Germinating seeds and cuttings

My maple, joy tree and pear seedlings and chili cutting

A couple of months ago, I bought some seeds off ebay because I wanted to see if I could grow some plants along the fence. I've not been known to have a green thumb and I think every green thing that I touch dies - ask my husband. So I have no idea what made me think I could germinate seeds - another one of those random great ideas that just popped into my head I guess... So when my fresh seeds arrived, I wondered what I had gotten myself into... I had lots of seed - there were Joy Tree seeds, Peach Blossom Tea Tree seeds, Manchurian Pear seeds, 2 x Japanese Red Maple seeds and Field Maples seeds. I went a bit Maple crazy because I just love their Autumn colour and thought they would look amazing in my garden - probably 100 years later! I had no idea what to do and had to read up on how to germinate them. Here's what I did...

The fresh seeds

I had to get some plastic storage containers from the local supermarket and did a bit more online shopping to buy some peat pellets to plant the seeds in. First thing I did was soak the seeds in warm water overnight. The next day I was ready to plant them in the pellets. The peat pellet came in dry flat disks, about 10mm thick and all I needed to do was soak them in water and they expanded to approximately 3 inches high! Then I just popped 4 or 5 seeds in each one and put the pellets in the plastic container. Next, I put the containers in a freezer bag and then in the refrigerator where they needed to stay for the next 2 - 3 months. I think this process is to mimic the winter seasons. I also wanted to try another germination method just to increase my chances, so I repeat the planting process, but for these seeds I just left the containers in the freezer bag on the back balcony (no fridge). I setup 6 containers but guess what I did, I forgot to label them, so I have no idea which seeds I planted where - ooops!

Peat pellets in plastic storage container

About a month later, I checked the containers, the ones in the fridge, nothing, I checked the balcony and saw some sprouts in my pellets - cool! I checked the sprouts and monitored the moisture for the next month and only had to added a few drops of water once. The container and freezer bag did a great job keeping the moisture in.The second month I check the pellets in the fridge and saw some sprouts! I quickly took them out because they were a bit yellowish in colour and put them on the balcony to give them some sun light.

The seeds warm and moist in the freezer bags germinating

By this time I had about 4 containers of seedlings and I needed something bigger because they were starting to run out of room to grow. So I went to the local hardware store and found a seed propagation container for only $8 and move my seedlings to their new home together. Four months later, they are still growing in their mini green house. They still look too fragile to move to their pots. My little seedlings, they're still too young to leave home and live on their own.

Sprouts transferred to their bigger home

Mini greenhouse only half full at 1 month after planting

Mini greenhouse full at 3-4 months after planting

Around the same time, I also planted some herbs and a Chilli plant. The Chilli plant grew really tall and skinny too quickly so we cut off the top. For some reason, my husband put the cutting in water and we just left it on the kitchen window sill. After a week I noticed that it wasn't dead, in fact it was growing new leaves and flowering! So I left it and changed the water for a couple more weeks. To my surprise it was still healthy a couple of weeks later and when I changed the water, I saw roots! How cool was that - I had no idea Chill plants could grow from cuttings.

Pot for the Chilli cutting: before and after

Mother Chilli and baby Chilli

So I found a pot, painted it and planted my Chilli cutting. And there you have it, now I have lots of seedlings (which I can't tell what they are) but I also have a baby Chilli plant - not bad for my first go at planting!

Shabby chic chair makeover

Chair: before and after

We decided to convert the room downstairs to a office - one side was mine and other was my husband's. I found a white desk and needed a chair. Husband just got himself a typical office swivel chair but I wanted something with a little more character. So I went searching, what I had in mind was something timber, something with carvings and something I could add my personal touch to. I looked at the local Secondhand and Op shops but nothing. We have a flea market every Saturday so I thought I'd try my luck there and guess what, the second shop I looked in had a couple of chair and one in particular caught my eyes. I asked the owner the price, expecting at least $50, but to my surprise he said $10 - what a bargain, I couldn't grab it fast enough!

Before: chair with potential but need some work

I couldn't wait to start working on it! The next day I sanded the polish off so the new paint would adhere better. Then I took the seat off and gave the timber chair frame 3 - 4 coats of white semi-gloss paint that we had left over from doing our doors and window frames. It was really important to wait at least 15 minutes between each coat to let the paint dry completely or the finish would be sticky and lumpy but I was so excited I couldn't wait in a few areas. Luckily it was in spots that weren't too noticeable unless you look very carefully.

While the final coat was drying, I re-upholstered the seat. A little while ago, I found some gorgeous vintage looking fabric at an Op shop - it was an amazing find and a favourite amongst my fabric stash. Carefully I cut the fabric to size and used a staple gun and secured the new fabric to the timber support underneath. The corners were a little bit tricky but I just thought back to when I used to cover my books in school and applied the same theory - if I could do it when I was 8, surely I was able to do it now. It was just a matter of folding the top piece down first and stapling that, followed by the two side pieces to form a rounded triangle. Then I made sure the fabric was straight and taut and did the opposite corner. It was really fun and I didn't even tear the fabric - phewww!

