Bushbed ready for Bushes

before

After

Willy is so sweet... even while he is complaining through his teeth at me about killing the grass we worked so hard to plant and grow. He helped me get 4x4's ready and even made stakes and pounded them in the ground for me... then he even helped me spread the gravel... with his help the bushbed was done in 30 minutes. I have the best husband! Next spring I will hopefully fill this whole front spot with bushes... some large and some small. Our front lawn looks so awful and dead... the bare spot was where a tree stump and rocks used to be, but Willy also removed those for me, so hopefully we can get the grass to grow better and the yard will be more flat and easier to mow. Little by little our {cottage} is becoming what we want it to be.

{10.6.12}

{garden hooks}

I saw these cute hooks at one of my cousins wedding receptions... and they were so cute! So I have been looking around for some. I bought one at Lowes that is 4 ft tall and then I found some online that were 3 ft tall and only $7 each... so I bought 3. They are a welcome addition to my sad looking flowerbeds. I am going to make some cute things to hang on them... or I might just hang jars with candles in them. Who knows?.... the possibilities are endless....

{10.1.12}

yard {work}.... and creations

I am sooooo very behind on so many things. It is going to take me hours on the computer to catch up on my blog. If I didn't make a book every year I wouldn't worry about it... but I do. So here we go.

I was so excited when summer began. I had a notebook page full of things I wanted to accomplish and build. My yard was on the top of that list. Planting a garden, planting trees and flowers, and creating some fun yard accents. The best thing about having flowers in the yard is that you don't have to buy any when you want a bouquet... but I have such a hard time bring myself to cut my flowers because then I know that they will just die. They are so beautiful.

 I am getting my herb garden filled up finally. I planted a few new kinds this year that I grew from seed and they are still alive and growing. Tarragon, Sage, and marjoram. I can't wait till they are big and fill all the space.

 I love daisy's!!! So when I bought this barrel I knew exactly what I wanted to put in it.

 I built these planters and planted wheat. It grew pretty well, but didn't seed out before it died. And the goats didn't help... they kept eating it off.

 I love vines too!!! Our grapevine and honeysuckle are doing magnificent.

 I was going to put these boots out in the yard and plant flowers in them, but they still look pretty good... even though they have a huge hole in the bottom that fills up with sand and water when I wear them... so I decided I would use them as a vase in the house. They turned out very cute.

I have had this window for a very long time trying to decide what to use it for. I finally decided. I painted it and put chicken wire on the back and turned it into a backdrop for my pictures in my room. I really like the knobs on the top.

 I moved the kids' boxes this spring. They work so much better by the fence. Dad gave me some old rubber belting that works great as a weed barrier.

 I love sunflowers so I made this sign... even though we don't have any sunflowers planted in the kids' boxes.

 I finally got my strawberries planted in the metal tank Willy {let me use}. It was working so good until the chickens decided to help out... they smashed them and ate the leaves. Darn chickens!

 This is the beginnings of our garden. It has done amazing this year. I need to take new pictures of it. Willy made this little teepee out of rebar so we could grow some more vines, but they haven't done as well as I hoped they would.

 Here is our sunflower garden planted in tires around the kids play house.

 I really enjoy having a herb garden even though we haven't done much with the herbs yet.

 Willy gave me his old boots so I could plant flowers in them since I didn't use mine.

My list is still pretty long of things I want to build and do... but there is always next year.

{6.2.12}

Herb Garden {barn wood sign}

 Spring is here and everything is turning green... I love it!!!! I finally made my first barn wood sign that I have been planning to make for a couple years now. I really like how it turned out and it was pretty easy. I hung it on the fence with some wire... so I could see it when {all} of my herbs cover the ground and reach 2 ft tall, lol.

I am really enjoying spring... I love watching everything grow. 

{5.1.12}

 

yard... aNd... house {wOrk}

 The grass never grows where I want it to... but it grows all over where I don't want it... this bench, ladder, and vine were getting overgrown... so the kids and I took the truck down to Lue's... where Willy and Caleb have been working... and gathered up two loads of cobble rock... then laid them out around so they would keep the grass down... I hope it works...

 Our old porch was starting to fall apart and it was small and nasty with that outside carpet stuff on it... the cat hair would get stuck to it... it was really gross... so we poured a new cement porch... and I LOVE it!!!... it is wider and we have a sidewalk... now we just have to finish our awning and metal roofing...

{6.29.11}

{May pRojEcts}

 I can cross a few more things off my project list... but it doesn't ever get any shorter... because I keep adding things at the bottom.

I made this handstitched saying after I saw the one at Lindsey's reception that Lewaina had made. I hope she doesn't mind I copied her idea. {I love it} I look at it everyday on the shelf in my bedroom. I might have to redo it because I made the words a little too small.

 This {measuring stick} has been on my list for a long time. We have been marking the kids heights on the doorframe to the backroom, but I wanted something that we could take with us if we ever moved.

I took a 1x4x6
scuffed up the edges with the dremeltool
painted it brown
cut out vinyl numbers with the cricut
cut out small strips of different sizes using my paper cutter
stuck all the vinyl on the board {you can't see it very good in the picture}
painted antique white overtop
peeled the vinyl off
sanded the edges {so it would look aged}
added a flower at the bottom
and put some glaze over the top {so it would look more aged}
{i love it} now all I need to add is the kids old heights and their new heights.
Don't I have the cutest happy helper?! (in the background)

 The kids have been helping me clean up outside... on the good days... which have been few. We dug up some grass and put down some rock... hopefully it will help keep the grass from invading to bad. We also put some brick around our herb garden. Clayton and Sadie hauled almost all of it... they are really good helpers.

{5.18.11}

Summer Projects

These are some summer projects that I have FINISHED.

This is a large drawer from a closet that my Aunt was getting rid of along with some other wood. After I got it all home, I decided to make panter boxes out of them before they got ruined by the weather. I tore out the bottom, filled them with peatmoss and dirt, and then planted some flowers. I have one for each of my children and they are theirs to take care of (including weed).

I found this headboard in the top of the barn and decided to make a bench out of it. It is the perfect size for the kids. I also have two matching ones that I plan to do the same thing.