D&G Gardens and Crafts

Instructable How To Projects

2012-03-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

It's Instructables time again. As you may already know, I love this website. Here are some cool projects I found recently. Enjoy!

How to Grow Pineapples - What a great project to do with the kids, and so easy to.

Seed Bon Bons - This has got to be the cutest gift idea for gardeners I have ever seen. Can't wait to try and make some of these myself someday soon.

Mosaic Toilet Tank Planter - Why not recycle at least part of that old toilet. So cute!

Book Review - Project Garden by Stacy Tornio

2012-02-29T06:00:00.010-05:00

Special Announcement: Stacy, the author of this book, will be doing a guest post on this very blog on Saturday, March 3rd. It's my first guest post ever, so be sure and check it out!

My friend Stacy Tornio, an editor at Birds and Blooms, asked me to review her new book, Project Garden: A Month by Month Guide to Planting, Growing, and Enjoying All Your Backyard Has to Offer. I was delighted to do so as she played a big part in helping to promote our own website, D&G Gardens and Crafts. I wrote seven articles for B&B and B&B Extra over the past few years, so anything I can do to return the favor, I am more than happy to do.

To begin with, Project Garden is a beautiful book to look at and very well laid out. So many people think that gardening is just a summer activity, but I think it can be a full year activity. You just have to think outside the box a little bit and Stacy helps you do that with her book. She takes you through each month offering up gardening tips, craft project ideas and even tasty recipes to delight your palette. I was especially delighted to see many recycling ideas, which as you probably already know, is very close to my heart.

Though this book is geared towards families, I dare say you don't have to have a family to enjoy this book and find useful information. Sit down and read it with your kids, grand kids, nieces, nephews, neighbor kids or whoever wants to be active and then get out and enjoy nature a little bit more.

Hop on over to Amazon and take a look inside the book to see for yourself.

Stacy Tornio can also be found online at stacygrows.com. Enter to win a copy of her book on her blog here.

Plant Profile - Bleeding Heart

2012-02-28T06:00:00.086-05:00

Bleeding Heart Dicentra is a spring blooming perennial, great for shady areas of the garden, best grown in zones 3-9. Traditionally thought of as the old fashioned plant your grandmother used to grow, I think Bleeding Hearts are under utilized in today's gardens. Many people pass over this lovely plant for the latest and greatest hybrid, when in fact they may be doing themselves a disservice by doing so.

Generally thought of as having light pink blooming flowers, bleeding hearts also come in white and dark pink, almost red varieties. They can grow to a height and spread of 2'-3', making it easy to add them to nearly any size garden.

Though not invasive, they will reseed when conditions are right and plants are happy. Best grown in moist soils full of organic matter (lots of compost), my plants get a few hours of morning sun with dappled shade most of the day. Mine are mixed in with hostas, astilbe and hydrangeas. Before the hostas have had time to fully unfurl from the soil of winter, the bleeding hearts emerge first, along with the daffodils and start blooming when they are only a few inches tall. They are at their peak in May and June in my area of Central New York and then slowly fade away once the heat of summer takes over. I've had bleeding hearts blooming in August during years of cool summers with plenty of rain.

Top dress soil with compost every spring and fall to keep your plants happy. I find no fertilizer is needed when I do that on a regular basis. If you have poor soil and need more time to improve it, fertilize once a month with an all purpose fertilizer designed for blooming plants. I really like Flower-Tone by Espoma.

Bleeding Hearts are sensitive to late spring frosts, so cover them with a sheet if temperatures threat to get too low. It will be worth the extra effort to do so.

Copper Wire and Glass Bird Feeders

2012-02-26T07:00:00.007-05:00

I've been messing around with copper wire and glasses again and came up with these four new bird feeders. They were originally designed for sugar water for hummingbirds and orioles, but they would also be great to hold meal worms for bluebirds. They are already scouting for homes now, so providing meal worms early will attract them to your yard.

All four of these lovelies are available in our Etsy Shop right now.

My Winter Garden - Part 2

2012-02-19T18:53:00.001-05:00

This first photo is of one of my plate flowers. I have it hanging on the fence that goes around the veggie garden. I plan on listing some on Etsy in the next few weeks.

