DIY Dino Terrariums

DIY Dino Terrariums ~ Succulent Terrarium Tutorial ~ Kid's Dino Birthday Party

This was the second year in a row that Sam requested a Dino themed birthday party and when you’re kiddo is turning FIVE, you smile & embrace all the fun! Which for me, means diving into all the Dino Pinterest projects I’m constantly pinning.

I grew up in the age of birthday favors, but struggle a bit with them now as a mama. In the past, it has just been candy. This year, I really wanted something the kiddos could keep & enjoy. From that the Dino Terrariums started to take shape. I opted for spending more money on the favors, but made them serve dual duty as a party craft too.

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Living With Essential Oils: Lemon Oil in the Kitchen

Living With Essential Oils: Lemon Oil in the Kitchen ~ By Bubblegum Sass ~ Simple ways to add lemon oil to your cooking
One day, while attempting to make a tasty salad dressing, I decided to add in a drop of lemon oil instead of the lemon juice concentrate we had in the fridge {we don’t often have fresh lemons in the house}. The result was wonderful! And since then, I’ve been playing with adding lemon oil, here and there, to some of our simple dishes. Read on, if you’re curious about how we’ve been using this essential oil in our cooking.

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In the Garden: 2016 Garden Plan

Garden Planning ~ Happiness By the Acre (or square foot) ~ Backyard Veggie Gardens

Spring is in full swing, and that means it’s time to turn a bit of attention to the garden. Beyond the basic spring yard cleanup, we also undertake the planning & preparation of our veggie garden. Today I’m sharing a bit about how we plan out our garden, which produces an abundance of fresh veggies for us during the summer months & some stored food for the winter.
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In the Garden: Garden Planning

Gardening Planning ~ Blog post by Bubblegum Sass ~ Garden journals from Taproot Magazine
Seeds from West Coast Seeds and garden journals from Taproot Magazine

There might still be the occasional snowflake falling from the sky these days, but it is time to turn some attention to garden planning & prep. My hubby is truly the brains behind the operation, while I lend my hands & time to the work in the spring, summer & fall. He comes up with our garden plan each year, while he plans out the other yards for his urban farming business. Even the seeds for our own garden get lumped into orders for Happiness By The Acre.

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Around Town: Crafted Artisan Truck

Crafted Artisan Truck in Calgary ~ unique mobile retail featuring local artists & designers

It’s HERE!! Or Rather, it WILL be very soon. The Crafted Artisan Truck will be hitting the streets of Calgary next month. I was thrilled to see the crowd source funding for this project {which I blogged about previously} come through and it has been a pleasure to watch Pam’s journey since last June. The Truck, which underwent a bit of a facelift and re-brand, looks like it’s coming together nicely. Can’t wait to set foot onto it, once it’s all decked out with everyone’s work!

Speaking of work, a colorful collection of Bubblegum Sass items are on their way to the Truck. You’ll find a selection of Love Catchers, Button Brooches, Button Hair Clips, and Upcycled Cuff Bracelets by little ‘ol me in the Truck. I’ve been hard at work on making and tagging the last few weeks {including new stamps & tags as part of my rebrand). Feels good to have everything out the door now.

Make & Mingle Workshops from Crafted Artisan Truck ~ Register today for spring/summer 2015 workshops

The other exciting bit of news is the Crafted will offer workshops throughout the year, led by a variety of local artists & designers! The Spring/Summer 2015 schedule is up and registration is NOW OPEN! I’ve even registered for a couple workshops myself just for fun (hello weaving!) and for work (photo styling, yes please). Pssst… I might also have scored a spot in a workshop that you’ll have a chance to win next month. Seriously good stuff to look forward to!

Oh, and did I mention that hubby will be leading one of the workshops? Yep, on June 29th, you can try your hand at planting & propagation with my man from Happiness By The Acre. Hurry over to the website and register today.


Workshop: Seedlings ~ From Crafted Artisan Truck ~ Workshop led by Marcus of Happiness By The Acre ~ Register Today

Busiest Little Helper

Things have been busy, busy, busy. You can probably tell by this poor neglected blog. Sammy is getting dragged along from chore to chore. And even though his hands are little, he sure has been a BIG help. He might enjoy some more time to play with his trucks or go to the park, but I think he feels pretty proud every time he gets to help out the grown-ups in his life. I sometimes can’t believe the number of things he is learning to do at such an early age (hello, he’s only 2.5 years old)! I can imagine him living on our farm more & more. And maybe, I’m starting to picture my own life on the farm a bit more too.

