Growing A Yard For Harvest

I love to have a manicured yard. I want my yard to look good so that when I come home, I am arriving at a beautiful and uplifting place.

Growing native flowers is one way to achieve this with minimal fuss and no watering or chemicals. It's also important that I find my plants for free, and amassing my collection of native plants is something that I am always working towards. With many of my local parks growing native flowers, and no shortage of interesting flowers growing along the roadside, collecting seeds for my yard is both simple and exciting!

One thing that is just as important to me as having a nice looking yard is to have a yard that is useful. Again, growing native flowers is a useful way to garden because it benefits the local eco system and attracts beneficial insects and feeds the birds, squirrels and wild life. But native flowers are not only nice to look at and good for the environment, they make nice dried arrangements in the fall and can be used in many ways. Some wild flowers are edible like Queen Annes Lace (wild carrot) or have medicinal uses, like Echinacea.





I grow flowers with the ultimate goal of harvest. Even my ornamental rose bushes have a purpose aside from being pretty. I can make potpourri out of the blooms after they just reach their peak, and then I can blend them up to make rose beads for jewelry making.

Growing a yard for harvest naturally means growing a yard that is abundant in food. I would love some day to have a yard in which I can walk out into and pick a wide variety food to eat. I have my vegetable patch, my herb garden and my strawberry bed. I also have a hazelnut tree that I will find a mate for soon so that in a few years I will have loads of hazelnuts to snack on and cook with.

Nature offered me a blackberry bush earlier this year, that just sprouted in my yard and 75% of my vegetable garden volunteered itself, from the compost that I created from my kitchen scraps. I planted the cucumber and the bed of lettuce, but Nature decided to give me 3 squash plants, 2 pumpkin vines, 7 garlic plants and over twenty tomato plants. Yes, Nature is very, very good to me and I know how to use my bit of Earth.

One day I plan to have a small orchard, of four to six fruit trees, and I have a large currently unused area designated to grow others types of berries, apart from the blackberries I already have. But it's important to me to have a yard that is useful in many ways - not just pleasing to look at or delicious to eat, even more than a space for the children to play.

There are plants in my yard which are only grown for some sort of functional purpose.


I have an ash tree that was cut down to the stump a year ago because it was badly placed and would soon grow into the chain link fence. The sugars built up in the roots allowed it to sprout several upright branches, turning the tree into a bush. I noticed this when the shoots were small and could be snipped easily, but I quickly realized the potential in them. I allowed to shoots to grow tall, for they are straight and pliable. We have used them to roast marshmallows and hotdogs over the fire pit, and they are also useful for building natural trellises for vining plants. Cutting them down every fall will allow new shoots each spring to be used for many things throughout the next growing season. Because they are very bendy, they can be easily shaped and I am currently considering what types of things might be created from them.

I have a slope in my back yard that is a great place to allow the grass to grow in the late fall and get nice and tall. We purposely stop mowing it in early September. There are some weeds that grow in it, that once dried make nice floral arrangement along with the native wild flowers, but what I'm really after is the grass. In the late afternoon when there is no moisture on it, I will reap the grass and form it into little bundles. These are for my fire place during the winter. We also trim the trees back when the summer begins to get hot and the rapid growth of spring dies down. The limbs will then be cut into 8 inch long sections and dried out for fall, to become kindling. In the winter when I want to start my fireplace, which I tend to do daily, I grab a nifty little bundle of dried grass from the stack, and handful of the dried twigs. Getting the fireplace going is pretty easy with them, no need for fancy store-bought starter logs or supplies.

All along my chain link fence are many types of vines. But the vines I am especially interested in are the wild grapes. They are either too old to produce, or they are a naturally barren variety.
I don't grow them for the fruit, I don't even like grapes. I want the vines. These are invasive and unruly, however, I cut them down to their trunks in the fall, pull off all of the leaves and use the vines to make natural decorations, like wreathes to be decorated with fall leaves or Christmas baubles.

There is also my water garden, where I grow bulrushes and cattails. The long slender leaves of the cattail plants are great for decorating, lashing and I keep meaning to get around to weaving them into baskets or placemats. It's on my to-do list.

