projects

L Shape Garden Complete

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It took longer than I hoped to post about our completed L-Shape garden, that I originally posted about here , we completed the garden and have it planted, it was actually a fairly quick project.  Here is the before picture again:

We decided to move all of the garden but not the little square strawberry patch that you see on the right side of the picture.  I did not want to risk losing a strawberry crop this year, so we will move them in the fall.

Here is what is in the space that WAS the garden:

I just love this new space, I can see the kids in the backyard, on the trampoline, and in the sand box. The limestone rocks we retrieved from an empty excavated area in our development.  The tree was the largest investment..about $147, we transplanted some purple coneflowers from another flower bed, I had no idea how much these flowers multiplied.  The lilacs on each end we purchased for $19.99 a piece they will be
white.  I can’t wait until next spring to cut some blooms and bring them in the house….mmmm lilacs smell the best!

Here is the new L-Shpae garden that we originally posted about here:

We have romaine lettuce, onions (red and white), cucumbers, peas, and sweet potatoes in a bucket. WE also moved the compost bin to the corner of the garden, we had it on the side of the house but it was not getting enough sun to “cook” properly.  Plus now we can just spread the ready compost into the garden.

So glad we decided not to move the strawberries, I can’t wait untill all these ripen!!

Easy, Beautiful, Inexpensive Teacher Gift

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In the words of a dear teacher friend, “please no more coffee mugs…they are great….I love coffee…not that much”. So I asked her what she would really want from her  students as a thank you.

Gift cards to places like Barnes and Noble, this way she can buy books that she can add to her classroom. Also teachers like to read adult non-curriculum books during their break.

Gift cards, to places like Panera or other little shops so she can pick out a fun treat during the summer. Pick one out to a fun boutique in your town, does not have to be much even $10.00 is a treat.

Movie passes so she can see a movie during the summer.

A bottle of wine, or other spirit, perhaps a parent should bring this in, yes teachers like to relax a bit too.

A hanging plant or potted plant that she can put outside to bloom all summer, or get really crafty and put together a small container herb garden.

So here is what we did, we went to Savers’….of course, to buy a vase. There is almost a whole aisle full of flower vases that are donated, the budget 99cents. Whatever one they wanted.

Next stop, Trader Joes’, LOVE this place and their flowers are amazing. $7.99 for each bouquet.

We cleaned the sticker off the bottom of the vase, the kids all trimmed the flowers to fit their vases:

I helped Tanna with her cards…she hepled cut them out;

Solomon went out to the yard and got some Hosta flowers to fill his vase in a bit:

Then they made their own cards, this is truly the sweetest part. I think flowers brighten everyone’s day, I know they will be enjoyed for a bit, and not left on a shelf, and totally not included the paper we had here for the cards, 99 cents for the vase $7.99 for flowers plus a little for the taxman = $9.70….handmade card = priceless…of course.

Flower Power Ottoman

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I zoned in on this ottoman and my pulse starting racing with excitement, as I got closer I just  prayed that no one else had eyes for my prize.  I was even more in love when I saw the flower pattern on the top of this Daisy’s are my favorite flower.  So I hefted this bad boy/girl? into my cart at Savers and it was mine…victory.  Price: $24.99 but I redeemed a 20% coupon I earned form one of our many donations so $20.00 and I was a happy girl!

I think this is one of those pieces that is old and kind of a vintage cool, but can be incorporated in a mod way as well.   I have had a bit of an issue deciding exactly where to put it, since we do not have an club chairs.  Since it is on wheels it just moves around to whever people want to put their feet up.

And then I went to IKEA………

Before:

Wheels:

I went into the seconds/bargain area and I found these for $5.00 50% the regular price and all the parts were there, I thought they were like a wall hook.   I could have mounted these onto the inside of some garage lockers we are working on, but then I got the brilliant idea to update the ottoman.

Helpers:

TA-DA!

Not sure why that last photo seems blurry..

Total cost for this was $25.00!!!  Not a bad price for a sweet upcycled flower power ottoman man (in my best chong voice), I will add more photos when I decide on the perfect at the moment home for it.

Corner Redo…DIY Fireplace

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When we put a wall up along an alcove area in our basement, to make an actual office space in our garganteuos basement living room we left rough ins for a fireplace in the corner.  Our house is a split level home that we built just over 4 years ago and I was honestly surprised at how it can be a little chilly in the winter downstairs.  I guess I thought since it was so new and efficient this would not be the case, but when part of your house in the dirt, I guess this is bound to happen.

