Now do not get discouraged when you see all the expensive things that they want you to buy when you search for indoor gardening or growing your vegetables indoors.

Please do not buy one thing for growing until you read what i write! 

First.  i will show you from time to time what exactly i have done in my indoor veggie production and so on but i will tell you what i have done so far when i give you all the info.. 

here is the list of the only things you will need

-pots free if you have them or you can use yogurt cups, butter containers or other plastic things you would toss out that you can puncture holes in the bottom for drainage 

-soil (free if you have good, light garden soil, but you might want to pour boiling water over it to kill bacteria, pests, eggs and other things.) but since i have clay spoil in my gardens i buy a bag of it for less than 7$ for what i need. 

-all purpose fertalizer 1-10$ (depending on amount and brand, i use store brand small bos for 3$ and it lasts for months) 

-tin foil 1-2$

-area that is room temperature  free from cold drafts

-cheap shop spot light ( i got mine at home depot for 5$)  

-30-60 watt comparison compact flourescent bulb ( this must be a daylight comparison bulb!!! this gives a decent spectrum for growing) 5-10$

-vegetable seeds and other things. (the next list will tell you about the things you should grow and why, plus where is the best sources i have found)

VEGGIES TO GROW

Take into consideration:

-amount of space and light you have. If it is a big rooting veggie or something that you need to plant a lot of then forget it! People do try tomatoes and so on but it is really not cost effective because of the heat and light you need. I have found some foods that need little light and take very little space.

-amount of time these veggies take .. most things will say how long it takes to harvest so keep in mind there are fast growing things that have a harvest time of less than 50 days (ideal for indoor growing and cost effectiveness)

thing of general cost savings.- first can you find the seeds and stuff for free or less than the cost of the already grown item?

shipping adds cost when buying seeds online! so add than in on how much you want to spend

you might need to try new things. There are somethings that you might be able to grow real fast and cheap, but they are not the typical thing you would buy in the store to eat ( or in the store at all) but keep an open mind and just find different ways to make these things until you find a recipe you like.  

 HERE ARE MY FAVS. !

-onions

   I grow these for flavoring for the most part. You do not grow them for the bulbs but the greens. so, first you start with the cheepest source of where you can get these. TRY YOUR FRIDGE OR PANTRY! chances are you are like me and every now and then you have an onion that sprouted in your kitchen. So plant this bulb and harvest the greens for anything you want.. these are best cooked tho. Chances are too that by the spring you will have offshoots of these bulbs and you can grow them like green onions or for the flower to get the seeds from.

    second choice is to get them in your grocery store. Buy green onions and when you use the gree onion you plant the root end that you cut off, harvest the greens from the new growths or the entire onion and then repeat the cutting and regrowing process

    third you can buy a bag of pearl onions (these are more expensive) but it is worth it.. Plant as you would green onion bulbs but harvest for just the greens. 

    fourth you can buy the seeds and sets. i found that no one will ship to michigan in december when it comes to ther onion set, but i can get the seeds.

all in all when doing seeds remember it takes a long time to get useable indoor crop.

-chives

great for seasoning and you can gety these cheep in seed form but they take forever to grow, you can get these from your garden if you already planted some.

-Lettuces

Look for looseleaf producers. Head lettuce takes too long and it is cheaper to buy that in head form

so look for cool weather crops. gourmet, and oriental lettuces are good too. There is a asian lettuce called sword lettuce that says is grows real fast so i am trying it this time

Others i am trying

-spinaces

-radish

-gourmet greens

and more, but i will update later on what i get.

Things i would loive to introduce. 

Weeds! 

(I know this sounds sick and i do need to tell everyone to take special procautions when trying some of these because there are certain things that are poisionous and not good for you so when experimenting in these make sure you follow  proper safety precautions. know what is harmful and do investigation before use) 

weeds such as dandeliions can be eaten for greens or cooked, wilted and so on. But we all know these plants to be easy growing and fast growing (due to the observation of the pesky things in out lawns) but remember that these could be beneficial to you!

you can get these from your yard if you have them, remember you do not use any that have been sprayed with anything or are contaminated with anything bad like bacterias from manures and so on.

but there are places you can buy hybrid dandellon seeds for cheap. these plants are heavy on the yummy greens provoiding you with lots of yummies in small compact plants.

but keep your mind open and experiment on things you might not have tried before.

Here is DAY 1 for me

I have potting soil left over and some pots laying around so i was covered with those. using a sturdy box i covered the inside with tin foil top help my plants get more light and not lean to the light source. I clipped on my light and filled the box with pots and trays that had the following:  

1 large onion from my fridge that was old and close to sprouting

1 potato that had sprouted oin my pantry (put in a large plastic dixie cup for now)

chive plants  from my herb garden. they had already died back from the cold and now will think it is spring now that they are inside. 

gourmet pearl onions that i found in a mesh bag at the store. I found the ones that looked like they were sprouting so i asked for a discount on them since no one else was going to buy them.

some sprouting garlic. I took the bulb apart and planted the individual cloves.

some salad mix seeds that were left over from the summer.

