"How To Make Fabulous Hanging Baskets" (A Tutorial):

While at a local garden shop, it was noted that hanging moss baskets were going for over $65!  That prompted us to do this tutorial as our mother Babs taught us how to make these fabulous hanging baskets years ago...and you can make them for around $10 a piece!  How fantastic is that?  They liven up a dreary patio and they make really special gifts (think:  Mother's Day).  If you are going to host an outdoor shower but are a little troubled by your landscaping, you can perk up a yard with some of these baskets, hung from trees, arbors, patio awnings, etc.  Also a great thing:  these baskets don't take a great green thumb to assemble or keep alive!

Here's what you'll need:

• wire baskets (found at an garden center OR at Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc...)
  
• bags of sheet moss (figure around one bag per basket, although, if you're making a bunch of baskets, grab a bag or two extra of the sheet moss---it's the key to being successful when making these!)
  
• potting soil
• flowers:  the baskets shown below were made with impatiens and baby's tears.  You can try other flowers, too, and if you want to add some ivy, that works great, too.

Note:  As you can see below, the wire frame baskets used for this tutorial came with a coconut liner.  Remove the coconut liner for this project.  Also, you can see that a cone-shape basket was used.  You can use any shape for this---it's your preference!

The first thing you'll want to do is open up all your bags of sheet moss and submerge them in a bucket full of water.  You want the moss to get soaked thoroughly---it will make your life so much easier as you work on these!  We recommend letting the moss sit in a bucket full of water for a while (at least 10 minutes) before you get started.

Step One:  take a small handful of wet sheet moss and place it in the bottom of your basket.  For the cone shape (below), it was easiest to create a "nest shape" at the base of the basket.  If you have a round basket without a point on the bottom, you'll probably want a little more moss to start with.  

***It is important to note that your wet sheet moss is the "glue" that keeps the basket together.  At any point during the process, if you experience a "hole" or a plant that is trying to fall out, use some wet sheet moss to keep it in place.  The moss will help keep your soil damp after you've completed the project AND the moss will keep soil from running out of the wire basket when you water your completed project.  The moss is the most important part!  :)

Step Two:  On top of your moss "nest," add a plant.  Place the flowers and leaves on the outside of the basket, keeping the roots and soil ball inside of the basket on top of the moss.
Add as many plants as you want, but don't crowd them.  Remember, over time, your plants will grow and fill in, so it's okay to leave spaces without flowers when you are creating your basket.

The outside of your basket will start to look like this:

Step Three:  Add a scoop of soil on top of your plants, filling in the voids of your "moss nest."

Your project will start to look like this after you've added the soil:

Step Four:  Repeat the process.  Add a ring of wet moss to the inside of the basket.  
Add more plants:
Add more soil:
When you finally get to the top, plant a few plants/flowers on the top of the basket:
You can see that the moss is really holding this all together:
Don't worry about mossy spots---eventually, the plants will fill in and this lovely basket will look like all flowers!
Even before they fill out completely, these moss hanging baskets are pretty:

Good luck!  This is a great project for a sunny day.  Don't try this indoors, though, unless you are willing to do a lot of cleaning up afterwards!  It really is a project that is best suited for outside so you can hose down your workspace when you're finished! 

Happy planting!  Send us your pictures if you try this!  :)

P.S.  Water your hanging baskets just like you would any plants:  a hose or watering can.  The moss will keep them intact.

The very great "Decor 8"

Hello, all.  Kari here.  

One of my vices are design blogs.  They keep me focused and inspired when I'm feeling a little pooped at school from cranking out one too many floorplans, CAD assignments, or theoretical color boards.  Yes, I am a design blog junkie.

One of my favorite design blogs posted a great tutorial that I thought would fit very nicely on The Babs Blog.  Decor 8 posted this wonderful tutorial on how to make "photo lanterns."  This is a great idea for spring!  And, we know we have several brides-to-be checking out The Babs Blog, so if you're looking for a special little detail for your wedding shindig, check these out!  

Glitter Initials

Here's a little "tutorial" on how to make these fun glitter initials.  Pardon the photography---the project is much prettier in real life!  This project is very inexpensive, yet it yields a beautiful keepsake.  In these tough financial times, it's fun to handcraft things that are inexpensive, unique, and much more appreciated than something storebought.  

