Conservatory of Flowers

The Transamerica building made out of old computer keyboards with the aluminum spire made out of CD discs. It was one of the buildings on the garden railroad at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in the Golden Gate Park has special exhibits that last a few months at a time. We came across an article on the internet about a garden railway exhibit but it was set to end this last weekend. It just so happened that we were able to go down and see it before the last day.
Garden railways are often found outdoors but this one was inside the building. The theme of the railway was San Francisco buildings made out of recycled items. Eleven landmark San Francisco structures were on the railway and it was interesting to try to figure out what was used to build them.
For instance, the Ghirardelli building was made out of light switch covers. Another building was built entirely of old cassette tapes. The Transamerica building was made out of old computer keyboards with the aluminum spire made out of CD discs.
The railway was a combined effort of many individuals and was constructed in only eight days. It consists of three separate loops of track that continually run trains without needing an operator.
The regular exhibits were also nice to go through. The Conservatory of Flowers is a large building that is divided into several environmental zones.
Upon entering the building the first zone is the lowland tropics, the next zone is the highland tropics, then the next is aquatic plants. There is also a section for potted plants and the section for special exhibits. Each zone is independently climate controlled for both temperature and humidity to resemble the climate from which the plants are native. In one it might be very warm and humid, but the next zone might be cool and much dryer.
The special exhibit is changed periodically. Starting May 7 and going to November they will have an exhibit called Edible Expeditions. Details are at: http://www.conservatoryofflowers.
Featured plants in this exhibit produce many food products that we use every day, such as chocolate, vanilla, coffee, rice and spices. According to conservatory descriptions, various demonstrations will explain how the food goes from the plant to the finished product.
The Conservatory of Flowers was completely rebuilt about seven years ago. They display over 1750 species of plants from dozens of countries, including Brazil and the Philippines. There are about 16,800 window panes in the building which are all whitewashed to reduce the light and heat intensity and to maintain the historical appearance.
The structure of the building is made mostly out of redwood, because it will not rot in the high humidity present in some areas. About two-thirds of the redwood was salvaged from the original building and reused in the present building.
The Conservatory of Flowers was a great experience. And it is within walking distance of several other attractions, such as the Museum of Science and the Art Museum. Our only advice in going is to get there early, as parking is quite limited.

More repurposed denim

Denim parrot and oatmeal canister covered in decorated denim. All denim used is from worn out jeans.

Great ideas are coming in. Several readers have given us suggestions for more things to be made with used denim jeans. Also one reader emailed us about a TV antenna he built that was similar to the one we wrote about several weeks ago in this column.
The web site he referred to in making his antenna is at: http://vimeo.com/2931902?pg=embed&sec=.
The denim ideas suggested are:
One reader called and said her mother cut squares out of used jeans and made a quilt. In the past we had heard about others that did this so we tried one too. Then about half way through we decided it was too heavy for us but not all was lost. We made it into a dog bed which we wrote about in our Aug. 24, 2007 blog "Dog bed."
Another reader emailed this idea: "My favorite use for recycling jeans when my sons were young was to turn the best fabric left into bean bags. We then gave a half dozen or so to the older sibling of a new baby when we delivered a baby gift. My own boys loved trying to toss the bags into a big plastic bucket on rainy days."
We also found more ideas to make using denim. One is at: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/04/how-to_make_a_nature_can.html. It is an empty oatmeal canister covered with denim and decorated with felt cutouts. We made a similar one but used iron-on appliqués and various trims instead of the felt cutouts.
Next we came across a parrot pattern, Simplicity 3691, that suggested fleece fabric be used for their birds. We instead used denim.
Using denim was a little difficult to work with but it is doable. This was not a quick and easy project but if you really want one it does work. Fleece fabric is expensive and used denim is free. That made the difference for us.
Of course we never follow a pattern exactly. We started with view B and cut out all the pieces from blue denim except for the eye pieces. Those we cut from a used white twill pair of pants.
Next we sewed around the wing, tail and feet pieces about a fourth-inch in from the edge. Then we frayed the edges. The feet also have wire in them to make the bird stand up.
After machine sewing the bird body according to directions we attached the wings, tail and feet by hand. Then for the eyes we used a permanent black marker to draw the eyes and lines around the eyes.
This parrot is just for decoration and not a toy because of the wire used to make it stand up. But we found another child-friendly variation of this bird on the internet that used polyester fabric from outdated garments.
Pictures and explanations about changes are at: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=276223.0. They are changed to look a little more cartoonish.
Keep those ideas coming. It is fun to see and hear about what others are doing.

Repurposed denim jeans

Bucket bag pictured is repurposed from worn out denim jeans. Second photo shows extra strip to be sewn under butted together side seams.

