Waste Not: Want Not

I was fortunate enough to salvage some fleece fabric from work and decided to blow the dust of the sewing machine and put some of it to good use.

My little one is due in 4 weeks time so I made a nice blanket using the fleece and a recycled applique patch I previously had listed in the Nurtured:Earth store!


I have lots of fleece left so hopefully want to find some nice patterns and/or tutorials for making other baby items like mitts and hats.


I'm a little anxious about giving things a go for fear of ruining the fabric, but I think once I've gained a bit of confidence they'll be no stopping me and I may even attempt to create my own patterns! :) ..Although, having said that I'm sure once my little one arrives time to do things will be limited haha

A-maize-ing Addition to your Summer Wardrobe!

"Chinese knot maize-leaf slippers combines the straw plaiting techniques and the Chinese knot techniques, it is made through the process of fumigation、rinsing、dye、antisepsis and plaiting. Corn-leaf is very soft and excellent in hydroscopic property, when you wear this slipper in summer, you will feel very nice and cool , the maize-made surface supports the function of massage, it is also effective for inhibiting dermatophytosis"

While browsing the Etsy forums this week I stumbled on a post about these delightful sandals or 'slippers' and I just had to blog and draw some attention to them! These are the creation of a new seller on Etsy called Cindy. I asked her if she'd mind sharing a bit about herself and her craft and here is what she wrote:

I come from a ancient city called Dali in China, Dali is the ancient capital of both the Bai Kingdom Nanzhao, which flourished in the area during the 8th and 9th centuries, and the Kingdom of Dali, which reigned from 937-1253. Dali was also the center of the Panthay Rebellion from 1856-1863.

Corn-leaf and cattail slipper weaving is the traditional craft in my hometown, I learnt this from my mother more than ten years ago. As we know, there was no machine for making shoes in the ancient years, so the people in our hometown invented the technique of weaving shoes and handed down from one generation to another. A lot of things can be the material of the weaving shoes, I prefered the corn-leaf and cattail, they are natural and comfortable to wear.

I think they are truly fantastic! And what's more they are made from the maize plant, a natural & sustainable fibre... Clearly step in the right direction ;)

Maize or 'corn' plant

It takes Cindy three days to lovingly create each unique pair of sandals and at $25 a pair, they are a great price! You can clearly see the amount of craftsmanship that goes into them and they would make a very green & comfortable addition to any summer wardrobe!

Please drop by Cindy's Etsy store and welcome her and her great craft, and take a look at the other slippers she has on offer! I'm sure you'll agree that she's a very talented lady :)

Bear -ly Have Time

I seem to find myself so tired in the evenings after work, must be the pregnancy... or my age :/ haha... at weekends I have lots to catch up on so I barely have time to work on the N:E Store.

I was able to take some photo's today of some new items I'll be adding... one of which is this cute bear appliqué! I think it would be gorgeous on a baby blanket! Its just a shame I'm a bit rusty with my sewing or it might not have been listed!

There is only one available so I can't see it being there for long... its just too cute :)

Nurtured:Earth - Recycle:Care:Conserve

Being as the weather this bank holiday wasn't living up to its expectations, I decided to get the Nurtured:Earth Store online!

I wanted to create an independent store for selling not just buttons, but all kinds of items that need re-homing or things that have ethical, green or natural credentials.

It will take a while to get everything listed on there, but it is live and working. Keep checking back to see the latest additions :) ...all feedback & suggestions are welcome!

I've also been thinking of becoming a 'dropship' outlet for those of you out there that have products or items you'd like to advertise & sell through the N:E Store, that would promote Nurtured:Earth's values. Its just an idea at the moment but if you'd like more information please contact me and we'll negotiate a deal :)

Big Luxuries on a Small Budget!

Money has been tight this year and we've been trying to save money where we can.

Since growing veg last year and the disappointment we had with the tomatoes I've wanted a small greenhouse to improve our chances of a successful crop and somewhere which would provide a great nursery for seedlings to grow. I'd been looking on ebay for bargains but most were either too big or too far away and I thought that I was out of luck until we were in a better position financially.

My better half suggested that he'd make me one and estimated it would cost around £35 ($52) using timber and plastic sheeting. It sounded a great idea and this week he and his brother made the most of the beautiful weather and set to work.

Three days later I became the proud owner of my very own handmade, handbuilt greenhouse and I truly love it!! I'm very lucky to have such a wonderful partner that can put his hand to pretty much anything and get great results ...I do have to provide a constant supply of tea but its worth it! :)

My new greenhouse!

The cost of the materials for my new greenhouse was roughly £45 ($62) which was slightly over the original estimate but I'm sure you'll agree, a great price for such a great luxury ...a fraction of the cost of a shop bought one.

Inside

Ok, so its not made of glass, but with the constant barrage of footballs we get over the fence from our neighbour, its certainly much safer!

Chilli seedlings enjoying their new home... they're not chilly now!

It just goes to show you can afford big luxuries on a small budget!

Sprung a Leek!!

Finally, after 3 long weeks since planting the pesky Leek seeds, some of them at least have decided to put in an appearance! I think the daily impatient mutterings of Cornish Coastal Leek seeds doing much better than East Midlands Leek seeds has finally paid off haha

I counted about 9 tiny Leek seedlings out of the whole seed tray so there are still some lagging behind, but I'm happy... some are at least growing!

At this rate... we'll at least have home grown Leeks for Christmas dinner!

Garden Makeover

We moved into our current home in December of 2006. After spending the first year doing up inside, in the spring of 2008, we decided to concentrate on tidying up the garden in preparation for a trial season of growing our own veg. At the bottom of the garden was an old, unloved garden shed. Being the natural highest point in the county of Nottinghamshire, its exposure to high winds & rain goes without saying and it had definitely taken its toll on its timber!

(Above photo: Our garden when we moved in, the shed isn't visible but it was behind the large conifer tree)

We needed to relocate the shed. Taking it apart wasn't an option as the chances are, it wouldn't have been possible to put it back together. The only alternative was to take off the roof, empty the contents and move the main structure intact. For this we enlisted the help of some unsuspecting family & friends, luring them with the promise of good food and an 'enjoyable' day.

After much sweat, toil and good food, the shed was finally in its new location. While my partner gave the roof a new covering, I set about giving the old timber a lick of weatherproof treatment.

The shed was good as new!! Our neighbours were amazed and commented at how good it looked and they were convinced we'd bought a new shed. It spurred them on to give their own weary shed a facelift!

Once the shed was complete we put together a raised bed to grow the vegetables and covered the area with bark mulch to help keep the weeds at bay. We installed some composting bins and solar garden lighting and an old punctured tyre came in useful as a planter for the runner beans!

Some old chicken wire sheeting we found became trellis to tie tomato plants to, and we were given an old mini greenhouse. The makeover was well worth the effort and for very little cost we managed to prepare for a successful first year of vegetable growing!

(Above photo: Makeover complete - After shot of garden with growing veg!)

I can honestly say that our first year of vegetable growing was very satisfying and enjoyable! I felt so much pride when we harvested and ate our very own organic produce and I'm sure ours were better than I've ever tasted hehe!

This year, we plan to expand the raised beds and grow many more varieties of vegetables :)

(Below photos: Last years organic vegetables, the first pulled carrot & beetroot!)