Dividing Perennial Daylilies and Other Plants in the Garden-VIDEO & WRITTEN DIY
Spring and fall are the perfect times to divide your perennials. Today weu2019re dividing daylilies and you can do the same with all kinds of plants. Theyu2019re very easy to divide and for many perennial flowers thatu2019s how you get more plants.
Watch the Video tutorial I made. If you prefer written DIY’s you’ll find that below.
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Daylilies can be cross pollinated pretty easily, so even if you did get seeds, unless youu2019re the only neighbor with them, it probably wonu2019t have true traits of the parent plant. That’s how new varieties are made and they can be pretty amazing. Hard to get plants can be divided.
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They’re very easy to divide and actually looked better if you divide them every few years. Itu2019ll give you more plants to spread around your yard or to share. Perennials are not usually propagated by taking a cutting and putting them in water like tropical houseplants are. (Though many can, but that’s not what this is about.) For most plants you have to divide the roots to make a clone of the plant. Itu2019s really easy.
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Daylilies, meadow sages, lambs ear, yarrow, bee balm, hyssop and more are divided like this.
As a general rule, however large the plant is on top, itu2019s probably got similar sized roots. Well established plants can have massive roots.
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Dig the roots out with a shovel or pitchfork carefully digging all the way around it so you donu2019t break the roots off. Clean the root of dirt just enough so you can see them well and divide them in half.
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If you bought a bare root plant, this is how it would come, with the roots washed of all the soil.
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If I hadnu2019t been able to coax and pull the roots apart apart easily, I would have used a knife or shovel and cut the whole root ball in half.
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Itu2019s really that easy. Make sure that any foliage has plenty of roots to support the new plant. Many of them can be divided several times, as I did here.
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Plant the new plants in the garden with compost for organic nutrients that break down over time and will continue to feed it all year. You can also plant it in a pot to give away as Iu2019m doing. Water them and youu2019re done. Keep them watered until established, then you have a whole new garden plant!
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I hope youu2019ve enjoyed this tutorial on I Breathe I DIY! Please share it with anyone who could use it.
Since many of us have kids out of school right now, I figured this is the perfect time to announce my latest project. I didn’t want to tell anyone until it was nearly finished, you know…not to add too much pressure on myself.
I finished a book and published it in January! Rise of the Pharaoh Cats- A Monster-Hunting Adventure with the LIFERS. I’ve recently added a BOOKS tab to my webpage, so they can be found easily as I publish more blog posts and tutorials in the coming months.
I haven’t posted regularly in a while and that’s because I’ve been writing educational middle grade books! If you’re cooped up inside like we are, check it out and it’s free if you have Kindle Unlimited.
Very few people knew that I’ve recently finished writing, designing, and self-publishing my second fictional novel. I’m pushing myself beyond my normal barriers, and sharing this great accomplishment with more than just my mom.
The second book in this series I’ve already written and my editor has it now! I’ll be starting the third one next week.
While there’s a gazillion reasons why I could have written this book, the real reason was that I want to write THIS book series is to spark the imagination and a life-long love of reading in busy children. My son found his love of reading at a young age, but not all kids do.
In the FIRST book in the series has vocabulary words for grades 4th-8th, ancient Egyptian Cats, and a fast-paced fantasy adventure with the LIFERS: Lifeless-Inhumane-Feral-Exctraction-Recovery-Squad. It has 20 illustrations and drawings.
The SECOND book will be available soon. The Werewolf Blues- A Monster-Hunting Adventure with the LIFERS.
Get your copy today! These make a great gifts for the middle graders and elementary teachers in your life.
It’s been a while since I released a tutorial but this is a great one. This was done last summer, and I’ve finished the video for you. I designed and remodeled my kitchen and powder room myself, which took loads of my time… once a wall was removed by my wonderful contractor.
Today I’m going to show you how you can use rich, bold color stain on unfinished (or previously stripped) cabinetry. The vibrant hue I chose, highlights the natural beauty of the maple wood. I love the bold design element that it adds to the entire floor of the house.
When you needed to make a mold of something, there’s several products to choose from out there. One of the easiest products to find is the Amazing Brand Mold Putty system. You can find it at all box craft stores for under $20 and if you bring your coupon, it’s even cheaper. If you can’t find it in your area you can find it here (I make a small commission should you purchase it here).
Here I’ll show you how to use the Amazing Mold Putty for flawless results, give my honesty review, and explain its ideal uses.
There are a lot of different mold making supplies and brands out there to choose from. How do you choose which ones right for you? This review will help you decide if a flexible silicone mold is the right choice for the project.
