*~*~*My Design Tomato Trellis - Tutorial*~*~*

Well, I don't know how right on it I was,

but I did get most of my tomato trellis made.

Being very human,

I mis-calculated and ended up one stick short.

So tomorrow,

I will go get one more 1X2.

Requirements: 8 or 9 1X2s (at least 8:)

and 4-6 hinges
wood screws (about 1 inch)

You will end up with:

8 each = 5ft. 1X2s

4 each = 1ft. 1X2s

4 each = 2ft. 1X2s

4 each = 17inch 1X2 or scrap strip

4 each = 21inch 1X2 or scrap strip

Here's what I did.

I started by getting some boards cut to the right lengths.

This is not all of them,

just a sampling:)

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You could seal your boards

before you assemble the project.

I will wait until

it is all put together,

because, I like to seal up

those screw holes.

After doing this the difficult way,

I drew a line 5 feet long then

on the top and bottom board,

I marked the center and lined the mark up

with the line so that there were no

'weird' angles, and it was square.

Working with finer pieces of wood like this,

it's very important to pre-drill your holes.

At the corners, it is also important to put 2 screws

so that the piece is sturdy and 

does not rock.

I then used some scrap pieces I had

left over from another project to add rungs.

These were only about 1X1s so I only used

one screw on them.

You will need to repeat this 3 more times

so that you have 4 pieces like this. (ladders)

Once you have all of your 'ladder' pieces,

flip them so they are rung side down

and the long 5 ft pieces are on top.

I will be using 3 hinges but only had 2 on hand.

Place hinges appropriately.

(top, middle, and bottom)

Screw them in place making sure

that they fold up as they are laying this way.

-otherwise the rungs will be in the way-

Then you can stand them up.

They should be pretty sturdy.

This is only 2 of the 4 sides.

As I said earlier,

I was 1 board short.

I will just use jute to tie

two of these sections together

in order to use them.

At these deminsions,

5 feet tall

1 foot across at top,

and 2 feet across at bottom,

it is sound

and should not tip over.

If needed, I can use

tent stakes as tie downs

-if the tomatoes get that big.-

I plan on prunning them 

if they get over 5 feet tall

so that their energy

will go into making fruit

rather than leaves.

If the plant needs more support,

I can use jute to string

across from one side to the other.

I didn't want so much wood

that it blocked the light.

The reason I am making them

with only two sections

is that they fold flat

for winter time storage.

Those round metal ones

drive me crazy.  They are never

strong enough, and 

always seem to be in the way.

By using scraps for the 

middle supports,

I ended up with some

3 foot drops.

I am hoping to make

something similar

but 3 feet tall for

my cucumbers.

The other thing I took into

consideration was

access to the tomatoes.

Maybe I'm a little lazy,

but I like to be able to

get to those ripe ones

without having to do too 

much digging.

Our seed order arrived yesterday.

Now we just have to have

patience for a couple more months.

Having a project helps point my

focus somewhere other than

just the growing part of gardening

as it snows outside!

You don't need a lot of room

to grow some of your own food.  

You could even set this over a potted plant.

Keep warm and safe, and I hope this inspires you.  

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Gift Idea for Next to Nothing

I guess sometimes I get a little

Hmmmm...

not sure what word to use,

but let's just say not very merry

when I hear children wanting lists of

very big expensive items for Christmas.

The sad part is that often times

they don't know about some

smaller items that can bring

possibly even more fun

if the grown-ups would spend time

teaching them how to enjoy simple things.

So,

all that said,

over the next month-ish

I will be posting some very

inexpensive gift ideas

for young and young at heart.

Today's Featured Toy~

Wooden Pick-up Sticks

There are only a few items needed

to make these:

25 Wooden Skewers

Food Coloring with a smidgen of Vinegar

(blue, green, yellow, & red,)

Black Permanent Marker

These are the longer ones, but I found them at

the thrift store for 89 cents.  Pick-up sticks

are only about 7 inches long so I just used

a pair of angle cutters to shorten these.

At the store, there are shorter ones available.

If you think the points are a little too sharp,

just use a pair of fingernail clippers to nip the ends.

Then, with just enough vinegar to make enough dye

to cover the sticks,

mix several drops of food coloring and vinegar

and roll sticks in it.

You should have 6 of each color.

I did this on a long serving plate,

then set them on news paper to dry.

I didn't use gloves so my fingers looked like Easter eggs,

but after doing up some dishes,

you can hardly tell:)

The last one is the pointer.

Using the permanent marker, color it black.

I used a rubber-band then

tied them with red jute and a little points tag.

Believe it or not,

until just a couple years ago,

Mr. LB had never played pick-up sticks.

The kids and I taught him how.

He was pretty good at it.

We talked, laughed, and tormented for over an hour.

Family time is a real gift. 

In case you too have never played:

Keep the black stick out (this is the pick up stick.)

Hold the others together &

let them fall in 'a pile' on a table or flat surface.

Usually, the youngest player starts & play

moves to the left.

The player uses the black stick to try to pick-up

another stick without moving any others in the pile

(so only the targeted stick should move.)

If any other sticks move, play goes to the next person.

If the stick is moved away from the others successfully,

then that player gets another turn.

When all the sticks are picked up,

add up the points as follows:

Yellow 10

Red 25

Green 40

Blue 50

The player with the most point wins.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

The Chicken or The Egg

Oh, let's just say the egg.

I have eggs, but probably won't get more chickens

until next year after we build a new coop.

It began with a mess on my table.

It's too embarrassing to show the whole table. 

I tried several different techniques - I like these and

have one other set that are in process that I like.

A couple sets are going in the rubbish bin. 

It's fun to play and experiment so will keep at it.

Have a beautiful day.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers & Even Stitches

"Yum," said the bunny.

Oh what fun!

I did get a few fun things done this weekend.

These will be listed in my etsy shop in about 5 minutes.  It was fun

making a mess in the kitchen.

I also made a couple mushrooms for my mantel.

I had fun just playing and

experimenting.

I love the lore that

surrounds

St. Patrick's Day.

It is so whimsical.

Easter is rather early

this year so it seems

as though they

kinda run into each other.

I don't like

to rush the holidays

so I will have a couple

mushrooms and

maybe a little gold

around until after

the 17th.

Then I will bring out the

bunnies.

Have a beautiful day.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches