DIY Grow Light

Hello! This ones for my fellow plant lovers. One of my favorite plants is my Monstera Deliciosa. (Philodendron Monstera, Splitleaf Philodendron, Swiss cheese plant) I got it a couple years ago and it has been growing like a beast. Last year it unfortunately got thrips and I had to cut off a bunch of leaves, but I took care of those nasty pests and my plant has been growing healthy and happy and has put out a bunch more leaves.

It is fairly happy where it lives in this spot but it had been reaching for the sunlight quiet noticeably. All my windows are on the opposite side of the room. My kitchen island is just off to the left of this plant, and the walk space between the island and the plant was getting narrow. So I wanted to get a grow light for it, to encourage the leaves to lift up and not so far out towards the windows.

If you've ever looked for a grow light from a company that sells lights and pendant combos, you will know they are quiet pricey. The least expensive one I could find was over $200! 😱 Ummm, no thanks! So instead, I decided I would get a bulb and find my own pendant.

I ordered this bulb from amazon. It is an Absolute Daylight Spectrum Grow Lite from Miracle LED. Absolute daylight is a good spectrum for mature plants and as a general grow light.

I originally wanted to get a wire pendant and hang it from a wood bracket, but I couldnt find exactly what I wanted, so I waited, and kept looking. I eventually stumbled upon this super cute wall sconce as I was scrolling amazon and I instantly loved it. It comes in black which was also super cute, but the white one had a $5 coupon I could apply and it also matches the pot and stand that my Monstera is in, so I knew it would fit in perfectly. I love the little wood accent on this light.

 

Sometimes plan B works out better than plan A! 

I wonder how long it will take my Monstera to grow as tall as this light. I may have to move it up higher sooner than I think!

Jurassic Forest

Want a fun activity to do with your family this summer? Head to the little town of Gibbons, Alberta and walk with the dinosaurs!

We had a lot of fun seeing all the different automated dinosaurs along the walking paths! 

Here are a few of my favorite photos that I took of our adventure!

It was lightly raining when we went, and I found it added to the experience.

I took so many videos and have them saved in my highlights on my Instagram feed @addicted.to.turquoise

You could make a whole day outing here if you wanted. Pack a lunch or pick something up at the little cafe on site.

There is also a sand pit for kids to excavate dinosaur bones and play on dinosaur statues.

It was a really neat experience catching glimpses of the dinosaurs through the woods and hearing them make noise as you approach them until you get to a clear view and can watch them move.

This is a great outing for kids and adults.

I definitely recommend the trip out to Jurassic Forest to take in this cool experience!

Budget Friendly Teacher Gifts

I wanted to share what my girls and I did for our end of year teacher gifts.

We had 2 teachers and 5 EAs to give Thank you gifts to for all their hard work this year in the classroom. I needed something that would fit in our budget so we made our own vases and made little flower arrangements.

I picked up 2 bunches of flowers from Costco. They were $12.99 each and divided them up.

We reused glass jars and bottles for our vases. I had saved some floral paper that was wrapped around a bouquet of flowers that my friend gave me for my birthday, so I cut out appropriate sized strips to wrap around the jars. We tacked the paper down with a little glue from a glue stick, then I wrapped some green twine around the paper and tied it into a little bow.

We gave the bigger jars to the teachers and the smaller bottles to the EAs.

I attached a little thank you note to the top of the bottles with some twine that the girls signed.

Our school is a Jane Goodall school which encourages youth to be Environmentally friendly and participate in conservation efforts and sustainability. 

I love any little effort taken to be more eco-concious and reusing these glass jars and paper make these little teacher gifts even more special in my eyes. You know the old saying, "reduce, reuse, recyle"! These gifts are both budget friendly and earth friendly.

Don't forget to thank your kids teachers for all the time and effort they've poured into your childs life this year! 💚

Camping Breakfast

When we go camping, I like to plan easy meals or have most of my meal prep done at home before we leave. I find it makes life so much easier. Our camper is rather small and there isn't much counter space. So I don't want to be mixing ingredients and making a big mess in such a crowded space.

I wanted to share these breakfast muffins with you that I found from @thebeaderchef . 

My kids wake up early and are instantly hungry. I love having these muffins made and ready for them to eat for breakfast. I can stay in bed a little bit longer before I have to get up to make coffee. I love slow mornings in the camper, so it's nice to not have to get up right away to prepare breakfast. 

These breakfast muffins are made with oats and any type of frozen fruit you want. I've made them with a 4 berry mix and with mostly blueberries before. They are easy to customize with your favorite fruit.

Find the original recipe HERE.

Happy Camping!
- Jackie @addicted.to.turquoise

Aloe Vera Propagation

Hello again! How have you been enjoying the spring weather? I love it!

I just wanted to share a quick easy project with you. My Aloe Vera plant had a baby growing from it so I decided to separate it and make it into it's own plant.

Here it is in a terracotta pot I painted.

This is just showing the little baby I removed from the main plant. It doesn't have much for roots. There are only 2 tiny roots growing from the bottom, so I'm hoping it will survive the separation.

I painted the top of the pot black and the bottom white.

I decided to add a cutesy aloe vera quote with sharpie.

Here is the Baby with the Momma plant.

Propagation is such a great way to increase your plant count. It's always rewarding to grow a whole new plant!

A fun tidbit, when I decided I wanted to keep houseplants in our home, this Aloe Vera is the first plant I bought. My girls and I named it Charlie. 

I now have over 40 plants and I love them all!

Wood Slice Wreath

I felt inspired this morning to do another crafty project so I decided to make a cute little neutral spring wreath. 

Here we go!

I cut a log into approximately quarter inch slices. I didn't measure, I just 'eye-balled' it which went super fast.

Next, arrange the slices into an overlapping circle and hot glue them together.

I used a protective top coat to seal the wood. I don't know if this step is necessary, but I had the product already on hand so I figured I would do it to keep the wood protected.

I made some paper flowers and gathered some other dollar store flowers and greenery that I had in my craft supply.

Arrange the greenery and flowers how you want them on the wreath and hot glue them down.

Here is a close up shot. I love how it turned out!

I hope you like it!!

Christmas Decorating

Hello! It's been awhile! I feel a little bad that my blog has fallen to the wayside. I've been so focused on my Instagram account that I havn't put much effort into the blog. So I decided I would share some photos from my Instagram account (@addicted.to.turquoise) of my Christmas decor.  

This is my first year having a nativity set out! I had been wanting one for years but had a hard time finding one I really liked. Last year for Christmas I received this one as a gift! I am so happy to have it on display this year!

My favorite thing to decorate is my banister. It is so simple to wrap a garland around it, but it makes a big impact and adds so much charm!

Hanging a wreath on a mirror is also a super simple way to make an impact with holiday decor!

I love banners and garlands of all kinds. I decided to hang this 'MERRY' banner in an untraditional spot to keep with the eclectic vibes I have going in this area.

This little wreath is a simple DIY I made for my pantry door. I just wrapped a skinny berry Garland around the wreath form for an extra festive touch in my kitchen.

Here is a full view of my kitchen. I have a small tree on top of the cupboards, a WISH sign, the wreath I made and my Christmas mugs on display on the island.

My centerpiece and pillow covers all came from the DOLLARAMA. I love to keep things budget friendly when decorating seasonally.

This little bell garland is super cute and also from the dollar store. 

I haven't taken any photos of my outside decor yet. December is going by so fast, I can't believe its half over already!

Wherever you are this holiday season, I send you warm wishes for a Merry Cbristmas!