One of the fastest ways to go green is to get an indoor plant. Think you don’t have a green thumb? You’d be surprised at how easy many houseplants are to take care of. Here’s a list of plants that look beautiful and are practically foolproof:
- African Violet (Saintpaulia ionantha)
- Aloe (Aloe Asphodelaceae)
- Baby Rubber Plant, Peperomia (Peperomia obtusifolia)
- Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra)
- Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
- Coleus (Solenostemon)
- Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans massangeana)
- Cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium)
- Devil’s Ivy (Golden Pothos)
- Dwarf Palm (Collinea)
- Heart-leaf Philodendron (Philodendron cordatum)
- Jade Plant (Crassula)
- Kalanchoe (Mother of Millions)
- Lady Palms (Rhapis Excelsa)
- Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
- Ponytail Palm (Nolina recurvata)
- Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)
- ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
Indoor plants are the best way to brighten up a room, lift your spirits, and improve air quality! Think we’re joking? Here’s a study that shows how indoor plants increase your health and productivity. Can’t seem to finish that quilt or craft project? Try sticking a plant in your studio and see what happens!
Have any tips for budding green thumbs, or photos of your indoor gardens? Share ‘em with us!
The cover of the January 2010 issue of AQS Magazine features a beautiful quilt by upcoming C&T author Gail Garber. Stay tuned to see what Gail Garber and C&T are working on for the Fall 2010 season.
Our congratulations to tawney whose won the Surface Design Kit giveaway! She’ll enjoy an incredible combination of:
all part of the Liquitex® Surface Design Center, soon to come in January at retail stores.
Thanks for all your comments here and on Facebook. We totally understand your brewing excitement about surface design because we’re excited too! Look for the Liquitex® Surface Design Center at your local retailer. If you don’t find it, let them know about it!
We are taking a couple of weeks off from Weekly Giveaways to do a blog candy brainstorm and line up some awesome giveaway items for you. Never fear though—our weekly giveaways will resume on Tuesday, January 12th!
If you want to miter the corners of your binding on your quilt, then here are some simple steps to follow:
1. Stitch the binding on to the front of the quilt following the steps outlined in the tutorial for attaching a double-fold binding, previously posted on this blog: Quilting Tips: Binding.
2. Bring the binding to the back of the quilt on one side of the quilt. Blind stitch the folded edge in place only on this one side of the quilt. Stop stitching about 1 1/2″ from the corner.
3. As shown below, bring the binding over to the back of the quilt on the next adjacent side of the quilt (labeled “1st”), making a 45° at the end.
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Isn’t it great that there are so many ways to do good things to help others? We recently held a BeadForLife Party.
Ugandan women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful beads, and people who care open their hearts, homes and communities to buy and sell the beads. BeadforLife eradicates extreme poverty by creating bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens.
All profits from BeadforLife are invested in community development projects that help people work their way out of poverty. The beads thus become income, food, medicine, school fees, and hope. It is a small miracle that enriches us all.
The beads are sold online at their website and at BeadForLife parties hosted by individuals or groups. It was incredibly easy to organize the party. All you need to do is pick a date, and contact them by email. BeadForLife supplies everything you need, and provides a UPS label to ship the unsold beads back to them.
The jewelry made from the beads is beautiful, colorful, and light weight so it’s easy to wear. There are necklaces, bracelets, earrings, loose beads, and jewelry bags.
I hope you’ll take a look at their site and consider hosting your own bead party.
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
What happens
To make a memory?
How does an
Experience
Turn into an
Imprint on
Your soul?
How does
Touching
Feeling
Hearing
Turn into
Electrical impulses
In the brain?
I’d like to
Know.
Here’s a great way to upcycle those teeny tiny scraps of fabric into something pretty for the tree. Take advantage of the post-holiday sales at your local craft store and pick up a bunch of these empty glass ornaments for a song. Take off the tops and stuff them full of pretty fabric scraps and you’re all set!
Thanks to C&T author Diana Taylor for this timely suggestion. We hope you are having a warm and wonderful holiday!
This June we have a book coming out called Socks Appeal by Brenna Maloney. When I first heard that we were working on a book about projects to make from socks, I was a little skeptical. That was until I made my way to the book’s focus meeting. (This is where we title books and chose a cover image.) I remember making my way towards the conference room, rounding the corner, stepping into the doorway and stopping in my tracks. I had made eye contact with the cutest white bunny rabbit I had ever seen.
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