Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Purple Tableware From Tunisia

Hey all. Hope you are all ready for the new year! I was surprised by a visit from a good friend from LA and we decided to hit up the Global Village. It's my second time this year and I came across very cute handmade tableware from Tunisia. What a coincidence that the set was inline with Pantone's color of the year- Radiant Orchid. Enjoy the inspiration!

Round soup tureen
  Tajine, (aka Tagen) used to keep foods such as rice warm.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

DIY Clothespin Turned Scarf Pin

Hello all! Hope you all are in the best of health and happiness. If not, maybe clothespin's will cheer you up. I don't know what it is about clothespins, but I love them. They are so cute and even cuter when they are miniature.

Some how a mini clothespin ended up in my home. I have no idea where it came from. Maybe it fell off a craft project the kids brought home from school, maybe it was a piece of decoration on a gift my kids from school. I have no idea. All that mattered was that I stumbled upon it and wanted to make something cute with it. I fired up my glue gun, grabbed a sewing needle and made myself a pin to secure my scarf with.


Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Experimenting With Scotch Tape Expressions:Part 1

Hello Debdoozlers! Hope you are all well on your end of town. We had wonderful cool and crisp weather today in Dubai thank God.

A few weeks back I stopped by Ace Hardware and came across a large display for Scotch Tape products. It was a rainbow convention of stickiness. There were all sorts of adhesives and they were on sale. It was a sign. It was also obvious they were competing with the oh so popular  Washi Tape. I've been wanting to try Washi Tape, but haven't come across it out here. A lot of bloggers have used Washi Tape and I haven't seen negative reviews. I figured Scotch Tape has always had a good reputation, might as well give it a try. I picked up two small roles and experimented with my old black vinyl business card folder. It turned out ok, but I expected better results. Check it out...


Monday, December 23, 2013

A Tale of New Chairs Part 2 (FINALLY) Plus Fabrico Review

Hey all! This revamp should probably get the world record for longest time between before and after pics to be revealed lol. I posted the before pics in 2012 and we are almost in 2014 and I finally have the after lol. At least I am late with style ha!

If you remember, I bought two wingback chairs off Dubizzle a long while ago for my dining area. I was trying out something new because the chairs we had were not so comfortable. In the end I abandoned the original idea and just used them as extra seating in my living area. I don't actually have rooms in this house. It's just one giant floor space melted together. Sections are divided by furniture arrangements which then leave me with "areas" as opposed to rooms. Now that I think about it, I've never lived in any place that had separate dining room, living room and family room. It's always been one giant melted floor plan.

Anyway, I really wanted to use them at the head of the dining table, but the hubster felt they were too low and with the kids it just wasn't logical to have fabric chairs combined with food :o). They were a steel so it didn't matter that the original plan didn't workout. One of them had broken springs and they both needed new upholstery ASAP. Here they are before....


Sunday, December 22, 2013

DIY Papier-Mâché (Paper Mache) Anubis/Jackal Mask

WOW, I can't believe a week passed without a post. What can I say- life happens ;-). So back to last week which brings me to this week. It was the last week of school before the "winter" holiday and everything, I mean EVERYTHING was happening last week. My youngest started preschool on the other side of Dubai, all three kids were having holiday parties at school annnnd of course the entire first grade year was celebrating the end of term with Egyptian day. Did I mention I was just starting to get over a nasty cold? I didn't think so.

Aside from making fruit kababs, (don't say kabob, trust me, it's kabab) mini sandwiches, and hotdog rolls (we don't have "pigs in a blanket" in the UAE lol) I still had to make Z2 a pharaoh costume. I remembered 4 nights before it was due. I still had time, so I thought. After sharing some modest ideas with Z2 I realized it couldn't just be any pharaoh costume, noooooo, this was serious business. It had to be a jackal. For crying out loud! I'm Egyptian, and honestly had no idea what a jackal was. No worries though, google saved the day, and then I wanted to cry. Anubis?!?! My son wanted to be the protector of the dead and embalming? For real? I guess King Tut is so 1999. Well, since the first night was officially wasted in research and negotiating an easier costume, I now had 3 days to make this...


