How To Gather Seeds From Rose Hips!

Gathering rose hips for seed and rose plant propagation is typically performed in the fall of the year. Choose those hips that are fully ripe and plump. Ripe rose hips will generally be a deep red or orange in color and have no shriveling to the outside covering. It is best to keep an eye on the roses as they grow throughout the year and identify the most prolific plants and flowers. These plants will have a better chance of seed germination and the characteristics of the rose will be passed on through the seeds.

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Bird netting (optional)

Small sharp knife

 Sealed jar

One teaspoon of bleach

Water

Tray

Refrigerator

1. Collect the rose hips from the selected plants, preferably after the first frost. You may wish to cover the rose plants with some type of bird netting to keep the birds from eating the selected hips. Rose hips are a natural food for most winter type birds.

2. Cut the hips open with a small sharp knife. The seeds are very hard and will not be damaged by the knife's blade. Work the seeds out of the pods with your fingernail.

3. Place the seeds into a glass jar. Fill the jar approximately half full with water. Add one teaspoon of bleach to the water.

4. Close the jar with a screw type lid. Shake the container well to mix up the seeds and the bleach water solution. Allow the seeds to settle to the bottom of the jar for about ½ hour.

5. Pour off the floating seeds. Keep the seeds that have sunk to the bottom. The sinker seeds will have the best chance at germination. Remove the seeds from the jar and place on the metal tray to dry.

6.Place the dried seeds in the sealed jar and set in the refrigerator for storage and stratification. The seeds will have to remain in the refrigerator for 45 days to 60 days to be fully stratified before planting. Stratification is the process of treating the seeds with cold temperatures before they will germinate.

Tip: Cease deadheading the rose plant prior to the month of September. This will increase the chances of the rose plant in producing hips for replanting.

Drying Rose Hips!

Rose hips are the cherry-sized red fruits of the rose bush left behind after the bloom has died. Although nearly all rose bushes produce rose hips, the tastiest for eating purposes come from the Rosa rugosa variety. The flavor is described as fruity and spicy, much like the cranberry. Harvest the fruits after the first frost when they become fully-colored, but not overripe. They should yield to gentle pressure but not be soft or wrinkly. Most recipes advise removing the irritating hairy seeds before processing the fruit. When cooking with rose hips, do not use any metal pans or utensils other than stainless steel or risk discoloration of the fruit and loss of its precious vitamin C stores.

If the petals have fallen from your roses, leaving behind small, red hips that look like tiny apples, don't let the hips go to waste. Rose hips aren't difficult to preserve by drying and they are full of vitamin C. The dried hips can be used to make sweet, tangy tea, jam, jelly, syrup and wine. Although not all newer rose bushes have hips, old-fashioned rosa rugosa roses and wild roses will have hips in abundance.

Just after a frost is the best time to gather rose hips. Snap off the tails as you pick,or later when you reach home. Spread the hips out on a clean surface and allow to dry partially. When the skins begin to feel dried and shriveled, split the hips and take out the large seeds -- all of them. If you let the hips dry too much, it will be difficult to remove the seeds. If not dry enough, the inside pulp will be sticky and cling to the seeds. After the seeds are removed, allow the hips to dry completely before storing or they will not keep well. Store in small, sealed plastic bags. These will keep indefinitely in the freezer or for several months in the refrigerator. They are packed with vitamin C and are good to munch on anytime you need extra energy...or a moderately sweet nutlike "candy."

As Soon As Fred Gets Out of Bed

As Soon as Fred Gets Out of Bed by Jack Prelutsky

As soon as Fred gets out of bed,

his underwear goes on his head.

His mother laughs, "Don't put it there,

a head's no place for underwear!"

But near his ears, above his brains,

is where Fred's underwear remains.

At night when Fred goes back to bed,

he deftly plucks it off his head.

His mother switches off the light

and softly croons, "Good night! Good night!"

And then, for reasons no one knows,

Fred's underwear goes on his toes.

 

Glass Containers for Whimsey Jars! In My Opinion...

Glass Containers for Whimsey Jars:

A Short List

You Are Only limited By your Imagination!

