creative little daisy

On spring and other things

I've been spending lots of time here, on the back porch and it's pretty darn wonderful. I wish it could be spring for 8 months of the year. Not 12, just 8. Yes in my ideal weather world, we would have mostly spring. I also love fall so I'd like about 3 months of fall. And just so things don't get too boring I'd take half a month of summer and half winter.

I know with the winter much of the country has endured, I have absolutely no right to complain about anything weather related, so I'll stop.

The first stretch of warm days sends me straight to the garden center, usually just like a kid in a candy store. It's taken me a long time, but I think I've finally accepted that I'm lazy when it comes to caring for flowers. This year I practiced great restraint and only bought a few blooms, opting instead for super easy, super hardy asparagus fern and sweet potato vine. No matter how hot it gets and how much I ignore them, these two plants never let me down.

I also wanted to do some sort of container herb garden. Home Depot had herbs and vegetable plants on sale, 5 pots (3"?) for $10. I came home with rosemary, parsley, cilantro, and a basil variety and got busy searching pinterest for herb garden ideas.

(The Vintage Wren)

Man, I love pinterest!  And galvanized pails. 

I gathered up several that I had around the house and in the shed.

I drilled holes in the bottoms, and along the bottom of the sides of all my pots.

I took these photos with my phone and they look like they have a soft filter applied. Nope, it's just pollen on the lens. Nothing is safe. Achoo!

An upside down flower pot placed in the large tub helps to elevate the second pail and also to save on the amount of potting soil needed. 

Then I just added potting soil and placed my herbs with plenty of space left for growth. I also scattered some seeds in the open spaces, to extend the life of my little herb garden. Along with the herbs, I used a couple of the sweet potato vines for some trailing interest.

I think I'll search pinterest one more time for some cute plant marker ideas to replace those not so cute plastic guys.

I can't wait to start snipping my herbs for all the gourmet meals I cook. (Wink)

As long as we're in the backyard, let me show you one more thing.

My last post, I mentioned Lola, the chihuahua mix I rescued from beside the road. I'm pretty sure someone had abandoned her, but not before abusing her. She's very skiddish around most men, especially Mitch. She's terrified of him and since he's never given her reason to fear him, I think he must remind her of someone who did.

Anyway, Lola took about one day to make herself right at home. She loves it here, but she's also a bit of a roamer. Our backyard is fenced in, but the slats are spaced so that she could walk right through. She could and she did every chance she got, running like the wind through the hood. We tried lining the inside of the fence with some plastic chicken wire type material. She would root underneath or just push it down and go over the top, so I could only let her out on a leash.

Then I happened upon this picture on pinterest.

Wha...? Kind of crazy huh? No, I didn't get this for her, but I did search for similar, less dangerous looking options and came across the Puppy Bumper.

Genius I tell ya'!

Lola and I are in love with her Puppy Bumper.

In love! She can roam freely around inside the fence and I don't have to be right there with her every minute.  She tested it out pretty vigorously to begin with.

She gave it her all, trying to get through, over under.... no luck. She wasn't going anywhere. Ha! Now that she's used to it, she will poke her head out to look around, but doesn't really try to squeeze through anymore. She goes nuts when she sees it and knows it means she gets to go out. It doesn't seem in the least bothersome to her and she hasn't tried to bite or scratch it off.  It was 25 bucks and worth every dollar!

I have in no way been compensated to say that. The Puppy Bumper folks have no idea I exist, but Lola and I are so glad I found them!

 

I saw this on Pinterest

I'm sure those words come out of my mouth daily. At least once.  I was looking through pictures on my computer and came across some I took a while back and never posted of a Pinterest inspired project.

Before continuing, you must agree, cross your heart and pinky swear not to laugh, make fun, of or otherwise judge my fingers, fingernails, or any other part of my very non pampered hands. Agreed? OK, carry on.

Above is a photo of the Pin (Original Source).

And below is my copycat version.

They were super easy to make and didn't cost a thing, since I used leftover tissue paper from my sewing room pompoms.

To make these you need tissue paper and wire. I used bread ties.

Cut circles from stacks of tissue paper. I think my circles were about 3 inches in diameter with 8 layers of paper. Don't worry about perfection.

Fold the stack of circles in half, then in half again.

Round off the edges so that you have what looks like ice cream on a cone.

Stop judging my fingers. You can't get lotion in this part of North Carolina. We're very remote. Yea, that's my story.

Unfold and you magically have flower petals. Arrange the layers so that the petals alternate.

Remove the plastic coating from one end of a bread tie and stick it through the center of your stack of petals. Make a small loop so that it doesn't slide back through.

Starting at the top, separate the layers and begin to pinch them toward the center.

Continue pinching and separating until you have what looks like a flower.

 Pinch and fluff until you are happy with your flower,

then twist the plastic end of your bread tie into a... twisted bread tie.  It's very technical, pay close attention and be sure you get it right.

Repeat the above steps as many times as you like.

And when you are finished you can put them in a wooden dough bowl with a candle.

Why?

Just to prove you can recreate a Pin. That's why I did it.

 

So much pinspiration!

Have you joined the Pinterest Challenge? I wrote earlier this week about my most recent Pinterest inspired project, my headboard. And I guess it is probably the one I am most proud of.

I love walking in there and actually seeing a headboard. I actually pinned a few headboard ideas, but this was my favorite, with the dark rustic wood and curvy lines. Yes please!

(The Feminist Housewife blog)

On the Feminist House Wife Blog, there were detailed instructions on how they made the bed, as well as a link to Ana White's plans.

I mentioned in the last post that I had to modify Ana's plans because I needed a king size headboard and I wasn't making the bed frame.

