And rain will make the flowers grow...

It's been a great year for my plants this year. Everything has grown huge it seems. It's just been raining at the right times and I haven't had to water much. I ended up planting a lot of pots this year, and thought I would share them with you.

On the lamp post at the end of my driveway are some pretty pink geraniums.

A trio of mixed pots:

I've made a few dish fairy gardens this year as well.

I love how these turned out!

Then there is my two barrels:

The dahlia's are especially big this year!

I love planing in unexpected containers, like this teapot:

This the best year yet for my clematis.

And last but not least, I took an arty pic of one of my hydrangea bushes and a rusty chair in the backyard.

I'm in love with all the blooms! How is your gardening going this year?

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

Craft Room Inspiration

I have an entire board on Pinterest dedicated to ideas for my craft room in the basement. Here's a few highlights that have inspired me and that you will see when I reveal the finished product.

Color inspiration from here:


and here:



I also have some organization inspiration from several places:








Then of course, there is some fun artwork I'd like to incorporate:







Like what you see? Then check out my entire Craft Room Inspiration Board on Pinterest:



I can't wait to start showing off parts of this room!

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

Pinspiration #3: Mail Organizing Station

I was inspired by this lovely project from Beyond the Picket Fence:  

I needed a solution for my mail piling up all over the house. Here's my version:

I decided to put it right by the front door as otherwise the mail would just get left on the T.V. stand near there anyway.

FYI- my dad painted that painting for me and made the frame from old barn wood. Love it!

I already had all the supplies on hand for this project. I was digging around in the garage for a board when I found the piece of bead board already cut to the perfect width. Score! Did I mention it was already painted white? Double score! All I had to do to the backing was sand it a bit and antique it with a little stain.

I also had the books on hand from a previous auction buy. I just removed the covers, glued in fabric sides and screwed the cover right into the bead board.

Don't worry about the book insides, they will be put to good use! I thought the covers needed some extra hardware, so I glued some scrap-booking label parts I had lying around to the fronts.

Because I can't resist, here's an "action shot"

I love this thing! Hopefully, I can convince my husband to put the mail in here instead of laying it elsewhere.

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

*Planning to share at: Metamorphosis Monday;  Made by You Monday; Time To Sparkle Tuesday Linky Party;  Whatever Goes Wednesday; Wildly Original Linky Party; Clever Chicks Blog Hop; Serenity Now Weekend Blog Hop; 

Garden Mushrooms

I saw this idea somewhere (can't recall where exactly now) for making garden mushrooms out of upside bowls and vases. I thought it would be fun to add some to my garden.

I thought they added a fun bit of whimsy to the garden. They were super easy to make. I just found various bowls and vases at the thrift store and glued them together using E6000. I've had them outside through several rain showers so far and they've held up great. Have you used any ordinary objects to decorate your garden lately?

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

*Planning to share at: Metamorphosis Monday;  Made by You Monday; Time To Sparkle Tuesday Linky Party;  Whatever Goes Wednesday; Wildly Original Linky Party; Clever Chicks Blog Hop; Serenity Now Weekend Blog Hop; 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I showed you my plantings here, but I thought I would give an update on what some of them look like now.

My wine barrel:

I rearranged the front steps a little and added a fun old crate:

The flowers have been filling out nicely now that sun has been finally shining!

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

What did I do with it? #5

Remember this post, where I asked what I should do with these three aluminum pans? I decided to make a three tiered storage piece to hold craft supplies.

First, I painted each of the pans a fun color. I used spray paint and painted them upside down. I decided I didn't want to spray the insides of the pan to leave some fun contrast.

A side note here; I tried using a different white spray paint on the top initially, but it turned out horrible! I didn't like the color (too white), the paint dripped badly and all around, it looked terrible. This happens for me almost every time I use a-brand-I-shall-not-name. I've since noted to myself, stick to RustOleum Painter's Touch!

Meanwhile, back to the project: I found some candlesticks that I had in the basement and spray painted those as well. (Pretend I actually remembered to take a picture of this step, mmkay?)