Empty Jars and Glass Containers

Empty glass containers such as jam jars, pasta sauce bottles, and even soda bottles can be reused before they are recycled. Use them to make flower vases, store jams, pickles and sauces, or even grow sprouts.

1.Before you can use these bottles, you should first clean them thoroughly using dishwashing detergent. Once they have been cleaned, leave them by the window sill to dry. Sometimes, glass jars have sticker labels on them which can be quite tricky to remove. The tip to completely removing sticker labels in one go is to spread a thin layer of peanut butter onto the sticker first, before washing the bottle. Leave it overnight to dry. You will find it easier to peel the label off the next day. Besides that, most glass jars also have a thin Styrofoam piece underneath the lid that helps to keep the bottle air tight. You should remove this piece of Styrofoam as there might be dirt accumulated under it.

2.You can now use these bottles to store homemade jam, homemade pickles, homemade vanilla syrup, or leftover sauces. Before storing food items, you should also remember to sterilize the jar as you would with baby bottles; that is by boiling them with their lids off in hot water (Do not boil glass jars with their lids on as this might cause them to crack or even explode, if the walls are thin). This will get rid of all the bacteria that might contaminate your food and make them go bad. You should sterilize the bottle just before you use them to minimize contamination. Once you have filled the jars, leave them to cool before you put the lid on to avoid water from forming under the lids due to condensation.

3.Alternatively, you can also use these empty jars to grow alfalfa sprouts, or even kitchen herbs which you can put by the window sill. Again, if you intend to use the glass containers to grow alfalfa sprouts, remember to sterilize them and cool them first before you put in the seeds. This is because the bacteria may feed on the sprouts and even cause contamination.

4.Besides that, you can also turn clear glass bottles into flower vases. All you need is to paint decorateit by painting the outside surface. However, to do so, you will need acrylic paint as poster paint and watercolour paint will not stick well onto the glass surface. In order to make the acrylic paint stick onto the glass surface even better, mix in a little bit of dishwashing detergent into the paint before you start painting the bottle.

Read more: http://www.diy-guides.com/reusing-empty-jars-and-glass-bottles/#ixzz0y2ZAkvao

Captured Fairy Whimsey Jars!

I believe in fairies! Imagine a dense wooded glen next to a meadow of wildflowers dancing in the breeze. Bluebirds and goldfinches dart and dive overhead, sweetening the air with their trilling melodies. The sun sits low in the west, welcoming the moon. The mists of eventide roll in from the nearby river and the croaking frogs and cicadas begin the serenade of the night.

Suddenly this peaceful interlude ends when you hear high-pitched laughter! You see movement out of the corner of your eye as a splash of pink rockets behind fronds of apple-green ferns...

You have heard and seen one of God's most illusive creatures...

A FAIRY!

The following is a tutorial from Cathie Filian at "Ideas and Instruction for Living Creatively".

Capture the spirit of the holidays by creating a captured fairy vignette in a recycled jar. We designed this project for Plaid.



Materials:



2159 - FolkArt ® Gems™ - Ruby, 2 oz.

4455 - FolkArt ® Fabric™ Paint - Dimensional - Glitter Night Star

493 - FolkArt ® Metallics - Bright Red, 2 oz.

654 - FolkArt ® Metallics - Amethyst, 2 oz.

661 - FolkArt ® Metallics - Sequin Black, 2 oz.

CS11275 - Mod Podge ® Glitter - Hologram Gold, 8 oz.

3 Recycled glass jars

Spray metal primer

Paintbrush

Scrapbook paper

3 holiday clip art images (Santa; children; angels)

Scrap cardboard

Glue stick

Scissors

Wings (feathers; silk butterflies; tulle; scrapbooking embellishment)

Hot Glue

Additional embellishments (pipe cleaners; printed words; stickers)

Flat nosed Pliers

Fluff for the bottom of the jar (pillow stuffing; boa scrap; faux moss)

Scrap ribbons or trim



Steps:



1. Wash and dry the jars. Spray the lids with metal spray primer and allow to dry. Coat each lid with a different color of FolkArt Metallic paint (black, red, amethyst). Apply additional coats of paint until you are happy with the coverage.



