Forgiving DIY Projects: Succulent Terrarium

I love plants.  And I love old science equipment.  So when I saw this old desiccator (used to keep chemicals, especially powders and crystals, in a low humidity environment so they won't clump or otherwise get ruined as quickly) for a great deal at an antique store (my MIL actually bought it for me, isn't she sweet?) I knew it would make a great terrarium.  The basics of a terrarium are: container, plants that love high humidity, soil, and something to help drainage so roots don't stay so wet that they rot.  That's all I have here.  I put a layer of pebbles at the bottom, filled the remainder of the bottom with soil, and then planted some succulent plants and clippings of plants that I have on hand.  This makes a great home for my Christmas cacti that I could never keep humid enough in the furnace heated winters for them to bloom - until this year!  I put in any pieces that fall off my other plants - usually because I knock them off while watering - and they take off!

Royal Bee Pillow

One of my very first posts described my "current projects" (which, of course, are less than half of the projects I ever end up working on at any given time).   I have made significant headway on the throw pillows for our new couch though.  In fact, I have probably made too many already!  Though I have two more (embroidered G's on a navy field) in the works. 

 The centerpiece is a pillow with a cross-stitched Napoleonic Royal Bee in navy blue on an ivory field.  I have seen a similar motif screen printed a bunch but I have seen much (if any) embroidered and I really love the texture of embroidery - even if it just cross-stitch.  I couldn't find a free bee pattern that I liked a whole bunch so I printed the picture of a queen bee from ClipArt ETC  to use as the inspiration for my pattern.  I traced the pattern onto graph paper, getting rid of a lot of the detail in some places and adding more stripes and different wing patterns in others, so that the pattern would be easier to stitch.  I only did half of the bee this way and then filled in the other half so that I would have a symmetric pattern.  I used a crown from this pattern.   The wreath was modified from this pattern and if I could find what I drew, I would share it with you.

Kids' Experiments: The gravity of the matter

The first of the Kids' Experiments will focus on my wheel-house: physics.  We will start by exploring the motion of objects - beginning with those influenced by gravity.  These aren't the most exciting of experiments, but they are essential for a solid foundation so we can do the fun stuff later!

Kids' Experiments: Teach it Early, teach it often

I spent some time with my five-year old niece this weekend and, as always, I was blown away by how much she already knows about the world around her.  Of course, as her doting aunt, I think she is incredibly brilliant, but the educator in me firmly believes that most of her success in learning is because of the amazing job my brother and sister-in-law do at keeping her rapidly developing mind engaged.  While many kids have the benefit of such involved parents (and other relatives), Iz is incredibly advantaged because a.) she has a ton of science and technically savvy role models in her family (two engineers, two physicists, a med student, a linguist - and that is just my siblings and sibs-in-law!) and b.) those role models (mostly her parents) engage her in scientific thought in a way that makes it fun.

For her fifth birthday, the rooster and I (the two physicists) made a year of science experiments for Iz to do with her parents.  I want all children to have the advantage of being able to learn this stuff early (when it is much easier because you haven't convinced yourself that things work in ways that they really don't!) so I am going to make the experiments we put together for Iz available to anyone who wants them as the series "Kids' Experiments."   They will be much more extensive in detail than their original form.  Most of the document is a guide for parents/guardians/educators to learn the material well so that they can adapt the material and can guide the child in his/her scientific exploration.

In terms of time commitment, I anticipate it will be big!  My brother and sister-in-law can spend a week or more on one of these topics in terms of preliminary discussions, pointing stuff out in everyday life, and follow-up discussions (the actual experiments are generally under 30 minutes!).  It is not "all science, all the time," but Iz (and her younger brother, and other highly engaged children I know) have inquiry peppered into  life (not just at special educational times) and this is the approach I would recommend with these modules - don't just sit down and get it done all at once.

In practical terms of use, stuff in blue and instructors worksheets are for adults only and should never ever be directly told to a child.  I really love the approach of teaching science (and specifically physics) by never actually telling a student the answer but by asking guiding questions to help him/her arrive at the answer on their own (Is this the Socratic method? - teehee).  College students hate this!  Like, REALLY hate this.  But it's important for people to go through this process to really learn (and more importantly, to unlearn misconceptions!).  This is why it takes so long.  But it will be worth it when the child you love is able to make amazing extrapolations about what they have learned so far.  And the investment you make in your child learning science early will allow that child to learn more science much more easily later on (again, we are talking real science, not stamp collecting).  And just as with monetary investment, the earlier you start, the bigger the eventual pay-off will be.  Start investing today!

And as is the case with Iz, I am always happy to answer any questions that arise in the course of your experiments. I know kids ask confounding questions sometimes! Don't hesitate to ask!