I did a lot of praying, head scratching and sweating, a lot of SWEATING. Who was I kidding, this was impossible. Then an idea sparked. I could do a papier-mâché (paper mache) mask. My idea materialized  into this...

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Potty Chart For My Littlest Munchkin

Ok. Before you get all grossed-out, I just have to say this was a very exciting craft and even more exciting that my littlest munchkin, Z3, is FINALLY pooping in the potty. If you find little amusement in this you either A: don't have toddlers, or B: your toddler's been pooping in the potty for ages and by ages I mean like a month and you're so over it now.

So back to my toddler. I have three boys. Z1, Z2 and Z3 and they were all SOOOOO different when it came to potty training. Z3 was, by far, the hardest to train. It took a long time to get him to pee in the potty, but once he did it was golden! We've been smooth sailing for months now. When I "encouraged" him to poop in the potty, however, he would hold it in out of fear for at least 2 days claiming he didn't have to go. NOT GOOD. So, I followed the doctors orders and let Z3 decide when he was ready to poop in the potty. It came to a point though that enough was enough and I really had to do something to make the playdate with nature fun and appealing so he would go in the potty and stop holding it in. What better than a chart? A POOP CHART.

Toddlers and kids alike love, LOVE charts. They love charts to death and you know what they love even more than charts? STICKERS! Better yet, stickers on charts! Now we've hit the jackpot. Toddlers and kids love seeing their accomplishments materialize visually. Seriously, as soon as this chart came straight out the printer my toddler ran to the potty to poop so he could stick a sticker on his steaming hot fresh-out-the-oven poop chart!

Another 30 second DIY. I scanned Google for animated poop images. There was, of course, nothing to work with. Take my word for it. :o) Untill I came across this very cute graphic.

Tell me that isn't the cutest most kid-friendly poop pic you've ever seen!

It was perfect! Naturally, I emailed the hubster and ordered kindly asked him :o) to put together a simple chart with the days of the week surrounding the image. 

Pens In Disguise

Hey there friends. I realized that when I posted my charging station, my roses made a little guest appearance. I thought I should fill you in on a little secret. I think it's obvious that they are silk roses, and frankly I find nothing more ghetto than silk plants in home decor. Nothing beats the real deal. These, however, are not your ordinary ghetto flowers :o).

Monday, December 9, 2013

Decoupaged Charging Station With Marbled Paper

Hello all. The weather out here right now is amazing. I think I need to start a blogging graveyard shift so I can soak up the warm sun during the day. :o)))

Any way, you may have heard that Pantone announced Radiant Orchid as the 2014 color of the year. For those who are wondering what exactly is "Radiant Orchid" it's a shade of purple. :o) I know, color names have come along way since the prehistoric days of red, orange, yellow,green blue and purple lol.  And we thought indigo and violet were exotic names ha!

Back to my point. I was happy to hear they announced that color because I've been really feeling purple these days and wanted to bring more of it in my home. Aside from this quilt, I didn't have any other purple. I also wanted to do something with marble print. When I found this beautiful marble print in shades of purple I thought it would be perfect to use it on an old charging station we had laying around. I could finally bring in a dose of purple and setup one spot for us to charge all our phones. Woohoo! The supplies were just a few. Mod Podge, paint brush, paper slicer, marble prints, pencil.

`
Originally I got this print from PapeirRoyal, at their etsy shop, but not sure if this exact print is still available.
Charging station before.. So drab.
After! SO MUCH character! 

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Using Paper Clips to Hang Lightweight Objects

On one of my last visits to the thrift store just before we moved to Dubai, I dropped by the Salvation Army and was surprised to find they accepted Islam! Islamic goods, that is :-) For those of you who are not aware of the popular thrift store in the States, they are a Christian non-profit organization that uses the money they make from selling used items to sponsor programs helping those in need and on the side try to convert people to Christianity. So I was surprised to find this little beauty...

