Jerusalem Artichokes and other garden additions

When I was away at my last women's weekend, I was chatting with a woman I've known for a few years through my Transition Towns network (was a lovely surprise seeing her there), and we got to talking about our garden efforts. She was saying she had a load of Jerusalem Artichokes that they have been enjoying, and take minimal work to grow, and offered for me to come around and take some away. So yesterday, after feeling mostly better, the kids and I popped around to her place for a visit.

I recall finding these in my organic vegetable box a few years back. I first thought they were ginger root, but upon snapping a piece off I realised it wasn't. A phone call to my mum had her IDing it in one of her vegetable encyclopedia type books.

I found this interesting article that has a good explanation about how it grows and what conditions it likes and dislikes. I do have a suitable area in the garden where I can put them, so any tubers left behind that decide to sprout up, can do so without concern of it taking over the area. I roasted some up for dinner and will keep some for trying a few other ways and that should still leave a good amount to plant out in a wee while.

I also came away with some wild strawberries, nasturtium seeds, and miner's lettuce. Pretty rapt about having some edible ground covers to pop in.

Losing the plot on this parenting lark...

It's been interesting to me, to notice quite a dramatic change in our family dynamics, the dynamics between the kids and their general demeaner since starting school. While I initially "blamed" school for all this disruption and out-of-kilter behaviour, I also realised that I hadn't moved with the times nor switched my way of dealing with the kids.

Whether it was due to being time-scheduled to be places on time, coordinating different things we wanted to do, or just generally hanging out around the house, I have really been noticing an imbalance going on.

The kids were squabbling more (they went from the occasional niggle that they'd problem solve and sort out themselves), to full-on squabbling, yelling, and grumping what felt like ALL THE TIME. And of course, I was then responding in kind by also raising my voice and grumping back at them. Whoa!

So, we sat down with the kids a few weekends ago and had a bit of a chat about how they were feeling about the constant disharmony and anger that was going on. I asked if they'd noticed that they didn't play easily or solve problems a lot anymore. When it turned into "but, N/D does this/that" I questioned them whether blaming the other was really solving the problem? We discussed personal responsibility. They got it (or rather, remembered). I had suggested, instead of one waiting for the other to get started (getting dressed/helping dry dishes/tidying up toys/put shoes on/feed the chickens), that they just do what is required because they know that it's the right thing to do or because it's something that needs to be done for themselves or the family. Don't focus on the other person or what they're doing - the competition and comparing was driving me (and them I'm sure) nuts. It was almost immediate the way that they could reframe their approach and attitude. Of course, it will take a little work on our part to ensure that we also respectfully deal with them, have patience, listen, help problem solve rather than dictate, and get more into-the-moment with them again.

None of this is new to me, but gosh, it can be hard work to maintain and remember when the situation changes drastically. I guess I just hadn't caught up with the changes that school life had brought to our family, and it got to a bit of a critical point for me to realise that we all needed a refresher course in finding a better way forward. After an online discussion about this exact topic a week or so ago, it really all started to come clear what needed to be done (and realise that most people hit the wall occasionally on where and how to go forward, no matter their parenting style).

I pulled out The Parents Tao Te Ching again and had a wee read. I liked this one - although our parenting philosophy is already based on no rewards or punishment, I needed the reminder to guide without controlling.

You can control your children
through threats and punishments
and they will learn to fear.
You can control their behaviour
by praise and reward
and they will learn to look outside themselves
for approval and for worth.
You can watch over their every movement,
every action, every decision,
making sure they do it "right",
and they will learn to always
doubt themselves.
Or you can love and guide
without controlling and interfering
and they will learn to trust themselves.

::~::

We've had a lovely week, and noticed a lot of positive changes all round.

Wah! Who heals the healer?

Yeah, I know, mums get sick and we just need to carry on - and I guess over the past 8yrs I've been very fortunate on that front. But after the 4 days that have just gone past, I really was left thinking, "who looks after me?" Now, that sounds more pity-party and poor-me than actually what I mean. I thought, it's all very well that *I'm* learning about the natural healing properties of herbs, and know what I need to do for the rest of my family, but it doesn't really factor in looking after me.

I got to thinking that when the kids are sick I cuddle, snuggle, find herbal teas for them, offer soothing honeys, provide nourishing food and drink, and generally "nurse" them through an illness. But the person offering all of this often misses out on reciprocal treatment.

