Two'fer One~

Its a two'fer one post....and.....

I am making over my front patio area for the upcoming summer months. Most everything on my patio is from thrift stores or yard sales! Here is the messy/unkept before photo~ Here is the after photo..... It doesn't show up well, but there is a huge flower ball hanging from the center of the gazebo :-) Alright, it is not a HUGE difference... but I did do a lot. I added stuff, pulled the weeds out of the brick, built an arch/planted some climbing roses.... and added some fabric to the table! Scroll down to see the photos :-)I don't do anything to the porch area during the winter months as it is toooooooooo cold for me to work out in the yard! I purchased the round gazebo a few years ago from Big Lots for only $200 buckeroos~ The white chairs are from a thrift store.... (I once had them inside my house) The metal table was another thrifted find ($40 bucks) All the "extra" odds and ends and doo-dads are things that I don't really want anymore-- and wouldn't be to terribly upset if they were stolen misplaced. I used a duvet cover from the Pottery Barn to make a table cloth and I also covered some pillows and covered a small bench and used some of the fabric as ribbons on some of the statues.... I think its cute. Again, my thoughts are "more is better" The little metal fence pieces I picked up for $1 buck each. I got a total of 5!I used wire to attach them to the gazebo and then I covered the wire with a torn fabric ribbon-- caute! This little angel I wired directly to the small rose bush as our paper boy man is probably a retired pitcher from some baseball team because he seems to hit everything I put outside. The bird bath was $15, the bird house was $2, the 2 miniature rose bushes with the pottery pots were $3 each.This cement urn was a dollar at a yard sale.... I added the nest, moss and the dried flowers & eggs...Here is a bunny wearing a matching ribbon made with the same fabric as the table & bench~ (I bought 5 bunnies for a dollar each) the white wire bird cage was $10 bucks (still working on straighting that sucker out) The "welcome" sign was $2 bucks...Here is a little rusty tricycle given to me by a friend that I spruced up... I don't really have a place for it just yet...but it will work its self into some little spot. The basket was $1 buck lolThis wooden "object de'art" for lack of a better word is just filled with more odds & ends. All of this "stuff" was free or nearly free. The broken shovel head says it all "Garden of Weedin" A rusty wagon also given to me by a friend..... filled with stuff sits in a planter near the gazebo... all the pots also were given to me~Here is a little half table that has no place inside anymore...so out it went onto the patio. (yes, thats dirt on the top of it, it just recently rained!) The rose in the pot was $1, the metal candle stick with the glass top was .50cents, the bunnies with the pots were $2 bucks (I have two) The heart wire bird cage was $3 bucks, the table itself was $3 bucks... the metal bird feeder on the ground was $7, the blue flower pot was $3~This two balled wire topiary form is one of 3 that I picked up for $1 dollar each. I just used some silk ivy greenery I had stashed away to make it come alive~ see my two wooden cats in my window.... I love cats.This wrought iron bakers rack my dad made.... now it holds a lot of my overflow from my house. The white truck behind it is a 1964 (year I was born) Falcon truck it was a gift for one of my birthdays from my hubs.This white basket was a freebie at a yard sale. It is perfect for holding long stemmed roses and cuttings from plants that I can easily transport to my gardening bench. (which is the table lol) this summer I will cut a piece of wood for that big whole in the middle. I think I'll drill around the wood circle and lace it to the metal basket with wire~This white metal stand was $5, the bird house $1, the vintage wooden 7-up crate on the bottom shelf was $1. The large blue pot was $5-- which holds another one of those 2 tiered topairy forms ($1)

I picked up the wire tray for $1, the wire teapot was .50cents, the wire cups & saucers .25cents and the metal plant stand $2 .....and just attached everything together with wire for this little vinette. The black garden thingy was $1.If you would like to see more make-overs stop over at Jens blog "Sanctuary Arts at Home" she is hosting a monthly Mr. Linky for make-overs! *woot-woot*

If your wanting to see other peoples Thrift store finds check out the Mr. Linky over at Dianes blog "A Picture is Worth a $1,000 Words" If you have linked here and wish to view more of my blog you can click here!

Whats this?

Awhile back when I had puchased some flowering pony packs....there was one plant growing in amongst the flowers that was a "stow-away" it was healthy and thriving so I planted it-- what the heck~Well, it turns out it was a zucchini plant and upon checking on it (for the first time since I planted it) it already has 4 huge zucchini on it LOL I am going to shred the zucchini and make some pineapple-zucchini bread!Here are some peaches on one of two peach trees that are destined for pies! They smell so good standing underneath this tree taking this photo :-)Lastly, my tomatoes. I purchased some retaining blocks and stacked them 3 high into a small circle which I then filled with dirt to hold my tomatoe plants. I have this sitting on cement-- and it seems to be working just fine~
I had purchased for $5 bucks a huge home-made (welded) tomatoe cage that stands about 7 feet tall. Wow is all I can say. No whimpy tomatoe cages for me!! I have a cherry tomatoe plant planted along side with a beef steak tomatoe plant.

Bird feeder~

Here is the base to the bird feeder that I just finished placing the glass blobs onto. It had black chippy paint peeling off of it. I had to paint the whole thing white before attaching the glass blobs because the black shone through and made each colored piece of glass appear dark and all the same color. Here it is sitting on top a furniture "lazy susan"--on top of a play table in the play room. It has just been to hot to do anything outdoors lately~ And yes, thats a scrabble game board under the bird feeder. I like to use them as "paper" under projects...what else do you use them for? lolI rescued this cement bird bath (stand only) from a curbside trash pickup :-) It weighs a ton. To hold the bird seed I bought a large wooden bowl which I drilled a hole in the bottom of and then screwed it to a long piece of wood which will help it stay atop the cement stand. There are some pretty chubby birds that come to eat at my house :-P I had originally had a clay plant saucer to hold the birdseed, but my cat knocked it off and broke it going after a bird. (darn cat)
Here is the bird feeder all finished. Not to shabby. I think I would like to make another one using actual tile. The hardest part on this stand was filling in the spaces where there was no glass-- instead of rubbing the grout away with a sponge, I had to dab those areas so as not to take away the grout. I've got to add a lot more bird seed.... the birds around here won't even fly down unless the bowlie is filled to the brim!

Blackberries & cherry.....

tomatoes freshly picked from my garden :-)
I am soooooooo going to make a pie!!

Show & Tell Friday

I got a new table and chair set... for freeeeeeeee~ Sure the seats all need to be replaced and the whole thing has to be gone over with a wire brush and then repainted. But the wrought iron is sound, and the glass table top is in perfect condition. :-) Now I have....4 tables for the backyard (all with chairs) so that brings my chair count back there to 29. lol here are some more pics of my backyard~

Show & tell Friday~

Show & tell Friday~

Here are a few pictures of my backyard....

I laid all the brick myself, three pallets of brick~
I dug this area down so I could have a step down.... okokok, honestly I needed the dirt somewhere else in my yard so thats what caused me to create the step down lol~
This is one of two matching tables under two matching gazebos side by side~