Contoured Memory Foam Pillowcase

  The rooster and I both love our contoured memory foam pillows but I was tired of using ill-fitting standard pillowcases if I wanted to match my decor.  I couldn't find any tutorials for a contoured pillowcase, and this won't be much of one, but it will be an outline of an approach you can take, should you wish to make one for yourself.


There were really only two things I wanted from my pillow case: It had to be asymmetric so that there was more material on the curvy side than on the flat side (so that the case would actually fit!) and it had to have an envelope opening because I am sick of pillowcases sliding off.  If I didn't have the envelope opening, it would have been a lot easier to make.

Easy Recipe: Sweet Potato Crumble

This is pretty much a sweet potato casserole that isn't pretending to be a side dish.  The filling can be pureed to make it more like a pie filling, if you prefer.  You can likely omit the sugar from the filling all together and it would still be delicious (since the candied yams are... well...candied).  Butter and salt can be adjusted significantly (or perhaps even omitted entirely) depending on your preferences and health needs.  You can also omit the pecans.  Try adding 1c oats (in addition or instead of the nuts).

Note: Candied Yams are not actually yams!  They are sweet potatoes (apparently there is a difference, but it is a difference I intend to continue to ignore).  Feel free to use fresh mashed sweet potatoes, if you like (and want to control the sugar).

Modern Wives' Tales: Give up the funk (We don’t want the funk)

I love onions and garlic (and other members of the allium family e.g. shallots, leeks, chives)!  However, I have a very sensitive nose (my youngest sister calls me a smelly person). I often have the problem of, having chopped an onion or garlic to prepare the evening meal, and having washed my hands thoroughly with soap and water after said preparation (and then again several more times throughout the evening), waking up the following morning with onion funk hands!

Note:  This chemistry will probably work well for other offensive smells due to thiols (e.g. skunk!) but I don't plan to go get sprayed by a skunk to find out.  If you have occasion to test this hypothesis, please let me know (and also, sorry you got sprayed by a skunk - that stinks!).

There are numerous Old Wives’ Tales that claim to remedy this situation.  The one that prompted this post was rubbing your hands with stainless steel.  Intrigued, I looked into the literature of onion funk before designing two experiments.

Easy/Fast: Mushroom Sauce for Pasta

This has a rich mushroom-y taste, even just using button mushrooms, and, more importantly, cooks up in less time than it takes to cook your pasta.

Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 10 min

• 4 Tbsp butter or alternate saute oil
• 16 oz whole mushrooms - separate the stems from the tops, chop the stems, slice the tops.
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (I use the jarred stuff, so you probably should reduce this if you use fresh)
• 1 cup cream
• 1/4 c grated Parmesan or similar
• Salt & Pepper & herbs to taste

Start your pasta water boiling and prep your produce.  Melt the butter in large skillet over med-high. When it is fragrant and bubbly, add onions, garlic, and mushroom stems.  Cook until soft (4-5 min), stirring occasionally.

Gift Idea: Super Cheesy Card

I know it's a bit late for you for Valentine's Day (unless you are like me, in which case, this will work well for a last minute idea), but I always have a hard time buying cards to go with gifts.  It feels a bit weird to me to pay upwards of $4 for someone to kinda sorta say how I feel for me.  So I usually just ignore it and a shove a gift at someone, mumbling "This is from me, I hope you like it."  Except when it comes to St. Valentine's Day. 

When the rooster and I started dating, for some reason, though it is quite out of character for both of us, we decided to have a sickeningly sweet first Valentine's together (perhaps because we weren't actually together - we were dating long distance).  So I made him a little booklet with an illustrated poem. 

Though my rhyming skills have fallen off over the years, and it seems they get uglier and uglier as the years go by, the tradition of me making him a little illustrated booklet in lieu of a card has stuck.  They are not very pretty to look at - that's kind of part of the tradition - but they are heartfelt and they always have a theme. 

Forgiving Sew Projects: Ruffled Round Throw Pillow

I have seen a few similar tutorials online about ruffling but not much dealing with the "knife-edge" type pillow (as opposed to one that is more disk shaped).  Here, using leftover fabric from my duvet cover, I make a simple, round, ruffled, throw pillow.  The ruffling is what makes it so forgiving of messed up measurements, crooked sewing, and other gaffs.

We start with two strips of fabric of equal length and width (I am going to rip off the hemmed edge on the piece shown here).  The dimensions of the strips depend on the dimensions of the pillow. I would recommend doubling the circumference for the length and having the radius plus 2 inches for the width.  Making the strip shorter means you will have fewer/shallower ruffles.  Making the strips narrower means you will have to have a larger center piece.