Hoop de doo.

What to do when your jump shot has lost it's jump or is just plain shot! This stag horn fern was the size of a baseball when I got it as a gift. Now over the years inside there somewhere is 2 different wood planters that the plant grew over, a set of chain holders and now a new hoop and chain set. This is my kind of hoop and chain jewelry LOL. Now lets see how long it takes for the stag horn to out grow this.

bugs in the herb garden

Here is a cute way to use up bottle caps, tag your herbs and have beneficial bugs all at the same time.

I ate the Whole thing!

Going back to basics, we are on a whole food diet/lifestyle. We are COOKING, not heating up items that someone else made. We are soaking and cooking beans of all kinds. Making our own soups, getting fresh fruits, veggies and fish at the farmers market to flea market. As a result as a couple we have lost 110lbs and are feeling better and stronger than ever. We have given up things like heartburn, swollen ankles and bloating. Now that is a diet I can live with.

The old Jar game.

You may all remember Dad or Grandpa having jars in the garage or workshop. Make some shelves or use the shelves that are already there. The top 6-10 inches are waisted space. Get a jar with a good fitting lid, put a small hole in the lid, screw the lid to the bottom of the shelf and then put your hardware in the jar and then screw the jar to the lid. Mason jars work great. Pickle jars, Mayo jars, Jelly jars all work fine. It works with a craft room also. Your items stay clean and you can see them when you are looking for something.

Beloved Jeans

Yes, we all have them our old trusty friends, the Jeans that have been around and around and around. I have lost weight and have had to give up much of my wardrobe and then this. A Pair of jeans that I kept around, cut off, sewn up and now some teeth broke in the zipper. Beach season is upon us and my beach bag will not hold my large towel, water shoes and all of the stuff I need So I pulled my trusty friend out of the trash and sewed the bottom of the leg and the zipper shut. Tied some fat shoe laces to the belt loops and off to the beach I go. the pocket make a great place to put my sun screen, comb, a change purse for the meter, ect ect. The belt loop can have clips added to them to hold keys or any other thing I need to take. I just love it and it will last a very long time. Cargo pants would be even better with the extra pockets. Beach anyone?

Atmosphere in the workshop.

Just for fun I thought I would show you one of the posters that make up the Atmophere in the workshop. My workshop is like my second home or the south wing as I like to call it. plenty of old paint sitting on a table that came from the trash. It has spray paint on it but it is strong.

Paint old flower pots or new plain ones

Brighten up old flower pots or buy new plain clay pots and paint them. You don't need special paint I use the water base craft paints. They will last for years and will hold up outside on the clay. If you want to you can buy a gloss sealer to spray on and they will look glazed. You can save hundreds of dollars by not getting the special hand painted ones. If you think you need help painting you can get stencils. Personally I just like to slap on some paint and have fun. You can always say you bought them from some children's group or blame the grand kids. Just have fun with it.

Save the paper, write a note

Everyone has some old mirrors hanging around, sometimes the edges are chipped or the mirror stuff is coming off. If you don't have one look around, people are always putting bathroom cabinets and dresser mirrors out for trash. The mirror itself can be taken out. In these two examples one has glass pieces glued onto it and then grouted, the other is done with liquid lead and glass paint. Mirror makes a great message board, dry erase marker shows up well and wipes right off. You can use a sharpie marker as well and it will wipe off with rubbing alcohol. I write myself messages all of the time. the one on my art room door is used for projects that I will get to sooner or later. Like these done on a rainy day.

Coffee anyone?

this shelf was turned into a coffee table with the addition of some legs from some ole end tables and clothes line rope.

Not the end for end tables

Pat gave me these end tables for my son. They were nicer than mine so I gave him mine and kept these. Years have passed and now I have different end tables, so what to do with these very heavy end tables? I removed the legs and used them for a coffee table that I will show next. The tops are very heavy and work great to hold a vice and a chop saw in my workshop. It also makes them portable so I can work in the yard or on a work site. The tabletop also makes moving them easy and if there is no where to set up the saw, it is never on the ground.

turn your plates

Licence plates that have advertisements on them are welcomed here. Paint with a base color. Print any font on your computer or use stick on letters. paint with a metallic spray paint. make any greeting that is you. mine is "the God in me sees the God in you"

An extra mailbox in the garden is a great help.

I picked up a mailbox that was put out for garbage after being run over. I put it up in the garden where it holds twine and extra pruning shears. You can run the twine down through the hole in the bottom of the box to keep out wasps and to make it easy to pull as much as you need and the shears to cut it with. A handy tool if I do say so myself.
Behind the mailbox you can see a small white fence. Only a small section of the fence is shown. The fence is made of 4 sections which are the back and seat of 2 metal futons, painted with white paint and hooked together by 4 PT 2x4x8's cemented into the ground.It looks nice and will outlast any pvc fence going.

Make the best of an old mailbox.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! The old mailbox was rusted and not looking her best. I had a leftover can of spray paint from another project that was light blue. so I sanded the rust down and painted the box. then one evening things got fishy and I painted the cartoon fish. It is different, it makes me smile everytime I drive by it. Years ago I made one that looked like a J.D. tractor. Some local groups get together and have mailbox painting workshops. It would be fun to have a party of friends to get together and paint mailboxes..... Hey I think I might just do that. LOL

French doors in, Sliders out.

The old green house had that green fiberglass siding on it and when it was built that was what it was used for. Fastfoward 20 years and the trees have grown over top not much sun gets in and the green house has been turned into Em's junkster headquarters/workshop. The styles have changed and people are putting in french doors and getting rid of the sliding glass. I am gathering them up and replacing the old fiberglass with the glass doors. painting the glass and then frosting it. the light comes in and the up keep is just to hose them off once in a while. The inside view is much nicer and that is where I spend most of my time. OK Wilma, I am ready for the rest of the doors now. LOL

What to do with leftover cement?

After working on a walkway in the backyard, that will be shown at a latter date, I had leftover cement. Hummmm what can I do with this? I live in an area that dosen't really have very many rocks so I thought a rock would be nice for the landscape. First I dug a hole the hight I wanted for the rock and made some different shapes in the bottom of it. Put a piece of plastic in the bottom and then the cement. after a few days I pryed my creation from the ground moved it to the front walkway and sat a little fairy on the top. I love it.

When the bench can't hold the butt.

This old Wrought Iron bench has wooden slats that are in need of repair. So in the mean time it will hold these big spider plants. Originally the bench was put by the front door for the kids to sit on and take their skates off. The kids are grown and the bench remains to greet guests. I put this one on today for Pat who has a wooden swing that will soon be honored with plants to sit on it.
Oh ya, the walkway you see in front of the bench is made with cheap popcorn blocks painted in blue and white patterns offten found on country dinner plates.

Desk transformation

This old desk was gathering dust. So I cut the hutch off and moved it to the workshop to hold paints. The bottom half got fitted with a 4x4 table top I found and it became an art/craft table that we all love. Now it is useful and full of life. no more dust.

I have Windows

A pair of old wooden sash windows make great picture frames. with some mats they look great in a hallway. I did a distressd style paint in an old proch grey.