As suggested in the plans I used pocket holes to join my boards (1 x 8" pine). I also used wood glue between each board. I don't know if it is because I don't quite know what the heck I'm doing or if it was because a few of my boards were warped a little, but I had some trouble with screws coming through the face of the board I was screwing into. At first I thought maybe I was using the wrong length screw, but that wasn't it. I'm still not sure, but there was some taking apart and putting back together involved. When I attemped to lift the beast up, it was really wobbly feeling. There was a little more play between the boards than should have been, so I just used a scrap 1x2 across the boards at the bottom and top. That did the trick. I'm delighted with my latest pinspired creation.

Writing this post had me thinking, Pinterest has truly changed my life. It is my go-to place now for design inspiration, recipe ideas, cleaning tips. I snapped some pics of just a few things that came about all because of pinterest.

This is one of my favorite pieces in my whole house, and it was inpsired by this

(Flower Patch Farmgirl blog)

All inspired by pinterest. Some directly, like the art above the mantel. That is a shameless copy of Layla Palmer's mantel art. 

(The Lettered Cottage)

The little table and chairs just satisfied my need to paint something yellow after I pinned this beauty.

(Three on Grove blog)

Yummy, right?

I've made my own laundry soap, thanks to pinterest.

I made the mason jar soap dispenser after seeing it numerous time on pinterest and that spray bottle contains my new miracle cleaner, dawn, vinegar and water. Works like a charm.

I could go on and on, but I'll spare you. If you want to see more of what inspires me and probably get an idea of the next project I'm contemplating, check out my pintrest boards.

To see what others have been pinspired to do and share your own, check out the Pinterst Challenge Link Party going on at Young House of Love, Ten June, Centsational Girl, and Bower Power.

Easy-peasy thread rack

I knew I'd seen someone use pegboard to make a thread rack. Maybe, no probably on pinterest. I had some pegboard and I wanted a thread rack, so I googled Pegboard Thread Rack, found this tutorial and did exactly what she said. Except her dowels were placed in straight rows, using every other hole. Mine ended up being staggered, not intentional, it just happened that way. 

I bought 1/4" dowels like she said, and even tried the dowel in a piece of pegboard at Lowe's. Fit perfectly. When I got home, the dowels didn't want to fit in my pegboard.

I was going to sand the ends to make them a little smaller, but that was a lot of dowels.

So I just dabbed a little wood glue on the end,

and forced it in with a hammer.

Worked like a charm and they aren't going anywhere.

Glued some trim around the edges (forgot to get a pix) and spray painted it all glossy white.

I loved the aqua blue frame Mandy used for hers, and I considered painting my frame, but I decided the thread was going to be plenty of color. Also, I had a full can of white paint, so that really made my decision easy.

I love this project because it was cheap, I didn't buy a thing. Even if you didn't have the supplies on hand, it would still be cheap to make, and you can customize it to any size or color you want.

I used wire to hang it. Just two pieces run through a couple of the holes. If you look closely between the pink and gold thread on top, the wire is there. There is another on the other side but it's under the white thread. I used plastic drywall anchors and screws in the wall. I didn't know how heavy it would get with all the spools on, so I wanted to be safe.

It's kinda like functional art, isn't it?

A little Pinterest inspiration

In the form of wreaths.

I made three this weekend, all inspired by pinterest.

Wreath numero uno.

And can I just say, the only thing harder than curtains to photograph,

is a wreath.

Especially when it is hanging on a window.

I don't know why I have a wreath in my kitchen window.

I think it started when I put one there for Christmas.

It seemed naked when I took it down, so now I keep one up year round.

Here's a shot with it on the floor, so you can see the details a little better.

I wrapped a straw wreath with strips of burlap

and hot glued on one or two of nearly every kind of flower I know how to make.

I even crocheted one.

Call it a sampler wreath.

It was inspired by several different wreaths.

Not exactly like any one.

The next two are pretty much copy cats.

As soon as I saw this lovely, I knew I had to make one.

I made my own foam wreath form using pipe insulation from Lowes, 

using this method. If I do this again,

I will add some wire or something inside of the foam

to help it keep its shape. You can see it's

a little elongated instead of being perfectly round.

I covered the foam with strips of fabric

as a base for gluing on the moss.

I just used hot glue and only singed off

half my fingerprints.

Love it!

The last one was heavily inspired by this cutie pie of a wreath.

I love every little thing about it. The bright colors, the cute little bunting,

the fact that its an empty frame and not a wreath at all.

I wanted mine to go on the door from my garage into the kitchen-

which kind of makes me snicker every time I think about it.

What's that fancy word designers like to use...

juxtaposition. Yea, that word is appropriate.

I love the cuteness of the frame, juxtaposed against the

junk hole that is my garage.

I'm sure folks will see it and think, she should spend less time hot gluing

and  more time cleaning.

Anyhoo, if you make it through the garage

to the kitchen door without tripping over something,

you will be rewarded with this cute greeting.

Once again, nearly impossible to photograph.

I hung it on the dining room wall hoping it would show up better,

so I could snap a picture or two.

I cut the pennants from fabric backed with fusible interfacing to make it stiffer,

and  the letters were made using my silhouette.

Now I'm thinking the pennants should have been a little larger.

And I wish I'd used a different font for each letter,

like the inspiration.

I may have to change that.

I finished off any fingerprints I had left making and attaching these flowers.

I made all three of these this weekend with materials I had on hand,

making them pretty much free.

Not bad for three new wreaths is it?

 

What has pinterest inspired you to do?

I'll be sharing at some of these fun parties. Check em out!