Worn out denim jeans have been piling up at our house. Patches and mending can make jeans last a longer than normal life but even that comes to an end. We have used the worn out jeans for some craft projects in the past but still have piles of them.
In our search for ideas on how to make them useful again we came across a website on the internet that showed how to make bucket bags. The pattern used new fabrics but we thought worn out jeans would be just perfect for this idea.
Detailed directions are at: http://woolfoodmama.typepad.com/weblog/2007/06/my_bucket_bag_p.html. We used the dimensions given as a guideline for making our bucket but made ours a little larger.
Using the parts of the jeans that still have wear left in them we made a sample bucket bag. The lower portion of the legs worked great for the bucket sides. Further up on the back side of the legs was good for the bucket bottom. Strips for the handles came from other portions of the back legs.
First we cut the inside seams of the legs open. Laying them open flat we measured each for half the length of the bucket side and then double for the height. This way the outside leg seam is the top seam of the bucket. To avoid sewing over the thick side seams we cut one-inch wide fabric strips from another good part of the jeans, placed them under the side seams, then butt the seams together instead of overlapping them. We used a wide zigzag stitch to sew these seams together.
For decoration we sewed various widths and colors of rickrack and trims around the sides of the bucket and on the sides of the handle. The rickrack was hand sewn and the cording was sewn in the handle seams by machine.
To cover the bucket side seams we used wide bias tape sewed on with a decorative machine stitch. We also used a wide folded over trim to go around the outside bottom of the bucket instead of making the seam on the inside.
All the trims came from our stash that has grown over the years. As with all our craft supplies, we pick up trims from thrift stores, yard sales and even friends who are discarding things they no longer want.
These buckets are great to keep craft supplies in. They would also be good for children to keep toys in. If not enough drawer space is available for clothes the buckets could be used to keep socks and underwear in.
Used jean fabric can be used in many other ways. Our June 20, 2008 blog “Creative gift wrapping” shows how we used the legs from worn out jeans to make gift bags.
We would love to hear of other uses for used jeans. All ideas are welcome. Please leave comments.

Update: One of our readers called and said her mother made a quilt out of used jeans. We tried this once but about half way through we decided it was too heavy for us but not all was lost. We made it into a dog bed cover which we wrote about in our Aug. 24, 2007 blog "Dog Bed."
Another reader emailed this idea: "My favorite use for recycling jeans when my sons were young was to turn the best fabric left into bean bags. We then gave a half dozen or so to the older sibling of a new baby when we delivered a baby gift. My own boys loved trying to toss the bags into a big plastic bucket on rainy days.
Thanks for the ideas."

Improving digital TV

Homemade HDTV antenna.

The digital TV transition is here. For those that depend on an antenna to receive over-the-air TV broadcasts, getting the new digital signals may be a problem, even with converter box or using a new TV with a digital tuner.
Digital signals do not propagate as well as the old broadcasts. They can be blocked by buildings, hills or even trees.
The solution in many cases is to install a more sensitive antenna. Old rabbit ears and even older rooftop antennas may not be as effective as they once were.
We found an easy and inexpensive antenna project on the internet. It can be built in a couple of hours.
Directions are at: http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com/2007/01/post-any-questions-or-comments.html.
We built ours with scrap wood, four metal coat hangers, aluminum foil and a 75-300 ohm matching transformer. These are the steps we followed:
- Find a piece of scrap plywood, paneling or stiff cardboard 30 by 16 inches.
- Cover one side with aluminum foil.
- Attach a 2x4 to the foiled side of the panel. The 2x4 should be long enough to be useable as a stand.
- Cut out the “head” of each coat hanger. Then cut the bottom in half to make two vees from each hanger for a total of eight. Trim each vee to have seven-inch legs. Sand the elbow part to allow for electrical contact when assembled.
- Measure from the top of the 2x4, equally dividing the area of the 2x4 that covers the aluminum panel into four parts. Ours is seven-inches on center.
- Attach vees and hookup wire at the marked positions on the 2x4 with wood screws and washers. For wire we used leftover Romex wire, but any wire will do, even a straightened coat hanger. If a coat hanger is used sand it where it contacts the vees.
- There are two hookup wires, one for the right and one for the left. The wires are crossed at both the top and bottom vees. Insulate the wires where they cross.
- In the center of the 2x4, between the top and bottom two sets of vees, install the matching transformer. Attach the transformer leads to the hookup wires. Make sure the hookup wires do not touch each other.
Attach the antenna to a base of some sort. Then connect it to the TV (or converter box). We had excellent results with our antenna just sitting on the floor. It can also be installed in an attic or on the roof if it is built of durable materials.
The antenna is directional, meaning that it needs to be pointed at the broadcasting station for best reception. However, we found that ours worked just fine without aiming.
Broadcast station location and compass directions to aim an antenna are at: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx. It is a marketing tool, but entering only a zip code will produce a list of broadcast TV stations for your area.
Improved signals are possible without spending a bundle. Try it for yourself.