Garden tool caddy with easy to follow instructions

November 15, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Oilcloth Garden Caddy

When gardening, I often make several trips for my tools because I forget something. I’ve been known to leave a tool or two in the yard, too. So when I came across instructions for making a garden tool caddy, I knew I found something perfect. I really like the ideas of small pockets because I could keep my seeds in a safe place throughout the planting process. Last year I left a seed packet in the garden and it rained. Fortunately I remembered about it before the rain was heavy. Normally when I garden, I need a good place to keep my house keys. (I try to keep the house locked when Matt isn’t home… just in case.) This would work out well for keep track of them.

Plus, wouldn’t a cute garden tool caddy that you can carry or wear as an apron make you want to go out and work in the garden?

Garden Tool Caddy Examples

Oilcloth Garden Tool Caddy

Directions

Oilcloth Garden Tool Caddy

The garden tool caddy by Craftzine is my favorite. I like the added feature of being able to use it for my knees. This would help save my back and prevent the worry of getting my jeans dirty. The oilcloth looks as if it would be very easy to wipe clean.

Fabric Toolbelt Roll-Up

Directions

Apron Garden Tool Caddy

Notice that the pockets are just deep enough to fit the handles of the garden tools. When designing your apron, pay attention to the length. You do not want it to be too low because this will get in the way when you bend down to work in the garden.

Garden Apron

Directions

Apron Garden Tool Caddy

I think that I would likely use both a garden tool caddy like the oilcloth example and use an apron. My garden was quite large last year and I could save a lot of time by holding onto small objects such as seed packets in the apron.

Gift Idea

Wouldn’t this be a great gift for mother and daughter?

Filed Under: Gardening, Home & Garden · Tagged With:

Garden trellis ideas for a vegetable garden

November 15, 2011 by · 1 Comment
A-frame Vegetable Trillis

 

Garden trellis ideas may be just what you are looking for if you plan to grow any climbing vegetables such as peas or beans. After making a wimpy bean and pea  trellis last spring, I plan to make something more sturdy and rot-resistant. I wanted to share some of the garden trellis ideas that I came across.

You can change the height and width based on your needs. Before building a trellis, you should check the expected height of any of your climbing vegetables to determine what type of trellis would work best. Determine in advance if you will need to store the trellis indoors during the winter or if you will need to move it throughout the growing season. You may want to consider something smaller if you need to move it. If you are making more than one trellis, keep them spaced adequately so that you can work your garden more easily.

Plants will climb just about anything so you may want to even consider using something that is about to be tossed. This is obviously the most affordable option. The garden trellis ideas listed below use materials that are found easily at most hardware stores and are fairly inexpensive.

Examples of Garden Trellis Ideas

A-Frame Vegetable Trellis

Directions

A-frame Vegetable Trillis

Chicken wire is one of the best and most affordable options. It is easier to buy wire that is 6 feet and then you can just cut it down if you need something shorter.

Portable Trellis

Directions

Portable Trellis

The portable trellis is small enough that you can store it indoors during the winter. You can also relocate it when you change your garden layout.

3 Step Garden Trellis

Directions

3 Step Garden Trellis

 

Bamboo or Tree Limb Teepee Trellis

Directions

Bamboo Teepee Trellis

If you would like more information about species of bamboo that would grow well in your area, visit the American Bamboo Society website. At the bottom of their site, you will find a link for each region.

More Garden Trellis Ideas

Make a cedar and bamboo trellis

How to make a bamboo trellis

                            

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Decorating Thanksgiving Cupcakes

November 14, 2011 by · 5 Comments
Turkey cupcakes with candy melts

Decorating Thanksgiving cupcakes is a quick and fun addition to the treat selection on Thanksgiving Day. Although you might not have much room for cupcakes after turkey, stuffing, and everything else, they are still a lot of fun to make. If you need an activity for kids while you’re busy working on other cooking projects, each of these are fairly easy to make. If you have leftover Halloween candy, you can use pieces to decorate the cupcakes.

Examples of decorating Thanksgiving cupcakes

Candy melts were used to make these turkey cupcakes. First the shape of the turkey was made with candy melts and after the shape dried, orange and yellow candy melts were used to fill in the rest. Candy melts are available in a variety of colors so get creative and add some bright colors to your Thanksgiving table.

Decorating Thanksgiving cupcakes - Turkey

Some Nutter Butter Bites and candy corn were used to make these adorable turkey cupcakes. If you don’t want to use candy corn, you could modify these design with the candy melt design above. You could make individual feathers in different colors and use those in place of the candy corn.

Decorating Thanksgiving cupcakes - turkey

Airbrushed icing starts off the cute face of this Indian and then layers of colored icing make the rest.

Decorating Thanksgiving Indian cupcake

You can also add cupcake toppers. They are easy to make from decorative craft paper or you can print designs from your computer. Get creative and customize the toppers for family and friends. Express why you are thankful.