First, you'll need to print out your initial.  This one was made using Photoshop.  A fun black and white background and a dark initial.  If you aren't Photoshop-savvy, you can duplicate this look by going to the craft store and buying some scrapbook paper in a fun pattern.  Make sure the pattern has good contrast of light and dark so it will photocopy well.  Then, use your computer and print out your initial.  Cut the scrapbook paper into a square (whatever size you desire) and also cut out the initial.  Paste the initial on top of the scrapbook paper and use a photocopier to make a black and white copy.  To make this project come out a little more luxe, we recommend using watercolor paper.  Watercolor paper goes through a copy machine safely and it provides a little texture and heft to the project, which makes the final outcome look more expensive.

Next, you'll need a glue pen.  These can be found at craft stores in a multitude of sizes.  You'll also want to purchase some glitter.  We recommend the Martha Stewart line at your local Michael's.  This glitter is a higher quality than most glitter and will help to make your finished project look more high-end.  For our initials, we used Martha Stewart coarse crystal glitter and Martha Stewart fine white gold glitter.  We mixed the two glitter colors in a shallow bowl and used them together to create a vintage look.  

Carefully outline and fill in the initial with glue and then coat with glitter.  Let that dry for a few minutes and then outline the border of the patterned square with glue and coat with glitter.

Here is a close-up of one of the letters we did.  Again, they are so pretty in person---the photos really don't do them justice!

One tip:  We recommend working in sections because the glue pens tend to dry very quickly.

You can do these large or small!  They turn out great!

The next step really finishes these off:  framing.  Find simple square frames to showcase the initials.



These make wonderful gifts for hostesses, brides-to-be, Christmas, birthdays...whatever!  You could also choose a more casual background and use a pretty colored glitter to do the initial and give it as a gift to a mom in honor of her new baby!  If you don't want to frame these, think of doing small versions and adding pretty ribbon and using them as luxe gift tags, placecards, ornaments...whatever!  Happy glittering!

Itty-Bitty BLTs...

Scenario:  Your husband accepts an invitation to a Superbowl Party and forgets to tell you that he's volunteered you to bring an appetizer.  What do you do?

One of us found herself in this situation on Sunday, not too long before the game.  So, she decided that she would make mini BLT sandwiches.  (Who doesn't like Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato sandwiches?  Seriously, this was a childhood mainstay at our house growing up.  Lots of times, BLTs were made on Sunday evenings, after night church, for dinner.  Yum.  That and Dad's waffles were Sunday night favorites!)  Surprisingly, the mini BLTs ended up being the hit of the Superbowl bash.  (Who woulda thunk it?)

We are fully intending to make these again for our next party, when finger food is on the menu.  To make the mini BLTs, cut up a baguette into thin slices.  Lightly butter the slices of bread and grill on the stovetop using a grill pan (or you could broil them in the oven or toast them with a panini press).  Cook up a bunch of bacon.  Then, enlist your hubby/significant other/friend/sister/whoever to help you assembly-line style.

Put a little mayo on each slice of toasted/grilled bread.  Fold up a piece of bacon, add a slice of tomato (we found that roma tomatoes are the perfect diameter for these mini sandwiches), add some lettuce, and pin it all together with a toothpick.  Amazing, but these little mini BLTs were what got the most comments at the Superbowl party (And these are so easy---the ingredients didn't take any thought and are readily available). 

Grocery Store Flower Arranging

These typical "grocery store flowers" were brought home from a quick trip to the market yesterday. Above, a $4 bunch of hypericum berries and yellow "filler" flowers.

Above, a $10 bouquet of yellow roses

And, lastly, a bunch of fun "pumpkin-like" stalks---don't know what they are, but they are fun! This also cost $4.

A silver ice bucket acts as vase. Here the bouquet starts to be built.

Adding those yellow "filler flowers" helps keep everything in place.


More roses are added...

Filling in the empty spots...



Voila! A beautiful fall arrangement that cost $18 from grocery store flowers---but it looks so much more expensive. So next time you are checking out at the market, check the fresh flowers and consider adding some to your table!