Transcribed in the plate is a verse from the Quran. Not sure the exact chapter it's from, but will update the post once I find out.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Soapstone and Wood Bowls from Kenya

Hey Debdoozlers! Hope you are all well. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I had stopped by the Global Village. While I was there I checked out the Africa booth. As if Africa was a single country (it's not). Did you know it's comprised of more than 50 countries? Fun fact for the day.  When I entered the stall, or what I like to call the market since it's much bigger than a stall, I checked out different booths and came upon one with products from Kenya. I wasn't planning on buying anything, but the temptation of the the cute stuff combined with pressuring salesmen left me with two new bowls to bring home. 

The first bowl that caught my eye was sea green in color, small, about about 3 inches in diameter, and ICE COLD to the touch. The hubster and I were really fascinated by its smooth cold texture. We found out it was made of soapstone. It's dug from underground and is a fascinating material. I wish my floors were made of it, then maybe my house would be cool in the summer. :o)) I also love that it has black in it which I've been trying to incorporate more into our home. 

Monday, December 2, 2013

Haute Hijab Inspired Box

Hello Debdoozlers! Happy December and happy project! Seriously, I love todays project. I think out of all the things I've done this project is my favorite. It's simple, really, a wooden box painted in polkadots. The inspiration came from a beautiful scarf designed and sold by Haute Hijab. Before I even thought about a DIY project featuring this signature look, I just wanted the scarf, but living in Dubai causes a lot of shipping issues. You see, we don't really have zip codes out here, shoot, we don't even  have mail boxes! Unless you have a private P.O. box, you'll end up facing companies who cannot ship to your front door, because your front door doesn't have a proper address. While most people can figure out where your home is because you're in between Choithrums and a cell tower, most companies need a real physical address. 

So after thinking about where I could get this scarf shipped to in the US and then have it later shipped to me in the UAE, It was SOLD OUT! ARRRRRRG! Someway, somehow I still had to have it though. 
I got to thinking and a lightbulb in the form of a wooden box popped up! How about I just paint a box I already have in the pattern of the Grace Kelly Wrap? Sounds like a great idea to me. Off I went collecting my supplies which were: 
A wooden box
Sanding block (medium grade)
Tack cloth or towel to wipe off dust
Painters tape (to tape off hinges)
Primer
Base color plus another color for the dots
Paintbrush for dots
Sealant spray to protect the final coat
Krylon Caramel Latte Brushed Metal in Satan (I could eat that color it's that yummy)
Apple Barrel Antique White.

I taped off the hinges. They were in perfect shape and I didn't want to ruin them with spray paint. 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Storage Baskets From Ikea

Hello all. Hope you have all awakened from your Thanksgiving food coma :o) Well, a couple of weeks ago I was at Ikea and came across a wonderful selection of baskets. I needed a couple in hopes of controlling the flood of balls and flip-slops that were consuming the hallway.

Yes, we live in the land of sand-als :o), and despite having an organized shoe cupboard, the sandals/ flip-flops were just always all over the place. Aside from that issue, we also had balls everywhere. Since it's usually so hot outside, we have to keep most of the balls indoors otherwise the heat just pulverizes them.  The rubber balls and other synthetic materials literally disintegrate from the heat without even being in direct sunlight. Even though the weather is cooler now, it's still better to keep them inside.

Exhibit A and B. FlIp FLoP DrAmA and that embarrassment of a ball basket. :-/ Don't judge. 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Mini Apple Turkeys

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am so excited as this will be my first  year celebrating Thanksgiving after two years being in Dubai, which prompted me to finally bring back my favorite apple turkey craft. I learned this craft when I was a little brownie in Girl Scouts and have been making these for my teachers, friends, and family ever since! It's a very fun craft  to decorate the table with ahead of time, or to save for the dinner party to bring the kids together.

