Garden Update: Peas Gone Wild!

The aquaponics garden is finally doing great!  We seem to have the ants fairly well under control, and the fish are fertilizing the plants. We are on a regular schedule for adding chelated iron to the system, and we have the lights adjusted (mostly) to accommodate the various heights of the plants.  

This photo is standing in the NW corner of the room in front of the window.  We call this Bed 1.  It has broccoli, carrots, cabbage, onions, chard and zucchini planted in it.  This was the bed with the worst ant infestation.  We still see a few in there, but they are not building a super highway like they were. The weight on the board in the middle of the bed is to hold the media guard in place.  The growstones are VERY lightweight, and when the water fills the beds the stones float, causing the guard to lift from the bottom.  Several stones had migrated into the sump tank before we figured out a workable solution.  The weights were supposed to be a temporary fix while we came up with something a little prettier, but it appears they are permanent fixtures!

We planted more seeds (direct sow) of the same things in this bed on Sunday, and yesterday we already had some sprouts!

This is bed 3 containing lettuce, two tomato plants, three basil, marjoram, stevia, celery and more carrots. The minibell tomato plant has several blooms on it already. The other (gypsy) is pretty flimsy.  I am thinking we may need to put a fan on it to strengthen the stem.  Ornery put a stake in there for the basil and this tomato plant.  These photos were taken on Sunday, and already things are bigger and healthier looking.

These are my blue lake green beans on Sunday.  They are loaded with blooms and already several little beans are popping out!  How fun!!  In the foreground you can see the snow peas we planted first back in March.  We have trimmed them several times to get rid of the bleached out leaves which appear when the iron level drops too low.  They still don't have any blooms, but...

they have grown above the lights and are bumping the ceiling!  Crazy things!

These are garden peas, and there are some very cute little pea pods showing.  If you click on the photo you should be able to see some. :)

These next photos are of some of the outdoor beds.  We have lots of containers on the patio, including this cedar box filled with herbs.  Cilantro, Sage, Oregano, Thyme, Marjoram, Corsican and regular Basil.

In another of those cedar boxes which Ornery built legs for to keep the rabbits out of we planted all the strawberry plants I had in one pot last summer.  They didn't produce last year because of the aforementioned rabbits, but they are loaded with blooms and berries right now, so hopefully we have hit upon a solution!

This next one is a photo of part of the patio. We have hanging baskets and numerous pots, plus the two new raised flower beds along the edge.  It's mixed as to how well things are doing, some are great, some not so hot, but overall, I think once it warms up, we should have a pretty display of a wide variety of colors and textures.  I have mostly planted perennial plants, but there are some annuals mixed in because I just can't seem to pass them up!

This is our columbine from last year.  It did great all year last year, and is almost giddy this year producing even better than last.  It is very happy in this spot on the patio.

Against my better judgment, we piled straw all over the beds to help protect against weeds and keep the moisture in.  Unfortunately, the straw (wheat) has sprouted prodigiously (which happened last time and was the reason I didn't really want to use it for mulch) and has sort of hidden the various plants so I don't really know how they are doing.  It has also provided a haven for the blasted rabbits to hide in, and they have burrowed in two of my vegetable beds. :(  Not a happy gardener.  I have a renewed appreciation for Mr. McGregor of Peter Rabbit fame.  You can be assured we will be waging war on the little furry fiends. They aren't as destructive as some other critters, but it is hard enough to garden while battling the weather without added complications!

End of April, Still Buried!

The end of April is finally here.  National Letter Writing Month has consumed a LOT of my time, but then I knew it would.  I did find a few new pen pals in the group, and also added a few new ones from Instagram, so much of my time has been replying to letters--which is a wonderful thing!

I have done a little bit of art, some gardening, some housework, but no blogging.  My health is dramatically improved, my stamina and interest in life in general is up, and my desire to just sit at the computer or read has almost evaporated!

Here are a few photos of my projects.  I will do a second post in a bit with photos from the aquaponics garden, which is flourishing now that the fish are feeding it! :)

 First up are the two pages I did for a friend in her new traveling art journal.  I used modeling paste, glass bead gel, and a gelli-print.  The flowers are embossed stamped images, words are rubon letters, the mushrooms are freehand cutouts from some scrap papers, the insects are all K&Co embellishments.

The second page is all gelli prints with rubons and sticker.

This is a little heart I did for a friend on Instagram who has made a canvas with 144 squares on it and she asked for people to send hearts, one for each square.   So, I made this one for her.  It is a gelli print with some glass bead gel and silk flowers.  I named it "love letter" :)

This next piece is a new size for me--I have done one other piece in the 4X4" size.  This is for a Swap-bot swap in the Mixed Media group.  It was a challenge, and you were required to use at least three elements from a list of media.