So here is a snippet of the star of our fireplace DIY…the plan is to have stone up to the ceiling with a wooden mantle, inspired somewhat by this photo (hopefully a little less cabin-y):

We are slowly adding more details and characteristic to our house, although we built it with some extra touches that we feel added more character than a standard build we have found we are still missing that “us” feel, I am hoping this fireplace will give the basement some warmth and character.

First step….get a permit to complete this project!!  I was fanatical about this, especially since this will be a gas fireplace, I do not want this to be done improperly and jeopardize anything or anyone, plus if we decide to sell and there are no permits on record we could have to pay to have it all redone, don’t skip this step, it is very important.

Second once we knew what was code for the fireplace we bought we went ahead and framed out the spot in 2 X 4’s.  Jon made the openings in the wall and ceiling  and then we called for a gas line hook-up and inspection this line.  The gas line was the only part of this project that we hired out.  again we had no intention of taking any chances when it came to safety.  The total cost was $164.00 not to bad for safety!

Midway update here

Scrapped out

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 I went to this home based business party at a friend’s house about 2 years ago it was a party that offered the latest and greatest in digital scrapbooking.  I am a big fan of anything artsy and crafty and had so enjoyed scrapbooking with the unlimited possibilities that one could create on a 12 X 12 piece of paper that also included pictures of my loved ones and preserved a memory in a book that could be looked at repeatedly.  So I bought a “package”  which included a premier membership to all the digital paper, alphabets, brad, and other tags I could imagine along with an 8 X 8 book.  Great started package right?  Also being the great friend that I am and having gotten thoroughly caught up in the excitement….which never happens at these parties…there may also have been wine;)  I signed up to have my own house party.

At my party I served margaritas (is there a theme?) and other got excited about this great digital scrapbooking package.  Short story long I ended up with the premier package membership for 2 years and over $400 dollars in scrapbook credits.  Yowza!

Reality hit, I had to etch out time to make these projects, digital doesn’t necessarily mean easier!!  I made a 5 x 7 book for my mom that she loved and brought tears to her eyes.  Once again inspired the time flew by, without much scrapping.

Last month I realized that I had approximately 6 weeks before my over $400 dollars worth of credits expired!!! GASP!!

So instead of doing anything else after the little darlings went to bed I have been scrapbooking and making a few galley wrapped canvases. 

I made:

 2- 20 X 24 galley wrapped canvases of our family

4- 8 X 8 galley wrapped canvases; one head shot of each child with their name and age printed on the side.

1- 8 x 8 board book of Avalon’s first 10 months, this was a template or I would have done the whole first year….

1- 8 X 8 canvas that is a little owl in a tree art piece that says Santanna’s Room, this should go with her Target Love and Nature bedding…I hope

1- 12 X 12 2010 H**** family scrapbook…65 pages documenting our year…I am so excited!!

I am thrilled to have that done…whew.  I will post pictures of the canvases as they come in and we get them on the walls….it may be 3-4 weeks depending on the production time.

So now, I should have more time to blog:)

Stay tuned for some of my goodwill finds for spring.

Snowed In Reindeer Craft

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In case you have not heard, those of us residing in Minnesnowta have been pretty much shut in by a recent blizzard.  Even better is that the forecast claimed that we may reach a high of around zero degrees today!!!  Oh the joy.  So here kids is 4 feet of snow but with the wind-chill dipping to an excruciating -30 your chances of playing in all that great powder are about as probable as today’s forecasted high.

This is where my job becomes, fun.  time to plan activities that everyone will enjoy so that the house is not completely torn apart at the end of the day. 

So here is what we made today, “snow-deer”  sometimes called reindeer, but let’s face it, if it was rain we would have been splashing in the puddles.

The bonus to this project is that we can save it to remember each child’s foot and hands from this year.

I had them all gather a shoe , trace it and cut it out. 

Then I helped them trace each hand and cut it out…these are the antlers.

Next I got out my jars of buttons that I bought at a local antique sale that happens annually in a small local town and they all chose buttons for eyes, nose and of course an earring or two. This also led to discussions of how old the buttons were, and we imagined what person or outfit might have gone with these buttons.  We found one dated from the 1800’s.

Then Jon and I had a turn making  one, his had some lines on it from another project which he turned into a proper tribal tattoo.  I love how all of them reflect each person’s true self in a small way.

We also made bread, meatballs, and those little pretzel chocolate melts with the M &M’s what a great day!