Fails, Wrecks and Giggles! Oh my!

I can't believe it's Friday, again! The days are long but the weeks fly by. Hope everyone's week went well. Mine was great! Met up with my Girls and Moo Moo, the cat (no, he doesn't moo like a cow) and had a great catch up session. The hubby even came along, which was quite sweet :)

In my internet travels, I've come across some interesting blogs. Stumbling across this Pinterest Fail blog made me re-visit other "Fail" blogs that have made me shed tears and nearly had me die of laughter. These are all done to elicit laughs and aren't meant to be mean. Though I laugh as loud as the next person reading the posts, I also try and use these sites as a "what not to do" reminder for myself. If you've seen any wrecks, maybe you'd like to submit your story to them. All three blogs take reader submissions.

Laughing in the morning is an awesome thing and makes the day seem more shiny and bright. Thought that this would be a good way to end the week for you guys, especially for those who could have had a better one.

Enjoy! :)

Oh! Before I forget.. we're on Instagram now!! :) Yes, a bit late to join but already quite addicted. You know it's a bad sign when you have to talk yourself down from wanting to post a photo up every hour. Anyway, hope to see you there! Find us @sharethemess or click follow on the right-hand side of this blog.

Ok, get ready to giggle and cringe!

Pinterest Fail: Where good intentions come to die - Started by Jenna to giggle, learn and improve together.

Cake Wrecks: Where professional cakes go horrible, hilariously wrong - Started by Jen out of boredom. This was the first "fail" blog I've ever encountered and many quality hours have been spent gawking and gaping at some of the wrecks between myself and the hubby.

You Are NOT A Photographer - A blog by Ginger and Mary Anne that chronicles some pretty horrible results of people calling themselves professional photographers (they're dubbed Fauxtographers, how clever!). Sometimes, I feel quite bad for the photographer who really believed they were taking a magnificent photo. Then, there are the ones that try hard to "make it" onto the blog.. and those, I don't feel bad for at all!

Tuesday Treasures: "Make and Sell" Etsy Treasury

So many projects! Yet, only two hands :( I've got tons of ideas And many many plans!
So what will it be? And what will I make? Should I start a painting or go bake a cake?
What about you? What have you got? Will you do some sewing or tie a square knot?
This colorful bunch That was collected with care Will definitely inspire you to start with a flair! * * *

"Make & Sell" curated by Colourscape

Product Styling and photogra... ImageInCafe $120	Hot Air Balloon Kit - Circus CraftSchmaft $65	Honey Bomb Wheat Beer - Home... BrewSmith $75	DIY Kittie Makeup Bag / Pouc... REEcreationsBY... $22
Sock Monkey Kit - Blue Yello... Squigglymonkey... $20	DIY Make-It-Yourself Insulat... piggledee $25	DIY Top - Wearable Art Kit AmorAmorDesign... $30	Brilliant Bunting in Mini Pe... Gloriousmess $11.95
Sweet Strawberries Felt Kit tiedwitharibbo... $20	Bear Making Kit - Lucy by Bo... BOSLEYBEARS $66	LEARN TO KNIT Kit for Kids -... knittyknitty $27	Make your own 'Vintage B... mypoppetshop $25
Peter Rabbit Counted Cross S... SparrowFinds $10	Baby Fabric Taggie Kit eddysmum $10	Kids Cross Stitch Kit Cherr... ThreefoldDesig... $15	Dimension's 'Baby Hu... Lilybeelane $18.99

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

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Missy Messy, oh so dressy,

How does your garden grow?

With lots of herbs, and pretty pots

And lavender all in a row.

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We had a lovely, sunny Autumn weekend here and I wanted to keep my thumb a bit green. 
Following our round-up of pretty planters, I couldn't help myself and well... look what came home from IKEA! 

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So, after excitedly setting up my new mini-greenhouse, I went to search for some plants that would fit. I had initially wanted it to protect my herbs from the strong, chilly winds we're experiencing but most of them have been re-potted into home too big to fit the greenhouse. I ended up placing my daisy and rosemary plants (which was very comfy in its new Smart Pot already) in this shiny new home.

