Friday, May 24, 2013

I was looking for little bags to put leftover candle wax in that I was taking out of candleholders and cleaning up. I found the little bags, but saw my old sewing needleholders. One was from Woolworth and not sure where the other was sold, but I've had them forever and they were my mother's. I took a pic of them open, love the foil that holds the needles. See the leather knee patch in the back, can you believe it was only 79cents, now you know that's old. I have sewing things in the kaboodle, tins, boxes and even mason jars. :D 



Then I got back to cleaning up some of my candleholders. When they get so low the wick doesn't light, it's time to dig out the wax and put them in bags for the tarts burner. I like to divide some of the wax that I really love seperately in bags, but if there's just some different waxes I'll toss them together. You never know how they'll smell when burning a mix of scented wax. I take the candle label off if it'll stick together and put it on the little bag, if not I'll just use a marker for the scent name. I also like to put tealights in some of my favorite glass pieces. They're very pretty lit up close together like on a tray.



PS My husband brought in a Magnolia flower from the Magnolia tree. It smells wonderful...



Found this online on how to start a Magnolia tree from seeds or cuttings...

To germinate Magnolia seeds I would recommend using the paper towel method....with a little twist. First collect the red seeds. Then, using either a razor blade or an x-acto knife, carefully cut the outer shell. Once you have the actually seed in hand fill a glass with semi-warm water. Let them soak for about ten to fifteen minutes. Then get a paper towel and moisten it with the same temperature of water. Place the seeds in the middle of the towel and fold it hamburger style. Put everything in a ziplock bag; flatten it, and leave it by a window for about three weeks. You can tell if the seeds have germinated once you see the ziplock bag rise. This keeps the moisture constant in the bag and will help keep the seeds warm.

Another site...

Instructions

        1 Gather seeds. Collect as soon as possible after they mature in mid-September to early October. Spread the cone-like fruit out to dry for several days. Shake the seeds out of the dried cone.
        2 Store seeds over winter. Place seeds in a plastic bag containing sand and peat moss. Store in the refrigerator at 40 degrees or lower for three to six months before planting.
        3 Plant seeds. The following spring, plant the seeds either directly in a seedbed in the ground or in individual starter pots filled with rich potting soil. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep and firm soil gently over the seeds. Keep moist until they germinate.
        4 To grow magnolia from cuttings, gather pieces of softwood in later winter or early spring. Softwood is new wood whose bark is still soft enough to be easily pierced with your fingernail. Cut pieces that are 4 to 6 inches long, and try to include a couple leaves at the top. Make a clean diagonal cut at the bottom of the cutting. This is the part you will insert into the soil.
        5 Place in rooting medium. Use either vermiculite or peat moss to root cuttings. Fill starter pots with rooting medium. Place cutting into rooting medium, leaving about half of it above the soil line. Cover each pot with its own plastic bag. Humidity is vital when rooting softwood cuttings. Keep the plastic over the pot, except when watering. Place the pots in a protected spot in the shade. Check for roots in four to six weeks. Another sign that the cutting has "taken" is if it starts to grow new leaves.
        6 Transplant seedling or cutting where tree is to grow. Transplant seedlings when they are about a foot high and cuttings when they have a small root ball and their leaves are actively growing. Add some regular garden compost to the hole when transplanting. Set the magnolia so the soil is at the same place on the trunk as it was before transplanting it. Water well and feed with liquid fertilizer every two weeks until late summer, then stop feeding until spring.

1 comment:

happyone said...

When I was a kid my mom worked at Coats and Clark and used to come home with all sorts of neat holders and sewing kits.
It's is amazing how cheap things were then.