Fall is coming...so much to do!

I must admit this has been a long summer, one I have not balanced well.  I had not anticipated the difficulty of balancing full time employment, full time school, and full time single mommy duties.  By the looks of it, my blog and my home has suffered massive neglect!!! Yikes!!

 

I am ready for much cooler weather, and some much needed projects to be accomplished.  I am up for a promotion at work that will allow for some funds to go to more things other than bills...YEAH!!!! 

 

I have a rather long list of TO-DO's growing and I am attempting to decide which receive top priority.  Let us just say the top ten things to do keep rotating on the list depending on my mood or wants.

 

One of the many things I want to complete is a rather long planter bench.  I have a covered porch that is about 20 feet long and I want a planter bench to run the length of the porch separating the yard with the porch.  I just cannot decide on what kind.

There it is my porch...ignore the surroundings.  I know, I know what a sad looking back yard.  I have done nothing to it.  I have had high hopes for it when I moved in...well life got in the way, things happened.  Things are looking better and soon my yard will too.
 

See where my porch ends then there is a no-mans land running end to end then the curb edge where my "grass" would be if I believed in planting grass in a desert.  I have not found a ground cover that withstands kids and dogs yet.  Anyway that 3' x 20' no-mans land is where I want the planter bench to live.





I want to use as little virgin material as possible by using eco-friendly, recycled products instead like products by design recycle inc timber or Turn Green Solutions NuChoob Timber.  Both companies use recycled material to produce timber like products.  However I love the look of brick and cement too.  That maybe a bit more challenging to find eco-friendly versions of brick or cement.  I have not looked into it yet.  Here are some different designs I am tossing around.

via belson.com

 

via keeping it simple crafts

 

via masonjar champagne

 

via chiefs shop

 

via hendon creation

 

 

 

What are your thoughts?  Have you created your own planter benches?  Let me know because this girl needs to get her backyard in order!!

 

~Deanne



Yeah it is Friday..Easter just around the corner.

I had planned a rather large post regarding Easter and some greener options but scrapped the whole thing in disgust!!!  My lack of focus this week, thanks to major finals in school my brain is mush.  So I put this little gem together in a flash and splash!!!

Whether Easter brings images of bunnies and egg hunts...

Or remembrance of a sacrifice.

It is a great time for family, food and friends.  Enjoy it some greener options like natural dyes for your Easter Eggs, buy organic foods including that main meat dish (if you are a meat eater that is) so it is free of all those nasty chemicals and hormones and lastly go for fair trade organic candies.

Most of all avoid the trap of buying chicks and bunnies!!! I know they are super cute but please refrain...

Unless you are thinking of making your own chicken coup those cute little yellow furry chicks grow up and are not so cuddly anymore.  And bunnies, well there isn't as many shelters complaining about the onslaught of dropped off bunnies, why because people release them into the wild or neighborhoods (then they multiply).

Portobello Stroganoff, Vegan

Here are a few food ideas (a cook I am not so these are off some sites I follow)!

Easter Olive Calzone, Vegan

"Ham", Vegan

Hot Cross Buns

Can't forget all my fav sugary treats...but veganized! Fantastic!!

Raw Cadbury Eggs, Vegan




Vegan-carrot-cake



Bunny Cake

Peanut Butter Eggs

Enjoy your Easter, maybe even incorporate one or two of these vegan ideas or all!

~Deanne

thumper look-a-like pic

Christ pic

baby chicks pic

baby bunnies pic



jars...love 'em

I have been collecting jars; even my friends and family have been collecting jars for me! I have a huge mess of them all over my house just waiting for me to complete their projects and make them useful again.

I have been on the lookout for some counter top jars for my kitchen. To my dismay I have not find any that are a style or color I wanted...

So why not paint some the color I want.

Here is an easy and fun one:

Both sets of jars were found at the best place ever....Goodwill! My son says that each and every time we go to Goodwill.

• Wash super well either by hand or dishwasher: either way make sure they have rinsed all soap off. Remove all labels if possible, if not make sure to sand them smooth prior to painting.
• Use the surface conditioner: NOTE it is eco-friendly and must be used in an open well-ventilated area and it cannot go in regular trash (check with your waste management company or go to Earth911 to find proper disposal locations). You can also use vinegar to prep the glass to be more eco-friendly. I like to lightly sand the glass prior to using conditioner just to make it as porous as possible for the paint to adhere. Make sure the surface conditioner or vinegar is completely dry or your paint may run a bit.

PermEnamel Surface Conditioner

• I used Krylon for this project this time because they can be used on glass. Not a fan typically of spray paint because of the chemicals used in the product. However, it works rather well. I did apply 2 coats of the paint to make sure it was fully covered.
• I did have a couple of jars that had some drip marks. I simply sanded lightly and re-sprayed.
• You could opt for the PermEnamel paint also from Delta because it is specifically for glass. You could try some left over paint from cans too. The key is the prep of the glass and allowing ample dry time!!!

