Backyard and 'OUR POND' :)

Welcome to the garden part of my backyard.  Last year I read a book by Mel Bartholomew on square foot gardening and decided to abandon my old traditional gardening method in favor of this.  Results are that I have had more produce in a smaller area and less trouble with my garden. 

The big pompom flowers are the onions going to seed from last fall.  There is Zucchini in the front and Cucumber plants on the bamboo on the right (this morning I was looking at them an they have almost reached the top of the bamboo and have lots of little cucumbers in view).

Second square foot planting bed with tomatoes and peppers.  On the left are two small squares with zucchini in them.  In the back is the final hurrah for my cauliflower (I planted them too late and got no produce off them but they sure looked amazing). 

In the side area is the tiered flower bed and the potato box.  Your looking at peppers, strawberries, beets and herb on the top.  The weird uprights are holding a netting to keep the birds from eating everything. Worked well.

Close up of my zucchini plant.  No I don't know why I put this in.  Maybe because I have a spade in the shot.  I have spades all through out the garden.  You'll see them in other shots.  Makes it easier to get rid of weeds.

Patio Tomato.  The reason why we have our garden fenced off is in a couple of blogs back.  Her name is Pippa and she is a omnivore and eats absolutely everything.

Just a quick shot of our pond.  Made it ourselves - you can probably tell.  Love our waterfall.

Looks like Mickey Mouse right - well maybe only in my head.  We made the bowls out of concrete.  and then lined the spillway with a piece of copper.  Took a ton of work but came out wonderful.  I had these two ginormous bowls that I used for food services when I do a church event.  Bought them at a restaurant supply.  We sprayed them with pam and then filled them with concrete (the bowls needed a bit of cleaning at the end but came out fine).  Then we pushed a mold (from some weird pot thing we found at the Dollar store)into the center of the concrete to make the 'Mickey' and scooped out some of the concrete on the side to provide an area later for the spillway.  We had to weigh down the mold since it wanted to float to the top and we used old pieces of 2 x 4's in the area where the spillway was to help keep the shape till it all set.  We left it for 24 hours and then filled the bowls with water and left it for a week.  Then we broke it out and let it set for a couple of days.  We sealed it with a concrete sealer (otherwise it weeps) and glued the copper spillway in place (if you don't have the spillway then the water tends to travel down the side of the bowl).  We have a piece of plastic piping in the side of the top pot, we put it in when we made it, we just need to glue the tube from the pump that you see coming over the top into the piping and we're done.

Enjoy!

Porch Upgrade . . . In Process

Okay so my front porch was far from welcoming.  Actually it was down right ugly.  It still needs some paint but I moved out the large pot (which left a large stain) and painted an old chair red.  Then I updated the wreath with some cheerful pink.  But the crowning achievement is the fence (place French Horns trumpeting here) and a cute welcome sign (created by my Daughter and her Cricut).  I love it!

I think I will have to paint the concrete porch at some point - I tried bleach and baking soda and it just made it worse.   And the mailbox needs to be more understated (bought spray paint for that job).  And of course I had to take the picture when the sun was not shining.  I will update that on another day.

So do you want to make your own :)
So to create your own awesome fence you need:
1 - 4" x 4" (measure to see how long you need - I wanted ours to start on the step below)
1 - finial top with a screw bottom
1 - wedged shaped top (it goes under the finial and on top of the 4" x 4")
1 - 2" x 4" (again you are going to have to measure and then double it)
And enough fence boards to cover your area
Wood Screws
Mollies and Bolts for the wall
White wash paint and brush
Electric Drill and Electric Screw Driver
Circular Saw or Chop Saw

First you need to cut the 4" x 4" to the right height.  Then chop the back off the wedge shaped top so that when it is on the top of the 4" x 4" it mounts flush with the wall.  Then drill and screw in the finial top. Creating your 4" x 4" post.