I do not consider myself an urban homesteader, and I have no desire to live on a farm at this point in my life. But utilizing my space in the most useful way possible just makes sense to me. Nature is very giving when you let it do it's thing.

50 Empowering Life Tips



 

1.  Don't wait around for someone to stick a label on you. If you want to be an animal rights activist, be one. If you want to be a human rights activist do that. Whatever you want to be, go be that. Define yourself. If you wait for someone to define you, you're probably not going to be happy with the label they pick.

2. No matter what you're religion or higher power, remember that everything you have ever been given or will be given came from the Earth. Honor the Earth and you will be honoring your higher power.

3. Remember the 60-40 rule. If 60% of your life is going well and 40% of it is failing, you're STILL winning.
4. You're not made of sugar and you're not going to melt in the rain. Whether literal or metaphorical, rain is no excuse to sit inside and complain that you're bored.
5. Everyone has their own standard of beauty. Meeting one persons standard means falling short of anothers. Be the beauty that YOU want to see in the mirror.
6. You are the one and only constant person in your life. You better be good company because guess what? You're stuck with you.
7. Make a goal to try something new every day.
8. Everybody has their own truth. What makes sense for one person won't make sense for another. There are very few “rights” when it comes to how things should be done.
9. When you find yourself in constant conflict, battling everyone around you and suffering one break up after another, then it really IS you. Sorry, but it's true. The good news is that you can fix you.
10. Some people have combative personalities. There's nothing you can do about it and shoving your perspective under their nose won't convince them that you're right. They will argue with you even when they agree with you.
11. Grow a plant, they're good therapy. If you suck at keeping plants alive, get a cactus. Recognize the limitations of your abilities and work with them.
12. Understand that we are all going about our day in the best way that we know how. Nobody is purposely trying to inconvenience you by being in your way.
13. Getting ahead in life rarely results from staying inside your comfort zone.
14. Don't be a sexist or racist ass-wipe. It's NOT going to get you anywhere in life. Really.
15. Finding people who agree with you doesn't mean that you're opinion is superior to another persons, because no matter what your ideology there will always be someone who agrees with it and others who don't.
16. Don't insult children. It's fine if you don't want them, it's fine if you choose not to be around them, but putting down any child will offend every single parent who hears you and you're going to look like a jerk.
17. Also, if you don't have children, keep your mouth shut on how they ought to be raised – especially when your beliefs aren't based on what is best for the child, but on making your life a little more comfortable.
18. None of us know every fact of any situation. Forming solid conclusions about any given person or situation means always being partly wrong.
19. Do get a soapbox. We all need to feel passionately about something, even when we're partly wrong about it.
20. Recovery is only impossible if you're dead. Recovery may not always be a hundred percent, but every situation can always get a little bit better than it is right now.
21. Don't be daunted when faced with an impossible task. Look at the tremendous feats man-kind has performed. A large amount of dirt can be moved by one person, one small shovel at a time.
22. When you feel like your voice doesn't matter, nothing you do can make a difference, remember this: there are other lonely voices who are singing the same tune at the same time. When those voices are all sung in the same direction, what is heard by the recipient is unison. You're never the only one, so sing loudly.
23. Get to know crazy people and weirdos. They will enrich your life in ways you cannot imagine.
24. What you project into the world is what you will receive. Some call this karma. Mostly, it's common sense. There are a few people who manage to be successful assholes, but we know them as the 1%. So that's probably not going to be you. Be nice if you want others to treat you well.
25. Finding a mate isn't about finding your ideal partner, but finding the person who's ideal partner is you. They're not going to be who you pictured yourself with when you were 13 so let go of your expectations.
26. Keep an open mind. Don't forget that life is about learning, first and foremost. You continue learning even up into old age.
27. Most people who are elderly are incredibly wise. Make friends with an old person, they can teach you a lot.
28. I've never heard a person say that they regret traveling too much and seeing the world or learning about other cultures.
29. Remember that the way you see the world is limited to the scope of your vision and another person can be standing right beside you and have a much broader view. This will likely change their opinion of what they are seeing.
30. Pick up trash on the street when you see it. Little things like that can make a big difference when many people do them.
31. Turn about is fair play. When someone shows you loyalty, remember them and repay the favor when you're able.
32. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you.
33. There are superficial jerks in the world, but most of us only want someone who doesn't make us feel badly about ourselves. If you want to make a lot of friends, spend time making a lot of people feel good about themselves. Then you will be genuinely popular, not superficially.
34. Do you ever notice that in movies, we all seem to root for the same person? No matter what our disagreements in life and the fact that as a society we can be so dramatically polarized, when it comes down to it we all just want the good guy to win.
35. In our own minds, we ALL think that we are the good guy.
36. Every substance that exists has it's use, but every substance that exists can be harmful when abused or overused. Moderation is the key to not totally fucking up your life.
37. Surprisingly, the people on television, movies, on the radio etc. aren't trying to entertain you. They are trying to sell you something. There is no exception, their goal is to get you to spend money in their direction, or in the direction of their sponsors.
38. When you say things like, “We didn't need that when I was a kid,” bear in mind how boring the world would be if we weren't changing things up all the time.
39. Being a bully won't get you respect. Remember that the most respected people to have ever walk the earth: Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Jesus and others were pacifists and they were revered for their gentle natures.
40. Parents: Just remember that they way you treat your children will become the way they treat their own.
41. You can be brilliant, witty and beautiful, but your value to others will always be contingent on what you bring to the table.
42. In very rare instances, you will find a person who loves you even when what you bring to the table is lacking. Treasure those people. That is called unconditional love and very few will ever give it to you.
43. Make stuff up. Make up stories, words, songs, anything you want. If you go looking for something and find that it doesn't exist, make it up. Every innovation and cultural advancement that has ever come about, came from somebody deciding not to follow the rules and make it up.
44. It's never too late to change your game plan.
45. Stop fretting over the things you haven't done and start looking forward to the things you'll get to do.
46. Remember what your basic human needs are and focus on them. Television and Nike's aren't among them.
47. Stop trying to impress people and be someone that others want to impress.
48. The world does not have unlimited money and resources. When you take more than you need, you are taking from someone who needs it. If you are not willing to take less on that score, be mindful of the fact that someone out there is getting less on account of you.
49. Love as many people as you can, nobody ever worries that they're going to have too many people at their funeral.
50. Do what you can to make others feel good. No one in life ever regrets being kind to someone, even when the other person doesn't deserve it.