You open the box and there are two canisters inside. One of them has white silicone and one of them has yellow silicone inside. Leave these closed until you’re going to use them.
You can get several uses when molding small items
To make a mold you use equal parts of part A and part B and mix them together in your hands. Avoid using the same utensil in both containers, unused parts shouldn’t touch the other part.
You need to work quickly because there’s a chemical reaction that takes place when the touch each other and this one will set up fairly quickly. When they’ve made a lighter yellow color and they’re completely mixed, make a ball out of it and press your item to be molded into the surface of the ball. Doing it this way will ensure there’s a flat surface on the bottom of the mold so it’s not difficult to pour liquid into later.
The things that you can make using this product are endless. You can make new buttons, beads, jewelry, the
list goes on and on. And on and on.
What are some qualities of the Amazing silicone mold putty?
It’s a very easy to work with system. It’s kind of like playing with clay. You really do just mix equal parts together. There’s no weighing anything out you just visually match equal parts. You’ve got 2-3 minutes to work with it (its pot-life) and make your mold.
You can very easily press shapes into it. You can also easily press it into shapes if you’ve made your own creations out of clay.
This mold was pressed onto the shape by hand
You can shape it around an object using gentle pressure. I’ve created more complex molds with it this way and even things I held while it cured. When you press your object into it it’s easy to manipulate it around tiny details on the edges.
It works best with buttons, broaches, and other one sided things. It’s really not meant to be used if you’re trying to make something 3D.
It’s not overly complex, there’s no stinky fumes, and it doesn’t have long cure times. It cures completely in about 15 minutes!
This product is pretty mess free as far as mold making supplies go. There are zero runny liquids to deal with like latex and other silicone.
Flexible mold material makes it easy to retrieve your creations
Once it’s cured it creates a mold that’s fairly flexible, but pretty ridged. It’s not at all hard like plaster. If you make it flex too far it could tear. Once again, this is great for little shapes and objects pressed into the top of the surface.
No need for a mother mold or support. Unlike some other mold making supplies this doesn’t need any kind of additional support to be a mold . It’s just a rigid enough to hold itself up without needing a lot of product.
This product holds fine details really well. Even very fine details in your object will be reproduced in the mold.
This mold reproduced fine details in my project
This makes a more sturdy mold and than latex, and will break down slower over time than latex.
Silicone molds can be reused many times if you use a spray release or release on them every time you cast something like a resin into it. A silicone mold, like many other molds will pull moisture from the mold, so using the release in it means you can use the mold multiple times. If it’s a one-time-use mold you don’t need to worry about a mold release.
This is a very easily a product to find and purchase and almost all the box crafts stores carry it.
You can easily cast resin into this mold
Cons
It’s not suitable for reusing a LOT of times. I think I’ve gotten around 10 casts from one mold before it starts deteriorating. This means it will lose detail and it’ll actually flake off in your resin creations.
Your idea of a lot of times may differ, but I have cast hundreds of the same thing from this stuff and just gotten about 10 from an individual mold.
It can tear while you’re de-molding or getting your stuff out of it. If your object is really embedded in it, or you tried to make it mold a very complicated shape, it can be too difficult to get an item or cast item back out without tearing the mold.
Overall I recommend the Amazing brand silicone mold putty as an easy to use mold making material that doesn’t require any previous experience in mold making. Whether you’re a first time user or an experienced user you’ll achieve similar results. You can make outstanding custom pieces with these molds or reproduce an irreplaceable button like a pro.
If you’re anything like me, time can get away from you and
before you know it, you’re really far behind. I haven’t posted in a while, and
that’s because we went through some huge changes, here at I Breathe I DIY. This
blog and site will be undergoing massive changes in the next weeks. I have
wanted to post tutorials for you, but I saved them up for the next really big
thing this site is doing!
This blog was originally started as two long-term friends getting together and doing DIYs. That changed drastically, and Sara is no longer with the company since Dec, leaving me to try to find the inspiration to keep it going. I’ve also not wanted to deal with it honestly, because I’m in pain from losing a dear friend, due to holding onto my own personal boundaries. Also, since we’re being honest, I’m not completely satisfied with the massive companies we chose to affiliate with, and want to shake things up. I want to support local and small business more, and things I personally use.
I ended up trying to continue with the DIYs by myself, because I have so many wonderful followers, and I get great suggestions, and input from my viewers. My heart wasn’t in it though, and I had to find a new way to share my love of art, design, sewing, sculpting, and to show you my professional designs with this new blog and site. I’m liquidating this blog & adding it to part of my personal artist’s site.
