Get Gardening w/ your Kids: DIY Recycled Succulent Projects

There is nothing quite as fun as digging in dirt with kiddos and planting new life. There is something I just LOVE about gardening projects for kids. Is it possibly the awe and wonder of watching something grow...sigh. Maybe it is because it reminds me of a deeply buried childhood memory of seed planting - or maybe it is because it reminds me that there is always hope for positive change. Either way I just love watching a little something turn into a BIG something BEAUTIFUL!

Miniature Robo Planter {Source:1800recycling.com}

I am teaching a class at our local Homeschool Co-op where we are completing projects we will enter into the Fair. Succulent Gardens are always some of my very favorite entries. They are so easy to plant and maintain plus there are very little limitations on uses for a container with their shallow root system.

I thought I would do some surfing and see if there were some fresh projects out there to inspire me. Here are some cute projects I found.

Recycled lids used as adorable little containers for a mini garden.

You could even place these on top of cute candle holders at varying heights.

{Source:Alannageorge.com}

The options for creativity are endless. The plants themselves have a large variety of textures & colors. From old lunch boxes to glass jars, you can use almost any container you can find. They can grow indoors or outdoors. 

Here are some recycled Spaghetti Jars. All you need is a little mirror paint and voila...a lovely recycled container.

{Source: thecrafty-woman.com}

They can look formal, or high on the funky factor.

You could use an old hollow rubber toy.

{Source: thisiswhyimbroke.com}

Succulent gardens can be used as a treasured keepsake of days gone by.

Recycled Children's shoes.

{source: finecraftguild.com}

or you could put them in boots and create some cute fence decor.

{Source: Rosy-posy}

These aren't succulents but you get the idea.

Vintage Glass Insulators:

I actually have a box of these. Super excited to use them but picturing a little added industrial elements.

{Source: livedan330.com}

Old Toy Cars: now this one is for kids and Dads!

{Source:nothingbutapigeon.com}

Old Vintage Cans & Tins

{Source:nothingbutapigeon.com}

What could be cheaper than an egg shell garden?

and the adorability factor is over the top.

{Source: SAHome Owner}

I was looking for old frames and screen projects with succulents when I mentally pictured the succulents forming just the letter of our last name with the screen showing as the background. Then I popped across this little number. I LOVE it! Still think the screen idea would be cool - plus I love old frames.

{Source: House&Fig}

So many fun options to start spinning your brain on. I bet you have something laying around your home right now that could be used...an old toy, an old shoe, a chipped cup or bowl. The possibilities are almost endless.

All you need are a few simple materials to get started:

Materials you will need:

• rocks (enough to fill container 2/3 of the way)
• succulent plants - get a variety of color, soft, spikey, flowering.
• whatever container tickles your fancy
• cactus potting soil
• spray bottle

Steps for planting:

Time to get planting...
you will want to start by adding a nice thick layer of rocks to the bottom of your container, about 2/3 of the way to the top, Once you have a nice drain field area established with your rocks you will follow by adding a nice layer of cactus potting soil on top of the rocks. It is now time to get creative... start playing around with the placement of the succulents. It doesn't take much to get theroots into the soil. Make sure you let your kiddo have some fun too. ;) 

Once you have your plants arranged with roots in place, it is a great time to give them a misty shower. These plants don't require much - just a light misting. Repeat when it begins to dry out.

I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to see any succulent projects you have done. So please do post in the comments area.  I will be posting pics of my students gardening projects upon completion. I will also be posting a pretty fantabulous idea for a project I have spinning in my head. 

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.-Isaiah 61:11

{If you would like to see what the kiddos came up with hop on over to the blog post I put on showing pictures.} Completed Kids Succulent Garden Projects

-Simply Sublime

Our Alphabet of Marriage: The Sweetest DIY Gift of Love Ever

In November my husband and I celebrated 21 amazingly difficult, breathtaking, wonder-filled years of marriage. We have experienced the "don't blink you don't want to miss one second of this" adventures of a lifetime, unfortunately we have also experienced enough loss for a lifetime, as well as everything in between. 

The more we have experienced the loss of loved ones, the more we have come to a place where "things" just don't hold as much value. The idea of working our patooshkies off resulting in more time taken away from our family in order to have more stuff, well let's say it has lost it's luster in our eyes. 

This can pose a bit of a problem for us during the "Gift-giving Holidays" of our culture. You know which ones they are, right? The ones that have all the commercials, magazine ads, and store decorations helping direct you to the oh-so perfect gift to show your undying love. If you pay close attention you may even recognize a grading scale on how deep your love truly is - the BIGGER diamond shows you love them that much more, the newest techie toy, the brand name clothing. The hope that after the recipient has gently removed the wrap and tipped open the box you might hear them utter these three simple words: "Oh...you didn't..."  

{Please don't get me wrong here - our family still has a love attraction to the stuff. We just have more inner turmoil that goes along with it. It doesn't "feel" the same as it once did. It has now become more of a love/hate relationship. So, we try to be more purposeful.}

On the day of our Anniversary my Husband was working on being more purposeful. He painstakingly lovingly searched around on the web for thoughtful ideas with a dyno-mite love punch. I am not certain of what he found or where, but he was inspired to create a very thoughtful gift. It didn't come in pretty wrap, it wasn't professionally done... yet it is my most cherished  gift I have from him. 

You see I found him the morning of our Anniversary sitting in a chair with his Bible and a spiral notebook in hand. He appeared pensive as I entered the room so I retreated back into the kitchen to give him some space. About an hour later he gifted me with the precious piece of ink scribbled notebook paper he had recently torn from one of the kids spiral notebooks. {See photo above} At the top of the page was written "Alphabet of Marriage" A through Z he had listed out the hopes, dreams and experiences that have glued us together.

There were a few misspellings & scratched over words but that only made it more precious to me. It was simply beautiful and truly heart touching. It was a line by line reflection of what our lives together were made of. Some of the life-line reflections had me in tears & some had me laughing. It was the PERFECT Anniversary Gift my heart had been unknowingly longing for. 

So if  you haven't already lined up your next token of love, I think this would make a sweet valentines gift for a husband to give a wife, a wife to give a husband, a child to give a parent - or even a gift for a friend. The title can be changed to reflect the Alphabet of Love, or the Alphabet of Our Friendship. Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Best Friends Day or Birthdays: this can be modified to make a very nostalgic & sentimental gift.

I hope this inspires you to take some time to reflect on your relationships & encourages you to let those special people in your lives know just how much they mean to you. They were written into your story with a purpose.

-Simply Sublime