Let's start with the supplies...
Red apples
Construction paper in fall colors (no need for thick card stalk)
Glue
toothpicks
scissors (not shown) 
pencil 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Perfectly White Room Thousands of Rainbow Stickers

When I came across this exhibit online, I couldn't help but share it with all you guys. A perfectly white room and thousands of multi-colord stickers to stick where ever you want and to your hearts content. What an idea! Unless it's your home :-O While that doesn't seem like a good idea one artist, Yayoi Kusama created the Obliteration Room and invited kids and adults alike to place stickers all over. The result was a magically colorful art piece.




You can watch the creation here.


-Debora

DIY Onesie With Clouds

Hey there folks! I hope you are all well, we can't complain over here. Though a few months ago I was ready to pull my hair out thanks to the youthful spirit of Z3, my youngest. I found my stinker mesmerized by the beauty of cobalt blue craft paint. Of course it wasn't as beautiful in its tiny tube as it was on the floor, on my curtains and on himself including his onesie. In all fairness though, his adventurous side could have been more disastrous considering the easy access to all my paint supplies.

I attempted to clean everything up, but to no avail. My curtains and his onesie were inevitably stained. Luckily the curtain stains are not too obvious and I had other onesies he could still wear, but this one was not worth throwing away. Instead of being annoyed by the random stains on it, I thought, how about experimenting with my fabric markers? It couldn't go wrong since the onesie was already ruined, and actually it ended up like new!

Marvy Uchida brand fabric markers. Originally purchased from Michaels in the States, but they might be available at the Craft Supply store in Barsha for UAE residents. 
Random blue paint stains.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Blending Soapy Water to Clean Out a Blender- Does it Really Work?

Hello virtual friends. Hope you're all well on your end of the earth. Today I wanted to share a little test I did at home. I saw an image roaming around the web about "how easy" it is to clean your blender by just blending soapy water in it. I found it hard to believe that the ENTIRE blender including the the blade base and rubber ring that stops the liquid from leaking would get clean. So I gave it a try at home and wanted to share the results with you all.

I filled up the canister with warm soapy water...
I gave it a few spins...

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Spiritual Friday: Imagine Your Home Occupied

Hey there Debdoozler's. Apologies' for yet another belated Spiritual Friday post. But here I am now, reflecting on life, my home, the homes of others and in some instances the lack-there-of. There have recently been tragic losses of homes around the world due to natural disasters, but there have also been consistent losses, more like evil occupation of homes by cruel, mean political people who've hijacked peaceful religions in the name of their evil politics.

First the backstory. This past weekend I went to Dubai's famous Global Village, where you can tour the world in just a few hours. Different countries set up mini markets filled with the best products that represent their country. From food, to clothes to souvenirs, the world was at our fingertips. So off we went, the hubster and I, to get some essentials, plus a couple of impulse buys.

Our first country: Palestine. The necessity: Olive Oil. This wasn't your ordinary olive oil from Italy, or Costco ;o) This was special olive oil. PALISTINIAN olive oil. Only 'the best in the world' olive oil. The hubster's co-worker recommended it to him and in turn convinced me we should get it. He purchased this lovely oil once a year and raved that it was THE BEST! 
The Palestinian market at Global Village (2014)

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Chain Link Furniture In Home Design

Hello, hello! It's officially the weekend, TGIT (thank God it's Thursday :-P) Let's talk about chain links a bit. They've been on my mind since my last trip to the states. I would have never thought to use them in home decor, but when I saw a chain link floor candle holder in person I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I'm not sure if I could make it work in my own home, but I am definitely admiring the idea and who knows maybe I can make it work without a forced look. 

Love at first sight...
Chain link floor candle holder part of a display at Nordstrom's, Topanga Mall

When I saw that display my first thought was, could that be used in a home? Why not? Well, unless you have little tikes who'll knock it over in a heartbeat, but aside from that it would be cute. So I scoped out the net for inspiration and came across this cute room. Talk about character. 

