Transforming Your Yard into a Butterfly Sanctuary: A Step-by-Step Guide by Josie from Josie's Sanctuary

Welcome to Josie's Sanctuary, where we embark on a journey to transform our outdoor spaces into havens for nature's most delicate creatures. In our debut video, I shared the joy of trimming hedges and cultivating a butterfly sanctuary right in my own backyard. Now, let's dive deeper into the process, uncovering the steps to create your very own butterfly haven.

Step 1: Choose the Perfect Spot

Before diving into the transformation, scout your yard for an ideal location. Butterflies thrive in areas with ample sunlight, shelter from strong winds, and access to nectar sources. Look for a spot that receives at least six hours of sunlight daily and offers protection from harsh elements.

Step 2: Plan Your Garden Layout

Map out your sanctuary's design, considering factors like space availability, existing vegetation, and desired butterfly species. Aim for a mix of flowering plants, shrubs, and trees to provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds for butterflies throughout their lifecycle.

Step 3: Select Butterfly-Friendly Plants

Research native plant species that attract butterflies to your region. Opt for a diverse selection of nectar-rich flowers, such as butterfly bush, coneflowers, milkweed, and asters. Incorporate plants with varying bloom times to ensure a continuous food supply from spring to fall.

Step 4: Prepare the Soil

Prepare the soil in your chosen area by loosening it with a garden fork or tiller. Amend the soil with organic matter, such as compost or aged manure, to improve drainage and fertility. Avoid chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which can harm butterflies and their larvae.

Step 5: Plant with Purpose

Carefully plant your butterfly-friendly species, spacing them according to their mature size and growth habits. Group similar plants together to create clusters of color and fragrance that attract butterflies from afar. Remember to provide host plants for butterfly larvae to feed on, such as milkweed for monarchs.

Step 6: Provide Water and Shelter

Incorporate a shallow water source, such as a birdbath or saucer filled with rocks, to offer butterflies a place to drink and puddle. Additionally, create sheltered areas with rocks, logs, or dense vegetation where butterflies can rest and seek refuge from predators and inclement weather.

Step 7: Maintain Your Sanctuary

Regularly maintain your butterfly sanctuary by watering, weeding, and monitoring plant health. Remove spent flowers to encourage continuous blooming and prune overgrown vegetation to maintain a balanced ecosystem. Embrace organic gardening practices to support the health and vitality of your butterfly habitat.

You can check out the video by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7KOYS1z4KE&t=621s

Congratulations on taking the first steps towards creating a butterfly sanctuary in your own backyard! By following these simple steps and embracing the beauty of nature, you can transform your outdoor space into a haven for butterflies and other pollinators. Join me at Josie's Sanctuary as we continue our journey to nurture and protect the wonders of the natural world. Happy gardening!

Gluten Free Basic Sandwich Bread Cup4Cup or King Arthur's Measure for Measure

 

Since some of you have asked for the recipe, here it is: I had to capture this from my iPhone notepad and it only allowed me to save it as an image!

NEW DIY DOLLAR TREE MULTIPURPOSE ORGANIZER CADDY USING SHOWER CADDIES AND COOLING RACKS

 This is the long-awaited DIY full-length tutorial featuring Dollar Tree items. Please note that I purchased these items before Dollar Tree raised their prices to a minimum of $1.25.

Materials Needed: 

2 Dollar Tree shower caddies

4 pieces Dollar Tree small cooling racks (they come 2 per pack) or they have large ones 1 per pack

Zip ties

Scissors

Optional items:

2 Dollar Tree skinny baskets 

2 Dollar Tree woven style plastic baskets

10-in tension rod from 99 Cents Only Store

Instructions:

1) Place the two shower caddies facing back-to-back of each other. 

2) Using zip ties, connect the first cooling rack to the "feet" of each shower caddy. There should be four connections. Please note, this step is shown as step 4 on the YouTube video because I changed my mind in making it removable, however, if you prefer to make it removable, then follow the YouTube tutorial prior to it being attached.

3) Connect the 2nd cooling rack to the first bar on each of the shower caddy (note that you can also change the height if you like, the video will also show where you can move it to!). You will have 3 zip ties on each side (1 on each end of each shower caddy and 1 at the center). All in all, 6 zip ties.

4) Connect the 3rd cooling rack to the top perpendicular bar of the shower caddies. Repeat step 3 in connecting the 6 zip ties, 3 on each shower caddy. 

5) Connect the 4th cooling rack to the back. make sure that the rack's feet go inwards to provide added support. This finishes the backbone of this project and can be used as is!

6) Add the optional items if you like! I used 2 white skinny baskets to hold my pens, pencils, markers, highlighters. I also used the deep woven style baskets to hold more items and coral them neatly. 

7) Add the optional handle. I used a 10-inch white tension rod that I got years ago from 99 Cents Only Store. You can get similar ones from Walmart or Amazon. Below are other options for handles:

   - Dollar Tree wooden dowel rods - also available at Walmart

   - Dollar Tree plunger wooden handle - cut to size

   - Old mop handle, cut to size, available also at Dollar Tree. 

Finished project without the optional handle.

Finished project with optional handle using 10-in tension rod from 99 Cents Only Store


PLEASE WATCH FULLL VIDEO BY CLICKING THIS THUMBNAIL

Hope you can make this project. It's really useful, versatile, practical, and fun to make!

Have a great day, everyone!

Thank you and why I was on hiatus!