Last year I really wanted to buy an antique millstone, but frankly, I do not have that kind of dough, so I made one out of hypertufa. I think it turned out great and I have plans to try and make a bigger one sometime soon. Instructions on how you can make your own can be found on our website here.

This photo below is of our Bridal Wreath Spireas. They are so gorgeous in June when they bloom. If you've never seen one in bloom, you can see a picture of ours here.

Proof that I do actually leave my totems out all year. Snow, sleet, nor freezing rain can harm my glass totems. And don't they look so pretty in the snow? I've been testing the adhesive I use for years and I can only say it is the best. To find out how to make your own totems, check my instructions here. You can also purchase totems I have made in our Etsy Shop.

This last scene for today almost looks as if it should be in a scenic park doesn't it? I am so lucky we have the little bit of land that we do. It's always nice to come home to a little bit of paradise after a hectic day. This picture was taken from the view of our shade garden. I leave the hydrangea blooms on the stems until late winter or early spring when I trim them off to get ready for the growing season. They are so pretty after a snowfall.

My Winter Garden - Part 1

2012-02-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

We have had a very mild winter with very little snow. We are currently on track for one of the least amounts of snow of all time in Central New York. I think we are about top 2 or 3 at the rate we are going right now. But last night it was hovering around freezing so the rain turned to gigantic fluffy snowflakes and everything was so pretty this morning. I had to take a few pictures to show you all.

First up is the latest Adirondack Style Birdhouse that my husband makes. We are testing the adhesive we used for the stones to make sure it will hold up to the elements before selling them in our Etsy shop.

I love old gears. Here are tow just leaning up against a tree trunk. I like the look in the winter, but will most likely move them once lawn mowing season starts.

This photo below is of a wrought-iron hummingbird I got last year at the Regional Market in Syracuse. This wonderful artist was set up for a short time early in the season and I am so lucky I got to purchase something from him before he left.

Below is a metal grate that is nestled up against a tree trunk highlighting the tree root that is coming up out of the ground.

And finally for today, here is one of my favorite little coal stoves that contains a metal flower Gary made me out of an old plow coultor. The center of the flower is a metal jello mold he JB Welded onto the disk and then the stem (which you can't really see in this photo) is a flat metal bar he found lying around at his parents farm. There is also a giant ceramic insulator from a utility pole to the left of it along with one of my glass totems. Yes, I do really leave them outside all year round.

Fuchsia Cuttings Update

2012-02-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

Late summer, as an afterthought, I took seven cuttings from a potted fuchsia plant that I didn't want to overwinter indoors. It was way too late in the year and most of the stems were pretty woody, but I tried anyway. All but one cutting has taken root and the ones that have are growing like a weed.

To begin, I cut the youngest most tender stems that were from the tips of the plant. Each cutting was about 2" long. Then I removed all the leaves from the stem except the top two. Once each stem was prepared, they went into a pot filled with moistened vermiculite. The pot sits inside a bowl that I kept about 1/2" of water in and then a clear gallon sized bag was put over the whole thing to keep in the humidity. The pot sits in front of a south facing window.

I checked the soil moisture every couple of days and added water to the bowl as needed. Once the cuttings began to show signs of growth, I removed the bag and began to water from the top as needed.

The next step will be to repot them into sterile potting mix and I will start fertilizing them with half strength, water soluable fertilizer. I usually use Monty's. Sadly, the co-founder of the company passed away recently. Check out their website here.

Instructables You Gotta See

2012-02-10T07:00:00.036-05:00

If you've been following me for any length of time, you may remember that I really love the site instructables.com. There are tons of how-to projects and videos to show you how to make just about anything you can imagine and then some. Today I wanted to share a few I came across this past week. Enjoy!

How to Create a Backyard Pond

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Create-a-Backyard-Pond/

How to Make Plant Starting Flats

http://www.instructables.com/id/Plant-Starting-Flats/

The 72 Plant Vertical Garden

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-72-Plant-Vertical-Garden/

Seed Order Arrived

2012-02-05T07:00:00.014-05:00

Last weekend I finally got around to ordering seeds from Pinetree Seeds and the order arrived quickly. I've decided to plant mostly heirloom vegetables this year in the hopes that they will produce tastier and more vitamin rich produce.

