A new adventure: squarefoot gardening

We have been renovating our house for almost 4 years now… It’s not a big house, there is nothing special about its appearance, no special charm, but it is the perfect house for us. We have two rooms, one for the kids and one for us, a lot of light; we have a big park at the end of the street and … a garden. Who would imagine having a garden in a city? Not me, but here I am: preparing for a new experience: growing some vegetables in Brussels, capital of Europe! Our finances finally allowed us to get the garden redesigned last autumn (this was a huge task, that we could not handle on our own), and we kept a spot for square foot gardening.  

Spring is coming and I getting ready to give it a try… I have a small book that looks very practical (just what I need considering that I barely manage to keep plants alive in a pot). We will see where it takes us.

To be honest, I do not really hope to eat anything from my garden (but who knows?). I am mostly looking for a chance to spend more time outside with the kids. I need natural light. I crave it. But with kids, you can hardly just go out and stay in the sun, they want to be active. Plus I think it is important to connect to nature somehow, to get immersed in the seasons. What could center us more than planting a seed, caring for it and seeing grow?

My word for this year is "Open". With this small potager (in French in the text), I want to be open to nature, more open to seasons, more open to surprise, more open to new experience.

So here is the spot as of today… 

                                                                                                ... to be continued!

Crafting with small kids

I love crafting... I love spending time with my kids... So what could be better that crafting with them? Well, to be honest, the truth is less glamorous than what I envisioned while expecting! My little ones are 4 and 2 years old and I have to accept that:

• they have different center of interest (one likes to cut, the other one to paint) 
• they make a mess (and for them it's part of the fun)
•  they don't follow the guidance
• they don't care about the final result
• they will stop when they feel like it

In other words, I have to come at peace with the fact that the craft will most probably not look like the original concept. I know it is the time spent together that counts, but I just can't help correcting them to make it look right! I promise I am working hard at it... 

But all this does not prevent me for planning craft sessions at home. I love to get ideas from Kiwi Crate. I am not affiliated (they do not deliver in Europe, and if they were, I assume the cost of shipping would be ridiculously high), but I love grabbing ideas from their studio, especially when they use a very limited number of supplies.

Among the various tentatives, there have been three big hits (pictures are our chef-d'oeuvre, link is sending you to the original article):

the rocket: I am an aerospace engineer... I just could not resist this one. It is still stored in the living room and from time to time, they ask their dad for a ride!
http://www.kiwicrate.com/projects/Recycled-Jet-Pack-Costume/500

the basket: we do not celebrate Halloween, but we made these basket for an autumn walk in the park. I listed some stuff to find (5 leaves of different shape, 2 round rocks, 1 snail...) and a simple walk in the park became a treasure hunt. Super easy. The basket themselves were a bit tricky to make, but we got them right in the end. I could not find pictures...
http://www.kiwicrate.com/projects/Papier-Mache-Trick-or-Treat-Basket-/335

the pipe cleaner: I never though they could have so much fun with so little... Plus I am amazed at the dexterity of my sweet Cécile (the youngest one). She is so proud to do just like her brother.
http://www.kiwicrate.com/projects/Colander-and-Pipe-Cleaners-equals-Turkey/538

It's worth the mess... At least I think so now that they are both in bed and the living room is clean!

Explore

Life is hectic these days... I have plans for weekly blogs and before I know, I am passed my deadline. But not this week! Yeah! I am very pleased by the result of this layout. The picture is about three years old, I did the editing just after taking it and absolutely loved the result, but I never figured out how to make it justice in a LO. Until I saw the page from another scrapper on the internet. I am quite ashamed because I can not find her back to give her credit. Should she ever come across this blog, I hope she will appreciate my version of her design.

I often use scraplift. It's a good starting point for me, especially these days when I do not scrapbook often. Somehow, the more I scrap, the more creative I become... but the opposite is unfortunately also true.