photo: James Jordan

Make Your Own "Opoly"

I first made Futuropoly years ago for my kids Christmas gift. At the time I decided I was going to do a board game, space and the future were running themes in our household.

Futuropoly is also not the first board game I have made with Monopoly as the basis. I once did Footballopoly back when our oldest boys were wee little babes. That of course, was for my husband, and used pro football teams as property.

Whatever Opoly you choose to go with, you can have a lot of fun adapting the theme to fit the game. Most of this can also be created with items around your house, making it thrifty and eco-friendly.

To make a game, you need to put together the following components:

• The board - I used a half inch square piece of nice plywood. You want it to be furniture grade wood because it's going to last for years. This board is 2' x 2'.
  Use a straight edge and ruler to partition off the property slots. You'll have a large square in each corner, and nine slots in between each one. I painted mine with inexpensive watercolor paints, acting as stain. I used a sharpie marker to draw the straight lines, and then I applied polyurethane over the top to seal it all in. The gold paint went on last, because polyurethane causes the gold to smear.
  
  Create the property names with the theme of your game. Some of ours are "Omega 1 System" and "Alpha Center." Regions of outer space, in other words. I looked up names of star systems and galaxies. Where the colors coordinate, the names also coordinate. For instance, the red properties are "Delphius Scape," "Dorado Lat," and "Draco Region."
  
  Instead of railroads, we have teleports, and Jail is "Suspension Chamber." Utilities are "Fusion Company," and "Fission Company," and instead of Income Tax, we have "Robot Maintenance" and "Alien Housing Tax."
  
  You get the gist!