I love Pinetree Seeds. They are located in Maine, so they specialize in cold hardy seeds and plants that thrive in colder climates, but better than that, their pricing is really great. You get just enough seeds for a year or two so you don't have to pay a fortune for them. And they have a really great variety too. Following is a list of what I purchased and hope to plant this spring.

Tomato Prudens Purple - Photo Courtesy of Pinetree Seeds

Bush Beans 'Tendergreen' - 6" long pods, excellent taste and production, good for freezing and eating fresh.

Bush Been 'Pencil Pod' Yellow - Sweet and juicy pods with excellent production, attractive plant with green leaves and yellow pods that are easy to pick.
Peas 'Telephone' - Late maturing with a buttery taste, long vines can grow up a 5' trellis saving space in the garden.
Tomato 'Prudens Purple' - Indeterminate, early producing, firm and meaty, very few seeds with fruits as large as 1lb. each.
Tomato 'Polish Linguisa' - Indeterminate New York State variety from the 19th century, sausage shape great for salads and sauces.
Tomato 'Mortgage Lifter' - Indeterminate, very large and very sweet fruits.
Zucchini Black - dark skinned with excellent flavor.
Spinach 'Bloomsdale' - early spring variety with excellent flavor.
Pepper 'Marconi Red' - excellent sweet pepper that is great fresh or fried, can grow up to a foot long.
Hot Pepper 'Ancho Poblanos'- excellent pepper for stuffing and drying, mild flavor.
Hot Pepper 'Early Jalapeno' - early jalapeno with excellent flavor and storing capabilities.
Sweet Pepper 'King of the North' - excellent sweet pepper for short cool growing seasons.
Cucumber 'Lemon' - drought resistant, easily digestible cucumber with a pleasant flavor, great for trellises (I grew this last year and really liked it).

Lemon Cucumber - Photo Courtesy of Pinetree Seeds

Cucumber 'White Wonder' - Mild tasting, crisp flesh originating in Upstate New York.
Carrot 'Nantes' - french variety with excellent flavor (I've grown this also and had great success).
Carrot 'Tender Sweet' - Popular with market growers because of their beautiful shape and leaves, excellent flavor.
Tomatillo - Excellent for making Mexican sauces and salsas, stores well after picking for 1-2 months, self seeds and very prolific.
Watermelon 'Moon & Stars' - Amish heirloom variety with yellow spots in the shape of moons and stars on the dark green rinds. Excellent sweet flavor.

I also got a few annual seeds, some Stevia seeds and powder and some books on how to grow Stevia and use Stevia in recipes.

Amaranth 'Splendens' - Photo Courtesy of Pinetree Seeds

Amaranth 'Illumination' - Annual that looks like a Poinsettia.
Amaranth 'Splendens Perfecta' - Tricolored green, yellow and red foliage.
Morning Glory 'Scarlet O Hara' - Large rose colored blooms.
Morning Glory 'Caprice' - Large cool blue blooms on 20' vines, blooms stay open most of the day.
Morning Glory 'Cameo Elegance' - Variegated foliage with rose blooms, better suited for containers.
Stevia Rebaudiana - Tender perennial with leaves 200-300 times sweeter than sugar.

Have any of you grown these varieties before? I'd love to hear any tips you might have about each variety or your experience about their taste and productivity. I'm sure my readers would enjoy hearing about them as well.

And just for the record, I am not affiliated with Pinetree Seeds in any way or am I being compensated for this post. If the good people at Pinetree Seeds happen to see this post and want to thank me for my enthusiasm, then I would be happy to accept. :)

Plant Profile - Rugosa Roses

2012-01-22T17:47:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love my rugosa rose and would like to include more in my landscape in the coming years. I currently grow 'Hansa' which is famous for their rose hips.

Easy to care for rugosa roses require no fertilizer or special pruning. All I do is cut out the oldest canes each spring to keep the plant in tip top shape. It usually takes me about 10-15 minutes to get my rugosa rose ready for the growing season.