So after being down with the flu (not really fair after being laid low with Strep throat only 6wks ago), and not being able to help myself much, I think I need to write up a little healing manual for my family to refer to for times just like this...

Yesterday we were blessed with a lovely blue sky and warm, healing sunshine. So the kids and I spent a good amount of time out there around lunchtime soaking up the sunrays and producing a good dose of vitamin D, which we have probably all been starting to run thin on with the shorter days, and lower angled sun.

Hopefully we've had a headstart and will have a fairly bug-free winter now?

Learning about Ayurveda

I have a friend who was showing me her books on Ayurveda earlier in the week. We did the quiz in the book and I came out strongly Pitta/Kapha. Since I know nothing about the Ayurveda philosophy (aside from having heard about it at various times over the years), I decided to get a stack of books from the library a few days back.

One thing that stood out to me is that my "type" really needs to cut back on onions, garlic and hot spices. What is interesting to me about this, is that we eat a variety of these most nights and I was keen to see if cooking appropriate recipes for my type (and incidentally, Simon is the same dual-type as me) would make me feel different. And since I'm all for finding some new recipes, I look forward to finding some new recipes. Of course, as per my usual, I will need to wait till shopping day to buy particular ingredients I need (shopping day is today).

Has anyone followed an Ayurvedic diet at any stage, and how did you find it?

Herbs from the Earth's Children Series

Well, my mum and Simon have/are both making their way through the Clan of the Cave Bear series now that the 6th book has been released. My mum's just finished them all and was mentioning how she'd like to go through the books again and take out all the herbal medicine references and then do a bit of study to see whether they stack up to what the herbal experts actually say (and I'm pretty sure they will be well researched and spot on).

I remember reading Clan of the Cave Bear when I was about 13-14 (25yrs ago!) and being fascinated and intrigued with the use of herbs for natural healing back then (and even remember having a discussion with my mum about the herbs and their uses). Or maybe my memory's good because it was my first exposure to porn fiction... ;)

Since I haven't yet started to re-read the series, I thought I might be able to take note of all the herbal references as I go...of course I thought I'd check Google first as I was sure that somebody out there has probably already done that! And yes, there are many online references.

Still sounds an interesting wee project though.

A new crochet project...

I have really taken a leap from basic fingerless gloves and beenies! I decided I really wanted a different looking scarf and spent some time searching Ravelry to find a free pattern. I had a lovely 10ply wool in a stormy purple in my stash that I've been wanting to find an appropriate project for, and finally found something that looked suitable.

Hmmm...well, it seems that it must have been rated by really experienced crocheters lol, coz even though it was rated on the easy end of the scale of 1-10, it sure is stretching my pattern reading skills! I can see there is a bit of a pattern occuring, but equally, I know I've messed up my interpretation a few times. I figured it doesn't really matter so much since it's a scarf, and I still like the way that it's working up.

Maybe I'll have it figured out by the time I'm finished!




Ginger Beer!

Yum! I first made ginger beer about 3.5yrs ago and made a few batches, but didn't continue.

So after watching River Cottage Every Day last week, I decided to get all my gear out, sterilise it all, and make up a batch with the kids after school. We set the bucket in the laundry for a few days to do its thing before bottling it up.

Shaking in the tsp of sugar at the end

Within 2 days, the bottles were firm enough, indicating that it was ready (I kept the box of bottles next to the fire in our lounge to give them enough warmth). We popped them in the fridge, which stops the yeast action, and enjoyed! The kids weren't too keen on this batch, but Simon and I liked it.

Chit chat stuff from around the garden and out-and-about

Well, my first lot of garlic is now in the garden. I wasn't too impressed with my pesky chickens coming along right behind me and scratching them out again though! They weren't after the garlic, rather just the soil that I'd disturbed - and then a little fantail started to flitter around the garden too hoping to get any little insects. So, after chasing them off a few times (and replanting the garlic twice), I put them back in their coop. They're all looking a bit bald and scruffy at the moment due to moulting.

