gifting: a DIY gardening kit for kids

We celebrated our niece's 3rd birthday over the weekend.

Knowing just how much my own children love digging in the dirt and watching plants grow, I put together a little gardening set for the birthday girl.

Everything I included can easily be found in stores this time of year.

I labeled the potting soil bag by running a brown lunch bag through my printer.
Directions for how I did that can be found here.
The template for the potting soil bag can be downloaded here.

I separated the flower seeds from the veggie seeds and tied them up with twine.

And then I started loading up the box with gardening goodies, starting with a layer of tissue and grassy paper shreds.

It was snug, but everything fit!

sources:
rake and shovel:  JoAnn's
garden gnome:  Walmart
plant markers {tongue depressors because I forgot to order actual plant markers!} and pencil:  JoAnn's
seed packets:  Walmart
potting soil:  Walmart
seed starting pots:  Walmart
garden gloves:  Target
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle: Amazon
crinkle paper "grass": Party City {left from this project!}

Happy birthday Violet! Happy gardening!
xoxo

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instagrammed.

Little bits and pieces of our life through filtered iphone pics.
You can find me on instagram as @aprettycoollife
xoxo

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Earth Day craft: a kite from packaging materials

thredUP recently asked me to participate in an Earth Day craft challenge using their polka dot packaging.
Of course I said yes to polka dots!

I thought and thought about what would be a good way to re-use the packaging...and of course thought of something I knew the boys would love.
A kite!

If you'd like see how you can craft one {in only 10 minutes!} too...visit the thredUP blog for the full how to.

And...if you're feeling really awesome...
go on over to their facebook page vote for your favorite project! {I hope it's mine!!}

If I win, I get a $200 gift card to my fave craft store! Yay!
Plus, readers of my blog will get a coupon code to thredUP to use themselves and two random voters will get a $25 gift card to thredUP!  Double yay!

High fives for voting, friends! Happy Friday!
xoxo

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kcw: day 1

Like I already mentioned, I have a few projects to sew in mind, with my Mini Boden catalog close by for inspiration.  

When I posted this pic on instagram/facebook, I got a few questions about sources, so here goes.

Blue stripe and yellow stripe...both shirts.  The blue was once mine...from Land's End...and yellow was purchased last year with the intent of upcycling...from Walmart...I plan on making them both into leggings

Coral...also a shirt purchased just to refashion.  Also from Walmart.  I plan on making it into a tunic/dress.

Violet gingham...yardage from my stash.  Super old, but I know I bought it online.  {I'm no help!!}  Also going to be a tunic/dress.  I plan on pairing it with the blue stripe leggings.

Blue gingham...also yardage from my stash.  Purchased at the same time as the violet gingham.  This will be a bubble skirt.

Floral...vintage yardage.  This became a dress.

Anywho, even though I'm a little late getting started, I did make a dress out of the vintage floral last night.

The pattern is my often-used sweet dress by Leila and Ben.

I'm very comfortable with this pattern, and I've said it before I don't care for the directions, so I just make it my own way.

This is a really quick sew with a serger and it's a cute, flattering fit on my girl.

Sister got a ton of wear out of her gingham and floral ones last year.

This morning I was questioning whether I like the fabric for this dress after all.

As cute as I thought it looked in my head, I started doubting it.

Like it looked just a little too much like my grandma's housecoat...

Haha.

I got a whole bunch of suggestions from instagram and facebook friends and I think once I add pockets to the front it'll lose the grandma thing it has going on right now.  

Tonight I'm going to spend my sewing time cutting {so not my fave part!} so tomorrow I can crank out those leggings!!

Have you made anything for kcw??

I'd love to see it!

xoxo

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around here: the laundry

It probably doesn't surprise you that I have my work cut out for me when it comes to washing clothes around here.
I do A LOT of laundry.
Like a lot.

Two boys.
A toddler.
A husband who spends a ton of time on muddy golf courses.
Dirt and messes just seem to find us.
Ha!

So when Method contacted me about trying their ultra concentrated detergent, it got me thinking about how much time {and money and energy!} I spend on laundry.  I probably wash hundreds of loads a year.
Hundreds!
Yeesh.

That's a lot of detergent going down the drain.
That's a lot of manufacturing.
That's a lot of packaging.
So that got me thinking again...

Now "going green" and doing right by the planet is important to me, don't get me wrong...I have three children that will be living on this Earth long after I'm gone.  But I'll confess that I don't like to compromise on effectiveness and I don't want to add any extra steps to my life.
Cloth diapers?
Not for me.
Packing my car and driving to a recycling center?
Not gonna happen.
Getting rid of that SUV for something more fuel efficient and friendly to the environment?
Nope.  Sorry.

But I can do little things.
Like switching to concentrated laundry detergent.
It uses less packaging and I know it's manufactured responsibly using sustainable materials.
THAT works for me.

So for the past few weeks I switched detergent.
I'm happy to say it's fantastic.
All of the things I liked about my old detergent...the scent, the effectiveness of getting out THE CRAZY NUMBER OF STAINS that happen in this house...all there.
Doing the right thing for the environment?  Check.
Not sacrificing convenience or function?  Check.  Check.
I'm so glad I made the switch.

Want to try Method for yourself?  How about winning a whole year's supply of detergent??
Click here and enter.
Good luck!!

xoxo

This post is sponsored by Method.  Method provided product for me to try, but opinions and photos of unfolded laundry are my own.

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earth day, kids' clothing week, a whole bunch of links, and whatever else I'm forgetting.

Happy Earth Day!
{is that even something people say?? Ha.}

The weather was finally decently springlike around here today so we spent the afternoon working in the yard.  
I'm longing for the hot days and blooming gardens of summer!
We mainly spent our time pulling leaves and the mess left over from fall/winter out of the garden beds, but while the boys were digging for worms and the other grossness that little boys love, I was plotting.
This year is going to be the year I actually build a cucumber trellis.  With a deck and wanting enough grassy areas for our littles to play, we're really limited on space for gardens.
We have two raised beds and I've heard plenty of good things about square foot gardening, so I've been researching these like crazy.
A trip to Home Depot for supplies is on the schedule for tomorrow.  ;)

I saw this darling little succulent terrarium project last week and fell in love.
We took a trip to the nursery this morning to pick out a few plants.
I'm really looking forward to making it and putting it in the boys' room!

Kids' Clothing Week started today.  {Well, yesterday I guess...}  

I haven't even started thinking about what's on my list to make.

I'm feeling that way a lot lately.  

Life will slow down soon, right?!

I took the fall week off, but last spring I was pretty productive.

I'll definitely be making leggings and maybe a few dresses/tunics.  Sister got a ton of wear out of these last year and they're a really fast sew.

Method offered me the opportunity to try their concentrated laundry detergent a few weeks back and I've been using it ever since.  

I have a draft of a post about what I thought about it for {hopefully} tomorrow.

And psst...if you didn't see me post it on facebook or twitter...you can enter to win a year's supply of detergent for yourself.  Go here to enter. :)

xoxo

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instagrammed.

An update of my instagrams is way overdue.
Here's a little peek of what we've been up to in the past 3-ish!! weeks.

If you'd like to follow along, I'm @aprettycoollife :)

 

xoxo

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