Easter Activities from the TOYMAKER!

Paper Toys For Easter

lots of fun crafts/activities for the kids from the Toymaker!

Enjoy ♥

Beautiful Bumble Bees ~ WW

On one side of my house I have Honeysuckle,

 which the Bumble Bees l♥ve.

I don't prune it until it is completely done blooming.

They climb so deep into the flowers.

 They're so docile

Love to watch them fly around

Busy as a Bee!

They do take naps on occasion

Naturally Control Garden Pests

GARDEN PESTS

We're at the time of year where everything is starting to come alive in the garden. New sprouts are delectable for garden bugs. As are established ones later too. Here you'll find some help with the most common bugs you might encounter

BUG SPRAY FOR PLANTS

Here's a 2 in 1 spray.

Bugs hate it but plants love it!

Organic molasses mixed with a few other ingredients sprayed on plants, will help drive off harmful insects while giving your plants a boost. Insects like a specific window of sugar content in plants.  If you raise it, they won't want to eat and if they do they die.  Insects cannot bloat or release gas, sugars create gas and it basically kills them from the inside out.  But be careful because this will kill beneficials too. So only use it on heavily infested plants.

Adding molasses to the soil in your garden helps to increase the microbial activity resulting in soil that holds moisture better and is also easier to plant in.  When soil microbes are exposed to simple sugars, they multiply quickly. As microbes go through their living cycle, they add important nutrients to the soil, making the more the merrier.

You can also rid your yard of FIRE ANTS by spraying this over your grass.  This is the most inexpensive way to add sugars and ward off harmful insects to your garden.

Simple Molasses Recipe for soil and plants
(spray bi-weekly directly onto the leaves)
You'll be able to find these ingredients at
 Walmart, Home Depot, Amazon, etc.

3 Tablespoons organic molasses
3 Tablespoons liquid organic garlic
1 Tablespoon liquid organic fertilizer
1 gallon water

SLUGS

BEER

These tips you probably all know already, but I'll mention them, just in case.
Slugs love feasting on your flowers and vegetables.

One of the simplest way to get rid of slugs is a beer trap.

The cheaper the beer the better. Why waste money on the good stuff?

Bury a clean tuna can/yogurt cup/whatever you have available in your garden, near plants that seem to be attracting the Slugs. The lip of the can will need to be level with the soil.  Fill the can with beer.

Come back in the morning and you'll probably find grossness.

  Look at all those nasty slugs!

 

They are attracted to the beer and ultimately drown in it.
A cheap and easy solution to Slug control.

The little buggers are kind of picky though.
They like their beer fresh.
So be sure to dump the dead ones every morning
and refill your can with fresh beer.

If you have a large garden you may want to have more than one of these depending on how bad your Slug problem is. When I have beer I use this method and it works amazingly.

EGG SHELLS

Another method I use quite often since we go through a lot of eggs.
This is also a double whammy.

After using the eggs, I rinse out the shells and let them dry thoroughly.
I then toss them in an old bowl until I've collected enough, to make it worth my while, to crush up.
I sprinkle them around my flowers, veggies, etc.
Slugs will not crawl across them due to the abrasiveness of the shells,
even when ground up.  This also works for Cutworms.
The eggshells provide the benefit of calcium to my garden.

CITRUS RINDS

Another type of Slug Trap are citrus rinds.
Cut your orange in half and eat it. Place the rinds out at night and you'll have Slugs up inside them in the morning.
You can pick them off and drop them into a coffee can filled with soapy water - Slugs can't swim!  Or if you have Chickens, feed these pesky critters to them.
Or just dispose of the rinds altogether.

LAVA ROCK

Slugs will avoid the abrasive surface of lava rock.

Lava Rock can be used a a barrier around plantings, but should be left mostly above soil level. Dirt or vegetation can soon form a bridge for Slugs to cross to get to your plants.

ANTS

Natural Ant control can be done with common household ingredients.
The most popular method is to use Talcum Powder around areas infested with Ants. Ant trails should be followed and talcum powder sprinkled on them to break the trial. When the trail is broken, ants will stop coming back.

Cinnamon and Black Pepper can be used like talcum powder. A further step is to carefully follow the trail to the source outside the house, sprinkle the spices at this point, so the ants remain outside and do not come in.

Vinegar is also ideal for ant control. While it can be used straight, it is best to dilute the vinegar before using it for natural ant control.

CORNMEAL

I like to buy the packaged Cornbread mix that says it is sweetened and put it where they are coming from. They love the stuff and take it back to the mound. Everyone in the mound will eat it and since they can not digest the cornmeal they die. They can't resist it because it is sweetened. A little goes a long way.

TOMATO HORNWORM

HANDPICKING

In the home garden handpicking is your best bet. Because they are so large and move so slow they are easy to pick. Once removed from the plant they can be destroyed by squishing them, sniping with scissors or dropping them into a bucket of soapy water.

If you feel squeamish about the above removal, you can always snip the branch of the plant the Hornworm is on and drop the whole thing in the soapy bucket.

APHIDS

WATER SPRAY

Believe it or not one of the easiest ways to control Aphids is to spray plants with a powerful stream of water. Aphids are pretty frail and water quickly knocks them off plants. A daily spraying can usually control an Aphid problem and keep damage to a minimum. When spraying be sure to get the underside of plants where Aphids like to congregate to hide from predators.