DIY Painted Rock Bookends

Hey there folks! I have a super easy DIY to share today. I was inspired by a pin on Pinterest so due credit must go where it is deserved! On the scale of difficulty it was super easy! Let's check out the supplies...

Two rocks (got mine from the front yard)
Toothbrush  
Primer
Two colors of your choice (preferably one metallic 
I used Sea Glass green mixed with gold + gold metallic spray)

I started off by washing the rocks since they were covered in dirt. The toothbrush will get any dirt in the small crevices. If you don't clean it well you risk paint chipping in the future. 
 
After they were cleaned I set them out to dry in the sun. Again, if it's a little wet the paint will not hold well. I gave them a prime coat to make sure the color would hold.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Missing Craigslist

Hello all. Hope you are all well. I was randomly surfing Dubizzle, the UAE version of Craigslist, the other night and I became beyond frustrated. It's the same story every time. Options are few and far between and most items will fall under one of three categories: used Ikea furniture, used ridiculously expensive "high end" furniture, or tacky used custom made crap. This is ex-pat land and you'll find the market filled with used furniture, but it's all the same! Ikea is definitely the go-to one-stop-shop for everything home related, but then you have those who have to have "quality" furniture and buy very VERY expensive furniture that's just as crappy as Ikea. Anything in between those two is crap.

This is a young country, shoot, my husband is older than this country I kid you not. Because it's such a young country finding cool vintage furniture is almost impossible out here unless someone happened to ship it here from their own country. So to get myself out of a dumpy mood I headed on over to Craigslist choosing my hometown of Los Angeles and found some cool pieces of furniture that I had to share with you all.

This couch is gorgeous as it is, but the lines and toile  are a bit too classic for me. A more modern fabric on the traditional frame would give it such a nice twist.


Sunday, November 17, 2013

Spiritual Friday: Giant Pears Remind Me of Rehab Al-Buri

Hello All!! I know it's not Friday, but I didn't want the week to pass without at least one spiritual reflection post, especially since it's been a long while since I last posted a reflective post. What sparked today's reflection was a giant glass pear I've been spotting for the past few months. Have you ever seen a giant decorative glass pear? Does it make you think of anything in particular? Probably not, but for me it does.

When I first stumbled, and continued to see these glass pears at the store I would think of two things: wooden pears from Target and Rehab Al-Buri, may Allah have mercy on her soul. Rehab's name is an Arabic word, it is not the English word that means 'to get better'. Coincidentally though, she was a cancer patient who was trying to get better. So she started a blog called Life in Rehab. Clever lady from the start! She was also an aspiring journalist and a "young Muslimah trying her best".

An assortment of glass pears and a pumpkin for a hint of extra temptation lol.

I stumbled upon her blog less than a day after she passed away. I was heart broken to see her go, but happy to catch a glimpse of all that she learned from her journey. She reminded me that as a human I will struggle with temptations, but it's never too late to start working on those temptations. She learned to be patient and not complain. She was an epic reminder of how short life is and used her short time to reflect on EVERYTHING in her life. She shared one of her struggles with shopping in her post, Hijab Swap, which stuck with me forever. 

"By far, my biggest offense occurred several months before my surgery when I told my husband I was going to Target to buy a few essential items...and that's what I was doing, until I stumbled upon this giant wooden pair [sic] in the kitchen aisle. The little shopping monster in me (aka my nafs) ordered me to buy the good-for-nothing giant pair, [sic] and I followed the orders obediently. Needless to say, my husband had a ball teasing me about how "essential" giant pears are- I couldn't say anything because, as creative as I can be, I couldn't think of a single use for it."
The giant glass pear that always reminds me of Rehab.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

How to Revive Dried-Out Markers

Good morning all! Hope you are all in the the best of health and happiness and if your not, remember those in the Philippines, because they could really use all our prayers right now. Helping others is great medicine for the hurting soul. Hopefully today's post will brighten your day or at least your markers ;o) 