Rugosa roses are very hardy too and ideal for northern gardeners as they do not require heavy mulching during the winter. Many varieties are hardy to zone 2, that is unheard of in the hybrid tea rose world. Following is a list of the benefits associated with rugosa roses.

Cold Hardy - the hardiest varieties tend to be white, pink and red, while the yellow, peach and bi-colored varieties may not be as hardy.
Many varieties produce gorgeous red rose hips. Some good varieties to look for are 'Hansa', 'Frau Dgmar Hartopp' and Scabrosa'.
Lovely fall foliage colors ranging from yellow, orange to red depending on variety.
They can grow in any kind of soil in areas that get at least 6 hours of sun per day.
They do not half to be sprayed to prevent disease or bug infestations. In fact spraying them with anything usually causes leaf drop.
No fertilizing required. I just add a little compost around each bush in the spring along with a fresh layer of mulch to control weeds and that is all.
They have a remarkable tolerance for road salt, so are ideal for roadside and seaside gardens.
Many rugosas have a spicy fragrance to their blooms that rival many other roses.
Rugosa roses are self cleaning, so deadheading is not necessary unless you want to encourage a second flush of sporadic blooms.

There are two small downsides to the rugosa rose, but not enough to be a deal breaker in my opinon. They do have incredibly prickly stems. The upside to that is you can lay the stems in freshly tilled gardens to keep cats out. And the second downside is that they tend to sucker a little bit, but not enough to be out of control. The suckers are very easy to dig up and give to friends and if creating a wall of beauty is what you want, then planting several rugosa roses would be a nice way to do so.

I hope you too will decide to add an old fashioned rugosa rose to your landscape this year. You'll be glad you did.

Some good places to order online:

New Leaf Castings

2012-01-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

We had such a mild fall I was able to make six new leaf castings. They have fully cured and the first of them is now for sale in our Etsy Shop.

This one was painted with copper metallic first, then dry brushed with two shades of green and an irredescant white paint. It's been sealed with three layers of an outdoor acryllic sealer so it is ready for many years of use.

Use them as a birdbath, feeder, candy dish or just as a piece of sculpture in your home or on your patio.

Buy it here for $29.00 plus shipping.

My Cleaning New Year's Resolution

2012-01-15T15:05:00.000-05:00

My New Year's Resolution this year is to systematically clean our house from top to bottom, room by room, one room a week. I started at one end of the house and am cleaning one room each week from top to bottom. You know the way...getting under the furniture, wiping down the walls and windows, nick knacks and the like. Stuff that I don't do every week when cleaning.

I really hate cleaning. I don't get much help with it around our house, so I tend to put it off and then only do the basics each week; vacuuming, light dusting, bathroom cleaning, dishes and that's about it. I get caught up with my hobbies, reading, the computer, and the housework is at the very bottom of the list. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

My husband and I both have allergies and we have a cat and I was beginning to feel stuffy all the time when I was in our home for more than a few hours at a time. During the week I didn't notice it as much, but on the weekend I'd really start to feel the effects. It had to be all the dust in our house. So I decided to make a change....an important change that will affect the way we feel when in our home.

I started with the master bathroom, then the master bedroom, the dining room and this week is our kitchen. I think the kitchen and the living room will take the most time and once I've gone through all the rooms, it should only get easier as time goes on since the cleaning will be getting done consistently.

Today I cleaned the dingy, sticky feeling cabinets. I've cleaned them before since we moved in 10 years ago, but some of them never really felt truly clean. But today, they look and feel like new after about an hour of scrubbing. Here's how I did it.

Mix one part dawn dish washing detergent with two parts hot water.
Working in small sections of three or four cabinets at a time, scrub each cabinet with the soapy water and a scrubby sponge safe for non-stick cookware.
Allow the cabinets to sit for a couple of minutes and then wipe them down with a clean wet cloth, rinsing the cloth several times to remove all the soapy water.
Allow cabinets to dry and then look for sticky spots that may remain.
Using a paste of water and baking soda, scrub the sticky spots in a circular motion, repeating until sticky spot has been removed. Wipe the baking soda away with a clean wet cloth.
If any dullness remains, spray down cabinet with a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water.
This is optional, but to add a little shine back to the cabinets, you can rub them down with a little Orange Glow.