 

Thanksgiving cupcake topper decorations

More Topper Ideas

  • An activity for kids could be to precut the circles and allow them to draw pictures.
  • Use photos or names of friends and family members. On the opposite side of the topper, say something unique about why you are thankful for that person
  • Cut white paper sails and then hole punch them at the top and bottom. Using cut straws, place them on the cupcakes.
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I Won Lysol Products Through a Giveaway

November 9, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Lysol Giveaway Won

Lysol Giveaway Won

Several weeks ago, I entered a giveaway on a blog that I follow. I was very excited when I was contacted about winning the giveaway. I won a Lysol no-touch soap dispenser and canister of dual action wipes. I had actually had my eye on the soap dispenser before entering the giveaway. When I cook, I wash my hands constantly and I don’t like touching the soap container after I’ve handled sticky foods or raw meat. So far the soap dispenser is working out great and the soap that came with it actually keeps my hands moist which is a bonus!

I didn’t even realize that Lysol had the dual action wipes available. On one side the wipe is smooth and on the other side it has little scrubbers. I make sweet tea a lot and have a bad habit of dripping the tea on the counter. I also keep the spoon on the counter after I’ve stirred in the sugar. Once it dries, it’s a mess. The wipes work great when you need to get spots off the counter.

Lysol Wipe Giveaway

I use Lysol products a lot. I took microbiology in college and we used Lysol in the lab after handling specimens.

If you would like to win cleaning products, do a Google search and narrow your search down by items published within the last week. You can also use Twitter and search for what people are talking about.

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Organize Small Bathrooms with Tight Walking Space

November 9, 2011 by · 2 Comments
Bathoom Ladder

After years of living in an apartment, I have learned to organize small bathrooms. In our current home, we have two small bathrooms. Our plan for the near future is that Matt will use the guest bathroom while I use the master bathroom. We have showers and vanity cabinets in both. In the master bathroom, the only available wall to place a storage shelf is right where the vanity door opens. This will require that any storage additions will need to be vertical. We have more flexibility with the guest bathroom as it has more walking space.

Examples of how to organize small bathrooms

In many home furnishing and decorating catalogs, you will see wall ladders. They look nice, but they will require you to use more space than a regular floor shelving unit because they have to be angled from the wall. Depending on the walk space in your bathroom, this may work great.

A ladder will also not provide very much depth on the shelves. An alternative would be to use a narrow bookshelf or etagere with decorative baskets. This would also prevent items from falling on the floor if pushed behind the shelves.

 

Organize small bathrooms with ladders

Bathroom Wall Ladder

 

I really like this idea from My Home Ideas using wall hanging baskets. You could even add ribbon to dress it up and match your bathroom colors. If you don’t want to put holes in the wall, you could modify this by using an over the door holder. These would work well for a blow dryer, curling iron, etc. Using baskets is a great way to keep items separated for different family members and also helps to hide things. You may need to modify the depth of the baskets based on how much walking space you have in your bathroom.

Organize small bathrooms with hanging containers

Hanging Wall Baskets

A small cabinet and overhead storage unit would work in the main bathroom. I like how the cabinet just blends right in with the white wall.

Organize with overhead cabinet

Bathroom with Overhead Cabinet

Of course, there is always the option to place an etagere over the toilet. Hate to mention it, but if you do this, make sure items can be easily cleaned. Anything that needs to be kept sanitary should be stored in closed containers. This may work perfectly to organize a small bathroom and you can dress up the etagere by placing decorative baskets on the shelves.

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Making Kitchen Tables Yourself is Possible

November 9, 2011 by · 8 Comments
featured1

After not finding kitchen tables at a reasonable price, we have looked into making kitchen tables. I want something that will hold up over the years and also not go out of style. Currently we do not have a kitchen table because we have not decided what we want. It is just the two of us right now, but it’s not exactly ideal when we have company.

Examples of making kitchen tables

Making kitchen tables that double as islands

For directions on how to make this table, go to the article Build Michaela’s Kitchen Island. A round table would be very nice because it’s small enough to keep walk space in the kitchen. It just tall enough that it makes cooking easier so that you do not have to bend down. The best part is the extra storage available underneath the tabletop.

This table made by Kate and featured on her site For Me, For You, was made using hairpin legs and a large round top. This works very nicely in a small space and helps to make the room feel more open because it is round and the hairpin legs are so thin.

Making hairpin kitchen tables

Having a built-in bench with a kitchen table would be very comfy. This came from Aubrey + Lindsay’s blog. I can see myself doing more than just eating meals here. It looks like such a great place to read and work on my laptop. I’m slightly hesitant to put a permanent bench in the kitchen, though. Our kitchen door is the only area big enough for moving furniture in and out of the house. This could still be done on a much smaller scale, though. In addition to providing a lot of seating, there is space available underneath for storage.

Making window bench kitchen tables

Do you have a table that you’re in love with or before and after photos to share? Perhaps you have some experience in making kitchen tables and have some instructions to share? Please let me know!

 

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