I then discovered some Saffron corms in my garden. My mum gave me a handful last year, which I planted but kept forgetting about. A few weeks back my mum called all excited telling me to go down and check to see if the there were any flowers ready to pick, as she'd discovered some in her garden. Sadly, I couldn't see a thing and thought I'd killed them off (or accidentally weeded them out). But, when I was there weeding the onion patch I noticed them again (and pulled them up in case the chickens came along and pulled them out too!), but maybe I should have left them and they might have flowered?? So they're back in the ground again and hopefully they'll continue to increase in number as this lot already have.

My seedlings are coming along nicely, as well as my current seed tray. So far I'm having better success with the seeds germinating. Loving having my greenhouse right under my clothesline - it certainly doesn't suffer from lack of attention there!

Look at this cute picture I took while out during the week. Some elderly women at the local Arts and Crafts centre just down the road from had decorated (keeping warm lol) the trees outside their building. I saw them stitching them on earlier in the week.

The sun continued to shine yesterday morning, so the kids and I went down to the markets and bought some fruit and veges for the week. It was also a good opportunity to get the ripstik and scooter out of the car for a play.

We bottled up the ginger beer, so that's happily sitting and continuing to brew.

A gorgeous almost-winter day

After school on Wednesday I took the kids for a little bush walk to a local reserve. It was a beautifully clear, blue-skied day (albeit pretty chilly) and just begged to be enjoyed for as long as possible. We didn't do the whole walk and climb up the top of the hill, just played around in the lower part under all the Nikau palms.

Another wintry meal or two

Once our household returned to normal after the weekend, and after the icky bugs were gone, I got out my library cookbooks again for a bit of inspiration.

I had bought some fish (frozen) and mushrooms at the supermarket last week - I don't normally buy either of these ingredients, not because I'm particularly adverse to them, they just seem to fall outside of my "normal". So, out came the Irish Folklore book again, and I found the recipe that had me buying the fish and the mushrooms for. Fish Pie - yes very ordinary! I've made fish pie a few times, but the kids just weren't into it, so I think I just didn't bother again - until now.

It used a lot of pots and it called for quite a bit of preparation time (not usually my thing to be in the kitchen for a length of time), but it was super yummy. Both kids ate it, so a success I'd say.

I then made another visit to the library and grabbed a few more books. A couple of gluten free ones (I was particularly interested in reading up about Fructose malabsorption, and this author takes that into account in her recipes) as well as a River Cottage one. I've been watching the current River Cottage series on TV and really enjoying it - I even have a batch of ginger beer on the go at the moment.

Tonight's dinner was a Chicken Casserole from one of the GF books and handily used up my remaining mushrooms. Also a success!

A home blessing...a few wee violets...and a lovely bit of sunshine

Now that the virus that Nathan had seems to have left the house (fingers crossed the rest of us have avoided it), it felt right to give our home a bit of a clean and charge it up with a bit of healing energy.

The house has been feeling grimey, furry, cobwebby and generally dirty. I think the murky weird weather has contributed (it has been quite mild and warmish, but just so damp feeling), as well as our woodburner being in use most days. So I decided to get back into a bit of a modified Flylady routine (just the zones, I don't do the daily things she suggests). I have done her programme off and on over the last 7yrs and found it really good when I've been in the groove of it, but easily fall off the wagon.

At the first sign of sunshine (although very windy and pretty cold), I opened the door to air out any lingering dampness  (the windows have started to get condensation in the mornings). The washing was hung out and the dishes all done (still dishwasherless...still zen about it...). While out hanging up the washing, which is positioned in my herb/cottage garden, I gathered up a lovely little handful of sweet violet flowers that I noticed have just started to peek through to join the heartsease violets.

(A few days back I really got a headstart on the deep cleaning - I was doing a bit of phone catch up with my mum and a friend and spent over the 3hrs (!) on the phone, but managed to simultaneously wash the windows, tidy up the bedrooms and living areas, dusted, did the dishes, hung out washing (then got it in again as it started to rain), swept away cobwebs, and scrubbed the kitchen floor around the skirting!)

I then got down to mopping the floors since they were freshly vacuumed. I don't think I have ever bought floor disinfectant and usually just use hot water with a big splash of white vinegar in it (and to be honest, I'm a really hopeless floor mopper and it gets done *really* infrequently). But, it felt like as good a time as any, so I put a splash of Thieves Oil (and a little milk to emulsify the oil so it dispersed into the water rather than settling on top as a glob of oil) into my hot water. I discovered Thieves Oil a few years ago. No idea if it works, but it seems a nice little thing to do.

