recycled book furniture

Library Information Desk.

Delft, The Netherlands

My homies in Northern Europe are doing cool stuff, AGAIN. 

Props to Recycled Art.

How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden

Saw this DIY on Life on the Balcony.

Find a Pallet

The first thing you need to do is–obviously–find a pallet. Don’t just take the first pallet you find. You’re looking for one with all the boards in good condition, no nails sticking out, no rotting, etc. If you intend to put edibles in your pallet, be sure to find one that wasn't treated with chemicals. You'll know.

Collect Your Supplies
For this project, you’ll need the pallet you found, 2 large bags of potting soil, 16 six packs of annual flowers (one six pack per opening on the face of the pallet, and two six packs per opening on the top of the completed pallet garden), a small roll of landscape fabric, a staple gun, staples, and sand paper.

Get Your Pallet into Shape
Once you’ve dragged your pallet home, give it a once over. Are any of the boards a little loose? Is the wood chipping in places? Nail down any loose boards, and use sand paper to smooth down any rough spots.

Let the Stapling Begin!
Decide which side of the pallet will be the bottom when the pallet garden is completed and leaning against the wall. You are going to be covering the bottom, back, and sides with landscape fabric, leaving the spaces between the slats and the top uncovered (you’ll be planting flowers in the uncovered spaces).

Lay the pallet face down. Roll the landscape fabric over the back. Cut two identically sized pieces that are long enough to go from the top edge of the back of the pallet and wrap all the way around the bottom, plus a few extra inches.

Hold the two pieces of landscape fabric together as if they were one piece of fabric. Fold over the top edge by one inch and center it on the top board of the back of the pallet. Staple the fabric into place near the top edge of the top board. Smooth the fabric out to the left and right and pull it taut. Staple the fabric down on the top, right edge of the top board. Repeat on the left side. Fill in between those three staples with one staple every two inches along the top edge of the top board.

When the top of the landscape fabric is securely attached to the top, back board, smooth the fabric down, and repeat the process along the bottom edge of the bottom board, except don’t fold the fabric under, leave a long flap on the bottom.

Pulling the fabric tautly along the bottom, fold the cut edge under, and staple the fabric down along the front edge of the bottom. Smooth the fabric out to the left and right and staple every two inches along the front edge of the bottom.

Now for the sides. Start near the bottom and fold the excess fabric inwards as if you were wrapping a present. Fold the cut edge of the fabric under and staple it down near the front, bottom edge of the side facade. Smooth the fabric out and place a staple every two inches along the front edge of the side of the pallet. The fabric should be taut but not in danger of tearing. Repeat on the other side of the pallet.

You should now have a pallet with landscape fabric wrapped around the sides, back, and bottom. Place more staples along the spine of the back side of the pallet, and anywhere else you think the fabric needs to be held down so that soil can’t creep into places you don’t want it to go.

Now for the Fun Part–Planting!
Bring the pallet close to wherever it’s final spot will be and lay it down face up. You’re going to plant it while it’s laying flat on the ground.

First slide the plants into what will be the top. Plant everything very tightly, you should have to practically shoe horn the last plant into place. Now that you have capped the top, pour the entire first bag of potting soil on top of the pallet. Push the soil into the pallet between the slats and smooth it out so that the soil is level. Repeat with the second bag of potting soil.

Push potting soil into the bottom cavity, so that there is a trench directly below one of the bottom openings. Plant six plants in the trench, so that they are very tightly fitted into the opening. Repeat with the other bottom opening. Now push the potting soil up against those flowers you just planted, making a trench beneath one of the openings in the second row. Plant your flowers tightly in that opening. Repeat for all the remaining openings.

When you’re done planting, you should have plants that are completely covering every opening (i.e. there shouldn’t be any place for soil to fall out). There should also be soil firmly pushed into every part of the pallet where there aren’t plants.