One venus fly trap (just because it was lying around and i needed to get it more sun.  

This just filled up the box so i stopped for the day.

I then hopped online  and searched for unusual things finding the site

Gourtmetseed.com  

This has lots of cool seeds. decent prices and decent shipping!

so i ordered a lot from there…  and will keep you posted on how it all is. Keep in mind i did not get paid to review them and i paid for the seeds myself so i will express my real opinion  about this company and product (score one for the consumer) 

I basically kept my grocery cart to the seeds that had the quickest grow time. You can't find this stuff through BURPEE seeds!!!

But keep in mind i am trying to grow a lot, and fast!

as soon as i get my order i will have to do some work

I have a green house fram to bring in for the basement. The cover is wrecked so now it makes a great plant shelf for this project.

then i will rig the shop lights with the compact daylight bulbs to the shelving while covering the sides and back of the shelving with tin foil.  

I have to also keep in mind tha the basement where i am doing this is kind of cold. I will be  going the extra mile and insulating problem areas and sealing hiles and cracks with spray foam insulation (needs to be done anyways)

but this area will still be too chilly to grow tomatoes, peppers and other things like that. I then have to think that my other things will grow a little slower because of the cold.

well that is that for the day., Keep poste for more!

Here is something i have been wanting to do and finally got a chance. There are some finishing touches i need ideas for but i think my son loves it so far.

He had one of those pre made costume from the store and loved it but wll not get to wear it again so not to part with it i am turning it into a cuddle pillow. It is kinda half stuffed animal but pillow. I started by taking apart the legs and elastic removal. then i stuffed the hands, sewed shut, stuffed the arms and sewed them shut. i stitched up the bottom where the legs were to make them square, stuffed the body, sewed it shut And now i have stitched some of the head and stuffed it. I have left the mouth open to possible add a felt mouth or tongue or something. not sure yet. i also have to mold the head better so any ideas ar welcome. !!!

Now that i got your attention I will show you how!

things i used..

Breastfeeding cooler bag  (sometimes they come as a gift from the hospital)

scissors, needle, thread, sewing machine, all that kind of stuff.  

sillicone adhesive caulking.

marker

drill and small bit

nips for cutting heavy plastic  

old cell phone holder with belt clip or anything like this.

All of that made my husband a beer cozy good for wearing on your belt in istuations where you have no cup holder.. like mowing the lawn …

also this cozy will keep the beer cool and the sweat off the table.

 here are the bag i used and the cell phone clip i used. 

 I started by cutting the plastic that is around the clip so i just had the clip .. i made sure there is enough parts of the plastic to drill holes to use it to attatch to the cozy.(hope that makes sense)

 Here is what i have left.. you can file the edges down if you choose

 Here is the part of the bag i am using .. it has a nice layer of insulation and a cool pattern for the cozy

 Using the rigid bottom of the bag i cut a piece of the cardboard that is exactly the size of the base of a standard beer bottle and then glued some of the vinyl, with the sillicon, all around †he piece of cardboard to help make the cozy more rigid on the bottom.. after i gued mine i put it under my heavy candle to help it adhear. 

 Measuring the fabric around the bottle i pinned it and set it aside…

 Using a small drill bit i drilled three holes (shown by arrows) in the clip so i can stitch it to the cozy.  

 Start by sewing half way up the cozy side inside out… cut a round piece to stitch to the bottom and attatch……you will probably have to do this by hand and make sure to double up (by folding)  the bottom of the big piece of the fabric  so that the raw edge is hidden and also it willl provide more support. 

 You can leave the top open but i found a pull close part on my bag that i attatched to the top of the cozy and stitched in place .. then turning inside out i finished it by sewingall the way up the side. 

 After finishing the seam then insert into the bottom the rigid cardboard circle to help the bottle sit on a table when in the cozy.. also stitch the belt clip by hand to the side of the cozy and there you go! functional beer cozy!

Months worth of recon begins!

I start by pulling my hair back. I do have headbands in my bathroom but i am not satisfied with their legnth, the tightness, the color, durability and so on. I like cloth headbands but they do not stay put. So.. i made my own from some maternity pants.

 Here are the maternity pants. they are a little bit more lightweight tand denim and they are stretchy so this is nice for a headband

 Keep in mind to press the fabric with an iron after almost every step to keep it nice and even. so we atart by pressing the bottom of a leg, sever the bottom hem, measure your head from middle of ear to middle of ear,  cut a rectangle leaving the inseam (one less thing to sew) but make sure to cut it 1/4 " larger around the edges to have enough room for your seam allowance. 

fold inside out and sew your seam then turn right side in pressing with iron after this step (do not mind the nasty carpet) 

Using the material from the bottom hem feed elastic through it. fold in the edge to the headband and press, insert one part of the elastic to the headband and sew in place and sew the side closed. (pic shows the wrong placement .. should be in the middle of the edge.

Then place on your head and determine the pull of the elastic and then stitch in place like you did with the previous side.  

 Here is an add on that i thought of.

