Garden – Shelly's share it all space

Let me start with this: One of my ways to go greener and save $ is to remember, Re-use, Re-purpose Re-cycle. Yes, in that order! This craft is fun, easy to make and falls into the re-purpose category!

OMGoodness, these are fun to make, fancy looking in the garden and can be tailor made to suit your style! What am I talking about? Garden plant labels! Not just for the garden though, oh-no! You can make these for the flower bed, house plants or a number of other things. The best thing is I made them for free(almost), with stuff from around my house, and what I wrangled up for free (more on that later) and a small splurge at a craft store. So you wan’t to see them? OK, here ya go:

What do you think? Aren’t they the cutest? I will give you a list of items needed and show you how I make them. Before I do though I’m going to share with you how you can get a bunch of things for free. Ask. Yep, that’s it. Just ask! That’s how I got the hangers, and some of the canning lids. I was looking for wire hangers but was appalled at the thought of paying for something just to cut it up. So instead I just thought a bit and realized that I can probably get hangers for free from someone who gets their clothes dry cleaned. Thanks to the nice lady who said many mechanics get their uniforms dry cleaned, I was able to leave the store spending a lot less money than I thought. I called a local tire company and was able to go get hangers for free! Canning lids? Ask anyone who uses home canned food. The lids are not reusable so they will probably be over joyed to save them for you! See a pattern? Ask!

Ok, here’s the list:

Hammer, wire cutters, etching pen, wire hanger, used canning lid, etching pen, permanent marker, wire, jump ring(s) and beads.

Odd mixture of items, wouldn’t you say?

First get your hanger and wire cutters (yes, they are my hubby’s) and cut as shown

Set the wire aside and grab your canning lid and etching pen. Start ‘writing’ what you want your label to say. Go back over it a time or two if desired.

Find your hammer and nail and WAIT! Are you on a surface that will tolerate a nail hole? Yes? Ok, then put two holes in the lid (top and bottom).

Cat scratch-er as my 'workbench' — Cat scratch-er as my ‘workbench’

Now get out your markers (if desired) and decorate. The marker will probably fade in the sun but I think they will still look cute!

Pick out your beads or whatever you chose to use and string ’em up. Attach to bottom hole on lid.

Beads make the label special and maybe deter little critters with their movement in the wind

Set all that aside and grab that hanger you cut earlier. Straighten it up as much as you can then grab the needle nose pliers and start to curl.

Attach lid and keep curling till desired look is achieved.

I also bend up the bottom of the hanger to keep it more stable in the ground and so it won’t spin!

The bottem is bent to make it more stable in the garden — The bottom is bent to make it more stable in the garden

Multiple plants in one space? Try this, just leave the wire a bit longer.

Do you like em? Feel inspired? I hope so! Have fun and comment if you have any questions and leave a link to the things you make, I’m always looking for ideas!

Want free stuff? Here’s how:

Freecycle

Craigslist

Ask and remember to be responsible and share as well as ask! 🙂

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Sorry it’s been awhile since I posted but I am working on things that I want to post about.

There are two peppers hiding on this little plant! — Hot Pepper in the flower bed (my first garden)

Gardening is one of my passions and although March has just begun I am already fully into this years garden. I want to encourage you to try having a garden. Your garden can be as big as a baseball field but I would aim smaller if it’s your first. My advice is to start small. My first vegetables were tomatoes and hot peppers in the flower bed. We also had strawberries that I rescued after I mistook the ‘leaves of three’ and pulled a bunch (yes-we all have dumb moments). That goes to show you how much I knew about plants! Anyways, my point is you don’t need a big garden. Plant anywhere you can, even in a flower pot on the porch if that’s all you want to do. Just make sure it gets sun, water and talk to it (yes, I talk to my plants). What to plant? That’s easy- what do you like to eat? My kids get to pick one thing to go into the garden every year. This year we have watermelon, tomatoes and okra going in for the kids. Why do it? Healthy at a fraction of the cost, gets the kids involved and more likely to try new foods (my daughter didn’t eat tomatoes or carrots till they came from our garden). It also feels good when you can feed your family something that you grew! Go ahead, give it a try! You will be rewarded!

Here are some helpful links to getting started:

Feel free to leave me a comment and share what your growing this year. Vegetables? Fruit? Herbs?