Then cut the 2" x 4"s to match the necessary length to go from the 4 x 4 post to the wall.  Mount the 2" x 4"s to the 4" x 4".  We just eyeballed exactly where we wanted the horizontals to go on our 'fence' and drilled pre holes and then screwed it in with wood screws. 

Then we mounted it onto the wall with Mollies and bolts.  It went into the mortar in our brick wall.  We made sure that the bolts would be accessible after the fence boards were attached so that I could take it down and paint the wall (and the fence) later.

Then we put on the fence boards.  We created our own pattern.  If you really want to do this on the cheap and have a table saw then you can do what we did.  Buy the 1" x 6" x 6' redwood fence boards at your local home improvement store for about $2.00 per board and cut the board long wise in half and then cut them in half the other way.  You will end up with 4 - 3' fence boards,  2 with flat ends on both ends and 2 with a flat end and a diagonal cut end for about 50 cents each.   Hence the pattern in our 'fence'. 

I leave it to you to figure out where to mount your fence boards.  The trick is keeping them even.  And trust me it was a trick :)  And keeping the bottom edge straight.  We did have to do a bit of chopping here to make everything work.

Once everything is put together then take the fence down and white wash it.  I did it with exterior paint mixed with a lot of water.  Came out awesome.  Then remount when it is dry.

What do you think?  

Enjoy!

My Spice Rack :)

So I found my digital camera this weekend and am experimenting with photographing things that my Husband, Jeffery and I have done to the house.  First off - my spice rack.  I absolutely hate digging through the cabinets to find whatever spices I am looking for and I have no counter space for any counter top spice rack so quite a while back I had my Husband build me a box (for want of a better word) which he mounted on the wall.  Simple pine 1" x 3" - cut - screwed together and painted white.  The mounting bracket is actually on the top and since the spice racks are so high you can't see them. 

Then I went down to the local Cost Plus and found these small white lidded bottles - perfect for spices. I wrote on the top of each bottle (which you can't see unless you lift down the bottle so no glaring labels).  I also added some hooks on the bottom for hanging kitchen shears.

I actually have 2 of these - one on each side of my garden window.  They work perfectly.

This shot shows the dimensions of the box better.  Depending on what spice bottles you find you can customize them for your wall.

  Love it!  Enjoy!

My Kitchen Clock

So a couple of months ago I got hooked on Pinterest (no, this isn't an intervention although I probably need it).  I have been joyously pinning a ton of cute things on my board (you can follow me if you want the 'follow me on pinterest' is on this page).  Anyway, I found this great clock on pinterest and wanted it for my kitchen.  There was an active link and everything.  Unfortunately it was too large for my small kitchen.  Rats.  So plan B was formed.  Make it myself.  So this past weekend I went for it - after some planning and some coupon buying at my local craft store, my clock was born. 

Cute, right :)   I love it. 

I used a 12 x 12 canvas with really thick sides.  Painted it white with regular acrylic paints.  Did some softening of the edge with my old stenciling brush and a gold and green color combination.  I transferred the letters the old fashioned way by printing the words on my printer then rubbing a pencil on the back of the paper then traced the letters onto the clock front and the carbon from the pencil transferred enough for me to see the basic lettering.  Painted numbers and my phrase with a very small brush.  After it dried I sealed the whole thing with an acrylic gloss sealer.  Then came the challenge of putting on the clock works - I bought the clock works with the shortest stem possible 1/4"  and then put a piece of cardboard between the clock works and the back of the canvas.  Cut the small hole with an razor blade and inserted the post through the canvas.  Worked like a dream and the clock works weren't too heavy on the back.  Oh, and I couldn't find black hands so I used black finger nail polish.  Now the only challenge is learning how to read it - whatever, I'm always late anyway.  Enjoy!

Super Easy Peasy Crocheted Washcloth

So my office at work has been really slooooowww last week and so I brought in some yarn to fill my time. I decided that I needed some new wash cloths since my old one's are getting smelly after being left too many times in the sink. Why does my family do that? A whole 'nuther' blog here.  Anyway, so I tried to find my old pattern and couldn't and thought 'it can't be that difficult' so the following is the easiest, simplest crocheted washcloth pattern you will find anywhere. 