Starting in the next weeks, this blog will be changingto Betsy Katz Designs and you will get to follow my projects, commissions, remodeling, etc, through the blog. The new site will highlight my art portfolio, fine art photography, sculptures, novels, interior design, wearable art, products for sale, and oh my gosh, so much more. Â
Because I love teaching you how I do the things that I do, I’ll continue to make tutorials and videos to share with you.  I have so many techniques, reviews, and tutorials to share with you, but to be true to myself, I have to be myself – and that means ending I Breathe I DIY.
Thank you for being patient while this chapter ends, and a new one begins. As always, thank you for your support and time. I’m excited to be able to let you into my world, and I hope you enjoy the changes!
I took this tired looking black cabinet, with beautiful curves in all the right places, and gave it an updated look. This cabinet was so heavy looking, sitting on the floor with solid black paint. This seems to have suffered a bit of water damage at some point, but not so much that it can’t be saved. Now it’s getting a new finish, to go in a much more refined space.
The material it’s made from is not wood, it’s a pressed board wood, similar to masonite, or a hollow-core door. I can tell, because of how swollen it is in a couple places- because of water damage.
If you would prefer to learn by watching check out this short video I made.
If the damage isn’t severe, the surface can be repaired like this:
The very first thing to do, is gently sand the surfaces that are swollen. Make them more level with the rest of the surface. Try not to over-work the Then seal them with a paintable caulk to prevent the material from falling apart more. Make sure to use a product you can paint over, silicone won’t work, but acrylic caulk will. A primer like KILZ was applied over the fixed areas. We’re just smoothing it out, sealing, and preventing damage from painting it later.
Once that’s dry, it’s on to the refinishing. I am not using wood stripper. The pressed wood it’s made from, would be ruined from pulling off the paint, and then soaking it in liquid. Ruined. The steps below, will show you everything you need to know, without stripping anything off of it.
Fill any cracks, or dings with caulk and smooth it out with you finger. Places where wood meets wood and there’s a gap, fill those too. This will give it a polished, professional look when it’s done.
Step 1:
Lightly sand the surface with a fine to medium grit sand paper to scuff up the surface. Do this to everything you’ll be painting. If it’s a glossy surface to begin with, just make sure you scuff it up really well so the paint can stick.
Wipe down the surface with a barely-damp cloth, to remove all the dust from sanding and let it dry.
NOTE: This step is what will make everything stick to the surface. If it has a thick glossy coat of sealer, make sure it’s dull when you’re finished.
Step 2:
Paint the first coat of your base coat, on the surface. I used a brush and painted each section in long strokes to keep it smooth. This technique looks best when the surface is very smooth. You’ll end up with a completely different effect if the surface is bumpy, which we’ve used on other DIY’s. Click here to see the Mirror redo Video DIY I did here.
Note: I tried to use a foam roller first, and it left little bubbles on the surface that I had to smooth out with a brush. It wasn’t worth the expense.
Apply a second coat of paint, keeping it smooth. Let that dry for at least 24 hrs. If you’re painting the inside of your cabinet, like I did, you can do that now too.
I chose the paint color Ocean Storm by Valspar for my base coat. This color will show and I want it to have a very deep, aged look when I’m finished. As it wears and is used, this base coat will show through a bit.
You can see the shiny parts that are covered in leaf adhesive
Step 3
Apply leaf adhesive with a soft brush in small sections. Let it dry for the time it says on the label. It will become clear and tacky to the touch.
NOTE: Only apply adhesive to an area you can cover with leaf in one sitting. Adhesive can dry too much and become non-tacky.
Step 4
Carefully remove a sheet of silver leaf from the pack and cover an area with it. Overlap sheets slightly so it covers your creases. Smooth it out with a soft brush. Continue until the entire area with adhesive is covered with silver leaf.
When an entire area is finished, use the brush to remove any extra from the surface.
NOTE: Hands must be clean and dry or leaf will stick to them.
Step 5
Use glossy polyurethane over the finished silver leaf, so that it’ s easier to do the next steps, without rubbing off the silver leaf. Coat it entirely with the Gloss polyurethane. Let it dry completely.
NOTE: Water based varieties make clean up a breeze. Quick dry products are a lifesaver.
Step 6
Mix your glaze by adding 1:1 latex paint and glaze. Stir it thoroughly. I used a similar grey to my base coat. You can use any color you want for this, I nearly used purple as a pop of color over the silver, but decided on gray for an antique look.