Craft Paint Storage

2012-01-07T06:00:00.007-05:00

My craft room is pretty small for the amount of stuff I have in it. I use two dressers for storage and counter space. I have a couple of small book cases and a salvaged short metal cabinet in the corner.

Every few months it seems I am tweaking something to try and get more storage for the different interests I have. Stained glass and tiles take up a lot of room, but I am really saving space with the organizers hubby got me for Christmas. And now I'm adding more beads to the mix so that I can do more wire art.

But the one thing that has always been a problem for me is how to store all my craft paint bottles. Years ago, I bought one of those spinning bottle holders. I think it held 180 bottles and believe me, I had it almost full. It's great storage, but my counter space is so limited and narrow that I could never turn the thing around and get to the paints I needed.

Inspiration struck the other day when I was looking at a couple of sturdy boxes that were about to go out with the recyclables. I have a feeling I have seen this idea before, but I didn't really remember it until now.

I cut down the boxes so they were the same depth as the length of the paint bottles (about 4") and just stacked them on their sides. It's easy to see their colors and it's easy to pull out the color you need. It takes up space on top of my bookcases that would otherwise have looked cluttered and messy. I think I'm really going to like it.

Neat and Nifty TECH L.C.

Top 10 Web Pages from D&G Gardens and Crafts

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd countdown the top ten pages from our website. If you subscribe to our newsletter, you will get notified of new stories regularly. Sign up for the newsletter here. Now on to the Top 10!

10. Cobblestone Walkway Project - See how we turned an unattractive pea gravel walkway into a lovely cobblestone walkway.

9. Free Printables - A directory of the free printables including garden journals, seed packets, gift tags and more.

8. Leaf Castings - Instructions on how to capture a little bit of nature by using Portland cement and sand to cast leaves for bird baths, bird feeders and more.

7. Landscape Projects - A directory of some of the landscape projects we have done around our yard.

6. Crafts - A directory of craft projects and how-to articles for inside and outside your home.

5. Garden Journal Templates - Dozens of garden journal templates you can print for free.

4. Totems - How to make glass garden totems from found objects.

3. Seed Packet Templates - Hundreds of seed packet templates free to print in two sizes.

2. Bowling Ball Art - How to paint, mosaic and decorate a bowling ball to add to your garden.

1. Tipsy Pots - How to make your own Tipsy Pot plant tower fro clay pots, plastic post, tea pots and more.

Top Ten Lists - Crafty Projects

2011-12-27T22:00:00.003-05:00

This time of year, you always hear about top ten lists. And I guess I'm no different. But I thought I'd bring to your attention some of the lesser known pages on our website. Some are new and some have not been promoted, but I think all have some valuable information that you may find useful.

Today's top 10 list will be for Crafty Projects.

10. Mosaic Trays - Check out these ideas for rejuvenating old trays and wooden bowls.

9. Hummingbird Feeder - Find out how you can take a piece of wire and a shot glass and turn it into a hummingbird or oriole feeder.

8. Salt Dough Ornaments - I know Christmas is over, but think about making salt dough ornaments for next year's tree. They last for years, so if you need a project to do with the kids this week, try it out.

7. Suet Feeder - Woodpeckers and other birds love this style of suet feeder best.

6. Mosaic Frames - Here are some ideas for turning plain mirrors and picture frames into beautiful mosaic works of art.

5. Hypertufa Planter - A hypertufa project that utilizes railroad spikes for feet; a cool recycling project.

4. Bird Seed Ornaments - A new project in the past few weeks; how to make decorative, yet edible ornaments for the tree.

3. Hypertufa Millstone - How to make a millstone out of hypertufa.

2. Earring Holder - Take an old picture frame and turn it into an adorable earring holder.

1. Instant Evergreen Tree - Turn an obelisk or tomato cage into an instant evergreen tree. A great way to display the bird seed ornaments above.

I Love Gardening....

