almost free garage heat – just drink a lot of soda | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts I’ve had a few days during the HMX build while I’m either waiting for parts or waiting for something to dry and had some free time. I’m not exactly one to sit and watch TV when I have nothing planned, so I set out on another project. While I have electricity out to the garage now, heat has been an issue all winter long. Mattar graciously lent me his kerosene heater, which did an okay job of taking the bite off the chill. Insulating the garage would go a long way to help keep the bitter Vermont cold out, but that’s a project for another day. I started with some 2x4s and plywood to build a simple box. I actually built the box to certain dimensions, based on what scrap materials I had and on the dimensions of my heat collection method – aluminum cans. Sealed the box using adhesive caulk, just to keep any heated air from escaping the box. So you may have already thought, “How can air climb the columns of cans when there’s no hole at the bottom of the can?” The caulk is pretty strong.
Natural weed killer (made with basic items in your kitchen) I have to warn you, for the next month and a half my posts will be of a frugal nature. This doesn't mean I won't post items that will be of use to you...it just means I won't be spending very much money on them. We are planning a big family trip (to San Francisco!!! I am so excited. If anyone has any tips or things to do there with kids..please share) and I feel I need to slow down on my crafts/projects until we come back. So another month of Frugality for me. Ever since moving into this house, I have struggled to keep our front walk weed free. I got this frugal, yet extremely effective, way of killing weeds from my neighbor. I have googled this recipe and there are a million and one different variations so I thought I would share what I used and show you how well it worked. Materials: Method: Fill a spray bottle almost full with Pickling vinegar. Go outside on a bright sunny day and spray those weeds. Here are the before images: Happy spraying.
What is a rain chain? What is a rain chain? Artistic Downspouts™ for your home Rain chains are a beautiful and functional alternative to traditional, closed gutter downspouts. Guiding rain water visibly down chains or cups from the roof to the ground, rain chains transform a plain gutter downspout into a pleasing water feature. From the soft tinkling of individual droplets to the soothing rush of white water, they are a treat to listen to. History Rain chains (‘kusari doi’ in Japanese) in concept are not a new idea. RainChains.com has taken the original concept and expanded it into a broad line of products, incorporating both cup, link and even hybrid styles into their offerings. Styles Link designs are the closest to the original form. Cup designs are an improvement over links chains in performance and efficiency. Installation Installation is usually straight forward and simple. RainChains.com sells our cup chains in both standard (8 ½ feet) and by the foot. Learning more about rain chains:
How to build My 50 Dollar Greenhouse First off – you really can build this thing very cheaply, but to do so you have to recycle, freecycle, and scrounge. If you just go out and buy new everything it will probably cost over $200 – still not bad all in all.This Article is featured in Jan 2010 issue of Birds and Blooms Magazine!Want to find out if this thing works before you read all this? My $50 Greenhouse Welcome Stumbleupon Gardeners! Materials list Construction Steps Hind Sight – What I would do differently The planning is over and construction on my hoop house greenhouse has begun. After some research I’ve decided to build the structure of the hoop house out of 20 ft. joints of three quarter inch PVC plumbing pipe. My hoop house green house is going to be 11 feet wide and 15 feet long, and will be about seven and a half feet tall in the center. If your Greenhouse is too Flat it will collapse! You might be tempted to make your greenhouse wider and lower at this point to get more floor space out of it – but be careful. Thusly
I-BEAM DESIGN + ARCHITECTURE The Pallet House project by I-Beam Design, was initially conceived as a transitional shelter for the refugees returning to Kosovo after the war. These people needed an immediate alternative to the typical tent solution that could potentially transform into a new permanent home over time, even without access to sophisticated tools and materials. It has since become our aim to also develop the project as a more permanent housing solution to serve not only refugees in disaster stricken areas but also as a modular, prefabricated solution to affordable housing everywhere that can improve people's lives, the environment, society and even inspire greater diplomacy among the various cultures of the world. The Pallet House is an inexpensive, efficient and easily realizable solution to the problem of housing people displaced by natural disaster, plagues, famine, political and economic strife or war. The Pallet House is made of wooden shipping pallets. Photos by Peter Miller
Prairie Story: Homemade Wasp Trap Ok... this is kind of gross, but clearly it works. Once the wasps go in the bottle they can't figure out how to get out so they get trapped and die. This will minimize wasps, but the only way to eliminate them is to remove their nest or kill the queen. 1) Cut the neck off a plastic pop bottle. 2) Remove the bottle cap and flip the neck upside down and place it in the bottle opening that you just cut. 3) Tape together using packing tape or duct tape.4) Bait the trap. One last note, be mindful where you place the trap as living wasps will be attracted to it.
sustainablework Unfinished, Undone, (yet somehow not) coming Unglued Have you ever seen this plant? It is called ‘wedding veil’ (at least that is what the 9 year old said that sold it to me at our local farmer’s market). I love it. It is just now starting to bloom and I’m told there will be many more white flowers that spread across it’s leaves. So many in fact that herein lies the origin of its’ name. For example, the girls room still looks like this. It occurred to me yesterday that even if drywall does goes up in the next few weeks as is planned, when am I going to paint this? However, this man of mine totally redeemed himself with having these beauties built. Oh yes, you guessed it, me. And while painting on walls is really what my focus should be right now, I’m dying to paint a few canvases too. I started throwing some color on a canvas at least a month ago, and then haven’t gotten back over to it since. Here is another image I came across and was totally drawn to. And so I painted him.
Fun Classroom Activities and Experiments to Interest Children / Kids in Growing Plants Growing a cutting can be fun too. I recommend Fuchsia's or Geraniums as they are easy to grow. Firstly get a cutting by taking a section of non-flowering stem and cut it free with a clean knife from just below a leaf joint. Remove the leaves immediately above the cut. Get hold of a thin sheet of polystyrene and punch some small holes in it. Thread the stems of your cuttings though the holes so the remaining leaves are on the top surface of the polystyrene. Obtain a tray or tub suitable for holding water and fill to virtually the top. Float the polystyrene complete with the cuttings on top of the water, or if the jar is small enough you can balance the cutting within the water using its leaves to suspend it on the neck of the jar, and without the need for polystyrene (as per the right hand image). Change the water every couple of days, and before too long your cuttings will produce a root system.