dinsdag 23 april 2019

The patience of growth


In October last year I received this gift kit from Sprout  

Sprout is a porcelain accessory which makes it possible to grow seeds. You can place it on top of a vase or glass just as you like. But first you have to get in to the process of germination, and that takes time. Sometimes a very long time as I've experienced. 


I also bought an avocado which I cut open to undo the pit and peel it off with a sharp knife.


The other acorns and pits I soaked in water first and just followed the instructions I received with it. You can also find a numerous of videos here on their website. And than all you have to do is being patient and see what happens, checking it out weekly.



One of the seeds started to grow very early




while others took their time ..

The one below grew so fast en high I had to let it lean against the wall or it would fall over. Which it finally did one day. I tried planting it in soil, but sadly that didn't work either.

The avocado pit started to grow roots, lot's off them. After months of watching it develop only under water I had almost given up on it, and the acorn wasn't doing anything. It looked like a failed project.


But than, about five months later, the magic started. The avocado pit and the acorn finally started to grow upwards almost at the same time!




I'm so glad I didn't give up on them. Maybe they just waited for spring to start, while days get longer and temperature is rising. I have no idea but as it is, they sure took me by surprise. Soon I will plant them into soil, but I want to look at them on their beautiful sprout looking pretty just for a little while longer. 


So for those of you who tried but have given up before anything happened ...
Be patient, very patient for it'll happen when you least expect it


maandag 15 april 2019

Marbled Eggs

Getting into Easter decoration I decided to make some marbled eggs. I've done it before a few years ago. I'm sharing the tutorial with you here so you can try it yourself.




What do you need: 

♦ some eggs of course (I've chosen white ones for this marble effect)
♦ nail polish, any colour you like
♦ stir stick
♦ plastic container
♦ water (room temperature)
♦ nail polish remover (for cleaning up afterwards)
♦ rubber gloves (you should use those believe me, it can get messy)




You can boil the eggs (I don't think you can eat them afterwards, with the nail polish on it) or blow them out. I made it a bit easier and just ticked a small hole on the bottom, emptied the eggs (you can make an omelette or mayonnaise perhaps) and than rinsed them with tap water. 


The water needs to be at room temperature, if it's to cold the nail polish sinks to the bottom. You drop some nail polish into the water, the more you use the darker they get, but you don't want it to be to thick, and gently swirl a marble effect with the stick. 

Next dip the eggs under water and swirl a bit wearing the rubber gloves. Take them out again and let them dry. 


And this is how they finally turned out. Each one looks different. Don't be discouraged if the first one fails (mine did) just take a deep breath and try again.



Do try!

And no worries. They don't need to be perfect, they just needs to be marbled ☺


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me.