Next, I printed out numbers (1,2 & 3) using a font I liked and cut them out. I Mod Podged them on the front of each pan. (I was going to do something clever, like cut a funky stencil or use a transfer technique, but this was fast, easy and looked great.)

Finally,I used E6000 to glue everything together. I decided because of the way the candlesticks were that I would just glue the tops of them to the pan above it. That way I can take one level out and move it elsewhere if I need to.

What do you think? I can wait to start putting bits and bobs in it. This is the first of many projects to help me organize and contain my craft supplies into one area in the basement (a monumental task for sure!).

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

*Planning to share at:
Metamorphasis Monday; Time To Sparkle Tuesday Linky Party; Trash to Treasure; The Power of Paint Party; Wildly Original Linky Party; Transformation Thursday; What have you redone?; Shabbilicious Friday.

Gardening at Last!

Winter  finally went away, so I went crazy at the greenhouse buying flowers and veggies to plant. Then it rained and rained and rained. Today the sun finally came out and I am getting some of that stuff planted! I thought I would share some pics with everyone.

The front steps of the house:

I love using random containers to plant in!

The other side of the door:

My hubby surprised me with a half whiskey barrel planter for Mother's Day:

I love Gerber daisies! You can't tell from this picture, but these have two-toned petals.

I found an old bike basket awhile back and thought it would be great straddling the railing on my deck:

More Gerber's!

This year I planted all of my herbs in a metal wash tub:

It's so nice to keep them all together like that. Here's some shade lovin' pots:

Look at those gorgeous double impatients!

I also planted a pot for the sidewalk in front of my office:

It might look like some of these pots are a little sparse now, but come another couple of weeks they will be filled out and overflowing! I haven't got everything planted yet, so be sure to check back in a couple of days to see the rest of the beauties!

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!


*Planning to share at:
Metamorphasis Monday;  Time To Sparkle Tuesday Linky Party; Trash to Treasure;  Wildly Original Linky Party; Transformation Thursday; What have you redone?; Fridays Unfolded; Shabbilicious Friday.

What Should I Do With It Wednesday? #5

It's time for another, What Should I Do With It Wednesday? This week, I picked up these three great baking pans. They get smaller in size, and are made out of aluminum.

What do you think I should do with them? A multi-level birdfeeder perhaps? If you've got any ideas, please share in the comments below!

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

Silverware Wind Chime

I've been swapping up a storm over at Craftster. I just made this little beauty for someone:

The silverware is all silver plated (that's what sounds the best) I used a fork and bent the tines to make the top.

There's a bird in the middle for maximum chiming:

and I used a key charm for the bottom weight:



I have a lot of this silverware lying around. I need to get to making more stuff like this!

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

*Planning to share at:
Metamorphasis Monday;  Time To Sparkle Tuesday Linky Party; Trash to Treasure; Wildly Original Linky Party; Transformation Thursday; What have you redone?;  Fridays Unfolded; Shabbilicious Friday.

What Should I Do With It Wednesday? #3

I'll be posting the results of the last What Should I Do With It Wednesday (#2) later. This week I'd like input on what to do with this:

It's a great wooden spool. It measures about 7 inches tall. I was thinking of making a lamp stand out of it. Or maybe a pendant light. What do you think?

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

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What did I do with it?

Last week, I started a new series called "What Should I Do with it Wednesday?" (See original post here). I didn't get any comments with suggestions, but I'm not deterred. I took the gravel sifter, thingy and combined it with parts of this:

to make this:

Didn't that turn out great? I didn't take pictures of the process, but here's what I did. First, I sprayed the whole gravel thingy (yeah, that's what I'm calling it!) with clear matte spray to preserve the rusty wire and the wood. Then, I cut out a square in the wire mesh at the top to fit the lighting fixture through. After that, I unscrewed the pendent fixture parts, took off the ugly lampshade and fed the socket through the hole I cut in the mesh. Then I just had to screw the whole thing back together. I added this funky Edison style bulb I had cause I think it makes it look cool.

Here's some more pictures for your enjoyment:

I can't believe how easy that was! I'm starting to wonder what other stuff I can turn into funky chandeliers. Stay tuned for another installment of What Should I Do With It Wednesday later today!

Don't settle for dull, live a refinished life!

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