Preparing for the Spring Garden

Our dollar store has seeds out!  I picked up veggie and wildflower seeds, and I'm preparing the beds with leaf and twig mulch, kitchen scraps, Starbucks used coffee grounds, and wood ash.

Pinning gardening ideas at Pinterest. Check it out here.

Our small pond sprung a leak, so I'm turning it into a veggie garden in the spring.  I've been prepping it with aquarium prunnings, leaves, sticks, and kitchen scraps. In the spring I'll add a few bags of soil.  Source.

 The idea of this layering method is from this book:  

Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding!

Etsy Store Experiment

I started selling on Etsy in April, and it's been slow going since that time. My expectations were to sell at least four items a week, but that has not happened. I'm lucky to sell two a week.  You can make slightly more per item over ebay, but sales are much slower.  So, I'll be closing shop in April at the latest.

My next venture will be clothing on ebay. I may fare better with these items. Although access to quality items in my area is limited, there may be a better return at ebay with the clothing. If so, I'll need to stock less at home - always a good thing. Etsy is great if you sell upscale sought after collectibles, or are talented with handmade. I find ebay easier to figure out as far as learning what sells, and it casts a wider net with the non-vintage sales. There's more opportunity for me there.

The remaining books in my Etsy store will be kept for our homeschool, and the other items will go to a yard sale and/or charity.

I'll probably list a few thing on Etsy in the future, but only unusual highly sought after items. I do find these a few times a year.

3D Geography Ideas

See here.

Make Some Cash: Online Consignment Store

I haven't tried Swap.com yet, but I heard that they accept consignments through the mail with prepaid shipping. Might be a great way to easily turn your gently used clothing into some cash.
Quick guide to selling.

They are taking spring and summer clothing until May. If I try this, I'll report back with my experience. I might have some items that didn't fit my daughter stored away.

100 Ways to Save Money

I've exhausted all these options! Life is still expensive, but these ideas help. See here.

Random rant:

What's with all the hidden medical costs even when paying through the nose for insurance?! Such a ripoff.

Etsy Book Sale: Any Three Books for $15.00 Free Shipping

See here

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Paper Cutting Art Snowman From Above Art Perspective Project for Young Children

https://youtu.be/Yo88CbDhrF8

Free Printable Woodland Picture Collage

From the Graphics Fairy here

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Children's Books Pre-K Through Eighth Grade .49 Cents Shipped

This looks interesting! Supposedly .49 cents a book shipped. I haven't tried them, but it looked like a good deal for children's contemporary best sellers. See here. I'd love to visit this place. The store in located in a North Carolina.

DIY Rustic Pedestal

Saw this over at Pinterest. I am going to try this! Link is here. I will share it when it's done. I have a candlestick like this, but I'm not sure the top is wide enough. I'm working on some upcycling distressed pieces now for Etsy, so this would be an easy project to work in.

Free Printable Christmas Village

So cute! See here 

for pdf download.

Walter Cranes's Painting Book Free Download

Click here.

Free Vintage Beowulf Text Ebook 1913 Translated From Anglo Saxon

This is readable online or for download. Interesting introduction.
Click here.

Discover Kids Free Homeschool Resource Grades Five Through Nine

Discover Kids has some free content which is helpful as a supplement across subjects. The site is not interactive and is for reading only. Offers three reading levels for grades five through nines. Sign up is free. See here.

Christmas Home Tours 2015

These are fun to watch at YouTube. I jump off suggested videos in the margins for more.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

We are keeping it simple this year, staying home and enjoying the mild weather. I haven't gotten as much crafting done this year, but I've been enjoying all the ideas over at Pinterest and Etsy.

A favorite at Etsy. Totally do-able.

DIY Gift Wrap Caddy

We make a lot of our own rustic-modern-industrial furniture, and everything has wheels on it for easy cleaning.

This is a great idea for organizing, storing, and accessing all your wrapping accessories. See here for tutorial.

Tip: save money on wheels by using the ones off an inexpensive moving caddy.