Hi everyone, thank you for waiting patiently while I was on hiatus for 19 months on YouTube and roughly two and a half years here on my blog. If you have been following me closely on my YouTube channel, you would have seen my community posts explaining why I was inactive for that long. You see, I became my husband Patrick's caregiver while he was battling with stage 4 RCC (Renal Cell Carcinoma or kidney cancer). Sadly, he did not survive! He passed away, peacefully, on May 31, 2022, after 13 months of fiercely battling through chemo, immunotherapy...you name it. I have decided to take a break to mend my broken heart. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you, especially to those who reached out to me, asking how I was doing. Thanks for checking up on me and commenting on my old videos to send your love and support. My daughter, Jessica, and I truly appreciate the kind words, gestures, and prayers. We thank you from the bottom of our hears! 

Left- me (Josie), Top Middle - Jessica, and Right- Patrick

DIY HIGH-END ORGANIZATION USING UPCYCLED AND DOLLAR TREE ITEMS MADE OF WOOD

 Hi friends, this post is long overdue but the great thing about evergreen contents, they never grow old! I know that I have done a ton of DIY Dollar Tree organizers for years; however, they were made of plastic organizers that is why I was so excited when Dollar Tree started carrying wooden signs and plaques that I could use to create organizers that are not just sturdier but prettier to look at!

These multipurpose organizers are amazing. I used these to organize my spices, k-cups, drinking cups, plates, and craft items such as rolls of vinyl. They are also great as plant stands!

Assorted ways to use these wooden items. 

Top photo- I used 6 solid wooden signs and 2 8"x8" wooden plaques to create this crate.  I painted it in teal for that pop of color! Bottom photo - I used 6 wooden signs and 4 smaller wooden boxes to assemble them together and painted it white!

Both of these make great plant stands for fresh herbs.

The crate can be positioned sideways or upright. If your space is limited, you can use this to organize items on top of your desk or kitchen countertop. 

I love this spice rack!

To watch the compilation video, please click on the YouTube thumbnail below:

DIY Dollar Tree Keurig K-Cup, Coffee Pod, Choco Pod, Tea Pod Organizers

 It has been over two weeks since the first day of the New Year and I have been so busy on my YouTube channel. This year, I am creating a lot of Dollar Tree organizers and home decor, with focus on practicality by making my projects functional and pretty! I am also delving into more upcycling and thrifting aside from my usual pure Dollar Tree DIYs. I would like to make sure that I also do my part in helping our environment in my own small way. 

Speaking of helping the environment, K-cups or coffee pods are now coming in containers that are fully recyclable, so there shouldn't be so much guilt in indulging in pod drinks! For the past couple of years, my family and I stayed away from k-cups because they were not recyclable back then, but now they are also being recycled and reused. I have used them also to germinate my seeds! In addition, there are reusable pods that you can use to lessen the carbon footprint. Now, since my family went back to drinking k-cups, I thought of creating organizers for them!

Dollar Tree is the best place to find inexpensive organizers. The wide array of options that you can use as they are or you can build to create something different like the wire and metal organizers.

This is an easy, no frill DIY. I used 1 large Dollar Tree shallow rectangular basket and 2 medium size deep baskets in gold finish. I assembled them to make a multipurpose organizer that can hang up on the wall to save some counterspace or can free-stand on the countertop! No tools needed except scissors to cut the zip ties! 

Here's the side view of the finished project!

Hanging organizer.

Hanging k-cup holder. 

I used 4 metal napkin holders and 1 metal paper towel holder to make this amazing k-cup tower! 

It can fit up to 48 k-cups!

So compact!

Click below YouTube video to watch the full tutorial! If you are new to my blog, please don't forget to follow me here and also subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thanks for your support in the previous years, this year, and in the coming years! I love you all! Hugs~ Josie 

DIY UPCYCLING DIY USING A SHOEBOX AND DOLLAR TREE PICTURE FRAMES

 For some time now, I have been making upcycling or trash to treasure projects on my YouTube channel. I have been enjoying transforming ordinary things that would've been thrown away and making them into something beautiful and functional. So, aside from making "decorganizers" that combine home decor and organizer into one giving a dual purpose for practicality, I am also beefing up with upcycling projects as part of what my channel will offer in the coming New Year!

This is my last upload for year 2020 but will be spearheading the year 2021 uploads for my upcycling projects.

For this DIY, I am using the new 3.5" x 5" wooden photo frames from Dollar Tree to upgrade my brother-in-law's empty shoebox and make an organizer for my growing number of pens! I have Infusible Ink pens for my Cricut machine, I also have Cra-Z-Art washable pens, chalk markers, and calligraphy pens. I need to put them where I can easily reach out for them when I need them. 

I love journaling, coloring books, and writing in general. So, this DIY has been long overdue!

Top photo - I used a total of 4 pieces 3.5"x5" picture frames.
Bottom photo - a man's empty shoebox measuring 8.5"14"x5" 

All of my pens in one place. Four cubbies to hold each type of pens. I love the built-in iron label holder where I placed the printed labels. 

I kept the organizer neutral so that the colored pens will pop!

    
The cubbies can also fit blank cards or greeting cards. Other items that I can store in this organizer are ephemeras, journaling cards, small sticker books, recipe cards, stationery, etc. 
By the way, the green wooden cube drawer with faux flowers on top is an example of a decorganizer I made. 

Here is a picture where I used it as pen holder. The drawer contained several rolls of small washi tapes!

To watch the full process video, please click on the video thumbnail below. Enjoy!