The story (one version of many) goes that back during one of the plagues throughout history, and there were dying and dead people lying in the streets or in their homes, that a group of thieves would go around and rob the bodies of their possessions. There was wonder how these thieves didn't also die from the disease. The story goes that they rubbed a certain group of herbs over their bodies to ward off illness. The blend used, which contain anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, are Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Lemon, Clove, and Cinnamon.

So anyway, it is a lovely aromatic blend. I sometimes use it when I clean the bathroom (I add it to my baking soda bottle), or add a few drops to floor mopping water, and I even like to set a dish of water on my woodburner at night time and drop a few drops into the water to gently infuse the room with its fragrance  (and reputedly sanitise the air).

The recipe I use (and only make up a small amount at a time, so use a 1/2 tsp for my part measure):

3 parts clove oil

3 parts lemon oil

3 parts cinnamon oil

1 part eucalyptus oil

1 part rosemary oil

So, wishing my home and inhabitants good health and good cheer, I was done!

Chook space

Back in 2007, I read Linda Woodrow's The Permaculture Home Garden and got all enthused about getting chooks. I was super keen to get started, but felt that the dome style coop was a bit unattainable for us at that time (and I really wanted to use recycled materials from around our home as much as possible). So I designed a square coop 2m x 2m and just under 1m high. We had quite a large bamboo grove with thick bamboo growing in it. So we chopped them down, sawed them to length, and I went about lashing and cable tying them together. Simon then went through with and put cross bars at the corners with screws, bought some chicken wire, found some thick plastic wrap in the garage to wrap around the back half, attached some corrugated iron on for a roof over half of it, closed off a part for the roosting/nest area and it was good to go. Well, 4yrs later we still have the original coop and it's still going strong.

Initially, we moved it around the yard as a tractor and the chickens remained cooped and content on their fresh patches of greens munching and scratching away. My first year of gardening saw us with fantastic crops and healthy soil. I then started to find it tricky to maintain the crop rotation and successional planting though, so the chickens eventually got "parked" up on the side of the beds and just moved up and down the yard as required, but no longer directly placed over the garden beds (my growing times seemed to be quite a bit longer and I couldn't really get it to match up easily).

All the moving around meant that the coop did sustain a bit of wear and tear from our lumpy, uneven ground, and the bamboo stakes snapped in a few places. It was around this time that I decided to go with a fixed area for the coop (the chickens were basically free ranging all day by this stage), so we weren't getting contained "poop" to benefit from. So, after choosing our spot, and deciding to provide them with a better "house", we worked on attaching the kids unused plastic playhouse to the back. It was perfect in that it had a door to lead through to the original coop, several windows for gaining access to eggs and scooping out the poo, and could be fitted onto the back of the coop with minimal modification (with a perch fitted inside between the walls). Super easy and still works really well. The only issue we have when there has been torrential rain (once or twice a year), is that the area they are in is prone to surface flooding for a few days. This is something we may need to reassess if it continues to happen.

I went down to get some recent photos and discovered my camera battery was flat...

Winter herbal medicine chest

I've been thinking about making up some remedies to have on hand as winter moves closer, and lurgies start to move through the community.

The garden seems to be having a good little burst of energy at the moment; it must be the mild weather and plenty of rain. I've been trawling through my books and course work to see what I can prepare ahead of time. I suffer a mild asthma during seasonal changes (such as right now, autumn). I rarely need to use an inhaler and it passes eventually, but I want to experiment a little and see if I can find some herbal remedies to stop the cough I tend to get as the first sign, which then can make me a little tight in the chest and breathless.

I went to the organic shop on Friday and found some lovely big garlic bulbs. I saved the outer large cloves for planting in the garden this weekend (this will be the first planting), and the inner cloves I used for my garlic honey along with my leftover cloves from last year's harvest that are really too fiddley for cooking with.
On Saturday, the kids and I set to work making a few of these up and discussed where the herbs are found in our garden (they're getting pretty good at knowing the herbs and their uses too).

A basketful of chickweed, plantain, comfrey, and sweet violet leaves.

Sage honey...good for coughs, fevers, colds and flu.

Garlic honey for soothing sore throats and good for the immune system. Has the same uses as sage honey (coughs, fevers, colds and flu)... Good for asthma symptoms. A teaspoon mixed with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into a glass or water or juice would be a good choice too.