Next, I worked on another journal.  Gelli-print backgrounds, glass bead gel through stencil, book page image (rabbit) stamped tissue paper, and punched images.  The flower was the last remaining one I had in my stash and it just really asked to be included. :)

I recently did a new set of gelli-prints, and this was one of the envelopes I created.  I was pretty pleased with the results of this session.  Each time I think I am getting a bit more creative and I like the results better.

This last piece is the first of two art journal pages I am sending to an IG friend in Scotland.  Just a bunch of scraps from my stash, and a little bit of imagination.  I am going to have a hard time sending this one off...which could be why I have been so slow about making the second page!  Hopefully I will get that done (along with a bunch of other projects) in the next day or two.

That's all for now.  Coming soon: Aquaponics update, garden update, and reorganization post for my studio. I still have a few letters to reply to, and I know other art journals are on their way, so it will be a busy spring!!

A new Art Journal Project

I have been pretty busy this month so far.  I've sent out 46 pieces of mail, planted the garden in the back yard, cleaned up the patio to get ready for the summer months, and created this new art journal for another round-robin swap.

Front cover. Art from the 'hood

Letter to the participants 

Contents page where they sign and date the pages they did.

Inside the back cover, a give and take pocket filled with misc goodies.

I'll take some pictures of the garden this weekend, but it's not all that great looking at the moment, being all covered with straw as it is.

Rethinking A to Z

I have decided to forego participation in the A to Z blogging challenge this year. Computer problems and other time commitments plus a lack of motivation have aided my decision making process.

I have done a bit of art and letter writing lately, but not much computer time.

Washi tape house

Artist Trading Card made with twinkling h2o watercolor, acrylic, modeling paste, ink and washi tape. 

I also did pages in two art journals that I haven't posted yet.

This is a tip-out page. The gutter is on the left and the washi tape acts as a hinge. I used alcohol inks and embossing on it. 

This is the page opened out. I used a gelli-print for the background, sheet music along top and bottom, and acrylic paint with a stencil for the butterfly. The smaller markings on the wings are made with glass bead gel I tinted with primary elements artist pigment. 

Gelli-print background and flowers. The letters were stamped with foam stamps and embossed with translucent gold embossing powder.

This was the second page I did in this journal, mostly just animal pictures from various sources on an inked background. 

Today I sent out 15 pieces of mail--cards, letters and swaps. Tuesday is the first day of National Letter Writing Month, so I anticipate a busy time ahead!

What I have been up to...

I have been a slacker blogger this month.  It was my intention to spend a lot more time around here, cleaning things up and getting ready for the A to Z Blogging challenge (click on the banner above to see some of the other thousands of bloggers participating) and warming up to my computer again after a fairly long absence, but it hasn't worked out that way.

I have been writing some scheduled posts (although not as many as I should have done) and preparing for National Letter Writing Month, which is also during the month of April, AND doing my usual swapping on Swap Bot including co-founder responsibilities for a new washi-tape group. My computer had apparently taken on a new personality, and invited hundreds--nay, thousands-- of extra friends to pop in and greet me while doing online chores. :P  That required a few hours of Ornery's time...

I am still writing to several pen pals, and have added a few new ones in the last week or two.  We repainted my studio, I am almost finished with the reorganization of things, and we are gearing up for spring planting in our new raised garden beds.  We have had one thing after another cause us grief in our aquaponics system, and while Ornery was gone last week I wrenched my back (dislocated my pelvis) and spent a miserable week on ice in my recliner.

Today was my first full day back on my feet, and I spent it doing laundry, cleaning the bathroom and kitchen and disengaging numerous science experiments from the refrigerator. Eew.  Things are looking up, now if I can just figure out what to write about for 26 posts!!

An Aquaponics Update

 The peas have grown quite a bit in a week, but we have noted they are turning quite yellow at the top.  Don't know what that is about, but thinking we will have to do some research.  They started out in pots with some dirt, and we rinsed the roots off to plant them.

 This is a lima bean that came up from seed in the bed.  So far he looks quite happy.  This was planted Sunday.

 The seed starting rack has a decided GREEN cast to it! :)  Lots of plants going great guns in there...

Including these that have had to be removed from the rack because they wanted to climb on everything!!

 The plants on the right are scarlet runner beans, and some sort of melon is on the left.

This is the first bed we sowed seeds directly into.  It has chard, cabbage, carrots, three kinds of onions, broccoli and zucchini. The dark green leaf on the left is the first of the three zucchini seeds we planted.

Mail Art, Gelliprints and Washi Tape Feathers

I am moving away from Artist Trading Cards for a while, and my current focus is on preparing for National Letter Writing Month (April) and Blogging A to Z (April).  The sign ups are already closed for NLWM, and there are 128 participants this year.  Each person is assigned a partner, and the only thing they are required to do is write their partner at least one time.  But many in the group will send to everyone, and you are asked to reply to all the letters you receive. Could be a pretty wild mail month!!

So, I decided to go big or go home with my mail, and am working to make every piece I send out something special for the recipient.  One of my pen pals sent me some feathers made of washi tape a few weeks ago, and it has been on my list of things to accomplish ever since.  I finally got around to making a few this week!

