Old Sewing Machine Table turned Outdoor Planter

Hey Y'all! I am back after a two'ish week break. I needed to focus on healing.

I developed shingles, and let me tell you...that's stuff is NO JOKE!

Thankfully, it's passed, and I have learned so much about myself and how I handle stress (actually how I don't handle it.)

I am taking baby steps, and learning to say no, and learning to just breathe.

It's SOOO hard y'all!

Anytime I am on the mend from an illness, I always have the urge to get up and do something. I don't do well sitting still, but sometimes life knocks you down and you have to listen to your body.

I had plenty of time to dream up different projects with all of that sitting I was doing with those nasty shingles.

So as soon as I was feeling up to it, I was out in the garage tearin' things up.

I had an old empty sewing machine table sitting in my attic that was given to me by one of my mother's friends. I knew I could do something with it, but I just didn't know what.

So it sat in the attic for more than a year.

Hubby kept trying to make me get rid of it because it was taking up space, but I refused. 

I am so glad I didn't throw it out.

I finally came up with a fun way to repurpose the table.

I turned it into an outdoor planter.

This was its original state.

Sans sewing machine.

I used the wood from the stand my porch swing used to hang from, and created a box to slide inside the table. Building the box took 40 forevers!

I went with my tried and true Krylon red. This was the first time for me to use this all-in-one paint and I LOVE it. It was super easy to use!

I made sure to drill a few holes in the bottom of the planter for drainage.

I also roughed up the top with my orbital sander, just to knock off the sheen.

Two coats of spray paint, and she was ready for assembly.

I used the plastic that Lowe's gives you for your car to protect the floor mats as my liner for the planter. Dual purpose, and it was free!

I had some leftover dirt from some previous plantings, and it was just enough. Lucky me!

I also poked holes through the plastic for drainage.

I made sure to get shade tolerant plants, since they would be under a covered porch. I always seem to ignore the suggestions on those little plant tags. 

You know what? Those people from the plant stores kind of know what they're talking about, so I chose to listen this time :-)

I love the varying heights of the plants.

I can't wait until they fill in a little more.

This was an inexpensive build, and I was only out the cost of spray paint and the plants.

I am so thankful for days when I can create what I imagined. It's so fun!

So, who's ready to make their own? I would love to see pictures if you decide to recreate this piece!!

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Fairy Garden and it's Progress

A few weeks ago, Sister started begging me to help her make a fairy garden. One of her little friends had made one, and she loved the idea.

I ignored her pleas for a few days because we were about to dive deep into Memory Masters for school and I didn't want to add anything to my plate. Plus, I thought if I ignored her, she would soon forget.

But she was persistent, and she didn't forget.

So I started looking at Pinterest because that's where you go to find ALL inspiration for anything!

By the way, where did we go for ideas before Pinterest? 

I saw some really cute ideas, but those little stinkers can get expensive.

I decided on a budget for her. 

I told her she had $20 to spend on accessories and plants. We obviously went over budget, but not by much. I think we ended up spending around $30 total.

 

We started at Hobby Lobby. She picked out the arbor, fence, bridge, and bench from there. In case you go looking for fairy garden items from HL, it's in the wedding section...not the garden section where we first started our search.

After we left HL, we hit the Dollar Tree. We got the sand for the path, and the rocks for the "creek."

Our last stop led us to Lowes, where we purchased the plants. 

When I was searching online for ideas, I watched a video that talked about scale. It was really informative and something I would have never thought to consider. 

So as we were making all of our purchases, we tried to keep that in mind. 

We looked for a fairy house, but they were all so expensive. When we arrived home, we looked around for anything that we could use. We found this little bird house that Sister had painted for her Fairy Tea Party

It fit the space perfectly, and saved a few extra dollars.

Something to remember when planting a Fairy Garden, or any garden for that matter, make sure to pay attention to the sun exposure the plants need. 

We had the planter at our back door. There is plenty of morning sunlight, but as the day went by, the covered porch blocked the sun, and the plants weren't thriving.

I moved it to the flower bed just off of the patio, and after a good rain, and plenty of sunshine, the plants took off!

 There's a big difference, right?

I've kind of caught the fairy garden bug now. 

I really want one with a water feature, and I want a fairy house like the one pictured below. Isn't it so sweet?

 

(click the picture to see price)

 I can just picture a water fall behind it. I have lots of stones left over from Sister's fairy garden. I just need a water pump, like the one pictured.

 

(click picture to see price) 

So have you caught the Fairy Garden bug yet? I would love to see what you've come up with! Make sure to share your fairy garden pictures on my Facebook page.

*affiliate links in this post*

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Growing a Vegetable Garden

 This time of year, everyone begins to think of planting. Whether it be flowers, vegetables, or both, we all long for something pretty to look at after the long, cold, grey winter.

