An object lesson for kids on honesty. Great family home evening lesson that comes with dessert!
A lesson for kids on how a lie doesn’t cover up the truth. Click below to visit the lesson on honesty:
Backyard Fire Pit
The fire pit is a great way to spend time with friends and family, roast marshmallows, hot dogs, or just sit around it and enjoy the fire. This fire pit is a DIY project made from retaining wall blocks.
Image Source: RuggedThugLife.com
Brick Books for a Vintage Garden
I very much enjoy crafting new items for my home and garden.
When the holiday decorations are taken down and stored away and the winter weather is still keeping us indoors, I sit down with a hot cup of coffee or tea and begin creating new items for the new year. January and February is the best time for creating – I find that the spring time asks for too much cleaning, summer is full of travel and making plans with the kids and fall is the start of a long, enjoyable holiday season. I like to keep busy, so crafting is a great way to stay occupied when the chill outside is unbearable!
Image: junk-culture.com
This weekend, I started a new project that is not only fun for me, but I will be continuing to create more as gifts for relatives. My family has a couple generations of librarians, so by nature we have turned into bookworms! What better for a bookworm than a nice set of books for the garden?! These “books” are actually made of bricks! Yes, that is right…ugly old garden bricks transformed into these amazing (though not QUITE readable!) treasures.
Look at the beautifully crafted vintage look of these brick books! I am so impressed! For my very first brick novel, I started with my grandfather’s favorite “Treasure Island”. I know he will enjoy placing this out in his garden…or maybe using it as a bookend in his home office. While mine does not look quite as vintage as the lovely books shown above, I am hoping to wear it down with some fine sandpaper once I am done painting the title on.
This is a very fun project and will make an easily personalized gift for any garden or book lover!
Using Fireplace Ashes In The Garden
Using fireplace ashes in the garden is one way to recycle a natural resource and get some perks at the same time. Mixed into potting soil or spread on the surface of beds, ash supplies four important nutrients for plants: potassium, nitrogen, phosphorous and calcium. Ash benefits don’t end there though; it also adds grit and helps balance the pH level.
Potassium is important for overall plant health, especially during growth spurts. Nitrogen encourages lush foliage and deep roots. Phosphorous promotes fruit production and flower bud development. Calcium helps with cell strength and transmission of nutrients through the circulatory system. Ash also increases soil alkalinity to help balance acidic soil conditions.
Image Source: Gardener’s Path
There are many more uses for fireplace ashes than I ever knew.
- Compost bin – only a little amongst the organic matter.
- A light layer around plants can keep slugs away.
- A tablespoon of ash to 1000 gallons of water for a pond will keep algae down.
- As a fertilizer.
- Cleaning silver.
DIY Garden Ornaments
DIY – over rebar slide mini painted terra cotta pots that are glued opening to opening and assorted bowls that are glued the same and painted balls and painted coasters drilled with holes. Paint balls to scatter around.
Easy, fun to make, and cute!
Butterfly Garden
Butterflies are beautiful, flitting around among all the other lovely flowers you’ve planted, so it makes sense to want to attract them. Some people just like butterflies, and that’s reason enough to plant a butterfly garden.
Butterfly gardens are also popular because it’s fun to watch butterflies, and kids love them. And who doesn’t enjoy the sight of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly?
So if you’re setting out to create a butterfly garden, you’ll want some nectar plants that will keep your adult butterflies fed and happy. A butterfly garden can also provide larval food plants for butterflies when they hatch from their eggs.
Butterflies are attracted to plants that have certain colors, such as red or purple flowers, or large leaves with nectar inside of them. Some things people can do in order attract butterflies in their garden is by having a solitary flower bed so you can get a good view of them fluttering their wings when they land on the flowers, planting some trees and shrubs for butterflies to have shelter, having an artificial structure with water, and by planting certain types of flowers. Artificial structures such as birdbaths and ponds also provide valuable water sources for thirsty butterflies while also attracting them with its up-close views while feeding.
Planting plants that are attractive to butterflies is the easiest way to attract them. Some of these plants include: Bee Balm, Basil, Bergamot, Butterfly Bush (Buddleia), Catmint, Cosmos, Gloriosa Daisy (Gloriosa superba), Marigolds (Tagetes spp.), Nasturtiums, Red-Hot Poker, Rosemary, Salvia, Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum), Stonecrop (Sedum).
Paver Patio with Covered Bar and Outdoor Kitchen
Love this project, So happy we could complete. Paver Patio with a covered bar and complete outdoor kitchen!
Upcycle a Broken Lawn Chair!
I have seen people re-purpose nice, old wooden chairs, but never have I seen something like this before.
Photo: instructables.com
I have to admit, when a lawn chair breaks, I am first to chuck in in the dumpster. Never before have I thought twice about saving it or fixing it. Probably because these days, lawn chairs are so poorly made that I don’t expect it to last more than a few seasons with that crappy woven plastic tubing. Not to mention how much these plastic-covered chairs suck. Your hot, sweaty skin sticks to them in the summer time! Ugh.
This guy gives a tutorial on Instructables.com in creating a re-purposed chair from seat belts! Genius! Not only are you up-cycling old junk, but creating a new chair at the same time. Saves money and looks awesome! Plus, the possibilities seem endless…seat belts, regular belts (dated ones not worn in your closet, or stock up on the cheap at a second hand store), macramé yarn, old ties, old rope, old backpack or purse straps, duct tape…whatever junk you have sitting in a box in your garage! Just be sure you spray it with a weatherproof coating if you are going to keep it outdoors.
What an awesome idea!
Garden Apron
Looking for a way to keep the dirt off your clothes in the garden?
I am constantly being covered in soil, leaves and other fun little tidbits of my yard each time I head out to do “a little” gardening. Sure, a little dirt never hurt…but it DOES mean more laundry ! I don’t know about you, but laundry is not something I look forward to. The laundry room is hot and stuffy, and the task of folding is SO monotonous! I would rather be gardening!
Photo: Etsy ohlittlerabbit
This handmade, screen printed apron shown above would be a great addition to any avid gardeners wardrobe for use in the garden or while cooking up all those freshly picked veggies in the kitchen! I also have to say, I LOVE this apron in white…the more dirt and stains it shows with time will only make it look better with this quote!
I am constantly looking for fresh gift ideas for all my gardening friends during the holidays. This adorable apron tops my list this year! Order now before the holiday rush on Etsy!
Planting Chart
I’m not gonna lie to you, I don’t have the greenest thumb and I don’t have the best luck growing vegetables. However, if you’re someone who loves to grow them, please let me know what your secret is because it looks like fun!
The following chart should help those just starting out – or even those with years of experience under their belts. 