The most challenging part was getting the two pieces of tape to meet fully, as that tape is sticky and wants to cling the moment it touches anything else.  I figured out a way to make it work with some permanent Dotto adhesive on a scrap piece of paper.  I laid the tape down sticky side up onto the strip of adhesive and put the string down the middle (I used button thread), then I folded the tape over it.  Once that was done, I trimmed the feather and notched it. They are easy, but a little time consuming, so I probably won't make as many as I had originally planned.

Then, I made this little letter booklet for one of my pen pals.  I had made some envelopes from vellum Elizabeth gave me, and since it is see-through, I didn't want my handwriting to show through the envelope.  I had also cut up some scrapbook paper to fit inside the envie, and trimmed the edges with my deckle blade so they had the same amount of edge showing. Then I added washi tape to dress it all up.

Here you can see the inside, and where I added a couple of my feathers. :)

Another project I did this week was this altered file folder.  I used some of my gelli prints to decorate it up, then went through my piles of stuff to find embellishments.  Finally, I stitched it up, and mailed it naked (without an envelope).

You can see it has a variety of things on it; junk mail, punched stars, tiny puzzle pieces, some lace, twill ribbon and (of course) washi tape!

Next, I did a quick page in my art journal using some mail from Heifer, Intl., and Baker Seeds. I was happy with the page, even though it looks rather quiet for my usual style! It certainly suited my mood that day.

Yesterday I spent a few happy hours with my gelliplate and an assortment of paper products.  Here are some file folders I monoprinted directly onto.  I have already begun embellishing them, but am not in any hurry as they are not for any particular project, just to have on hand in case I decide I want to send one to someone. I cut each of the folders down, so there are two parts of two folders, and another piece that was cut off the folder above.

Then I also printed on a bunch of recycled chipboard and coverstock from some old spiral notebooks I cannibalized to use for stationary.  The only piece I threw away was the metal spiral from the notebooks!

Here the postcards (all 5"X7") are already embellished partway, using an assortment of things I have had for ages, or else they were sent to me from various people in swaps.  It felt GOOD to get rid of some of the stuff I had been hoarding! :)

And last, but certainly not least I printed onto some A2 envelopes to use for NLWM.  I was in a swap for mail art using gelliprints made with cheesecloth, so that is what made the cool designs on the top few envelopes.  I could have made a hundred of these, they were so fun!!  I think I ended up with 13 altogether.

Today is cold and rainy here, so we are doing indoor projects, but hopefully we will get to work outside tomorrow.  I am sure ready for spring to settle in here in earnest! We have a LOT of seedlings coming up in our aquaponics beds, and the peas are tall enough that we have had to raise the lights already.  The seedlings on the starter rack are also going great guns. It is so fun to watch them grow, and I love that everyone who goes into that room sings, hums, or talks to the plants.  :)  What a fun family project this is turning out to be!

Mail Art and a few ATCs

Here are a few ATCs I made this week. The first two are experiments with glass bead gel on some gelliprint backgrounds, the other was using some black paper I had painted on with twinkling H2O watercolors.

grapes

The light really reflects off the shimmery paints, so you can't see the colors well in the photo, but they were pretty cool! :)

And here are a couple of postcards I made with some fun backgrounds I made using bubble wrap and twinks.

 This first card is for a swap with the theme of circles. I got a couple/few on there...

This second one is for a swap with my friend in Scotland who does awesome doodle drawings.  Lately she has been on a bird kick, so I made a card to trade with her using birds.  These are all but one of my bird stamps, and as many other bird embellishments as I could round up!  (including two bird washi-tapes!)

Peas are Planted...

We put the peas from the grow rack into one of the aquaponics garden beds on Thursday night.  Friday I took this photo; some had already grasped the strings we hung for them to climb on.  :)

Dave is plumbing in the last bed this afternoon, and yesterday we planted seeds: in soil, on paper towels for the aquaponics garden, and broadcast into the grow stones. Theoretically they will sprout and come up just like they would in soil.  Here's hoping! :)

Mixed Media Art

The request was for some flowers in lots of colors.  Here is my response.  It is going to a pen friend in the Philippines.

 This piece is 8X10, and for the flowers I used a page from the journal I bought when I first got my twinkling h2O watercolors.  I had traced around some chipboard shapes and tried to paint flowers using all the colors I had at the time.  They were just scattered around on the page, so when I was asked to make this, I cut out all those flowers and dressed them up a bit with some glitter.  Then I cut leaves from a page I painted with greens for that purpose, and a vase from a bit of black paper I had experimented on to see what twinks would do on a black background.

I still had some flowers left, and a piece of this cool background paper, also painted with twinks this past week, so I made a 5X7 sized card for a friend.

Still on that flower kick...

Art Journal Pages

This week I worked in two journals, here are the pages I did.

I have been on a flower and garden kick lately, can you tell?