Glaze painted into crevices
Work in small sections like one side at a time. Using a brush, paint any detail and edges with you glaze mixture. You do not want to cover everything because your silver will dull down. Apply it into any detail or trim. Wipe it off with a damp rag, turning/rinsing your rag frequently. Use a light hand, and remove the glaze from areas you don’t want it. If you wipe too much of it from the crevices, just paint more on & wipe more gently.
When you’ve covered it, let it dry. Apply polyurethane if you want. I’m not because I want it to naturally get worn from use, showing some of the base coat.
Step 7
Add decorative door handles to finish it off. I snagged these crystal glass ones at a Home Goods for under $10 for 4 of them.
You’re all done! You’ve created a new life, for you or your client’s piece of furniture. It has a stunningly glamorous high-end look for much less than you would buy it for.
I hope you are inspired to use this technique on something amazing!
Just a pop of color you’ll only see when you open it.
-Betsy
Please Share this post with anyone you think could use it.
If you’ve ever wanted to start your own vegetable or herb seeds indoors, and don’t think you have the space, you have got to see this super easy, small-closet grow space video I made. I show you my actual grow closet as I’m setting it back up for the year.
This idea could be used in any small areas like crawl spaces, sheds, garages, basements, closets, and more. If you have heat and power, you can set up your own grow space. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy growing your own food from seeds.
Spring can’t come any sooner, and I’m dealing with spring fever. This year I want to put in raised garden beds, for planting my vegetables. I put a lot of thought into the type and placement of my new raised beds. I listed the pro’s and con’s between wood and metal, and went with metal.
I’ve always been a big fan of planing directly in the ground, but I’m tired of dealing with a bunny rabbit problem. Last year they munched my blueberry bushes to almost nothing, and nipped the tips of all my vegetable starts in early spring. I’m not one to try to kill the rabbits, I’ve tried to fence them out with no luck, so this is my beyond-frustrated solution. Raised galvanized garden beds! (I’ve heard from a gardening neighbor that she’s putting in raised beds because of the bunnies too…)
Saying I love to garden is an understatement. I’m actually a bit obsessive when it comes to gardening, but it’s a pretty healthy hobby- Not to mention the value it ads to my home– so I don’t really worry about it anymore. I dream of gardening all winter long (let’s be honest, winter doesn’t stop me). Any gardener can tell you, there’s just something that sings to the soul, when you have your fingertips in dirt or get to harvest your crops.
There are many raised bed kits you can buy, with varying materials. You can of course, construct them yourself too. I bought mine as a complete kit. I like the sleek design of the galvanized garden beds. I don’t want to deal with rot from wood, and I don’t have time to cut all the steel, and fabricate a corner.
There is a shorter version of the raised bed, EarthMark Galvanized Low Raised Garden Bed which is 10 in tall, but I chose a 17 inch tall garden because it will deter rabbits more, and it will be easier on my back for years to come. It will need a lot more dirt though.
This one is 40 x 76 and 17 inches tall, which ends up being a square version of the garden bed plus one extension kit. You can attach up to three sections, or extensions together.
Wow! The square 40 x 40 is on sale right now at almost $40 off because it’s mid-winter.
When trying to decide what DIY to do next, I have a huge list of things that I can choose from. I have a big list of things I want to show you and I can’t really know what you want to see. This site really is about the readers and viewers. You’re suggestions would really help me narrow down and fine tune what you really want to see.
Do you prefer written tutorials, or are you a visual learner, and you want to see more videos? Fill out the form below and tell me what you think.
Is there a tutorial that you would love to see me do? Send your ideas for DIY’s and I’ll pick one each month and make a tutorial. What would you would love to learn?
Did you ever want to make something out of resin, but didn’t know where to start? Have you ever wondered how people make custom things out of resin for their art? I’m going to teach you how you can make anything you can imagine, a finished resin piece of your very own creation you can actually hold.
The amount of things you can make are unbelievable. Please share this DIY!
I get a lot of questions about how I make the things that I do, and the crazy things I create, and for the projects that I get myself into. I’ve used this technique to make a lot of things for products, art, props, costuming, and sooo much more.
This year I am very excited to be a designer for the most prestigious and creative of all the wearable arts competitions in the world. I’ve worked my tail off, using these exact same techniques, to produce some of the outfit that I’ll be featuring in the competition. Because of the nature of competition, I can’t show you any of my actual project. Expect photos after September.
In this tutorial we’ll sculpt, mold, and cast little things, so you can try it out for yourself. This is a long DIY, so I will be taking off next week. You can expect another DIY after that.