I don't know about you, but getting ready to do art projects with the kids only to find that all your markers are dried out is such a bummer. Markers are not cheap and I refuse to invest so much money in them. So once upon a time, a few years ago to be exact, I experimented with water to see if I could revive the ink. AND IT WORKED! It's the most simple and cheapest way to get your kids' markers back in tip top shape! All you need is water (either in the sink or fill a small bowl) and a bucket/cup/holder for the markers. 
Clockwise starting from top left photo:
 First, test out your marker on paper to make sure it's dry.
 Secondly, for only a few seconds either dip it and swirl it around in water or

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

DIY Curtain Rod Finial

Greetings everyone! Hope you are all doing well! I have a project that I am so proud to share. It's nothing big, but the fact that I was able to fix something and give it another life feels GREAT! You see, I had this simple decorative curtain rod that came with cute finials. After we moved to Dubai I couldn't find a place to use it, and by the time my husband and finished flip-flopping between where we should hang it and actually having the energy to hang it, the finials broke. :-(. It was a sad death, but you know what's even more sad? The first finial broke in pieces, I fixed it, and it broke AGAIN! It broke two more times even before the second finial finally broke as well. We were bad parents to these finials, but I HAD to save the rods. They were in perfect shape and I needed to hang them ASAP.

So after a little bit of thinking a lightbulb flashed! How about making a simple pair of finials from clay? I am sure it's possible, only two ways to find out though. Google it and see if someone else tried it already, or do it yourself and see how it turns out. I did both lol.

The Materials I used were simple : 
Air drying clay
knife (to make designs in clay)
spray prime and paint (Satan Caramel Latte by Krylon)
hot glue to adhere
ribbon to hide seems
New finials on the right and left side of the original rod.
The original finial (left pic) broke off it's base (right pic).
 I saved the base for a new clay finial.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Planting Flowers in a Painted Vase

Hey all! I have a very quick trick to share with you all today. Painted vases are so popular. They add a lot of color to a home in an instant and are probably one of the cheapest DIY's out there. The only problem with them is that you can't actually put plants in them because the paint will eventually dissolve away from watering the plant. So I thought of a quick fix that can work with wide mouth vases and another trick for narrow vases.

This vase was clear glass, I poured a generous amount of yellow and cream paint on the bottom. After swirling the paint around the vase and leaving it to dry upside down I got a beautiful effect. 

Thursday, November 7, 2013

The "High" Life

Growing up in California, I've lived in houses and apartments alike. As far as apartment buildings go, the tallest building I've ever lived in was a measly three stories. We lived on the second floor. My former Turkish teacher, however lives in the 40-something level of her building out here in Dubai. I had nightmares after the first visit to her place.  Check out the panoramic view I caught from her balcony.

To the far left is the Gulf and a faint Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah. In the center is the slight shadow of the massive Burj Khalifa. You can also see Jumeirah Beach road and I believe Shaikh Zayd rd.

If you had to live in an apartment, what's the highest floor you would consider? 

While you enjoy the view please excuse me while I take something for my vertigo :oP. Thanks for stopping by!

-Debora 



It's Been a While

Hey there folks! Hope this post reaches you all in the best of health and happiness. Well it's been exactly 3 months since my last post and I thought I should give you all an update on where I've been. It's taken me way to long to get back into the groove of blogging, but I'm finally back.

Since Ramadan, life has been spiraling out of routine and for me getting out of routine and back on track again is like trying to walk straight after riding the tea cups at Disneyland. For a week. Basically, it's hard. I had a lot on my plate these last three months. Between traveling, struggling with my health, dealing with my kids' school and seriously considering and trying out homeschooling, blogging was put on the back burner.

Thank God life has just begun to feel normal again, plus the whether is down to the mid 90's which makes it easier to take the kids out to play and I can now breath. I'm being very serious about the breathing. Try spending three months straight in a sauna and that would be Summer time in Dubai.

I hope you all understand and will continue to support me on my journey by following along. I have a backlog of projects to post and I'm very excited to share, so here we go!