After: my office chair

Finally I secured the seat back onto the chair frame. At this stage I needed husband's help because the chair was so old that the thread on the timber had worn out and I needed longer and slightly bigger screws. With the seat firmly screwed on, I stood back and admired my newly made over chair. I must say, I am very pleased at how it  turned out, not bad for a $10 chair and it even had a shabby chic feel. Eventually I will sand the edges of the timber to give it more of a weathered shabby look but for now I want to savour my fresh paint job a little while longer.

D.I.Y Time: How to create french doors

French doors: before and after

We have some nice double doors to the front balcony but they were old and needed a makeover. I've always loved french doors because they simply look so stylish and elegant, so we decided to give our old door a new french door look. First thing we did was clean up the glass and gave the door frames a couple coats of paint. Then we decide on how many panels we wanted. We were initially going for 8 per door (we also have 2 panels on either side of the double doors) but thought that was going a bit too many and would close the doors in, so we settled for 6 panels (2 column down x 3 rows across).

Before: The double french doors

Next we visited the local hardware store and purchase 9 decorative timber floor beading strips. These are the stuff used on floors to cover the gaps between the flooring and the walls, but they were perfect for our french doors. We had quite a few choices in timber, designs and price range, so we had a fun time choosing our favourite that fit into our budget. We ended up buying these pine ones with rounded edges and a smaller rounded bit on the top (sorry that's the best I can describe them, you might just be able to see the details in the photos). The beadings were 2-3 meters long, so after giving them a few coats of paint, they were cut to size.

The painted timber beading strips

We used a strong all purpose adhesive to stick the strips to the glass panels. This was done on either side for both doors and side panels. Finally, all there was to do was to wait over night for the glue to dry and then the edges were cleaned up (gently scrapped with a knife). That's it, our new french doors finished!

After: Elegant french doors complete with panels

French doors - up close & personal

Frames, prints and canvases arrangements ideas

We needed frames, picture, prints, canvas for the house and we need ideas, lots of them! Here's some photos of some frame and canvas arrangements that I've come across and just love. I've collected these images over some time so if you recognize any of your photos, I'm sorry if I haven't linked back to your site (it wasn't intentional), please email me and I'll do it straight away.

Don't you just love this, it's such a pretty arrangement of fabric canvases in some of my favourite colours. This is definitely on my inspirations list when I do up my office.

What about this living room and the arrangements of frames, prints and canvases. It amazes me how simple things can be put together to look so stylish. I could never make a blank or empty frame look this good!

 

What a cheerful room this is, look at the colourful frames, aren't they the cutest! My husband wouldn't go for this look, he's not a fan of yellows but I think this is a great way to make a small area appear brighter and more spacious.

 

Decorating with empty frames is also something that I'm interested in. A great place to shop for frames like this is at your local Op shop. You'll find old frames with amazing details that you can just clean up and after a couple of coats of paint, would be as good as new! You can see more empty frame arrangements ideas at this blog

 

Don't know if I've said this before but teal and white are my favourite colours so I couldn't go pass this arrangement of photo frames on against the baby teal wall. See more frame ideas here.

D.I.Y Time: How to decorate a stairway window

Stairway window: before and after

The window above the stairs looked bare and boring so we decided it was time to decorate it. During the trip to Ikea yesterday, we found some white pots, a couple of white decorative brackets and a random shelf in the discount section - perfect! The first thing we did was put up the shelf. This was a fairly simply process and involved some accurate measurements (with the help of a spirit level ofcourse) to make sure the shelf was level nothing would fall off, and then 2 holes were drilled for each of the brackets. Finally the brackets were secured to the wall with a couple of screws and the shelf was placed on top.

Before: Plain boring window

The shelf was mounted using supplies from Ikea

Already the window looked a lot better. Next thing to do was to add some decorations. Here's what we used.

The pots and a mini crate

Silk flowers and some foam blocks

I selected around 25 stems of mixed silk flowers, I went for a 'Cottage' theme with lots of shades of pinks. I used artificial flowers so I wouldn't have to water them and have water and dirt dripping down the walls. The shop ran out of dried flower foam blocks so I had to grab the wet version. The foam was cut to shape and place snugly in the pots and crate. Now it was time to arrange the flowers. I made sure that as I was arranging I kept turning to check that the arrangement looked good from all sides. Being a window arrangement, this was important because I wanted it to have street appeal.

After: Newly decorated window ledge

Looking at our new window decorations from the lounge

Voila! The finished product! I thought it looked quite sweet... a nice contrast to the modern TV and entertainment unit.

A pot for the front balcony setting

I had a pot and some lavenders left over so I made a little arrangement for the front balcony setting, just outside the window we just decorated.

An arrangement for the back

Didn't want the outdoor setting out the back to miss out, so I decorated that with a simple vase and added some flowers picked from the garden.