We’re going to make the dangling feathers on this decorative sun-catcher. This DIY is for beginners, so we’ll be making a fairly easy shape that has one main side with detail, and a back that doesn’t matter, similar to a button or cabochon . This is NOT how you make things with detail on all sides, like a figurine. That’s far too much detail and for this. That’s fun for another time.
We’re going to focus on creating, the whole thing – from start to finish. I chose this DIY, because I want you to know how unbelievable your own ideas are, and how easily you can make them reality!
Start by warming a small amount of clay in your hands or with a hairdryer if you’re using oil clay. Each type will be different, but work a bit around in your hands to soften it. Roll it into a ball then slightly flatten in your hand to get closer to the shape you want to make.
Press the clay to the center of your tray to make it stick slightly. You don’t want it to move around much. The feather we’re making is fairly thick, between 1/4 & 1/8 inch so we can drill a hole and hang them. The clay is even thicker than that at this point.
Use sculpting tools to shape the feather, working on the basic shape and thickness first. Remove material to make your shape. Add a central vein down the middle by carving out the sides and leaving the center strip.
Smooth out the shape and then add the fine detail lines to the feather, starting at the main vein and going out and down, just like a real feather. Anything on the clay will show up, so keep it clean and smooth for the best results. I added additional texture to mine, you can do anything you want.
If you’re familiar with sculpting or clay, use its solvent and a very soft paintbrush to smooth it out more. Otherwise use your fingers or tools to smooth it and remove the little pills (balls of clay) that form from sculpting it.
Place this is the fridge, or outside if it’s cold out to harden the clay a little. You don’t want to try to freeze it, that would be bad in the end, but rather chill it to make it firmer.
Note: You can either do the next step on the tray, or carefully lift the clay from it and press it into the mold (that’s what I did.) Use string to cut it off the tray if needed and smooth the edges.
Mold It
Get out equal parts of mold putty part A and part B using a spoon or other thing that can reach it. Do not touch one to the other. Measure them side by side separately, so you have the same amount of each. You want them to cover your shape, so use your judgement.
Quickly mix both parts together in your hands, until there are no swirls in the color and they are fully mixed. You only have 2-3 mins of working time, so quickly make your mold. Make a ball out of it, then slightly smoosh it and stretch it to closer the size of the clay feather.
Place the silicone on a tray and slowly press the clay shape FACE DOWN into it. Submerge the clay’s detail and press the silicone around the edges of the clay with your fingers to enclose the shape, without covering the back -now top. Lightly push the edges snugly around the shape.
Give yourself at least 1/4 inch around the outside edge of the clay shape and be careful not to press it too deep because you don’t want the mold to be thin where your detail is.
Give the mold 15 minutes and check if the silicone is cured by lightly touching the mold. If it indents, it’s not done. If it’s hard to the touch it’s finished.
When it’s finished, it’s time to de-mold, or take it out of the mold. Gently remove the clay feather from the mold, getting all the clay debris out. Be careful not to stretch it too far, which will cause rips.
Note: The mold putty comes in two tubes, part A & part B. When you remove the amount you need from one, used a different utensil to get the other one out. Unused parts can’t touch each other at all. Like not even a little.
Interesting Note: Advanced users will know that if the mold ends up with smeared chunks of clay in it that you just can’t get out no matter how much you try or scream at it, you will need to do a first pull, or cast resin in it, just to get the clay out. A fast curing resin, like what’s used for model cars, is usually used for this. Keep it simple so you can try out the materials, not test their limits.
Cast It
Always spray your mold with mold release suitable for what you’re going to dump into it. You may get one good pull out of it, but resin and other materials will dry out your mold and stick to it, ripping it when you try to de-mold. It’s worth crying over (or at least losing a lot of time and money). This isn’t a mold for chocolate. Just spray it!
Measure out your resin by weight or volume, whichever it needs. I’m using a clear resin with Castin’ Craft’s green translucent pigment. I also poured one of the feathers with fine gold glitter, added to the clear.
Be sure not to over-pour resin into the mold. It dries VERY hard & you will have to sand down the extra.
Let the resin cure for the recommended amount of time, per instructions. Mine is about 24 hours. Every time you pour the mold, it takes that long before you can get it out and do it again. Now you see why I chose three lovely feathers for this tutorial.
Carefully de-mold your resin treasure! I drilled holes in the sides, added gold embroidery floss, and hung them on a small branch. TADA!
You can reuse your new mold around 10+ times before it deteriorates as long as you spray it with release.
I hope you liked this tutorial. I would love to see what this inspires you to make. Email me a photo with a short description of your project @ ibreatheidiy@gmail.com. Your project may be chosen to be featured on my website.
, but any non-drying clay works 
, oil clay, 
all work