2011-12-26T06:00:00.004-05:00

And my husband knows that I do and he knows what a weird sense of humor I have at times, and I know that he's the same kind of crazy as me....LOL. He gave me the best t-shirt ever and I can't wait to wear it at the spring gardening shows in 2012.

In case you are having trouble reading the shirt, it says, "I ♥ Gardening. It helps when you need to hide the bodies." How funny is that?!? And for the record, NO, I do not hide dead bodies in my yard. It's a joke, plain and simple.

He also gave me a bunch of useful things to help me with my crafts and other creative projects. Six organizers so I can sort my many glass pieces, tiles and beads, a jumbo box of masks for when I work with Portland cement, an awesome work light that winds up, so there are no batteries to worry about, some books for relaxing and a really cool pump to help me get water from our water barrel to the veggie garden beds.

He also found a jig to help me bend wire into all sorts of shapes and connectors. I just hope I can figure out how to use it since there really aren't very good instructions with it. And lately I've been wishing I had one of those immersion blenders and, guess what, he was listening. I also got a corded drill because my cordless drill was always dead, the batteries just wouldn't hold the charge anymore and frankly, I got tired of asking hubby to use his and since I could never find a darn thing in his workshop, I would always have to wait until he was home to use one.

All in all we had a great Christmas weekend; spent time with my family on Saturday night and had a relaxing day at home on Sunday. Monday will be a great day too, looking for after Christmas bargains and catching up on a little housework.

I hope you all had a great weekend too!

Happy Holidays!!!

2011-12-22T22:15:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, and Happy Festivus! Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope you are able to spend it with the ones you love!

I was playing around on Amazon and found some free mp3 downloads you might like. Some are a little quirky, but since they are free you have nothing to lose by downloading them, right? Not sure how long they will be free on Amazon, so better check them out now.

Quickie Herbal Soap

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for a last minute gift, this soap recipe could be just the ticket. Check it out.

What you will need:

2 cups of chopped glycerin soap bars
double boiler
10-20 drops of essential oils of choice
soap or candy molds
towel
plastic wrap

Directions:

Melt soap chunks in a double boiler over medium-low heat.
Stir in essential oils and remove from heat.
Pour into molds and allow to harden for 30 minutes.
Remove soap from molds and place on towel.
Allow to harden for at least 8 hours.
Wrap soap in plastic wrap to preserve scent.

Types of Essential Oils:

Chamomile
Lavender
Lemon
Grapefruit
Geranium
Rose Attar
Rosemary
Orange
Pine
Peppermint (avoid using on face)
Orange

Awesome Salvage Garden Art

2011-12-18T07:00:00.026-05:00

I was surfing the net and found some really cool garden art ideas. You know how much I love my junk and I think I can make something like this for my own garden. Besides, a girl's gotta have a hobby during the winter months to stay out of trouble, you know.

These first two ideas were discovered at This Old house. I wonder if you could use JBWeld on this project if you don't have a welder?

And this birdhouse is incredibly cute, but not sure if I would use an oil can as the base unless I was very sure there was no oil residue left in the can. I would also make sure it was in the shade so that it didn't get too hot for the baby birds. See more about this project and others here.

There are several rusted junk ideas on favorite garden junk forum here.

If you have never visited my friend the Empress of Dirt, you have got to visit her blog. Check out her awesome wind chime creation below and see more of her projects here.

Quick Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-12-17T07:00:00.025-05:00

Christmas will be here before you know it. But I found some cute quick ideas that you could use as a goft, hostess gift or party favors.

This first one comes from Thriftfun.com. I love there site! It has some great articles contributed by it's readers. This one is a an adorable angel made from a kitchen towel. Find the instructions here.

This next two ideas come from Better Homes & Gardens. You can take any plain glass surface and spruce it up with glass paint. You bake the object to set the paint so that it will hold up to hand washing. View this and other ideas here.

I just love this idea. Transform an inexpensive storage container into a personalized treat box. It's so easy to buy candies in bulk at the grocery store or smaller packages at the dollar store. You could even adapt this idea for craft supplies, school supplies or even cooking spices. Read about this and other ideas here.

Cute Step Ladder Tree?

2011-12-16T07:00:00.015-05:00

I love stepladders in the garden. I have a cute little blue one you may remember seeing. Here's what I did with it this year.