I hate headbands slipping so i had some old puffy paint that i applied and following the directions i used an iron to heat it in place .. now i have a no slip grip on the underside. I know it does not look pretty but i have been wearing it all dat and i have not had to readjust it. :) 

Finally i made somewhat of a guide. Tell me what you think!

Reconstructed clothing guide.

Why reconstruct clothes?
-to recycle
-to save money
-to lessen the amount of storage
-to clean your closet
-to make items personal and one of a kind
-to save your favorite clothing from the trash

How do you start?

In my opinion you should start small to get the hang of it. Take a piece of clothing and add something to it. A design, some trim, some kind of flair.
Or You can do something else small like take something away, take out a hem for a rough edge, take off the lace trim, take off the design.

A slightly more advanced thing to do is modifying structure. Subtract length, to sleeves, pant legs, the bottom of a shirt Subtract the size of the shirt by taking in seams. You can do other things like change the collar type of a shirt, add a collar, add a layered collar. Maybe add some sleeves, modify the type of sleeve, add fabric to the sleeves.

Then even more advanced is for more experienced sewers. You can use a pattern to make modifications, completely rework items like making one item into another.. Example, make pants into shirt, make shirt into skirt, make skirt into purse. You can even do something like cut open all seams and hems and think of the item as just plain fabric use a pattern or just freehand it.

What I do is think of something I might want or need and raid my storage for supplies to make that item. Or when i get bored I look for something in storage that I  like and see what i could make out of it.

If you get stuck just do some simple moves.. fold it, look at it, imagine it as something else, take out a seam and then look at it again, take off trim, sleeves anything else and look again .. it will come to you !

And most important!
SAVE ALL YOUR SCRAPS! things that come in handy..
trim, elastic, strips and pieces of fabric, decorative items, snaps, buttons, lace, patterns and everything else! These all could become something. even if you cannot work it as an item itself it could be an add on to another item.

I hope this might help someone make the effort to get a little creative and crafty
And if someone has any additions to this guide then please help me by sending suggestions. 

Trying once again to dress my younger one.

So many resources for fabric in our storage. I found lots of sleep pants, almost too many for my son to wear one a day for a month!

So now to make something else that he might need. I know he needs a little bit better looking clothing than the p.j.'s and cutsie baby stuff. I thought i need to start manking him something that is a little more grown up and kid looking., not baby.

I thought to myself that a vest could be the best thing because he has a lot of shirts that have that food stain that i cannon get rid of and a vest can cover that very well and extend the life of those shirts.

Now i start the easy vest from fleece sleep pants

You start this out by stripping the pants of the elastic and taking out the inseam.

Then fold the pants in half to even up the cut of the fabric. you can see in the picture where there is a part that is longer. I cut a straight line across here to make the bottom of the vest.

 Then lay the pants flat with the seams that we left to the sides. Cut a rounded collar to the back of the neck and then cut a v for the front. But if you do not have a nicely cut pair of pants you can lay a pattern or a premade vest over this to get a better cut.

Then in the next picture it shows how i folded it and pinned it for sewing but then i decided to put an edge stitch on the fabric first, but this is optional to whatever kind of fabric you are using.  you do not see the edge stiitching in the pic but  you get the idea. so fold, pin, and stitch. (order of stitching in next picture)

When you do the fold and stitch (areas for the first stitches are in red) you want to do the arms front to back or back to front. and then the v, and then for the rounded collar you might need to make some triangle cuts in the edge to make it easier to sew without pucker or bumps (this is one of the reasons we do pinning. It helps us figure out how the stitch will go before we stitch it) 

Then when it is all nice and edged you want to stitch the join seam at the shoulder (pointed out with blue arrows)

And that should be it!! if the vest is too wide then just sew a seam up both of the seams on the side to get the right fit for your child. i took mine in about a inch in total for a slightly tighter fit. If you are real patient you can try a more tailored fit for a girl's vest. Or another idea is adding buttons, but that is too complicated for me right now.

but it looked like my boy liked his vest.

Now that the weather is changing my two boys need to get a winter wardrobe. Right now there are a whole bunch of hand-me-downs sitting for my little one but his size is only fitting for my oldest's old summer clothes. Now I have been going through all the clothes trying to make some of those summer clothes a little warmer to wear.

Now before anyone says " Why don't you dress them in layers?" well my answer would be, You try it! My youngest is just like my oldest used to be. You cannot get him to hold still for a diaper change without thwarting my efforts and doing a naked baby run down the hall. How am i expected to get him to hold still for diaper, pants, undershirt, overshirt, and coat????!!!

SO now on my first of the series.

Cute polo, and old pair of sleep pants. 

I have taken the pants apart to use them for extending the polo for the upcomming cooler weather.

I hope this gives people a little idea on how we can use the things we have. You know.. save a little money.. save a cute shirt… Be happy to get rid of some storage :) 

I did promise to have the tutorial up yesterday but the fates were against me again. But through a lot of work i got it all ready for everyone.

But please do not laugh at the crappy drawings and the lack of terminology.

But here is the tutorial to remake frumpy p.j.'s