Apartment gardening...

My new obsession is growing vegetables out of scraps from the fridge. I've already been doing that without even trying. I've grown a carrot, potato, and garlic. Yes, if you keep these guys in the fridge and don't use them they start to grow.

Did you know that there are tons of other vegetables that you can easily grow by just letting them be or by putting them in water?  Two days ago I cut off the bottom of a Romaine lettuce and put it in an inch of water. Yesterday I did the same to my bok choy. Take a look at how fast they grew. Sorry, forgot to take "before" pictures. Basically there were no leaves :)

Romaine lettuce after 2 days

Bok choy after 1 day

Growing vegetables would be a great activity to do with the kids. It teaches them where their food came from.  Maybe they'll be more inclined to eat their vegetables.

BTW, change water every day to keep it fresh and hydrated.

Update: 4/15/2013

Grow...Grow...Grow...

Romaine lettuce after 6 days

bok choy after 5 days

Update: 04/28/2013:

Remember to keep it hydrated every day. My Romaine lettuce started to wilt because I forgot to put more water. It is also best to put it into soil after it starts to sprout some leaves. The bottom of my lettuce was getting brown and really soft. 

The bok choy is holding up much better. It is still very hardy. I will also transfer this one into a soiled pot and see how much bigger they grow.

Update: 05/08/2013:

Sad news. The Romaine lettuce didn't make it. I didn't get the chance to put it into soil. On top of that, I forgot to water it so it died :( I never claimed to have a green thumb!

My bok choy is still in water and ALIVE! I relocated it to my bathroom, where I will water it while in the shower :) Lets see how that goes.

5/16/2013:

My bok choy is really loving the bathroom. Just look how tall it grew after only a month! Love the yellow blossoms.  I don't think I'll be eating this one:) In the background are the avocados that I put in water yesterday. 

Visit black thumb gardener for more information on how to grow vegetables from kitchen scraps.

Contact paper decoration

I'm still having problems with my right hand so no crafts for now. I did decorated my apartment a while back with adhesive contact papers and thought you might like to try it in your own home.

Here are some of my projects using contact papers:

photo by petite brooklyn mom

A. Family silhouette portraits.

Supplies that you need to make this:

2 contact papers in contrasting colors or pattern.
1 canvas or wood piece. They can be any size and shape that you want.
scissors.
computer and printer.

Steps:

1. Cover the canvas or piece of wood with contact paper. Set that aside.
2. Find a nice side profile of your subjects and print it out in black and white inks (to save you tons of wasted ink since you're only using it as a template to trace onto the contact paper).
4. Trace the template onto the back of contact paper.
5. Cut the profile out of the contact paper.
6.  Stick on on top of the canvas and you are done.

I've had this family silhouette in my living room for many years. Will have to add the new addition on it once my hand is better.

B. Wall Decals:

photo by petite brooklyn mom

photo by petite brooklyn mom

The wall decals are made similar to the silhouette. You print out the saying that you want in mirror image. Trace it to the back of your contact paper. Cut it out. Peel the backing and put on wall. Simple as that, although time consuming. These are in my bathroom. Even with the humidity they have not peel yet.


C. Hand lotion covering:

photo by petite brooklyn mom

We had this hand soap dispenser that was sticky and gooey to touch cause my husband removed the label so I covered it up with nice contact paper.  Just cut the shape you want and stick to dispenser.

The blue pattern contact paper I used is from Martha Stewarts.

By the way, if you have the Silhouette Cameo your projects would be quicker and easier since the machine cuts everything for you. All you have to do is peel the backing of the contact paper and put  it on your surfaces. These were done pre-Silhouette.

You can find contact papers in home renovation stores like Lowe's or Home Depot, craft stores,  as well as online like Amazon. Aubuchon Hardware Store has a variety of contact paper.  Just found this great website, i heart organizing that talks about contact papers and wrapping papers and where to get them.

Have fun crafting!