Garden and Outdoors

Hog Rings in the Garden

May 222012

Hog Rings are invaluable around the house and for do it yourself people.

Yes they really do use rings in farm animals. I however, have found other uses for hog rings. They are a “C” shaped piece of metal that comes in different sizes and types of metal. You can buy hog rings and the pliers at most hardware stores.

The pliers are specially made with indents to hold the rings in place.

Below is how I used the hog rings today. I braided rope and then used the rings to hold the braids together to create a wide band of braided rope.

Here’s what the wide braided band is for…as an accent to the trellis I made for our garden.

Not sure if I can rightly say our garden. My guy is the gardener around here. But I can made a trellis!

Leave a comment below on how hog rings could be useful in your projects.

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Elf Sweetness

Apr 052012

A quick and simple post with a picture of Elf Sweetness!

I saw this sweet door and windows in the Plow and Hearth catalog and thought it would make a sweet gift to make for my guy. It would have been easier to order it and under $30 but I wanted something handmade.

I used a scrap piece of wood and drew the shapes I wanted. Then dusted off the jigsaw {that’s a waste of time} and started cutting. Using the dremel and the engraving bit I added decorative elements. I glue a round finial to the circle cutout on the door and scraps of wood trim to the bottom of the windows. Quick color was added with outdoor stain. Hot glued some greens and red berries for more elf sweetness.

Here’s the little elf’s door after a sudden snow storm.

Hope they have plenty of blankets!

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Holiday Craft

Dec 122011

I have two holiday crafts today. The first takes time, the second takes seconds!

Also linking up with the Holiday Home Link Party with Kate at Centsational Girl.

The first holiday craft involves Popsicle sticks.

Yes Popsicle sticks…just like the boy scouts!

Now this craft took time, but the best part is I had wonderful help from my two nephews, Jordan and James.

First we found scrap MDF boards in my pile of…scrap…this with a “s” thank you!

We wanted two to give our fencing a step all around the property.

Then we cut some scrap 1″ by 1″ wood into 6″ long pieces. We cut six for our fence posts, one for each corner and two for our gate.

Using a Drimal tool we made small grooves into the fence posts for the Popsicle sticks to fit into.

Then we started making a fence with the Popsicle sticks and wood glue {we used a wood hot glue, it works better and faster than regular wood glue or regular hot glue.}

We make three long fencing pieces and two small pieces plus a gate.

We went back to the scrap and found six wooden balls…although we could only find 4 small ones and two larger but that’s okay.

Next came the spray paint…we chose red.

After everything was dry. We started assembling. Gluing a post at each corner with fencing between along the back and sides.

Then two posts for the gate along the front. Glued in the fence on each side of the gate. Added the gate…on purpose at a slight angle. No gates are perfect!

We made a small wreath with a bit of fake greenery and add a red bow.

The second craft involves dollar store snowflakes, a hot glue gun, and a glass door.

You could do this on a sliding door, just glue half inside and half outside so the door operates without knocking snowflakes everywhere.

I did this for autumn using fall leaves.

Check out the other great holiday crafting ideas below.

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Olioboard Holiday Decor Moodboard Challenge

Dec 062011

Olioboard is having a Holiday Decor Moodboard Challenge this week.

The participants are…

Liz with Shorely Chic

Vanessa with Decor Happy

Lynda, Jessica, and Rhonda with Covet Garden

Julie with Belle Maison

Adrienne with 2Modern Blog

Sheilah with Olioboard Blog and Co~founder of Olioboard.com

I will update with direct links to the Holiday boards as they are completed through the week.

I decided to do a Holiday Decor Moodboard.

Ta Dah!

I love to do Christmas in black.

Yes, black…with a deep rich red and a creamy milky color with chocolate chip cookies {that’s a bit of brown thrown in.}

The greenery is simple and fresh with pine cones tucked in here and there

Then to finish it off a bit of sparkle from crystals, glass hurricanes, and mercury glass.

This picture reminds me of a chocolate covered cherry…I’m hungry!

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Party Hostess Gift

Dec 012011

Simple

Useful

Inexpensive

Party Hostess Gift

Plus how to clean a small bottle the old fashion way.

First a small bottle.

Now add some rice. All I had on hand was brown but brown will work.

Top the rice with baking soda.

Pour in a splash of white vinegar.

Watch out!! It will bubble up and possibly over.

Give the bottle a good shake. Swirl the rice around all over the insides.

Viola! A clean bottle…at least cleaner…This is an old bottle.

Now for the gift part.

Get some wooden matches and cut a square off the strike area on the side of the box.

Fill the bottle as full as you can with matches.

Glue the square onto the bottom of the bottle.

Add a ribbon and you’re good to go.

I made two. One with the old bottle {which came from an antique store for $10} and one made with a small cup from the local dollar store.

