Its the little things in life

Okay, so this post has absolutely nothing to do with gardening, but I just had to share.  This is life changing people!

See this storage bin?

 Well it isn't just a regular storage bin...

Its a cat box!

The best cat box in the world in fact.  I got this idea from a friend of mine at work who got it from her friend.  And now I'm sharing it with you.  So its kind of like Pay it Forward, but for cat litter.  

The reason this litter box is so awesome if that it keeps the litter (and the smell) much more contained than a regular cat box.  The cats jump in through the hole in the top and all the excess litter collects in the lid where you can just brush it back in.  

And its super easy to make.  Just buy a regular storage bin and cut a hole in the lid.  I used a utility knife.  Make sure the bin is deep enough for the height of your cat plus a few inches of litter.  I splurged and bought a slightly nicer bin with the locking handles just to be extra secure.

I've seen fancy cat boxes like this online for $100 or more, but mine just cost $13.99!

And yes, the cats really do go in the hole to use the box.  When I told my family and boyfriend about this idea they were extremely skeptical and might have teased me far more than was warranted.  But I persevered and now I'm sure they will all be jealous of the awesomeness.  

Ombre Plant Markers

Since my garden is really small, I'm pretty much able to identify most of my plants without using plant markers.  I do like garden accessories though (even if they aren't entirely functional) so I decided to make some for my garden.

I've always liked the ombre paint technique, which is just the gradual blending of three different shades of the same color from light to dark.  I don't like it enough to commit to painting an entire wall in my apartment or anything, but I can commit to a 6 inch Popsicle stick so I decided to paint my plant markers with an ombre technique.

I chose turquoise paint to match my pots.  Here are the 3 colors I used.  You could use just one color of paint and lighten it yourself by adding some white paint, but I was too lazy to do that.

Working from light to dark, paint the popsicle stick or tongue depressor with the three colors.  Each color should be about a third of the stick.  I left a little bit unpainted at the bottom so I had a place to hold it.

Now, using a clean dry brush, blend the areas where the colors meet.  You will want to do this quickly because if the paint gets too dry it won't blend nicely. 

Let the sticks dry completely before adding the plant names to them.  I used a paint pen for this because I have shaky hands, but a thin brush would be fine too.  Or a permanent marker.

I left the backs of mine unfinished, but you could either repeat the ombre technique on the other side or paint it a solid color if you want.

Here is what they look like in my pots:

I think Hootie likes it...

Space Saving

Well, now that he's finished one building, he'll go write four books about it.
~Frank Lloyd Wright

I’m having a minor space problem on my balcony.  The problem is that I want to keep buying plants, but I only have so much space to put them.  Only the very front edge of the balcony gets any sun so all my herbs and vegetables have to stay there.  And I share it with my neighbors so they get half of the only sunny spot I can plant in.  And while they have commented that my plants look nice, I doubt they enjoy them enough to want to give up any of their space to feed my plant addiction!

However, I have come up with a solution to cram more plants into a small space.  And as a bonus, its super easy.  Can you guess what it is?

Before

After

Stacked planters!  So simple, I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier.  All I did was take 2 planters of different sizes, fill the bottom planter with dirt, and then stack the smaller one on top.

Here is a combo thyme, lavender and dill (another new garden addition) planter…

And this one looks empty, but it is actually planted with flower seeds that haven’t come up yet.

The really cool thing about this project is that it can be customized to match any décor or taste.  I kept it simple with the same planters I used everywhere else, but there are so many other possibilities.  You could keep it classic with basic terra cotta pots.  Or go modern with sleek black or dark gray square planters.  Or look for mismatched or vintage pots if you are into the shabby chic look. 

You can also customize the number of pots you use to work with whatever your needs are.  If you did 3 or more stacked pots, you could probably fit an entire herb garden in the space of one planter.  I wouldn’t use real terra cotta for that one though because it would get super heavy!

P.S. If you are looking for vintage stuff check out my friend Audrey at The Hepburn House.  She specialized in vintage items and 'found treasures'
http://hepburnhouseblog.blogspot.com/