FLOUR

If you have a large Aphid infestation, dust them with flour. It constipates and kills them.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

Put a small amount of Apple Cider Vinegar in a jar next to plants. Aphids and Fruit Flies will be attracted, fall in, and drown.

ALL INSECTS

Here are a couple of recipes that work for a multitude of insects. Since one sometimes doesn't work for everyone, you can try to see which works for your pests the best.

GARLIC SPRAY

Make a Garlic plant spray by pureeing 2 bulbs of Garlic. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over the Garlic, cover, and let steep overnight.  Strain, put in a spray bottle. Spray the bottom of the leaves daily, every few days or once a week.

HOT PEPPER or GINGER SPRAY

Both contain capsaicin, which burns insects. Combine 1 quart of water,  one squirt of castile soap, and one Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper or Ginger. Try on a small portion of the plant first. Dilute further is it causes leaf damage.

Hopefully with these in your arsenal, you'll be able to keep the pests at bay this season, and your plants will grow big and healthy producing lots of flowers and tons of veggies!

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Springing Into Easter ~ WW

Succulent Easter Favors

Spring/Easter always makes me feel like we have a new beginning, a new start. Everything is fresh, possibilities are endless.

I guess that's why I always like to send my Easter dinner

 guests home with a plant.

It just seems the right thing to do.

''To plant as garden is to believe in tomorrow''

Audrey Hepburn

Last year succulents were all the rage, heck they still are!

I knew that was the plant that was going home with them

 and I knew where I was going to get them. 

Vintage at the Yard takes place 4 times a year and

 is my favorite place to go and wander.  

It's an open air market in a beautiful lakeside setting 

with the most fabulous vendors. 

One of which is Star Succulent Nursery.

They have the healthiest, well priced succulents I've found.

Luckily there was an event just prior to Easter, 

I headed out to to grab the succulents I needed, 

and check everything else out ;)

Once home, I then needed to figure out how to make them "favor worthy".

I ended up choosing some squatty, quilted, and plain mason jars I had.

These were some of the supplies I had running though my brain.

I had thought about decoupaging the jars with that pretty hydrangea napkin but decided to paint the jars with chalk paint in Eastery colors instead.

Once dry, I transplanted the succulents into the jars, 

being sure to add some small rocks to the bottom for drainage.

Next I embellished them with good ol' Dollar Store 

ribbon I had. I always pick some up, just to have, 

especially when they get some new/different colors in. 

And this sheer pastel worked wonderfully!

I don't like the dirt showing, so I topped it off with

Spanish Moss, again something I keep on hand

 from the Dollar Tree.

I like the way it gives it a fished look.

I had leftover candy stick and Easter stickers from the previous year so I combined the two and stuck one in each jar for a little decoration.

Bim bam yes mam, they were ready to go!

Now to figure out what to make for this year 

Other posts you may be interested in

Making an Easter Book Bundle

I wanted to add an Easter Book Bundle to my Bunny Collection this year.

Being this my first Book Bundle, I was excited. I had never bothered to read the directions. It seemed pretty straight forward by just looking at the photos.  So this is my version, the way I made my bundle ~ I don't believe there is any right or wrong way ~ do it anyway you want, adjust here and there to make your bundle look how you want it to in the end ♥

Pressed for time, I was trying to speed through to at least get my Book Bundle started.

I always put the things I want to make for myself off to the last minute, 

do you do that too?

Ran to my stash to grab books.....

only to find I had used them all up for other projects - ugggghh!

Off to the Dollar Store I ran to grab some - *this is where I roll my eyes* -
Only to find out a few days later I missed the library sale on books - $1 a bag.

Too many family crisis' since January -
but I digress....

(Fun, it was my time for something fun, 
even if I was pressuring myself to have it!)

Had books, paint, brush.....

had seen some really cool font stamps online months earlier when I first thought of making this bundle.  I flipped through my usual sources online, saw the prices and decided I'd use my Dad's from WWII.  Nothing fancy, but they's get the job done and I could start immediately since I wouldn't have to wait for them to arrive or drive an hour to get them.

The covers of the books removed nicely

I just gently pulled and off they came in one piece

I did end up lightly sanding a few high spots of glue that remained on the spines

Ignore my table, several other projects going on

I wanted them to lay flat on top of each other.

Used regular Elmers to glue them together. 

Weighted them down and let set a day or two until I got back to them.

I wanted them a very light pink.

I add a few drops of Waverly's Chalk Paint in Ballet Slipper to Waverly's Chalk Paint in White and mixed.

The books were painted and left to dry

They even stand ;)

On to the stamping ~

It may have turned out a little wonky, but 

it's not everyday you get to use old stamps like these.

The Title is from Gene Autry's "Here Comes Peter Cottontail".

When I was little I couldn't remember all the words,

 so I sang the title over and over driving my family crazy.

I still have the old red record I used to listen to! 

Looking back, I think I just wanted to incorporate some of 

my childhood into my Easter lineup. 

If we could just turn the clock back 60 years

 instead of just an hour  

There was definitely a learning curve with these old wooden stamps.

I like the way they came out,

and I'm sure Dad would have liked that I finally used them!

Even the old ratty ink pad too!

 

When done I decided to tie Spring Green ribbon around the bundle 

and make a loose multi-loop bow toward the spines.

Love it!

I had so much fun creating this one, 

I made a couple other themed ones and placed them in my shop :)

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