First you need a really nice cotton yarn - I chose Lily brand 'Sugar'n Cream' I have used it in the past and have been really impressed by how easily it absorbs water and how easily it washes. I like variegated since it doesn't show the dirt as easily.

I started with a one 2 oz skein ( I only used about 2/3 of it for one washcloth)

Size K crochet hook

1 large tapestry needle

And I was good to go!

I chained 33 loose chains.

Turned and dc in the 4th chain from the hook (skipping 3 chains)

Then dc in the rest of the chains. Works out to be 30 dc plus the 3 chain start.

When I reached the end I chained 3 and turned.

Skipping the first space at the base of the chain (since the chain is basically making up for that dc that would be there) and dc in the next space I continued across again. At the end I made sure that I dc in the top of the 3 chains on the previous row. If you don't do this your wash cloth will get slowly smaller and smaller. Chain the three. And repeat over and over again till your washcloth forms a square.

I then used the tapestry needle to weave in the loose ends of the yarn.   One trick that did learn after the first washcloth was that you need to start on the neutral color of the variegated yarn when you begin your chain.  Mine started on the red and when I tried to weave in the rest of the red it looked pretty tacky.  Enjoy!

Multi - Seasonal Tree

Several years ago I bought a red barked manzanita branch that had been sprayed white and had a plywood bottom screwed onto it.  Actually I traded some of my crafts for it but that is neither here nor there.  When I first brought it home I used it only for Christmas.  I have snow flakes and crystals that I put on it.  I found that if I added white stringed lights that it gave it a real punch.  Usually people admire it way more than my regular tree which isn't to shabby.  Anyway every time I put it away it got damaged.  I was loosing more and more little branches.  So one year I decided no more - it's going to stay out all year long.  So the 'seasonal tree' was born.  Today Valentines Day.  Really need a better Camera :) Enjoy!

My Crazy Bulletin Board Wall

Several years ago I realized that those tiny little bulletin boards they sell at the store were totally too small for all the things I wanted to post.  So with the help of my family we came up with a design that fills the hallway with a bulletin board. It's made with a piece of masonite, 12 x 12 cork boards, fabric and glue.

It really wasn't that hard but it wasn't a weekend project either.  We started out with a piece of masonite that measured 4' x 6'.  Which my husband screwed to the wall - into the studs.  We decided to first put a piece of masonite on the wall so that if we ever decided to remove the bulletin board then it would be a simple matter of tearing off the squares and then unscrewing the board from the wall.  A quick patch of the holes and the wall would be good as new.

Then the kids and I did various drawings with the idea that we would be using 12" x 12" cork boards from Walmart to create the pattern.  I didn't want sheets of cork.  I wanted the ability to make it 'art work' in my hall and Walmart had the cheapest 12" x 12" cork pieces (they sell them in packages of 4). 

Once the pattern was decided on it was off to our local fabric store to see what we could come up with.  The decision was blue, orange, brown and neutrals.   The fabric squares had to be 16" x 16" so I would have enough edge to wrap around behind the cork square.  And since some of the design was on an angle I had to sew some of the squares so that they were half one color and half another.  Then everything was ironed and I got out the spray glue.

Now you really have to glue in an open area.  Trust me on this one.  Don't try this in your home.  Take it outside on a clear, windless day.  Each Cork board was sprayed with spray glue.  Then with two people work together, we lifted each fabric square by the corners and slowly lowered it to the cork.  Then I pushed out any wrinkles and we were good to go. 

After everything dried I then hand glued the extra fabric around the back using tacky glue.  This took a lot of time.  Once everything was dried then it was time for the mounting on the masonite.  I spread a LOT of tacky glue on the masonite and then we applied the squares.  Yes, they do have a tendency to try and fall off at first.  So we used masking tape and taped from the wall under the board to the wall over the board.  And then one of us just stood there for the better part of 1/2 an hour pushing each square firmly against the wall. 