I like the dollar store one best.

Oh, and that box of matches was empty just filling these two containers, so buy lots of matches…they’re cheap!

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Holiday Dining

Nov 232011

Homa Style’s Fav Holiday Dining Ideas

Photo Credit ~ Country Living

Paint the old workbench, collect chairs and fall pillows from around the house and eat in the backyard among the fallen leaves.

Color of dining chairs not right? Cover with slipcovers…very shabby chic. Hey isn’t that Rachel Ashwell’s dining room!

Photo Credit ~ Country Style

Eat outside and string up the hammock to nap off the turkey.

Photo Credit ~ Country Living

Set up the folding chairs in a corner and not just as a kids table. Our family had these old wooden folding chairs and table.
Photo Credit ~ Flea Market Style

Forget the holiday decorations and keep thing clean and simple.

Photo Credit ~ Country Living

Enjoy the harvest and serve up a buffet in the fields.
Photo Credit ~ Country Living

Enjoy your holiday meal out on the front porch, setting a large coffee table for dining.
Photo Credit ~ Cottage Living

Not enough chairs…paint a mix of chairs one color and add matching seat cushions.

Photo Credit ~ 100 Decorating Ideas Under $100

Need a simple tablecloth…and can sew something simple…try this awesome tablecloth. This could be great made square or rectangle too.

Photo Credit ~ Country Living

Keep it simple, keep it sweet and find the beauty in your home.

Photo Credit ~ Pottery Barn

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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I gotta hole in my bucket

Oct 192011

The hole is actually in my watering can.

Looks like a bb hole…hummm!

I needed to fix it cause the water drips through the hole and down my leg and it’s getting too cold to get wet.

I’m using a stick and wood glue.

Insert the stick.

Clip off the stick and let dry

Now I’m good to go!

Feels like the old farm days, repairing things with that you have.

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Autumn Porch Swing

Oct 062011

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Until this morning the porch swing was giving a ride to a bright red summery floral pillow.

I decided to link to Thrifty Decor Chick’s fall decor party.

Getting busy and working fast I grabbed the pillow and a scrap of brown leaf fabric.

Wrapped the pillow with the fabric like a birthday present and held it together with a bit of twine.

I toss a warm throw on the porch swing, added the “new” autumn pillow and a fantastic twig acorn found at Hancock Fabrics yesterday and a vintage postcard cornucopia.

The side table is a broken spindle that I added legs a simple square top and twigs to the edges. {I did this when we first moved into the cabin}

On top of the side table I add the three decorative pumpkins from Friday on the house download.

Now it’s autumn!

Oh and one more thing…

I have a $25 Target Gift Card to give away.

If you’d like a chance to win leave one comment on this post between now and hummm I’ll give you all weekend until 8 pm Sunday night, Arizona time {we don’t change our clocks.} Then I’ll randomly select a winner on Monday morning. What a great way to start the week!

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On the house download ~ Vintage PostCard Cornucopia

Oct 062011

These make marvelous favors.

Fill with Halloween candy and tuck in inspiring notes, funny riddles, or sweet sayings.

And here the link to download the instructions and postcard printout.

Enjoy!

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Cabin Back Porch Before and After

Sep 272011

We did a do over of our backyard.

Here’s what we had to start with.

{Taken looking out the window at the kitchen door}

Sorry for the awful pictures of the before…when we started the project I neglected to take before shots with the good camera. All the before shots I found in the bottom of my shoe box of pictures.

Basically the back porch was a wooden deck with wooden stairs. We had the iron railing installed to match the front porch just after we moved in.

{Taken again through the kitchen door straight along the porch}

Wooden deck, wooden table and 3 nephews.

{Taken from the corner of the deck looking out into the national forest}

This is our lower area after…

{note the bridge…see what was standing on it last night}

now with furniture. Note the birdcage chandelier!

This is the back porch right after completion of the jacuzzi and outdoor kitchen.

Here it is today with furniture. We had the cabin re~stained…almost black!!!

The sidewalk along the side of the cabin. We added short wall areas for plants.

The sidewalk with plants and an arbor.

Here’s the sink area. The little door in the middle is a paper towel holder…so great and they stay dry in rain and snow. The three drawers on the right are, from the top, a cutting board, storage, and trash can.

The sink area today.

The cooking area with the refrigerator, grill, cook~top, work area and ice chest. Storage is inside the doors.

The cooking area today with furniture.

This shelf used iron brackets from a local antique shop {not old} a board on top that I added an edge with 1×2. Then hung the hooks found at local gift shop.

And just in case you missed it, on the picture with the fire pit and furniture, just above the fire pit, pecking over the bushes is a stile. All the farmers will know what a stile is. The national forest backs our yard so we have this ugly barbed wire fence running across the back. We installed a stile to make it easier to go over the fence.

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