• Cards - There are two sets of cards in any Opoly game. Ours are Question Mark and Time Capsule. The Time Capsule cards refer to things in todays era. I had a ton of fun making up crazy things that could happen to either fine players or reward them. "The shifty Robot you purchased at the Hydrus Sector Swap Meet stole your space pup and fled the galaxy. Pay 700k's for Unrestrained Droid Violation."
  There are 30 cards for each stack, and were made out of poster board. I also made property cards out of poster board. Because it's Futuropoly, I accounted for massive inflation and everything costs a ridiculous amount of money.

• Money! - This unfortunately isn't easily customizable. You can buy Monopoly Money from online sources like Ebay and Amazon. We used Play Money that we bought from the Dollar Store, but it too can be purchased from Amazon. The play money comes in higher bills than Monopoly does (usually) and this jived well with our ridiculous inflation.

• Houses and Hotels - When I first made the game, I used Polymer Clay from the craft store and shaped little futuristic buildings with it. In the image of my board game above, you can see the way these looked, painted with purple and gold enamel.
  But that was years ago and they have been lost. Lego's work well though!

• Characters and Dice - Dice can be bought at the store, usually with a pack of cards. Not expensive at all! And characters should not be purchased, but each person playing the game should search for their own piece, which makes it more personal and fun.

• Box - I just chuck all of my pieces in a little non-descript box to be kept beside the game board. Except when I had Footballopoly, it was all a part of a large game set built out of MDF. I hope to make one of those again soon!

That should take care of it all! You should know the basics of playing Monopoly, and your Opoly game will go in the same manor. If you do make your own Opoly game, come back here and tell me all about it!

So... Do You Want to Learn Yoga?

DISCLAIMER: I know that these poses are not perfect and I do not claim to be proficient in yoga. ;)

 

Yoga has been a love of mine for over ten years. That said, I will go months without practicing, which hinders my progress in advancement. I actually don't strive to advance the way that many do, but rather to maintain. I began yoga as a way to tone my muscles and keep fit. The reasons I do it now are to keep my body from deteriorating now that I'm getting older.

My family has a history of really nasty joint diseases and I also have patella femoral syndrome. After the birth of my fourth child, I began experiencing excruciating hip pain, especially in winter. I know that I am becoming arthritic, and when I am not practicing my yoga my joints suffer terribly. Yoga also can help lose or maintain weight, though that is not a reason for me.

However. If you read this blog with any regularity, you will know that I am a self-teacher and self-proclaimed cheapskate. I don' need no stinkin' yoga classes!

I started out with Wai Lana yoga dvd's (actually, I think I started back when VHS was still being used with regularity. I love Wai Lana, and have the Little Yogi's Dvd for my little ones though I dare say they love to practice their stretches whenever they see me do it.

Yoga with Wai Lana makes me so happy. She is so calm and peaceful and her smile brightens my mood whenever I see it. Her voice is also soothing, but I admit it presents a challenge near the end when she does the relaxation to not fall asleep. I have done this a few times and woke up on the floor completely startled that it had happened.

After a while, I felt the need for something a little more custom.

I began researching the different yoga postures. I went to websites such as Yoga Journal, Mind Body Green, and especially Yoga.About.Com to learn everything I could about the more basic poses.

Mostly, I wanted to know what effect each posture was known to have, to maximize my benefits and purpose. I asked myself, "what do I want Yoga to do for me, physically?"

The answer was of course, help alleviate my joint pain and prevent my muscles from deteriorating from lack of use. So I made a list of those postures that suited my needs the most. I grouped the postures together and came up with 3 different routines that I would alternate, taking care to give attention to all of my muscle groups so none would be neglected.

Youtube searches helped me to see the proper way to get into each position without harming myself and making sure that I understood how to do the postures correctly. Poses such as downward facing dog, the warrior poses, or extended side angle would actually damage my joints further if I did them improperly. I used mirrors and had my kids take my photo while practicing so that I could tell how I was doing. It was very humbling to see myself at first.

I also wanted to know about the history and philosophy of Yoga. It's not enough for me to simply know how to do some of it for my own benefit. Yoga, I perceived, is not simply a manner of exercise. It is a life style, even so much as a religion. While I do not practice all aspects of yoga, I do honor and recognize them. I meditate and reflect and focus on my breathing.