Finally after all this dried we are 'supposed' to put a piece of quarter round trim around the board (still on my list).  But I think it looks great and is finally big enough.  Enjoy!

More Christmas Crafts

So as I put away Christmas I am photoing (is that a word) the items that are hand made in hopes of inspiring someone else to try something new.  First is the Christmas Wreath.  Every couple of years I get bored with my wreath and have to try something new.  This year I have become an avid reader of 'Pinterest' and was inspired to upgrade the old wreath to something more bright and cheerful.  So the theme was red, white and green.  It turned out fun.

And finally another wreath - this one has many memories as they are my daughter, Maren's, handprints.  At her School when she was small  they took a large piece of burlap and then with washable paints had the kids put their handprints in green on the cloth then added the 'berries' with finger prints of red.  The bow was then stuck on to finish the look.  When I received it I 'framed' it in a stitchery hoop and hot glued gathered ribbon around the edge. 

So  . . .  Enjoy!

Getting Organized in the New Year - Bulletin Board Wall

So I have for years had trouble keeping all my notices, announcements, calendars, family photos, phone lists, odds and ends in one location. A bulletin board was just not big enough. So a couple of years ago I came up with this idea and with the help of my family I created the Bulletin Board Wall.

I started with a 4 x 6 piece of Masonite which is screwed to the wall. That way if I ever want it down I just tear off the squares, unscrew the board, patch the holes and you will never know it was there.

I created a pattern on a piece of grid paper and purchased enough fabric for the designed areas. I selected enough fabric to make a nice patch work art piece in colors that I thought would coordinate well. Some of the design required that I sewed the fabric on the diagonal. And then I purchased cork squares from Walmart (it was the cheapest place that I found). I cut the fabric into 16 x 16 squares to cover the 12 x 12 cork squares. I sprayed the cork squares with spray glue and laid the fabric on top. It takes two sets of hand to do this part - it works best to hold the corners of the fabric and then lower the fabric to the square.

Once they are dry then I used tacky glue to pull the fabric around on the back side of the square and fold and cut to make the square as flat as possible for placement on the wall. Then I spread a thin coat of tacky glue all over the Masonite, arranged the squares, taped everything down to the wall with masking tape and then pressed the squares about every 10 minutes for the next 2 hours to make sure they were flat and secured. Finally to make it look complete you run a piece of 1/4 round from the lumber yard around the edge and your done. The biggest, artsy looking, bulletin board you will ever have. Enjoy!

Blessing Board

When things were tough for our family one Thanksgiving I decided that we needed to write down our blessings. So on the back of a door I put a large piece of heavy news print and wrote on the top - 'Count Your Blessings'. I hung two pens close to the paper and told my family we need to count our blessings. Well we wrote and wrote and when the holidays were over we decided that we liked having the reminder of our blessings hanging up.

As I traveled though the next few years of life (which included cancer) our blessing board became a family history as we continued to write. We could each remember when we became grateful for the different things written on the board. From the simple things - like chocolate chip cookies and warm socks - to the more specific - like Doctors and medicine - our board continued to be added upon. Friends and family names apeared on the board too as our gratitude for all things increased. When it looked like the paper would finally give up I decided it was too precious to let it get destroyed. So I took down and carefully mounted it to a mounting board, that way it would be stiff, and I framed it with no glass (actually Jeffery did the frame) so we could continue to write on it for many years to come. And Voila our art work in process - Sorry about the crazy camera angle but I'm shooting it where it's mounted in the hall. Enjoy!

Magic in Giving - Wands!

I came up with this idea a couple of years ago. While trying to help my kids get into the idea of giving for the holidays. Magical Giving Wands. I had my husband drill into the bottom of some chunky wooden hearts and then I put long sticks glued into the bottom. I painted, wrote and then glitterfied the heart and added some ribbons. When my kids did something nice for each other they were to leave the wand behind so that the family member knew that they had been touched by Christmas magic. Enjoy!