Maryam's Gardening Journal Update

Assalamu Alaykum everyone!

Awhile back in October I did a post on how I decorated my Gardening Journal. Today I'm going to give you an update on it and show you the plants I'm growing.

On the first page I drew a simple chart to record the date I planted each seed and the date I will harvest them insha'Allah. This way I will know on average how long it takes for each plant to grow.

At the back of the book I started to record the growing stages of each plant.

Here are my plants growing on my balcony.

 Tomato plants flowering.

Garlic.

Chilli plants with pretty white flowers.

Onions. (I planted eight seeds but only two sprouted.)

Potato plant. (It grew through the rails and hung over the side of the wall, but a few days ago it got rather windy and it grazed against the rough wall and some of the leaves were damaged. So I tied it up loosely to the rail and insha'Allah it will grow better.)

A few weeks ago I picked my first three beans and masha'Allah they were yummy, but hardly enough for the whole family! :)

Now, no more beans are growing and I'm not sure what to do. I might leave it until the plant dies completely, because right now it is still a bit green.

My pea plants started really well, masha'Allah, but after while began to turn yellowy-brown. But not long ago the parts that remained green started to flower! I'll do some research to try and find out what's wrong. Here's what it looks like.

My mother bought this Aloe Vera plant from the shop. I've been tending to it and masha'Allah it's grown so much and will insha'Allah flower any week now!

Well that's all for my Gardening Update. I hope you liked this post, and I'll see you again next week insha'Allah.

Wasalaam,

Maryam.



Sumayyah's Handmade Felt Bag

Assalamu Alaikum everyone!

Sumayyah here. Today I'm going to show you a felt bag I made with my mum. It is easy to make if an adult is helping you but if no one is, then it might be hard. I really enjoyed making this and I hope that you will like it.

Here's how we did it. First I chose some patterned felts that I liked. Then my mum cut out these pieces.

Then I sewed the large pieces together and the medium pieces together too. I used a running stitch.

I added a pocket - this time I only sewed three of the sides.

Then I placed the medium piece on top of the large piece covering the pocket, like this.

I sewed three of the sides - like the pocket. This time I used a blanket stitch. It was a bit hard sewing through four layers of felt. You need a big strong needle or perhaps thinner felt.

My mum added wooden buttons and attached a decorative cord. She also made some holes in the flap and I sewed around them using a blanket stitch again.

She added some feathers and a little pretty charm. And it was done!

The front.

The back.

The feathers and charm.

A peek inside.

I hope you liked this craft, and that it inspires you to do more crafty things like this.

Wassalam,

Sumayyah

5 Books for Younger Teens

Assalamu Alaikum!

It's Zainab here, and today I'll be reviewing five books for young teenagers.

1. All The Wrong Questions

By: Lemony Snicket

This series is about a thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket who is an apprentice at a secret organisation. He arrives at a town called Stain'd-by-the-Sea with a chaperone to work on a case.

Lemony Snicket encounters some good people, some bad people and some just plain unhelpful ones.

Throughout the books people go missing, fires break out(under mysterious circumstances), floors are mopped with poison, and the villain Hangfire continuously manages to slip away. There are four books in the series and I enjoyed them because they are witty and humorous, yet serious at the same time.

2. The Sinclair's Mysteries: The Clockwork Sparrow

By: Katherine Woodfine

This is the first book in a series which is set during the Edwardian era. It is about a recently orphaned young girl named Sophie who starts working at a large department store called Sinclair's. It is the largest and most glamorous(fictional) store in London and is really beautifully described by the author. Sophie soon makes friends with Lil, an aspiring actress, Billy, a porter's boy and Joe, a boy with a past that brings danger to them all. Together they help solve their first mystery: the theft of a valuable clockwork sparrow from the department store.

The descriptions are very vivid - making you really feel as though you are there. I think that the illustrations are very elegant too.

The series is complete with four books to be collected, though I have only read the first two.

3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

By: Lewis Carroll

A young girl named Alice follows a talking rabbit down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a world where anything impossible can happen. She meets lots of animals including birds, mice, rabbits, a blue caterpillar and a grinning Cheshire cat, all while trying to find her way into a beautiful tiny garden.

I really enjoyed the story, and loved the illustrations by Anna Bond. Wonderland is a world where unusual things happen; however, they happen so often that they begin to seem ordinary.

Nothing is ever boring, and by the end of it I was sad to close the book. Insha'Allah, I hope to read it's sequel, Through the Looking Glass, someday.

4. The Trouble with Perfect

By: Helena Duggan

This is the sequel to a book I recommended a while ago called A Place Called Perfect. In this book something unusual happens to Violet's friend, Boy. He is accused of committing crimes and Violet begins to doubt his claims of being innocent. Not only that - children are going missing, Violet gets attacked by what seems to be a zombie, old enemies return and new ones are made.

It's a great continuation to the first book and I liked it a lot. It is a mixture of adventure and mystery, and the plot wasn't obvious. Looking back at the first book, I noticed a few hints the author had left of what was to come in this book.

5. File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents

By: Lemony Snicket

First of all, how cool is the animation above?! This book is also about Lemony Snicket and his time in the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea.

The thirteen suspicious incidents that happen in this book are all short stories where a crime is usually committed and Lemony Snicket figures it out. It's one of those books where you have to try to figure out the case, then flip to the back of the book and see if you were right.

The cases are quite tricky but fun, and it's nice to get to meet old characters from the All The Wrong Questions series again.

Well, that is all for this post. I hope you enjoyed it!

Wassalam,

Zainab