Gardening for Dummies (and Journaling too)

photo after frost :(

Now that the weather is warming up, we're turning a bit of our attention to our backyard garden.  My husband and I don't really do much in this area - just stick some flowers in the ground and hope for the best (which, this year, was freezing temperatures and frost a few days after we planted).

But this year, I thought I would try to be a bit more responsible in our gardening.  So I've started a garden journal.  I read this interesting article about garden journals and thought it might be helpful to keep track of the types of plants we put in, how many plants we bought, when we planted them, and then the results.  Then we would know what worked and what didn't work for next year.  Smart, huh?

So I dug out this cheap but pretty spiral notebook that I bought at Big Lots for a $1 and the alphabet stamps my husband bought me for Christmas.  Using a larger mailing label, I started to make a decorative title block for my garden journal.  I soon realized that:

1.  The ink pad I had bought to use with the stamps is crap
2.  Stamping takes a bit of practice and preparation

You can see from the photo above that I need to work on getting the right pressure on the stamps and figure out how to get them to line up.  Instead of worrying about it, I decided to just go with it.

I continued to stamp my title is a jumblely kind of way, intentionally setting the letters unevenly and pressing the edge of the stamp down to create a block.  Then I took my color pencils and colored in the blocks and letters in different tones to match my notebook.

I actually quite pleased with the result.  And I was a good girl and immediately wrote down some notes about our plants and garden.  I think I might be getting the hang of this gardening thing ;)

Bright and Cheerful Welcome Wreath

I've been having some fun making handy home decorations from this rusty fence from our backyard.  And I simply couldn't resist making a door decoration with a piece of this fence and a little bird house.

This Spring wreath is surprisingly easy (you can get all the directions on my Hubpages), and can be adapted for any season, decor, or your personal taste.  I love this purple and yellow combination for Spring, but you could use different colors and flowers for autumn or winter.

Do you have any special ways to welcome Spring?

Garden Recycling - Old is New Again

I've been inspired by the warmer weather to make some new projects, like this jewelry display which uses some old wire garden fencing that we removed from our yard.  I love the rusted surface and the shape of this fence piece (I also LOVE this ikat fabric - so modern and pretty!!).  This charming and handy display can be used as a jewelry organizer or as a bulletin board.  The full directions can be found on my Hubpages where I show another way to use garden items like fencing or a trellis to make a display board.  Check it out!

I've enjoyed recycling this garden fencing and have another project to post soon!!!

Friday Favorites: Worry Dolls

I came across this great article by Phyllis Doyle about the history and tradition of Worry Dolls.  Phyllis's article also includes a wonderful tutorial on how to make your own Worry Dolls - a great learning experience for children and a fun activity to recycle some scrap paper and fabric.

Reading this article reminded me that I had a set of dolls which I had made into a brooch.  This was very simple - I just cut a small piece of cardboard, and glued the dolls to it in a line.  Once the glue was dry, I added a pin back.  Easy.

I haven't worn this pin in a while, but after rediscovering it in my jewelry box, I'm going to start wearing it again.  Go check out Phyllis's article and make your own set of Worry Dolls!

Friday Favorites: More Great Craft Sites

(I'm using this photo because I want people to check out my Field of Flowers Recycled Tote Tutorial here.)  

Now, on to business:  I've come across a couple of fun craft sites I wanted to share:

Craftown.com is a great site full of FREE craft tutorial and resources.  Each day, new ideas and projects are posted.  This is a particularly fun site if you are looking for holiday project ideas.  Craftown has a whole section broken down by holiday and season - they even have a free newsletter that you can sign up for!

AllCrafts.net is another craft site that shares wonderful free projects and ideas.This site has separate sections for sewing & quilting, knitting $ crochet, and holiday projects.  This site is really easy to navigate and has great photos of all the projects!

Both of these websites are wonderful finds.  Check them out!

One Down, One to Go: Painted Lamp Shade

DIY - geometric modern painted lampshade

Yea to me for keeping up with my project schedule!  As promised, I finished painting my bedroom lampshade from boring white to funky geometric modern-ish...something.

You may remember, this lampshade looked like this:

I went to the trouble of making a drawing/stencil on graph paper of the diamond design, tracing them with black marker, then taping it carefully inside my lampshade.  Problem was - I could barely see my drawn lines through the lampshade.  So I ended up pretty much freehanding the painting of the design.  This was fine because I didn't want manufactured perfection, I wanted a more loose application of the shapes and colors.

I do wish I had spent more time mixing my colors.  I wish the green had a bit more blue in it.  I wish the yellow was a bit deeper, etc.  I think the finished colors look a little too kiddie pastel when I really wanted richer colors.  But I was rushing it and didn't take the time to mix in other colors to add a little interest to them. Alas, what's done is done.

So, here's the details:  I used acrylic paint, testing it first on the inside of my shade to make sure it wouldn't run or bead up on the material.  After drawing my design on graph paper with black sharpie, I attached it to the inside of the shade using double-stick tape.  Then I mixed up my paint colors in separate jars with lids so they wouldn't dry up as I painted my shade.  I only added a little bit of water to my paint as I worked so my colors wouldn't bleed.

I was careful not to apply to much pressure to the lampshade while painting.  I laid the shade down on its side on top of a towel for painting, and used more rolled up towels on each side of the shade to keep it from moving.  I painted one section, let it dry completely, then moved to the next section.

I might call this a test run and look for another shade to paint with the colors I really want.  But for now, it's fine. (Well, just okay.)

March is the Month for Getting Things DONE

The month of March supposedly comes in like a lion.  And hopefully, I will have that aggressive energy to get a few projects completed that have been on my  To-Do list for way too long:

1.  I've wanted to paint this lampshade since I bought this lamp ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO!  Although I love the ceramic base, I think the shade is kind of blah.  I've had my plan to paint the shade set out for a long time.  I just need to get to it!  This is first on my list to do, so hopefully I will have some finished photos to post soon, soon, soon.

2.  This one's rather embarrassing:  last year, I had this great idea to create a series of small paintings for my husband for our wedding anniversary.  There were to be four paintings, each one based on a place we've lived or visited.  Great idea!

I started in plenty of time, a few months before our anniversary in May.  But...I never finished them.  Not sure why - I didn't really like they way they were coming along and I think I lost my groove.  So I'm going to try again this year :)  I have a new plan and renewed commitment for finishing them in time of our anni this year!

Wish me luck!  I may need it :)