NOTE: you cannot through spray paint cans in regular trash they are an environmental hazard and must be disposed separately. Check with your waste management company or go to Earth911 to find proper disposal locations.

After 24 hours of drying in the garage.....

Here are the finished jars in Oil Bronze! I love the dark color of Oil Bronze because I love the look of dark metals, it feels earthy to me.

I have not decided on a color to write the lettering on the face of the jars...white eh maybe....sage green, possibly....mustard yellow, hmmm, or black, will it show????

What color do you think I should use for the letters?

~Deanne

Up next in my jar escapades....making lights with JARS!!!

Upcycling

I recently received a headboard from a friend who no longer needed it.  It of course is a pressboard covered by a thin sheet of wood so it is not a solid wood headboard.  However no reason to just toss aside especially since I currently do not have a headboard.

Step 1: find yourself a cute little helper who enjoys sanding.

You need to sand down the piece of furniture you are deciding paint because you need to take off the top coat of sheen. We first used a coarse piece of sandpaper to get rid of any rough spots.

Step 2: finish sanding with a super fine sheet of sandpaper to smooth out the surface.

Step 3: wipe clean and let it dry prior to painting.

Step 4: get some paint/primer combo of the color you want.  I got an eco-friendy 0 VOC paint but as soon as the dye was added it became a Low VOC paint.  The dye was not a 0 VOC compound, make sure you are aware of that when purchasing paints.

Step 5: let it dry very well before moving inside.  I also put felt on the back side corners to prevent my wall behind my bed getting scratched.

Really hard to make out just how dark and yummy this color is with my cheap camera, dang it!!!

The chocolate espresso color will look amazing against my sage green wall when I get it hooked up to my bed.

I love chocolate espresso brown, sage, red and purple colors so this looks great against my sage green wall.

So here it is behind my bed.  I have not attached it yet because I realized when I put it in place I need to raise the height about 8".  I will need to get off to the store or find some scrap wood and raise the height but all in all I like it!

Next time you think of tossing that old piece of furniture try a new color instead.  I have 5 more pieces of furniture I am refinishing, I can't wait!!

~Deanne



Haboob

image by AP

Recently several branches came down from our little Haboob: definition! I wasn't upset about my tree in my front yard coming down because well, it had been diseased and dying from the day we moved in.  I did my greenie best to save that tree but it was gone before I got to it.

I thought I would take advantage of the nasty little windstorm's destruction yard to just thin out prune the trees and take down the diseased one.  Of course I could not waste the branches from my perfectly good tree that came down in the wind.

 

I mulched it!

Mulch is great for your flower beds and grass (when you are seeding), it retains water and protects the plants roots. The diseased one of course could not be recycled as mulch because I do not want to spread the disease to my other plants.  That one was cut down and the city took it away for free.  Turn your healthy plant trimmings into compost and mulch instead of sending to the landfill that will just turn to greenhouse gas emissions.

I rented on of these fun toys above!  Since I do not have acreage I do not own a mulcher nor did I want to pay a lot of money for a service to come out.  Plus I wanted to play with a big power tool! We mulched away! Some of the mulch we added to the compost for some dry material because I had too much wet stuff in there from kitchen scraps and such.

I would share some very funny pictures of us doing this fine event....but apparently my digital camera doesn't like heat.  It was left outside. :-(  Hopefully I can recover the pictures on the sim card....

~Deanne

 

image by

image 2 by

What to do with all those jeans?

Face it if you are a mom you have tons of jeans from you kids with holes in the knees.  If you are like me you would not dare to give them to charity, yikes!

I took several jeans from my son that are not worthy for charity. 
I cut straight across the top of the leg just like the above picture. This left you the top of the jeans and two legs.
Take one leg cut up one side near the seam then repeat on the second.  This gives you two panels.  Repeat as many times needed to cover your project.

This is a bunkie board.  Left from a bunk bed.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it until the light hit me "my son needs a headboard."

This is the same bunkie board but the back side.  The top is a long pillow case with 3 separate pillows inside.  I attached the case to the bunkie board leaving one end open to remove the pillows in the future if needed.

 

 I took all the panels I cut from the jean legs and sewn them together like quilt panels.  I loved the rustic look of worn areas.  I did sew patches behind those worn areas and holes for stability.  The picture is pretty dark so below....

This picture is the final out come.  I took all the sewn panels, attached them to the bunkie board with an electric upholstery stapler.  Now I just need to attach it to my son's bed.

Here are some more wonderful ideas I came across!

25 other great ideas!

Deanne