Always plenty of plants that need watering every day in the veggie garden.
Always plenty of plants that need watering every day in the veggie garden.
Sammy LOVED helping grandpa cut the grass out at the cabin.
Sammy LOVED helping grandpa cut the grass out at the cabin.
My boys washing veggies together for the YYC Growers CSA.
My boys washing veggies together for the YYC Growers CSA.
His favourite thing so far to wash are radishes and carrots. Good thing there were too, since there were about 130 carrots to wash this past week for the Happiness By the Acre CSA. He was a super trooper! No complaints, just kept washing and admiring each carrot.
His favourite thing so far to wash are radishes and carrots. Good thing there were too, since there were about 130 carrots to wash this past week for the Happiness By the Acre CSA. He was a super trooper! No complaints, just kept washing and admiring each carrot.
He's even pretty gentle washing the salad greens for the Happiness By the Acre CSA.
He’s even pretty gentle washing the salad greens for the Happiness By the Acre CSA.
Sam was super helpful crushing the tomatoes for the big pot of sauce we made. This is our first batch of tomato sauce for the season and the first time I've ever canned it instead of freezing. More batches still to make with my little helper.
Sam was super helpful crushing the tomatoes for the big pot of sauce we made. This is our first batch of tomato sauce for the season and the first time I’ve ever canned it instead of freezing. More batches still to make with my little helper.

How Grows the Rest?

Yes, indeed, the How Grows It? post was really just part one of our yard. Here’s the remainder. I’ve saved the herbs for last. Some we enjoy fresh and others we simply dry for use throughout the year. In fact, last year, we dried so much sage that we’re still using it (and we put sage in lots of recipes). So here’s a peek at the rest of the garden:

Lovely, lovely dill! I've been enjoying the dill the most this year, on grilled cheese sandwiches, in salads, in mac'n cheese, in salad dressings, etc. So tasty!
Lovely, lovely dill! I’ve been enjoying the dill the most this year, on grilled cheese sandwiches, in salads, in mac’n cheese, in salad dressings, etc. So tasty!
Bunches and bunches of chives!
Bunches and bunches of chives!
Minty, minty, mint!
Minty, minty, mint!
First time growing oregano since we moved back from B.C. Doing pretty good so far.
First time growing oregano since we moved back from B.C. Doing pretty good so far.
Our sage container, not doing as well this year as last, but not too bad.
Our sage container, not doing as well this year as last, but not too bad.
Thyme plants doing well!
Thyme plants doing well!

How Grows It?

Time for a little garden tour! Of course, I can’t keep up with documenting the growing out there, so these photos are at least a week old, but you’ll get the general idea of how things are going.

First a peek at how it all started this spring. Here are our three main garden beds in May, after the first planting.
First a peek at how it all started this spring. Here are our three main garden beds in May, after the first planting.
Here are the main beds back at the beginning of June. Some bits of life starting to sprout up here & there.
Here are the main beds back at the beginning of June. Some bits of life starting to sprout up here & there.
Here are the main beds in full swing now. A green jungle with lots of yummy food being produced. What a difference a month makes!
Here are the main beds in full swing now. A green jungle with lots of yummy food being produced. What a difference a month makes!
Climbing beans are journeying up the trellis with a few blossoms.
Climbing beans are journeying up the trellis with a few blossoms.
Pea blossoms are so pretty. We've taken a few bowls of tasty sweet peas and snow peas into the house (and into our bellies) since this photo was taken.
Pea blossoms are so pretty. We’ve taken a few bowls of tasty sweet peas and snow peas into the house (and into our bellies) since this photo was taken.
Carrot jungle
Carrot jungle
Green onions needing some serious eating. Poor fellas have been a little neglected.
Green onions needing some serious eating. Poor fellas have been a little neglected.
Loaded with tomatoes! So juicy and sweet!
Loaded with tomatoes! So juicy and sweet!
Our precious broccoli. Or broccolini to be more precise. Lots being harvested off of these each week, and we've even begun to pull off the leaves and dehydrate them for our "super green" powder.
Our precious broccoli. Or broccolini to be more precise. Lots being harvested off of these each week, and we’ve even begun to pull off the leaves and dehydrate them for our “super green” powder.
Squash beauties with the cutest little squash and biggest blossoms right now! I always enjoy watching these gals grow.
Squash beauties with the cutest little squash and biggest blossoms right now! I always enjoy watching these gals grow.