I have new projects to share this week, but for now here are some pics I've taken of paper decor hanging down from the ceiling at Dubai Mall and a couple silhouette photos of the Shaykh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. I love that mosque. Enjoy!

 Thousands of paper butterfly's hanging down @ Dubai Mall.
Same butterfly's, different angle. 

More paper butterfly's in a different section of Dubai Mall. 

Burj Khalifa playing peekaboo :o) 

Single minaret at Shaykh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi. 

Same minaret with different exposure.


As always I am grateful that you stopped by. New posts will be up this week!

-Debora 



Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Mosque Architecture

I love finding exploring new mosques. I love admiring the details put in by the builder and reflecting on the Islamic patterns used in the design that seem to never get old or go out of style. We recently found a new mosque in Dubai. I don't know the official name of it, but it is located in the Jumeirah Beach area near Burj Al Arab. It was simple, but so beautiful I had to share pics that Z1 and i took of it. Since we were there for the Taraweeh prayers, all the pics are taken at night.


How to Water Your Plants While Traveling

Hello folks! Hope you are enjoying your summer as much as I've been enjoying Ramadan. Part of the joys of summer and the holiday of Ramadan is visiting family and friends and some times that includes traveling. The life of an ex-pat alone is destined to excessive traveling. While it can be fun, there is definitely a burden that comes with taking care of my plants while I'm gone. I love plants and wish I had half as many plants as I had back home, but I limited myself to a few because I knew keeping them alive in the heat of hell Dubai would be a challenge. 

Shortly after moving to Dubai, I bought three plants and before we knew it, we were on our way back to the USA for our first visit home. I had asked my neighbor if she could take care of my plants while we were gone. Sensing the reluctance in her voice I decided not to take her "help" and knowing that I would be traveling more often than not, I quickly realized I needed a better long term solution to water my plants while away. 

At that time, I hadn't thought of this idea I'm about to share. What I did instead, which also worked great, was slightly over water my plants for roughly ten days before my departure, to insure the soil would be moist enough for the duration of my trip. Everyday for ten days I watered my plants keeping the soil very moist and squishy in texture. I don't know that a true gardener would be happy with that idea, but it worked. The soil was pre saturated with enough water to feed the plants for at least 15 days in my absence. My plants were in tip top shape during the EXTREME summer heat of Dubai. I also had the air-condition, or "air-con" as they say out here, scheduled throughout the trip to keep the plants and house cool. 

I later remembered these watering bulbs and an idea was born! How about using my olive oil and other miscellaneous bottles? The concept is the same, but the "watering bulb" is just in a different shape. Off I went gathering different bottles I collected overtime.

Olive Oil bottles.
Decorative bottle that was filled with dried corn from 99 cent store. You can use any bottle that has a thin neck and small opening. Wide necks and wide openings will let out too much water too fast. The point is to release a little bit of water at a time over the span of your time away. 
Filled up with water...
...and stuck it right in the soil. Make sure it's deep enough or the bottle will fall out. 

Tada! And it's square-ish shape is so cute. 
Because it's clear, it's practically camouflaged by the leaves. 
I use bottles that are in portion to the size of the plant. If the plant is too small and bottle is too big, the bottle will  fall out. If the bottle isn't big enough, there will not be enough water for the duration of the your trip.
Can't even see it. 
I used a bigger bottle at one point for a longer trip, but again you can't even see it. 
 Peek-a-boo! 
This plant is being restored back to life, hence the sparse leave. 
 For my tiniest plant I used a couple medicine droppers for the same effect. 
This plant is very tiny and couldn't take anything bigger. I ended up putting three droppers which I am sure will be enough. 
A few empty olive oil bottles, or any bottle with a thin neck and small mouth, or even medicine droppers for small plants will do the trick. Water is dripped as the plant needs for perfect watering while you are on vacation. Plants are happy, I am happy EVERYONE is (hopefully) happy :o) Hope you liked this post and thanks or stopping by! 

-Debora











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