Just for Fun! It's snowing again!

Rethinking Plant Pots: A Mother's Day Idea

Yesterday, before the freakish snow storm hit, I was outside building a planter for my "surprise" mom's day gift, a climbing rose. I ask for a plant of some kind every year. But back to the snow, and I'm forced to wait longer and also forced to face the facts that my area doesn't have a really long growing season. I, however, do have a long growing season... I want herbs in my cooking ... solution? I need an indoor herb garden.

A quick trip through the snow and slush to the local thrift store to look for fun ideas. Plant pots are boring and expensive. I found these cute popcorn bowls and decided to turn them into a window herb garden.

You can make these too. Maybe the mom in your life would love such a wonderful, thoughtful gift.

You will need to go with imagination to your thrift store. Old ceramic bowls, jugs, metal buckets, old sealing pots, large stock pots, old suitcases, etc. If you're planning an indoor herb garden or flowers; make sure it suits the room and FITS ON THE WINDOW LEDGE.

You'll need a dremel drill bit for ceramics or tile, a drill, patience and alot of ideas for what to put in your pot.

You want to drill a hole right through "made in china". This allows for excess water to drain out of your planter. If it's as small of a bit as I'm using, 2 or 3 holes might be a better idea. It takes a full battery, and some patience. It will take a few minutes to go through. Remember NOT to press too hard if you are using china or a more fragile bowl.

I paid $15.00 for my 4 pots. That works out to $3.75 each, that's alot cheaper than most plant pots. I have color and fun on my kitchen window to remind me to use my fresh herbs as they grow. Spice up your choices, add edible flowers and let some herbs go to flower. Remember, you can get great rewards from your small window ledge even if you just plant them for the lovely smell. Good luck and enjoy. I'd love to see what creations you've come up with. Come back and see the self watering pot I'm making next from ... almost free.

Barnwood and Benches

As I've said before, there was no more budget for the decor of our back yard. "Necessity is the mother of invention."

I see these falling down sheds, barns and houses all over the place on the Prairies. They've always held a fascination for me. One day while driving out to the farm I remembered how much I had loved the old barn wood furniture I'd seen at the "Death Race".

2+2=

I asked around and found someone who was willing to let me help my self to the pile of wood that was already falling off an old barn. With help from my MIL, I was able to bring what I needed to our home in the city and start to work on a plan.

Take the time to evaluate each board. Remove all nails before you start. Cut off any rotting or soft pieces of wood. You don't have to give up a whole board just because part of it is rotten. Cut and use what is good. You'd be surprised at the amount of wood you'll still have.

Pick a pattern or plan.

I will not try to recreate what I did but there are loads of ideas and plans on line to help you decide what kind of furniture you would like. I, personally, just went with plain and strong.

You'll need at least an extra set of hands and a skill saw or chop saw. I always screw rather than nail my items together.

As you can see from my photo, my bench is very rustic but not very fancy. There are soooo many ways to use barn wood. I will show you another project soon.