I went to the library and checked out books on Yogis and Gurus and studied them. Among my favorite by far is "B.K.S. Iyengar, The Path To Holistic Health." I have found this man to be a complete inspiration and the book is a treasure trove of information.

I am still learning and improving and striving to be in sync with the rhythms of my body that yoga teaches.

If you need anymore inspiration to try yoga, for whatever your personal reason, take a look at this:

Strange Girls and Random Laundry - Life With Teenage Boys

I am typing this while sipping my morning coffee, recounting the odd moments in my bedroom just minutes ago. As I lay in foggy sleep, I felt a movement on my pillow and an odd pressing feeling on the back of my head that was completely unfamiliar. I reached up to see what it was, and got a handful of soft fluffy fur, which immediately began humming. No... purring. It was purring. It was a cat. A very soft and large cat who was perfectly comfortable on my pillow and as I began to realize this, a glaring flaw in the arrangement propelled me to nearly jump out of bed. I don't have a cat!

How did it get in here? A cat who I have never laid eyes on found its way into my house and felt so comfortable doing so that he strolled into my bedroom at five o'clock in the morning and parked himself next to my head? I'm sure it has something to do with the five teenage boys currently camped out in my backyard. It's just one of those odd occurrences that is becoming all the more typical around here. It's just part of life with teenage boys.

As a new mother, I had the vague feeling that my life was no longer in my control. Staring at those cute little faces, knowing that my entire sanity resided with them being relatively well-behaved and of course, healthy and whole. I thought I had lost control of my life when they would shriek and wail and I would scamper to soothe and console, or I would rush around to get what I knew they wanted. I thought I lost control when they would get into my fingernail polish and decorate the coffee table with it - or when the foul odor that was plaguing my kitchen turned out to be moldy broccoli that they had cleverly hidden in the recess beside the refrigerator knowing that I never looked there.

When my kids were younger, I still had a great deal of control. The messes were, to me, fairly predictable. Permanent marker on the refrigerator, chocolate syrup splattered on the wall, what parent doesn't have to deal with those things? Strange cats in my bed, kneading the back of my head at 5am is just one of the many unpredictable events that comes with the territory of living with teenagers.

Living with teenagers is having a house that is always wrecked. I thought I had a hard time keeping it clean when they were toddlers. I've learned that once they hit a certain age, they're like Gizmo. Get them wet and the little suckers multiply. That's why I have a hoard of them asleep in my backyard as we speak. I will be sitting here minding my own business and suddenly there are all of these people milling around my house. This happens frequently. And that's not the only thing that inexplicably multiplies around here either. I don't know what to do with half of our laundry, because it's not ours! I am constantly asking, "whose shirt is this? Where did it come from? What am I supposed to do with it?" only to look up and everybody shrugs.

And the girls? Yeeeeeeahhh. It's not uncommon for me to walk into my livingroom and see some girl I have never met sitting on my sofa who is completely nonplussed by my arrival and doesn't even look up to see that my eyebrows have disappeared into my hairline. Why would she notice me? I am of no consequence. This isn't my house after all, it is my sons house and to her I just live here. I am not offended, I remember thinking along those lines when I was their age.

Living with teenagers (at least the boy variety) means my house is not my own anymore. Not only is it always dirty, but it's always full of people - some I know and others I don't. They just show up here. I could turn them away, I suppose, but then my kids would go hang out at their houses and given the propensity for teenagers to get into trouble, I'd rather they be here in my safe, gun-free, drug-free, alcohol-free environment. At least I can do a head count on the girls and when one is no longer in sight, I can ask the others where she went. Girls, after all, are much easier to spot than the boys. It's funny, because they all know I'm watching and it doesn't bother them at all (yet). They have no desire to go to another household where they can get more privacy, they like it here where they feel welcome. And eat all of my chocolate cake.

