Welcome to My Garden

The reason why I do this...



Is so I can have this...

Seriously, I love fresh cut flowers in my home. There is just something about enjoying the outside on the inside. Especially when the temperature becomes unbearable like today! When landscaping choose a few flowers that you will enjoying cutting and bringing in. These are my hydrangeas. For those of you who remember my Christmas trees from 2009, these are the same hydrangeas I cut and dry out and add to my Christmas tree every year! I also enjoy irises, peonies, lilacs, and sunflowers! Simple and easy!

Playing with Blocks

Yeah! I love holidays, and 4th of July is one of my husbands favorites. I think it has something to do with playing with explosives. I'm not one to decorate for the holidays other than Christmas and bit for fall. I'm not sure if it is because my sons do not really notice. Or, if I exhaust myself so much decorating for Christmas that the other holidays just kind of slide by. So, I am starting to make an attempt to put out a few things to honor holidays. When I saw this little piece from How Does She Do That (http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheap-home-decor) I knew I could do it.



I did a couple of things different. The original was made with vinyl lettering. I chose to print my words on scrap paper and cut each strip for the bottom of the flag. I also decided to use wood glue and glue my blocks together. After I made a few with "Happy 4th of July" I realized I prefered 'God Bless America' and therefore had to make a few with that on it too!


The 3 Joys I received:
1)This craft was right up my ally of cheapness! I had all the supplies I needed other than the ribbon. The ribbon I got from Wal-Mart (which I try to avoid, but I love this ribbon). You get 15 yards for $4.97. So far I have made 7 of these flags and still have more ribbon. So, I have spent about 70 cents a flag! Not bad.
2)The other enjoyment I received was using my husband's power saw. Oh such POWER!
3)My favorite joy is sharing this with my friends. I got to leave a few on doorsteps and kept them guessing for a little bit!

Charging Station

Well, I have ANOTHER Goodwill find. I spied this at Goodwill for $4.99. I had it sitting on top of this bureau turned storage that is right by our kitchen, for a few weeks until I could figure out what color to paint it.

I finally decided on the color red. The same red I used for the shelving in the kids bathroom. I originally intended to change the little knob too, however, I kind of like it now.

I still need to set it up to charge our cell phones, etc. But, I think I like it. Not bad for 5 Bucks!

Planked Out

I wish that I could find the inspiration piece that motivated me to make this. I got the original idea from Pottery Barn. Once I was ready to make it, I couldn't find the picture anymore, including online. (Which is why I need to make that inspiration book I want to make.) I want to make one bigger than this (maybe), but decided to keep it small for my first project. This was hung in our kids bathroom. I think it is a good compliment to their shower curtain I made (5 years ago!) Just like always, I have one more thing I want to make for this area. I just get so excited by my accomplishments, that I have to share them. Hope you like!

Vintage Keys

I can't believe I did it! I saw this wall art in the Pottery Barn catalogue and wanted to make is soooo badly! I believe it was priced around $329.


I wasn't about to go there, and I wanted to figure out a way to make it. I am not good at painting. REALLY! I know some of my friends don't believe me, but fine motor skills are not my thing!!! So, I was so excited when I found the tutorial on how to make it by Susie Harris. The linky is: http://www.susieharrisblog.com/2009/07/inspirationpass-it-on.html

My Vintage Keys artwork is 24 x 24 (The original at Pottery Barn is larger) and I followed the exact steps as the linked blog. The only thing that I think I did different than Susie was that I used an Antiquing Polish from Folk Art to age the artwork as the final step. I will upload a better image once I am completely done with the area that I set the artwork in. But, for now here's the finished product!!!!


I have another Pottery Barn knock-off that I made for our kids bathroom. As soon as I get photos I will post it. Pretty proud of the final results of it. Then, I have another piece of artwork I am about to start working on, using the same technique as the Vintage Keys. Now that school is out for this homeschool mom, I am trying to exercise my creative juices!!!

(Semi)Custom Shelving by ME!

I picked up this little beauty at the thrift store for $10. I had three different ideas of what I could do with it, so I decided one of them had to work.
I think this might have been a hutch to a girls desk. Not sure. First, I took off the backing. I purchased a bead board backing for $10 and used the old backing to measure off the new backing to be cut down. Next, we cut down each side. Once the sides were cut down, my husband showed me how to use a power hammer (I don't know what it is really called), wish I had a picture of that, it was fun. I then attached the new bead board backing to the shelves. My son lightly sanded the unit for me. I then spray painted the shelves in a Colonial Red.
I mentioned that I had three options of what I may do with my new shelving. The first idea was to use it as a hutch on a small cabinet I have, but it was too wide. Then I thought to put it in our daughter's room that is coming home from China later this year. I finally decided that since we were going to have 3 kids sharing a bathroom instead of two, that we needed more storage in the kids bathroom. And so, taa daa, that's where it ended up. Right by the bath tub so the kids can get what they need quick and easy and scrub-a-dub-dub!

Ya Gotta Love Spray Paint

In November, my huband Bill worked very fast and hard on laying hardwood floors in our living room. We love them. He did a great job. However, our builder's grade floor vents really looked out of place. Bill mentioned that 'some day' we will get brass floor vents. Well, someday may or may not come. In the meantime, I got this tip from a website I visit off, www.thriftydecorchic.com I decided to go get some Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and turn my boring builders grade vents into something that is a step up in the right direction. Check it out, the before and after:


I just realized these photos are in my entryway and you cannot see the hardwood Bill did. So, here's a glimpse of his handy dandy work.