Concrete Blocks to Planters

 

While removing an old dog run that was in our yard

we found a whole bunch of conrete blocks

underneath the gravel layer.

 

 

I immediately knew that they would be good for something.

 

 

They had obviously been used for other purposes before

as some had remains of white paint

while others had brown with turquoise peeking through.

 

 

So, the first step was to give them a fresh coat of paint.

I just used up some leftover paint we had kicking around.

I knew I wanted to make them into planters

and put them in front of the storage shed

that hubby had recently put up.

 

 

So I stacked them and filled the holes with dirt.

 

 

I then went hunting for some pansies

and finally found a few at a local greenhouse on clearance.

They were a little worse for wear but I figured

with a little TLC they would perk up.

 

 

And the little planters on each side of the door

just added that little extra touch it needed.

 

 

I do have some more plans for hubby's shed

but don't tell him that ;)

 

 

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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Cutting Flower Basket

After our garden tour we had a presentation on

how to plan and grow a cutting garden.

This is something I had wanted to do for years

and this year I finally have my first one!

One of the recommendations was when going out

in the early morning or evening to collect your flowers

you should cut them and put them directly into cold water.

Now this makes perfect sense,

why didn't I think of it before?

So out I went with my ice cream bucket with some cold water in the bottom.

Unfortunatly, it just didn't work very well

as I had flowers with short stems and long stems.

I needed a better system.

So I went through my pantry and found this old basket.

It is sturdy with a good handle and a good size as well.

I then took three different sizes of canning jars.

The tall one for long stemmed flowers,

the medium for medium stemmed,

and the small for the short stemmed flowers.

There was also enough room for a pair of my gardening gloves

and a sharp knife, which was another recommendation.

She said, "no dull kitchen scissor." - lol.

I added an inch or two of water into each jar

and went to the garden to collect some flowers.

It worked amazingly well.

It was so easy to just put the flowers in the jars,

it looked pretty while you were collecting,

and it was so easy to carry around as I moved

from one section of flowers to the next.

I love it!!

I made three arrangements from this batch of flowers I collected

and when I was done I just set the basket in my back porch,

ready for the next day - and it looks cute sitting there as well :)

I am just so thrilled with this little basket!

It makes cutting and collecting flowers a breeze.

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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Herb Garden Markers

I have been seeing so many variations

of garden markers on pinterest

that I wanted to make some

for my herb garden.

I found some little wooden dowels at Dollarama

and I bought some wine corks at our local grocery store.

I took a medium-fine marker

and labelled the corks.

I broke the dowels in half

because I wanted smaller stakes

and then inserted them in the corks.

It was so simple and quick to make.

And it gives that little extra added touch to the herbs.

Quick, simple and economical -

my favorite type of project :)

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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Daisy Wreath

The inspiration for this wreath came from

this roll of ribbon I saw at Dollarama.

I immediately fell in love with it

and knew I would find someplace to use it.

After I brought it home and thought about it for a few days

I thought why not a wreath for the front door?

I already had some grapevine wreaths stashed away.

All I needed were some blue and white flowers.

I also found the flowers I needed at Dollarama.

And the beads give it a little touch of fun.

It looks so nice on the front door

and complements the front porch decor nicely.

While I was updating the front door

I thought I should take down the back door spring umbrella

and put up my summer wreath.

Now the doors are ready for summer :)

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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Earring & Ring Holder

When I saw this idea for a ring display holder

and then this idea for an earring display holder

(click links for tutorials)

I knew I had stumbled across the perfect gift

for my daughter's birthday.

I first went hunting for the frame

and thought these would go well in her room.

I then enlisted the help of my mom for the fabric.

In her scrap bin she had exactly what I needed -

the soft cloth for the roll

and then this lovely white cloth to cover with.

To make it more special this white cloth

was a piece from the cloth she used to make her wedding dress!

She also provided some white liner for the back of this frame

and she also had some leftover mesh that worked perfectly.

I had so much fun making these and was pleasantly surprised

at how quick and easy they were to do.

A special gift for my daughter

from her mom & grandma :)

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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Milk Can Makeover

I found these two little milk jugs

and watering can while at a yard sale.

They were so cute I couldn't pass them up

and I knew they could be so much more.

So when I got home I dug around to see what I could find

to freshen up these little treasures.

I found this beautiful light blue spray paint

that needed to be used.

While I was at it I decided to also freshen up this teapot

 my mother-in-law gave to me.

It originally belonged to her mom and was used for making tea.

When it was passed along to me it had become a flower planter.

So they all got a coat of light blue paint

but I wasn't done with them.

I had some decals that I thought

would give them that finishing touch.

Butterflies and flowers - my favorite!

These two will show up in future posts.

As for the milk cans

they will feature my fresh flowers from the garden.

Right now they hold apple blossoms and lilacs!

What a beautiful fragrance as you come to our back door!

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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