I'm in a different game now than I was when my kids were in elementary school, that's one of the few things I can say with certainty. Living with teenagers is wild, unpredictable, sometimes hilarious and sometimes infuriating, and I've only just begun. I have yet to face the scenario of trips out of town and wild parties, my oldest only starts high school in a couple short months. If it's like this already, what the heck am I going to find in my bed two years from now? Don't answer that, I'm afraid I already have an idea. There are some things I can still predict after all, even if it's becoming less and less everyday.


Photo Rights: Moodboard

Old Sweatshirt and Jacket = New Coat!

 I have been searching all season long for a sherpa-lined denim coat with a collar (not a hood), but hadn't been having much luck. Mainly because it had to be practically free, since I already have a totally decent, lining not ripped out, still warm, non-hideously stained, only 1 year old coat that I just HAD to have last year and now I don't like it because it was trendy I just can't legitimately justify the expense of buying a second coat - but I really wanted it anyway. So, I made it happen. =)
I went to a thrift store and found this cute little jacket for 6$.
 There were quite a few to choose from but this one still looked new and it had the cut and front pockets the way I wanted. At home, I looked in my hubby's closet for the sherpa shirt he hadn't worn for two years but still looked good. He didn't want me cutting it up at first, until I told him I could just go buy new sherpa for 15$. Still a bargain, but not close enough to free for him (or for me, to tell the truth). You can always use a sweatshirt or flannel if you don't have such a handy sherpa shirt as this, but make sure it's a few sizes larger than your jacket since you have to dissect it. Oh, and if your jacket already lined you want to remove the lining, or it will be bulky.

First things first, cut apart your shirt. Lay your jacket sleeve onto your lining sleeve, and trim off the excess material at the bottom. It's very important that your seam on your sleeve be at the bottom. Use a tape measure to measure the inside back panel of the jacket. Measure the same on the back piece of sweatshirt, flannel shirt, etc. Mark it with a piece of chalk or pins and cut it out.
Do the same for the front panels, keeping the hem at the bottom so you can save yourself from having to tuck that in later on. If you're not sure about cutting around your jacket, you can lay it out on tissue paper or even newspaper and trace the pieces you need to cut out. Hopefully, if your shirt was large enough, you have plenty of room at the top of the back piece to cut out the shape for your collar. Don't worry too much about seam allowances on the sleeves, back and front pieces, as this goes inside you want it a little bit smaller than your jacket so cut it to match and the seams will take it in to where it needs to be. But the collar, you do want to trace the shape of the existing collar on the jacket, then add about a half inch all the way around. In the end, your lining will have two sleeves, two front panels, and one back panel, all cut to size of the existing jacket. Then one collar pieces, cut to 1/2 inch larger all the way around. If you don't have enough fabric to make the collar, it's ok. You don't have to have that, I just think it looks better.

Lay one of the front pieces on top of the back piece, right sides together, and sew it at the shoulders and sides. Do the same for the other side, so you have a vest.
Lay the collar, right sides together, on top of the back piece and make sure it is centered. Pin it and sew it on.
Fold the sleeve pieces in half, right sides together and stitch up the side to make the tube.
Turn the sleeve right side out and the body of the lining inside out. Tuck the sleeve into the sleeve hole as in the picture below, and match up the seam of the sleeve to the side seam of the body (where the armpit will go) and pin it in place, then sew it. Trim off your strings and turn the whole lining inside out. Stuff the arms of the lining into the arms of the jacket and your getting pretty warm. Just need to sew it in!

 
 
 

I started at the collar and folded the edges of the sherpa in, then hand stitched the collar at the sides. This is the one area of the coat that I am worried about looking strange, since it is the most visible.

 I was careful not to cover up the button holes with the lining, so I folded the edges of the sherpa in and pinned them just to the inside of the button holes. I took it to my machine, and using a dark colored thread, sewed the lining down the front. The sherpa hides the stitches perfectly. I did the same thing on the other side, but I folded the sherpa in right at the edge of the jacket so there is no unlined area when the coat is buttoned up.






 Since I used a shirt that was already hemmed at the bottom and the sleeves for my lining, it was really simple to just tack them into the jacket at the edges and it was neat and tidy without any fuss on my part. Now I have the new coat I've been wanting and it's every bit as warm as I thought it would be! The "trendy" one gets put in the closet for when I'm feeling more glam.

