Lettuce Share

Sorry to make you Wait.  Let’s just pretend it’s Wednesday since my Wednesday felt more like a Monday and my Week felt more like a month, Which in my Weird World makes this post right on time.  I’ve finally figured out the Wine Bottle Waterer.  It can be made from 100% recycled materials - Wine bottles (or vodka bottles as recommended by vodkaandgroundbeef) and Wire hangers.  

First, unscrew the top of the hanger.

Just hold the base of the hanger and pull the hook around.  It unwraps in seconds.  The hook, with a slight modification, will hold the neck of the bottle in place.  Either squeeze with your hands or use plyers to tighten the hook around the neck of the bottle.

Then you need to wrap the body of the bottle.  Follow the curve of the hanger.  One corner of the hanger will meet up with the bottom of the bottle.

From here, you’ll wrap the wire back up to the top of the bottle and thread the wire underneath where the original hook is around the neck.

Again, follow the curve of the hanger.  The opposite corner, pressed together, will form the stake.  And after the stake forms, the two squiggly pieces of wire will meet up again.  The wires will catch on each other at the squiggly parts; use the pliers to twist the end and secure in place.    

That’s it, but here are a couple tips I learned along the way: Save your cork.  It’s much easier to control the water flow by poking holes in the cork than by measuring out marbles.  Although the marbles make a clear bottle look much prettier.  The second tip is to buy Lucky Duck chardonnay.  It only costs about $4 at Walmart, and when you flip the bottle upside down, the lucky duck turns right side up!

The wine bottle waterer from a wire hanger is still a work in progress…

I didn’t photograph the broken glass on the back patio - oops!  But it’s soooooo close; a final prototype should be posted soon.  First I need to pick up my dry cleaning.

Last night’s empty bottle of Malbec and my mother’s obsessive crafting have inspired me!  The Irish sprinkler system has been upgraded again, this time with the help of two small items - glass marbles and wire from a hanging candle holder.

As I stood over the sink rinsing out the wine bottle, I started to channel my mother, the MacGyver of marbles.  In the first year after discovering flat-backed marbles, she Gooped them onto everything within a ten-foot radius - mirrors, frames, hot plates, napkin holders, you name it, it’s now covered in marbles.  Anyway, it dawned on me that marbles solved my earlier problem of making the plastic bottle look prettier; why couldn’t they solve this problem too?  So I started shoving them down the bottle neck one by one and voila!

It may take a few tries to get the marbles positioned properly, so make sure to place the tip of your finger into the neck before flipping the bottle upside down.  Then add or subtract marbles to get the drip right; my bottle is a little less than a quarter full.  Positioning the marbles was easy; positioning the bottle got a little tricky.  If you push the bottle into the soil, the soil clogs the neck.  If you tilt the bottle on its side, you have to jiggle it every once in a while to keep the water flowing.  Fortunately for me, I’m a bit of a craft hoarder and was able to pull the wire candle holder straight out of my cabinet.  For those of you non-hoarders, a wire hanger would probably work.  I’ll try it over the weekend and let you know.  Whatever you choose, the point is to keep the bottle slightly elevated above the soil.  I wedged the wire into the side of the pot to provide some stability. 

Here’s the final product, and it works great!  The Plumbago is now as perky as I am after a bottle of wine!

My sister sent me this picture from Ireland today:

The subject line of the email read: Irish Sprinkler System.  It’s a great idea: a recycled water bottle turned into a mini soaker hose.  All you have to do is poke tiny holes in a bottle.  Pins work well; tacks are a little too big.

As clever as the idea is, it needs some American flair to lose the litter look.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m a huge fan of recycling in the garden:

It just has to be pretty and colorful, so here’s my American twist on the Irish sprinkler system:

The first step was to find a better bottle.  Easy-there was a pomegranate tea in my fridge with a cute red heart in the logo and a mint green cap.  But it still looked like trash lying around the garden, so I added a handful of red marbles to finish it off.  Much better!        

I’ve enjoyed my time with the amaryllises, but it’s quickly coming to a close.  Luckily, the amaryllis is one flower that keeps on delivering beauty after death.  As the deep red petals start to droop, they also start to drip.

As the drying process takes place, the oversized blooms turn into natural paintbrushes.

Alternatively, if the petals are fresher, you can press them between two sheets of paper for another quick and easy art project.  For the best results, cut off the petals toward the bottom where they’re green.  The green sections hold a lot of water and will soak your pages, although it’s nice to leave a little because the green adds more color to the final product.

But you don’t want too much color, so remove the stamens too.  The pollen dusted on the petals will transfer enough yellow onto the page.  Otherwise, too much pollen is transferred and a shimmer of yellow turns into a big blotch of brown. 

Once the petals are placed, cover them with another piece of paper and and a towel.  Now it’s time for the real fun.  Grab a mallet and start pounding.

The harder you pound, the deeper and faster the color will transfer.  Adjust accordingly, a light tap will leave just a hint of color.  Here’s my final product:

Although the petals are candy apple red, the ink dries purple.  Here are a few of my other pieces of amaryllis art:

You’re not limited to purple or to amaryllises.  This method can be used with a variety of flowers.  This set was made from a mixed bouquet of mums, daisies, roses, and carnations:

Thanks to the uncles Christmas visit and their cooler, we’ve been enjoying fresh eggs all weekend.  Uncle Sam brought another treat courtesy of the chickens…

Chicken foot Christmas ornaments - bedazzled, of course!  For those of you thinking “This guy is sick” - you’re absolutely right about that but not when it comes to his girls.  From luxe accommodations to fresh spring water, these are among the most well cared for hens you’ll ever meet.  Here’s an example - this year’s Christmas card:

That’s Uncle Sam on the right with one of the girls - a Barred Rock, I believe.

This is the other ornament he made - a Grinch made out of okra.  He normally paints Santa, but the okra suits the Grinch’s pointy features much better.  In case you’re curious about the process, both the chicken feet and okra were placed in a dehydrator before being painted.

I spent last week in Alford, FL with my mom.  Alford is a small town located deep in the woods of the Florida panhandle.  The roads are made of clay without a stop sign in sight.  We had a great time watching the birds and crafting.  We were feeling inspired by our surroundings and a blog post on Family Hiatus.  This is my Christmas wreath made with the local greenery.  The berries are courtesy of the endless Yaupon Holly trees.

This is what I started with.  The form only cost $3.17 at Walmart!  It’s an 18″ grapevine wreath.  It was so simple; I didn’t have to use glue or ties of any kind.  The leaves and twigs wound right into the wreath with no problems.

My mom made this candle holder out of pine cones and acorns.  The base is a piece of circular styrofoam spray painted brown.  She scraped out a small circle in the center to hold the candle then attached the pine cones and acorns with a hot glue gun.  It looks beautiful but may or may not be highly flammable.  To ensure a merry Christmas, do not light!