I decided this year that I wanted another try at vegetable gardening. I am really good about starting a garden. I get excited about all of the vegetables that will be sitting on my table during the summer, and how proud I will be to serve my family foods that I have raised myself.

Then reality sets in.  

I forget about my garden. 

I forget that the plants get thirsty. I forget that the weeds need to be pulled. I forget that the ground needs fertilizer and that the plants need help keeping the bugs away. 

Another excuse I always use is it just gets plain hot here in Alabama. Nasty, humid hot, where you can almost cut the air with a knife.

I mean, who wants to go outside and sweat to death for a little ole tomato?

 Obviously not me.

 However, I am trying to turn over a new leaf. 

Plus, hubby said I wouldn't be able to keep it alive, so now it's personal. I refuse to be defeated.

This garden will survive and I will be eating vegetables from it in about 90 days, give or take.

 Hubby built these raised beds for me a few years ago. Every year I have the best intentions of growing food...but it hasn't really happened yet. I know for a fact that I can successfully grow weeds in it, though.

 It took me two hours of digging to clear out all of the weeds. I was so exhausted after that. I am so thankful for grocery stores!!

So what am I growing(besides weeds)?

-pickling cucumbers

-tomatoes

-squash

-zucchini

-cabbage

-lettuce

-carrots

-basil

-rosemary

-thyme

-jalapenos

-habeneros

There is no rhyme or reason to my selection. I ran to Lowes one day and that was what caught my eye. I normally buy all of my vegetables for canning from the Mennonites in Kentucky. So, these veggies are just to get a feel for gardening. That way, when the apocalypse hits, I will know how to keep us alive a little longer!!

I will post progress pictures as the garden gets bigger. Help me stay accountable, y'all! I can't let hubby be right on this one!!!

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Front Porch Fall Decor

 It's Friday!!! 

Yay for 3-day-weekends, and yay for football season kicking off. 

We have a busy weekend ahead of us with lots of food, friends and football. But before all of my guests arrive, I have a long list of to-do's. 

I can check the front porch off the list though. It's done. For now at least. 

We have a tiny front porch...I'm not even sure you could really call it a front porch. It's more of a pass through. 

It's not big enough to have big beautiful displays like the front porches below:

 source unknown

source unknown

However, it looks barren when nothing is there. 

Everything has to be small in scale when decorating this porch because I want my guests to feel welcome at the front door, not claustrophobic.  

I couldn't really get a good full scale picture of the porch. The brick wall kind of takes up the picture, but in person it's much more inviting...I promise:o)

And, yes, I did just water the plants before taking the shot. It looks like my pumpkins got a little excited;o) Guess this photo won't make it to Pinterest;o)

The mums really make the bench pop, and keep it from blending in with the massive boring brick wall behind it.

To try to keep things symmetrical, I brought a small teak chair from the backyard, and used it as a plant holder. The old granite ware pitcher has holes in the bottom of it, so it makes a perfect planter now.

I will most likely be adding more pumpkins and a possible mini hay bale, but that's where I will have to be patient. The pumpkins aren't quite ready, and we'll have plenty of pumpkin farm field trips to collect those:o)

Partying Here:

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Ideas to Make Life Easier

Here is an email I received today. Thought I would share this tips with you all!

Enjoy!

Hull strawberries easily using a straw.

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture

will disguise dings and scrapes.  Rubbing a walnut

over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings

and scrapes.

Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or

computer screen with WD40.

Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box

by securing with a rubber band.

Overhaul your linen cupboard, store bed linen sets

inside one of their own pillowcases and there will

be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone & iPod

in a bowl.  The concave shape amplifies the music.

Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags.

Add this item to your beach bag.  Baby powder

gets sand off your skin easily, who knew?!

Attach a Velcro strip to the wall to store soft toys.

Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls

against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the

floor.

Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a

stocking over the vacuum hose.

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting

crosses into a box lid.

For those who can’t stand the scrunching and

bunching: how to perfectly fold a fitted sheet.

Forever losing your bathroom essentials?  Use

magnetic strips to store bobby pins, tweezers

and clippers, behind a vanity door

Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty

soles rubbing on your clothes.  And you can

find them in just about every hotel.

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy.  Magnets

hold the plastic cups down to make them

tip-resistant.

Bread tags make the perfect cord labels.

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones, so

much more fun and easier for kids to eat.

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper

bag.  Much healthier and cheaper than the packet

stuff.

Install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles.

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough

over the top and voila, you have cookie bowls for fruit

or ice-cream.

Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing

sunburn relief.

Create a window-box veggie patch using guttering.

Use egg cartons to separate and store your

Christmas decorations.

Pretty cool, huh?

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