Sage, thyme, lemon rind, lemon juice, honey drunk as a hot lemonade (the sage honey would be useful for adding straight in here). Great for colds, sore throats, and fevers. I love this one, and it's one of the first comforting, soothing things I do.

Violet leaf infusion soothes lungs: good for coughs and asthma (gathered fresh violet leaves for drying to make infusions).

Plantain/comfrey/chickweed salve: wound healer, skin conditions, eczema. My mum asked for something that could help with itchy patches of skin she gets, so I thought I'd have a go at making a salve. It came out perfectly! I started by making a maceration the herbs (infusing in olive oil by setting them to slow cook in the crockpot for a few hours). I then bottled up the remaining oil (strained out the herbs) to use in future salves (it will last 6-12mths). to the melted wax/maceration mixture I added some calendula tincture I made late last year and some lavender essential oil.

The jar of galic cloves are awaiting some runny honey.

Herbal teas: Yesterday I had a fevering, tired boy with no idea what was going on (aside from a one off vomit early in the morning and a headache). I started him off with a drink of hot ginger syrup with some vitamin C powder for the nausea. Then out came my Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Romm book. I made him up a tea using fresh herbs and weeds from the garden to help with allowing the fever do its job, restoring health, relaxing and soothing the stomach. He chose one with lemon balm, and I added to it some violet and yarrow leaves.



Other standard first aid kit items I keep on hand are: 20% Active Manuka honey, Colloidal Silver, lemons, garlic, apple cider vinegar, and vitamin C powder.





Mmmmmm...Chai Tea...

Over the years I have had chai tea a few times (and there was the memorable moment when I was invited to the home of an Indian friend back in my early 20s, and his wife asked if I'd like a cup of tea ... it took me by surprise and wasn't what I was expecting lol). I've been meaning to make it for years and after visiting a friend earlier in the week and drinking chai with her, I decided to finally give it a go.

I phoned my mum who always seems to have bulk spices (she goes to the Indian supermarket on the other side of the city), so after school we popped around to cook up a pot.


The recipe I used called for ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black peppercorns



This version was made without black tea (it was a recipe for kids). However, I had intended on adding the tea since I figure my kids are old enough to have the occasional cup, only I forgot lol. So, I will attempt that again another time.

Danielle wasn't so keen on hers, but Nathan drunk down several cupfuls (he moved on from this mini-cup to a larger one!).

My mum then made us a pot of Chinese Blooming Tea. Very nice - cleansing and refreshing.

Refreshing some skills...

I taught myself how to crochet a few years back using YouTube tutorials (knitwitch has some good ones). I have only made a couple of beenies and a pair of fingerless gloves. I had been getting an itch to pick up my hooks again and do a wee winter project. I really wanted another pair of fingerless gloves, and this time, one that has thumbs rather than just a hole to put my thumbs through. I found this cool free pattern a few nights back and made a start using a ball of variegated wool I had hanging around. It crocheted up really quickly, and the instructions were good for my learner skills (although I did need to learn a new stitch for casting on) and within about 5hrs going at a relaxed pace (and taking time out to pick up the kids from school, putting away chickens, hanging up washing etc) I had them made. I'm really pleased with them.

Around the home and garden over past week...

Chickens: I bought a new bale of straw for the chicken coop. We've had a lot of rain over the past few weeks and things are getting pretty soggy down there. So, after a good clean out and fresh straw they were back in happily kicking around. Needing to throw a lot of extra greens into the coop to give them something extra to nibble on now that they're contained for more hours (with putting them away a little earlier so they don't roost in the trees).

Seedlings: I potted up my seedlings since they have reached the two-leaf stage - it appears that I had mixed success with the broccoli and cauliflower seeds so repeated these with a fresh packet.

Garlic: Making plans to buy some garlic for planting in about 2 weeks time. I'll also do another lot on the Winter Solstice.

Seeds: Sowing more above ground leafy green seeds as per my lunar calendar.

Herb/Weed ID: I've been wanting to find some mullein to get a visual ID on, and make sure I don't mix it up with foxglove. Well, I was fortunate when away for my first women's weekend that I was able to ask a fellow wild weed user to point them out for me - perfect!

