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Sunday, May 18, 2014

Meet Jacob, the dresser

Meet Jacob.


Jacob was in very nice condition (minus the drawer that I couldn't find at the time and me being too lazy to attach the mirror), but fairly boring, and I was not in a boring mood.


Now Jacob holds his head up high and is loving his new duds.  He now gets second looks when he walks into the library trustees meeting.


I loved the finish on the drawers, so all I did was clean them up and add some wood conditioner.


The base received my own custom color of chalk paint, topped with a heavy coat of glaze.  I sealed the top with layers of polyacrylic and base with wax.


The hardware was very nice, and only needed a coat of paint using this method.


Jacob will have no problem charming the ladies at the weekly tea party.


Have a sunny day,
Debbie


Monday, May 12, 2014

DIY Gutter Garden

"Mommy, when can we start a garden?"
"Now?"
"Is it time yet?"
"Now?"
"Are we ready yet?"

My five-year old has been asking for a garden since last year, so I thought it was time to dig in.  But there really wasn't anywhere to dig in our yard.  No worries.  If you are looking to start a garden with limited space, just start one on a wall or fence.


If you search "gutter garden" on the web, you will find endless examples.  Just know you will be limited with the kinds of plants you grow, as you need ones with a shallow root system.  Strawberries, lettuce, and herbs are great choices.

I decided on two 10' sections of vinyl gutters.  I also purchased the end caps and gutter hangers which I thought would help keep the shape of the gutter after it was filled with soil.


Our fence is kind of ancient, and I felt we needed to reinforce where the gutters would hang, so we screwed in a few pressure treated 2 X4's.  Tom's getting it done with the screw gun.  :)


Then it was pretty simple to hang by putting screws into the hanger.


And I almost forgot to drill in drainage holes.


We mixed some nice top soil with compost and filled our gutters and flower pots.  The little lady was thrilled to finally be getting her hands dirty.


We settled on some flowers . . . 


 . . . strawberries . . .


 . . . herbs and lettuce.


I think our little lady is happy.



Now if I can just get her to stop asking when we can pick the strawberries.


I'll keep you posted on how well the gutter produces our bountiful harvest.  :)

NOTE:  (8/20/14): You can find the gutter garden update here.

I hope you have a fruitful day,
Debbie

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