, lettuce, kale, broccoli and cauliflower, large and cherry tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeños, radishes, potatoes, onion, asparagus, corn and peas.

Full garden plus manure pile in the background.  :)

On the request of Derek and Nicole we added a very hot "ghost pepper" plant!

The green peppers are flowering!!

left - cucumber, centre kale, right tomatoes.  Behind: Carrots and beans

Very happy potatoes between squash and watermelon and a row of celery

Left - jalapeños, centre radish, right cabbage

And these newly hatched little cuties.  Ahhh.. the cuteness!

I am fascinated each morning by the changes I see in the plants... and the weeds *sigh*

Jeanette

Ice Cream Bicycle Basket - My OWN SCHNICKism

Hello Friday; Helloooo Weekend!

Okay.  So though I am a SCHNICK by marriage not by blood, I do seem to have SCHNICK ideas of my own and impressively they do work out once in a while.  :)

Last week our darling Krista with her armful of stuffed pets threw a little tantrum at not being able to maneuver her bike whilst holding her babies.   A whoooole lot of tears.  Draping her purse filled with her lovely creatures over the handlebars only caused her to really scream when she found she couldn't steer.  Okay... don the thinking caps.

What this poor child needed was a bicycle basket... and pretty darn quick.  Okay.  But have you seen how much WalMart and Canadian Tire want for those plastic woven baskets??  Not too mention the half hour drive to either store from home.  There's the little bit of dutch that has rubbed off on me mixing with my will to lead a environmentally-minded life.  I needed to come up with an idea.  Ice cream always helps with the brainstorming.

Thankfully the week prior our local grocery store had had ice cream on sale and so the freezer contained what I needed... brain food (aka sugar) AND a solution to our stuffy-toting problems!

This is what I came up with... an ice cream container bike basket.  But now how cool would one be tearing up the asphalt with Heavenly Hash splayed across the front??  Enter my yarn stash.  For those times when Derek has given me "the why are you keeping this?" look... this my dear is WHY.

Over a couple of days I found enough quiet moments to sit and hook.  I'm thinking of writing up a crochet pattern for this, but basically I used half-double-crochet stitches to mimic the shape of the ice cream container and cover it completely.  My tool of choice for making holes in the ice cream container to "sew" the basket cover in place was a handy-dandy two inch screw.

The next task was to consider HOW to attach the basket.  Crocheted straps would stretch with any item weighing more than a few stuffies - and the collection of rocks on my dining room table can attest to the treasures this one brings home.

I opted for plastic cabling zip-ties.  Finding my way around Derek's workshop had me raising my eyebrows though not questioning "WHY?  WHY are you keeping this??"  I completely get it... and I did find some.  Again, my trusty screw was the perfect tool to make the holes before threading the zip-ties through and attaching around the handlebars!

Voila!

Ofcourse, Sammy spotted my SCHNICK success and asked for one for her bicycle as well.  Never one to disappoint my children, I took to eating more ice cream.  ;)  A second basket has since been completed... in reverse colours so as not to match her sister of course!

A week of wind and rain has had biking on hold but today looks like the perfect day for a spin! And if anyone would like to treat me to a pint of ice cream; I'd be happy to hook you a basket.  :)

Jeanette