Technology: Well, it seems the kids finally have a game console that brings them into the 2010s. My mum the Baby-Boomer is more onto it than us lol. She gifted Nathan one of her WiiFits (she had 2!) for his birthday. Last year he got her hand-me-down digital camera that was better quality than my one lol. I've not really been hanging out for them to have something like this, but it is kind of nice that they aren't the completely missing out due my own disinterest. So I can see a bit of a game-buying session coming on.

A little bit of handcraft

I've been searching for a simple little handcraft that I can easily pick up and put down. After being inspired  over at Watching Kereru with the gorgeous little hearts Jacinda and her girls have been making, I went on a hunt for suitable materials.

My first stop was at the Salvation Army to sift through the drawers of buttons. I only had plain and boring at home and wanted some cute little bits of colour. I then made a phone call to a friend who has been making winter coats for her girls from old woollen blankets, to see if she had any scraps she could spare. I then had a heap of embroidery thread that came to me with all my nana's sewing bits and I was set to go.

On one particularly dreary day, I sat down in front of the fire and quietly stitched away.

Not too sure I'm going to do with them - but Danielle likes the idea of pinning them to one of her bed cushions as a cover which seems a great idea (and I pinned one onto one off her fabric hairbands). I thought they could also look cute on one of her winter coats, or woollen hat or her bag.

These will be a neat little project for the kids to have a try at as well in the winter days ahead...

Special outdoor spaces...my little herb haven

I spotted a few cheery, bright spots out in the herb garden a few days back. They sure are appreciated as the weather cools (and the days look dreary) and as some of the plants are starting to look spindly and tired.

Strangely, the heratsease violets aren't really visible unless the photo is expanded.

Calendulas, Heartsease, and red stalks of the Ruby Chard/Silverbeet.

Thought I'd do an update photo of the herb garden to see how it progresses through the seasons.

Left

Middle

Right

So, alongside all the herbs/weeds that I've bought seedlings for, or propagated cuttings (rose geranium, other geranium, rosemary, evening primrose) or entire bits of plants uprooted and replanted (red clover, forget-me-nots, feverfew), I'm also cultivating some wild weeds that have made their own way there. I have patches of plantain, chickweed, nettle, heartsease, sweet violet, kawakawa, and dandelion.

I'm now loving how the calendulas and borages have popped up all over the place too to fill the gaps. I only need to do minimal weeding these days. Any gaps get vegetables planted in them like silverbeet, spinach, lettuces, and peas (and tomatoes in summer). The garden is also perfectly situated to catch all the autumn leaves dropping off the trees that hang over the fence that add a nice mulch layer for winter.

A weekend of outdoor fun for all...

On Sunday, Simon took the kids over to Wainuiomata so Nathan could ride in the Bike Jams. He rode in the Bike Jams for the first time last year and really enjoyed it. This year's course was a bit longer (being a year older), and a bit more challenging. I was a bit sad about missing out, but they had loads of fun. Danielle rode on Simon's bike on the bike seat attached to his front bar, and they rode at the back of the pack while Nathan rode on where he was comfortable. It's not a competition, just a friendly ride with kids of similar age and ability.

Me? I had another women's weekend away. This one was a bit closer to home, but equally surprising and pleasant. Music, singing, sharing stories, campfire, delicious food, sleeping in a yurt... I went along thinking I didn't "know" anyone, but, as I have been finding more and more lately with people I meet, our lives seems to be interwoven and full of synchronicity. And there were many I recognised from around my community and was given the opportunity to get to know better.

Then Mother's Day dinner around at my mum's.

A yummy, fulfilling weekend all round.

A 2nd Autumn birthday...

Mr Nathan is turning 8 next week. Due to a very full May and one of his good buddies moving away tomorrow, we chose to celebrate his birthday last night. He decided to have a couple of friends over for a DVD night - that included homemade pizza and chips, ice cream cake, toasting marshmallows and a sleepover! Danielle had her own sleepover at a friend's house (her first too with non-family).

This little light...

Last week we gathered some lovely leaves from a friend's house, bought them home and flattened them under heavy books for a few hours (we still wanted them pliable to work with rather than dry and crispy) and then created some lanterns I've been wanting to do once we had some autumn leaves.

First up we pasted the leaves onto the jars. I then went on and pasted ripped up pieces of tissue paper onto my one for a different effect. We will locate some wire to attach around the tops.