Porch sign- Front porch facelift

I've recently been working on giving my front porch a bit of a facelift.  I decided I needed a porch sign as part of it.  I've seen many different versions with different phrases.  I chose a few phrases that I liked and this is what I came up with.

I gathered some scrap wood I had left over from another project.  I cut 5 boards at 16 inches.

I then gave each of the boards a light sanding to get any roughness off.

I attached two smaller boards lengthwise to hold the boards in place.

I used white paint as a base coat. Then added back and green paint on the edges to match with my color scheme.

I used stencils and black paint for the lettering.

I attached a chain to the top using two fence staples.

Try this simple little project to give a unique touch to your front porch.

You may also like these front porch ideas: coffee table spool, vertical planters.

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Until next time,

Coffee table spool- Front porch facelift

My son salvaged 3 of these from a job site.  He stained two of them to use as tables for his patio area.  I guess he was over it by then and the last one ended up in the scrap pile.   So I saved it from the scrap pile and made a front porch table of my own.

I flipped it on its side and painted the middle section white. Then I painted the base and top black.  Tick, tock, tick, tock.  The hardest part of this project was waiting on the paint to dry.

Every front porch table needs some plants and decor ( it also helped to cover the holes and hardware).

I had been wanting, scratch that, needing to refresh my front porch for a while now. It's an ongoing project, but the front porch is becoming my favorite morning space.

You may also like this front porch idea, vertical planters!

Have a look around, if you like what you see, please subscribe or follow me!

Until next time,

Upcycled Gnome Garden

Ahhh, look at this little beauty!  My hubby tends to bring home treasures like this from time to time.  It sit out in the backyard for awhile mostly being used as a waterer for the squirrels.  It came so close to ending up in the landfill, until a idea from pinterest gave it a new life.

First things first, I gave almost every inch of this thing a fresh coat of paint.  Then a couple coats of clear sealer.

Every gnome garden needs a ladder!  I made mine with jute twine, a branch off a crepe myrtle ( it needed trimmed anyway), and a hot glue gun.

A couple sections on the top were in rough shape.  So I used liquid nail to glue on some marble rock and a hot glue gun to add some spanish moss.  I was going for a rock wall and vines look, what do you think?  

From there I filled the top with potting soil, added a couple succulents, and most importantly the adorable gnome decor.

A couple different angles of the finished product.

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Until next time,

The greenhouse: lets make oxygen

The Greenhouse:  I would love to say that this is a new project, nope, two years and counting.  I must say though some beautiful blossoms still came to life here.  Getting back at it and will be updating and posting some of my beautiful babies.

I can honestly say, I was one proud mama of this stunning beauty.

  Although I didn't grow this from the greenhouse, I just had to share, its doing so well this year.

 Florida's winters always seem to be so unpredictable.  We might get one freeze then afterwards it warms right up like it's spring. So confusing to my poor little nectarine.  It will start blossoming then BAM another frost.  This year I babied it just a little more, and I have the fruit to prove it

                                                

                                                        Until next time,

gourd birdhouse: a rainy day project

I love to start my day by sitting on the porch enjoying my first cup of coffee.  It's the best time of day to enjoy the sounds of nature before the hustle and bustle of work, getting the kids off to school, or daily chores.  I love watching and listening to the birds, and there's nothing quite like watching baby birds venturing out of the nest for the first time.  I have several different birdhouses all around the property and always wanted to try a gourd birdhouse.  I happened upon a couple gourds at at yard sale and thought I'd share how I made my gourd birdhouse on a rainy day.

 I (or I should say my hubby) used a hole saw drill bit to make the opening for the birds new home.  I used a spoon to clean out the inside.

I used acrylic paint for the base color, then decided to add something a little extra.

Drill several holes for drainage, just in case water happens to get inside.

Drill a hole completely through the top of the gourd.

I made a hanger out of wire, but you could also use twine.

I used 3 coats of spray enamel for protection against the elements.

I saved the seeds to replant and give some to friends and family, there's plenty to share.  

Until next time...

 

Well, at least the flowers are loving the rain!

     Let me tell you we have been getting some serious rain for the last few weeks in Florida,  I feel like I've been mowing the grass every few days.  That being said along with the grass, my precious flowers are also loving all the rain. 

          

I'm not really sure of the name of this lily (there are so many!), a family member from Georgia gave us this one.

I believe this is a type of miniature rose.  I rescued three of these from a landscaping company, they were headed for the burn pit.

A type of sage, I rescued these from the clearance rack at lowes.

Banana trees that I transplanted from another area in our yard. Also new guinea impatiens my mom got me as a birthday gift.

I bought these marigolds for a BBQ for mosquito control, and another type of lily in the background.

Awwwww, the sweet smell of gardenia!

My mom gave me some starts of these mexican petunias. Beware these beauties will spread rapidly,   they are now on both sides of the house.

Lantana, another clearance rack rescue, growing beautifully in between the walking iris.

Walking iris, another gift from my mom. I divided these and planted between my lantanas, such gorgeous blooms.

Most the flowers that I have were either gifts or rescues.  Please forgive me if I get something wrong, I'm always learning, feel free to leave a comment.

Until next time...

Treats for the chickens

     Let me begin by saying I honestly had doubts that this would grow.  I was browsing around on pinterest one day and found this and was like hmmm.  I thought through the processing or packaging process that it wouldn't be possible.  To my surprise it actually did grow.

 This is how I grew popcorn from the grocery store to use as treats for my chickens.

  I put a layer of compost on the bottom, spread a layer of popcorn, then put another layer of compost over the popcorn.  Within 4 days it started to POP up.

 About a week later.

                                     

        With this little experiment I found that I planted to much popcorn at one time and its actually choking it out.  So I am going to replant less so I'll be able to keep trimming to have more treats for the chickens.

Either way the chickens sure seem to love it.











                                                                   Until next time...