Decorative Storage Boxes

I first made these boxes about ten years ago when I was in desperate need for storage and only had leftover moving boxes and some tape. Urrrrgly. I realized last week that all of the assorted trinkets I plan to get the girl for Christmas this year are going to wind up mixed up in her toy box or scattered all over the house. While making the boxes, I decided that I can now spend the next few weeks until Christmas, slowly filling them up with things made or inexpensively bought. One box, for instance, will hold a collection of beads that will be both made and glass beads, as well as some beading string and wire. Another will hold doll clothes I am going to make out of my fabric remnants. Another will hold coloring books and crayons and various art supplies. And I'm sure Daddy will want to buy a few things for his princess as well.

              Once filled (and once we put up our tree) they will serve as gift boxes. No need for wrapping paper. No more disaster of a living room with scraps of wrapping paper, tape and bows for Mom to clean before prepping the Christmas ham. I win! I win four times because each child will be getting their own assortment of boxes (can you add free?) under the tree this year, which will give them all desperately needed storage in the new year.

Materials: Assorted boxes, or pieces of Corrugated Cardboard.
                Masking Tape
                Paste
                Cheap Paintbrush
                Different kinds of papers
                Embellishments
                White Craft Paper (only if you want to line them).
                Craft Paint

                Elmer's Glue (for gluing on large things).

For papers, I just found stuff around the house. You can also use torn fabrics, so long as they don't have any stretch to them. Silks and flannels work nicely. Here I used a brown paper grocery bag, a book (desecration, I know, but it's an awful book and already missing several pages), tissue paper, gift wrap, and I wound up using white crafting paper also.

My embellishments were things I found in my yard. Rose petals, Marigolds, even a weedy flower. Craft paint also works well to decorate after the paste dries.

Now I just used things around my house, but those who scrapbook can tell you that the scrapbooking isle of your local craft store has an amazing assortment of beautiful papers, ribbons, buttons and all of the glue-on stickable things you can imagine to make your boxes fit any decor. Also, I just used some old cardboard we had in the garage. If you want, you can do this with your old shoe boxes to save time. Just make sure you use corrugated cardboard on the sides of round boxes.

The first thing I did was make the boxes. It was easy, I just cut out the pieces for the top and the bottom, and strips for the side. It is important, you want the lid a little bigger around than the box. Half a centimeter, roughly. Don't worry if your box looks beat up like mine does, you're gonna cover the ugly up.
Next, make your paste. I prefer paste to glue because it's cheaper and rinses or wipes off easily. I'm going to get it all over my fingers, so I like to keep a sink full of water ready to rinse off in. The recipe for paste is very simple. 1 part flour to 4 parts water, put it in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

A brown paper grocery bag, painted with two colors of craft paint (one white and one purple), then spattered with silver makes a nice effect.

When you tear the paper into pieces, you get a rough brown edge to them. I used this for the heart shaped box and glued some marigold petals to the top of the lid.

  Pages of a book go nicely with the rose petals, but I had a hard time getting the petals to stick with the paste. Probably would have been easier if I had waited for the box to dry, then glued them on with Elmers glue. This book had some nice "Old Hollywood" looking pictures in it that would have been very glamorous. I have saved them for later, the would be perfect for a dress up box. I also thought that printing off some old family photos in a sepia tone would look nice with this, for a family heirloom box.

The tissue paper box was a lot of fun. After tearing the pieces up I smeared paste all over the top and pressed it into the pile. Next, I glued each little piece on one at a time, making sure to bunch them and make them stick up. It made me think of a pinata, and I think I have an idea for Adam's next birthday party!

You can find decorations just about anywhere, I got these little pink flowers from the back yard and glued them on with Elmers.

A simple stamp cut from a potato and some craft paint also can also dress up your box.

Although I'm skipping this part, lining the boxes is very easy with white craft paper and a little bit of Elmers glue. I don't recommend paste for that, too messy!

Once the boxes dry, they are very sturdy and will hold of for several years (I attest!) to your kids beating them, kicking them, stepping on them and all sorts of abuse.