2. Cut a piece of scrapbook paper to fit inside the back of the jar. Place the paper in the jar.



3. Mount your images to a scrap of cardboard using a glue stick for stability. Once dry, cut around the images, leaving a 1/2 tab at the bottom for folding and gluing.



4. Glitter the image, coat the image with a thin layer of Mod Podge Hologram Gold Glitter or FolkArt Gems and allow to dry. For dimensional highlights, add FolkArt dimensional paint in glitter colors to highlight areas of interest. For these designs, we used Mod Podge over the yellow fairy, FolkArt gems over the Santa Claus and FolkArt dimensional paint on the New Years Eve fairy.



5. Add wings by hot gluing feathers, wings, butterflies, cut paper or tulle to the back of the cardboard cutouts.



6. Add additional embellishments like: pipe cleaners, stickers, printed words, rhinestones, etc.



7. Fold the tab on the bottom of the cutout. Add hot glue to the bottom of the tab, carefully place the cutout in the jar and glue to the center bottom of the jar. Use needle nosed plies to help hold the cutout into position.



8. Add the fluff around the bottom of the jar. (the fluff will hide any glue marks)



9. Hot glue a decorative ribbon around the top if the jar.

Visiting Whimsical Creatures!

‘ Scott Musgrove currently lives in Seattle, Washington. His influences include historical artists such as Hudson River School painters Frederic Church, Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, as well as naturalist artists including John James Audubon. Musgrove’s unique style of figural work carries environmental themes, depicting whimsical, extinct (and fictitious) animal species. The artist’s paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States and Europe. His new book The Late Fauna of Early North America features lush, highly detailed landscapes and close encounters with many of his strange and beautiful creatures. Musgrove’s carved wooden sculptures, oil paintings, watercolors, ink drawings, and pencil renderings from the field are further complemented by fine details including antique frames and custom gold engraved nameplates to label and identify his specimens. ‘ (via Jonathan LeVine Gallery)

"Simple Simon" Nursery Rhyme Swap!

Simple Simon Swap

Origin of the lyrics to "Simple Simon" In the days before fast food and convenience stores were invented food was sold from street sellers from trays of food. A fair was an extremely popular place to sell 'your ware' The tradition and history of fairs dates back to Medieval England. The term 'Adieu' meaning 'Goodbye' is no longer used in the English language but will never be lost forever due to rhymes such as Simple Simon! The modern day version of Simple Simon can be found in the song and a game where children have to do exactly what "Simple Simon" says.




"Simple Simon met a pieman going to the fair;
Said Simple Simon to the pieman "Let me taste your ware"
Said the pieman to Simple Simon "Show me first your penny" Said Simple Simon to the pieman "Sir, I have not any!"
Simple Simon went a-fishing for to catch a whale;
All the water he had got was in his mother's pail.
Simple Simon went to look if plums grew on a thistle;
He pricked his fingers very much which made poor Simon whistle.
He went for water in a sieve but soon it all fell through;
And now poor Simple Simon bids you all "Adieu"."




Read over this nursery rhyme carefully because you will be filling a bucket full of the items mentioned in the poem as well as any related items. . You may also include any extra finery that you feel may have been available during this period of time that the nursery rhyme was written!




REQUIREMENTS: You will be sending 1 Bucket full of iems to 1 Partner. (The bucket can be aluminum. Let's make it smaller than a gallon size! I've seen some buckets with the same circumference as a CD. That will give you a idea of the size I'm thinking! If you want to send an old bucket or a larger bucket, that would be wonderful as far as I'm concerned!)~~ Everyone is welcome! Email me if you have any private questions!




It's important that you join in the spirit in which this is intended-to have fun and remember something from those innocent days of childhood! Have your kids help you!



This will be INTERNATIONAL!


Just leave a comment below and your email address and I will get back to you with a short questionnaire to fill out! Sign-up will be open until....................................................................................................................
September 5th! Then I will assign partners. Plan to send your package on or before September 30th! Start now to fill that bucket. Put on your thinking caps, use your imagination, and GOOGLE!

Please RT Click and save the swap button to your computer and place where ever you'd like!