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I think they're quite happy, even though the rest of their garden friends are quite jealous of the new house. 
Look at them all crowding around to have a peek!

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Everyone else in the garden wanted to have a peek at the new house!

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Even the cacti were quite intrigued, although they have always been a bit prickly about living with the softies. (Did you notice that I've managed to turn a particular cactus a disturbing shade of golden brown when it's supposed to be lush green? *frowns*)

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My poor pea spouts weren't very impressed though. In fact, they really could have cared less at this point. They would have loved to be able to live in a pretty little house made of glass but it's too late. Yes, I'm not very good with this thing called "watering the plants" and unfortunately, many many many plants have met some terrible demises that did not involve a hot wok or a dinner plate.

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Well, all isn't in vain! I learn a bit more about gardening with each shrivelled up plant I bury (did you know that you can crush up egg shells or sprinkle old coffee grounds and tea leaves to boost your herbs and plants that fruit?) and hopefully with more experience, my little balcony colony will grow up quite well!

Shopping on a Saturday: Balcony Gardens and Green Thumb Helpers

I've got this horrible affliction where I love plants, herbs and flowers but it seems that every plant I touch shrivels up eventually. I swear I don't torture them..except for the haphazard watering schedule sometimes. Hmm. That being said, I managed to kill a cactus with overwatering once. Please don't give me that look!!

At the moment, I've treading a fine line between boom and bust with my strawberry, basil, rosemary (it sprouted flowers!), thyme, chili and celery plants. The spring onions are self-sufficient and the chives look scrawny but haven't keeled over yet. The mint wants to take over the world. My venus fly traps are quite happy, with one sundew even sprouting a flower! The poor thing doesn't realize there aren't any other sundews around :( This recent spate of chilly, strong wind isn't helping them much at all unfortunately. 

So, with that in mind, this week's round-up consists of all the things that I would love to spoil my plants with (pun completely unintended!) to help them grow healthier, stronger and prettier! If you have any tips, tricks or favorite planters, feel free to share them with us!

From top to bottom, left to right:

• The Glasshouse - a combination of pendant lamp and a terrarium by Czech designer Krstyna Pojerova! How awesome would it be to reach up in the middle of dinner to pick some fresh rosemary or basil to sprinkle on your pasta! The original site is in Czech, and an English page/review can be found here at Inhabitat.
• Sky Planters - upside-down plant pots for.. again, instant garnishes by Boskke. I have seen them being sold at Eden Gardens in Sydney, but you can find them elsewhere in Australia like at designforuse in Melbourne too. If only they weren't so pricey...
• Digital Pot Plant Pet - a USB-powered little guy by Junyi Heo that will tell you when your little plant is happy or sad! Now, that's exactly what I need!
• Smart Pots - Soft-sided fabric pots that allow your plants and their roots to breathe! I actually just migrated most of my plants into these because I was getting fed up with having to deal with clumpy, clay-like soil that was suffocating my plants. It was such an ordeal to empty out big pots, clean all the plants up and re-pot them bi-annually. With all that moving around, I'm not surprised my plants aren't happy! Will be keeping an eye on them in their new homes. If nothing else, I can't over-water them because the excess water oozes out the sides of these planter bags!
• Post Planter - metal planters on a post by Wallter. Basically, homes in the sky for plants! They have different styles but I like these sky homes the best. Would be lovely stringing up some christmas/fairy lights between them as they lined a garden path, no?
• GreenSmart Herb and Veggie Systems - plastic containers developed in Australia that allow gardening/farming pretty much everywhere in their self-contained self-watering system. What I like about the design is the little tube to top up water levels and there's a little cushion of air to prevent the roots from becoming water-logged. Smart indeed!
• SOCKER Greenhouse - Oh, what is there NOT to love about IKEA!! They've done it again! I've been eyeing this little beauty ever since it came out last year, wrestling with self-restraint every. single. time. I go to IKEA.. (which is a lot!). They make it so much harder by making me walk past it to leave the store. I think I'm going to cave in soon..

Have a happy weekend!

P.S. This round-up is no way endorsed or sponsored by any of the aforementioned shops, websites or companies. These are finds that I've stumbled on during my internet travels that have impressed me enough to share with everyone else.