Caring For your Pallet

Leave the pallet flat on the ground for a couple of weeks (watering when needed), so that the roots can start to grow in and hold all the plants in place. I can never wait though, so I always tip the pallet upright a few days after planting. Some soil does fall out, but it seems to be okay. But I think it would be better if you left it to settle and only tipped it upright after a few weeks. Do as I say, not as I do.

Water your pallet regularly, they dry out quickly. Pay special attention to the bottom two openings, they seem to be the driest. Fertilize with water soluble fertilizer added to your watering can (follow package instructions for amount and frequency).

Pretty darn cool! Many thanks, Life on the Balcony.

baby hippo

I can't help it. 

This is the cutest thing ever.

Show your kids.

Click below if you were ever wondering if
the world was a good place or not.

Watch it if you have five windows open
and just taking a quick break from work.

I rest my case.
Now you can proceed with your daily on-goings...
knowing these little guys weren't created by Pixar but by real-life nature.

Amanda Searancke, eco-luxury fashion designer for the kiddos

It's utterly amazing how many cool people are doing cool things that live in Austin, Texas. Sometimes its just the gal down the street.  Maybe you'll see her at the playground, maybe shopping at Whole Foods or having a glass of wine at the favorite neighborhood haunt.

And lucky for us, that's the case for the fabulous Amanda Searancke. Austin is home to one of the top eco-luxury clothing designers out in the universe. She's single-handedly created two of the best-loved organic clothing lines for kids.

        

Let's take a look at some of her handy-work.

OMG - how freaking cute are these?
Knicker-bockers rule.

And what about these booties??

Sooo delicious. These little baby booties use premium lambskin made from lambs that die of natural causes. No purposely bred animals or synthetic materials go into its shoes, according to Kina, just "recycled" lambskin that would otherwise go to waste. Wow. That's awesome.

 

My daughter owns this knitted wool bubble dress and it is simply perfect.

And don't be fooled, Texans. Wool is actually an awesome fabric for our kind of climate. Kind of hard to believe, but hear me and the Prince of Wales out... actually he says it a lot better with his Campaign for Wool he launched in January 2010. Way to go!! Help support the local farmers/ranchers!! (But can I just say Amanda's been rocking the wool since 2005. The Prince ought to pick her brain about the stuff.)

In a nutshell, wool is a total a natural wonder. It insulates, is incredibly warm in winter, cool in the summer, and breathes. Every climate can appreciate wool. Oh! And did I mention its fire-resistant? As a parent - what's not to like?

Right then...back to Amanda.  What ye think about life, Ms. Searancke?

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
There is no perfect happiness and I'm ok with that.

What is your greatest fear?
I'm not sure exactly.  I believe the bones of it have something to do with my son and I can never quite bring myself to flesh it out...


What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Joy. And my son. Who is Joy.


If you were to do and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
Me, with most of what I know now at the start. Or nearly start.


What do you value most in your friends?
Their individuality. 


What is your favorite item of clothing?
Things to wrap and throw - scarves, woolen shawls, pieces of cloth. And hats. And a really good bra. New Zealand makes good bras.

Favorite discovery:
Motherhood.

Who inspires you: My very clever friends+family, kids before society influences their thoughts and people who against all odds still manage to spread the joy.

Necessary extravagance: Travel

Favorite color: deep mossy green

Favorite gadget: camera

Favorite dessert:  70%+ cacao chocolate if that's considered a dessert...

Favorite ingredient:  fresh greenery


And that concludes today's episode... Celebrating another fabulous person that lives right her in the ATX (via New Zealand, that is.) You can certainly add Amanda to the top of the list of people who make Austin a hub for ultra-talented creative energy.

Amanda lives in the Clarksville neighborhood found in Austin, Texas with her husband Hervé Lapuente (owner of Atelier Hervé) and their fabulous about-to-be three year old son, Tama.

Tama. 

The muse, the model, and the little man who loves diggers.

PS: You can find Amanda's lines in Austin, Texas at Wildflower Organics.