Garden DONE!

The gardens are done, well at least the front garden beds are done!  And by done, they have dirt, and have plants in them.

We still need to get the river pebbles for the ground cover.  I think we decided that that would be best for the cat issue.

but before we get the pebbles we have a whole other garden to fill with dirt.  Yes we have finally completed the raised garden bed in the back yard for the vegetables/edibles!!

Selfie!

And of course by WE I mean my DH dug out and built the garden. The dogs kept watch, as did I.   We compromised on the material, and the garden is built out of cedar, which yeah isn't cheap, but it's all natural, and doesn't have chemicals in it like some landscaping materials do.  I think it looks a bit better than rock, although I do think eventually I will create a small flower garden and bench space, maybe an arbor so I can have some climbing vines, like clematis, or wisteria, in the square in front of the 'L', or even a small water feature!  The sky is the limit!

Well...the budget is the limit, but it can wait till next year...

I did have two grape vines, Concord and Pink Catawba, that I purchased from a big box store, the same time that I purchased the Flowering Plum tree we put in the front yard.  Wouldn't you know...they never budded out, or grew, they were dead when I purchased them...so those got returned today, and because they didn't have any live grape vines at that store, and I really wasn't keen on spending another $25 on vines or plants at that store I came back to Smithville and went to Pack's Hardware.  Man oh MAN do they have a fabulous selection of annuals, perennials and edibles! And their plant gal Terry is phenomenal!  I hope you have a place just as good in your neck of the woods as I do in mine...I ended up getting another Catawba vine, and of course they were out of the Concord, they are such popular vines because the fruit is delicious!  I decided to try a "King of the North Grape" I will do another post later all about the grapes...

I did also decide to purchase some vegetable plants, so I chose two types of beans, and a tomato plant.  I will probably end up with several types of tomatoes, and possibly some other vegetables, but this is a good start for my first garden!

Happy Spring and Happy Gardening!

Sometimes a deal is too good to pass up

I love shopping, for home decor, and I LOVE finding a good deal!  I went to Old Time Pottery in Independence, and found an awesome circle wood and metal art piece.  But it's broken, and instead of the original price of $60, it was discounted to $12!  Score for me!

It took some time to get the pieces apart.  But it was worth it.

Then it was time to fix the broken part, and get to painting!  I chose the blue from our bathroom as a base.

Once the base color is dry it's time to apply the crackle medium, then that needs to dry for 2-4 hours.

We went fishing...so when we got home it was time to put the top color on!

It was so pretty, but still looked too new, so I grabbed the antiquing medium and mixed up some weathering magic!

Unfortunately at that point it was too late to spray-paint the metal piece...but the next day I sprayed it to match the fixtures in my house, oil rubbed bronze.

I also had to purchase new screws, the original piece was missing one screw, and the two screws that secured the medallion were completely destroyed.  Because the screws were new brass, and they would show when I screwed the metal to the wood, they got a quick spray of matching paint.

And I sprayed a coat of polyurethane to seal the weathered wood.

Once it was all dry I was able to put it back together, and hung in my entrance!

Here is the before and after pic, for comparison!

Tarry not, for the hook awaits thee.

 Yarn is an addiction for me, it is my happy place, and gives me peace.  Seriously!  Now there are times that I growl in frustration at whatever project I'm working on...but for the most part, crocheting makes me smile.  So when I get the chance to feed my stash I do it with GUSTO!  This past weekend was once such chance.  I am not a fiber artist that can afford the really expensive yarns so when there is a sale, or coupons you can find me taking advantage of that!  I was shopping for an afghan request.  I got to choose the colors.
















The pattern I will be using is a broomstick pattern, so I also got a dowel and had my DH sharpen one end to make it easier to draw up the loops and to crochet them off.

I also got a pom-pom making set because anyone that has ever made poms knows that they can be difficult and tricky.

And I didn't stop there!  There were a few more skeins that called to me.

I love blues

I see a teddy bear...

And I have started one project already!  A hat for me.

The pattern was a bit confusing as the stitches just don't look the same in the pictures compared to what mine looks like

And I have some custom buttons, designed by me, made by my dad! These go on the brim of my hat, well two of them will!

I hope I get this hat done soon, otherwise it will be too warm to wear it!

Down and dirty, time to distress!

After waiting 12 hours or so for the glue on the armrest to dry I finally found one of my DH's chains so I could beat the chair....seriously!

It really gives the chair an aged used look, and is fun!  But it is also dirty because the chain I grabbed had a bit of rust on it.

Don't worry, I didn't smash my shin, or fingers and the rust washed off!  I still have to go get a dowel to replace the funky buttons that used to be on the chair.