I came across this unique use for a ladder today at JunkMarket Style. I can honestly say that I don't think I've seen this before. I'll have to check out more of Funky Junk Interiors. Check out how she made this tree here.

This tree is so fantastic, isn't it? Definitely check out some of the close-up shots on that link to see the unusual "ornaments" she used. I wish I had more room in my house to have multiple trees at Christmas. I'm currently collecting bird and birdhouse ornaments so that I can eventually have a bird themed tree, but having a junk tree would be a whole lot of fun too.

And here is probably the most elegant junky mantel I've ever seen. You can see more pics here.

Fridge Transformation

2011-12-15T06:00:00.008-05:00

30% off Plus Free 3 Day Shipping on Select Aprons, 12/15 Only, code Holly30

I don't normally talk about hum drum ordinary everyday things on this blog, but I am so excited about this new discovery that I just had to share it with you all.

You see, one of my biggest pet peeves is how messy and unorganized the refrigerator gets. No matter my good intentions, after a week or two, things always get lost in the back and end up being wasted and thrown out. I hate that!

A couple weeks ago, I was thumbing through one of the many catalogs that grace our mailbox this time of year and stumbled upon these cute clear plastic bins...Fridge Binz they are called. I was completely intrigued and, of course, went looking online to find them for less money than the fancy catalog prices I had in front of me. As always, Amazon did not disappoint. I found them all and they even were eligible for free super saver shipping. So I ordered them immediately!

Here is my fridge before the Binz. Ugly, isn't it? Terribly disorganized...Hard to find what you need....

And here is my fridge after. Isn't it beautiful?

After spending nearly an hour and a half cleaning the darn thing, I end up with this nicely organized refrigerator. The size of the bins were perfect. We have an average sized fridge, not too large, not too small, right in the middle, so I think these bins would work for the majority of the refrigerators out there. I do not think they would work for refrigerators that have wire shelves. I think the bins would get caught on them, but I could be wrong.

I purchased two of the 8" x 4" bins, two 12" x 2" bins, three 4" x 2" bins and one split 12" x 4" bins. I used all but two of the 4" x 2" bins, but I can either use them some place else, or possibly switch some bins out of the fridge if our needs change.

I love how I can just slide out the entire bin and reach everything. No more yogurt getting lost in back and stocking the fridge after grocery shopping is a breeze. Everything has it's place. And if something spills I can just take the bin out and wash the bin without having to wash the entire fridge. If the power goes out for a long period of time, I can pull the whole bin out to quickly load them into a cooler. If I'm organizing a camping trip, I can organize what I want to pack ahead of time, bin by bin.

After a week of living with the bins, I did find that I need to figure out where to keep the eggs. And we have a few too many condiments, so once those things are figured out, I'll be golden. All in all I am very glad I bought these bins.

Hopefully, this little post might spark some inspiration for others who may have struggled with similar fridge woes.

Congrats to the Elmer's Prize Pack Winners

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Audrey and Candy from MugWump Designs for winning an Elmer's Prize Pack. They will each receive:

· Black 20x30 Foam Board

· White 20x30 Foam Board

· CraftBond All-Purpose Glue Stick

· CraftBond Repositionable Glue Stick

· CraftBond Extra-Strength Glue Stick

· X-ACTO Designer Series Gripster Knife

· Painters Assorted Colors Set

If they do not get back to me within 3 business days with a mailing address, a new winner will be chosen.

Elmer's Craft Challenge - And Prizes for You!

2011-12-06T20:53:00.001-05:00

Contest is now closed.

It's that time of year again and Elmer's has been gracious enough to ask me to participate in this year's Elmer's Craft Challenge. In doing so, the good people at Elmer's will be sending two of my readers a wonderful prize pack of your own, so you can create your own Look for Less. Check out their Looks for Less Guide here to find your inspiration.

What You'll Need:

Elmer's Black Foam Board 20" x 30" x 1/4" (cut in half)
Elmer's Craftbond Glue Tape Runner - Permanent
Elmer's Craftbond Glue Stick - Permanent
X-ACTO Designer Series 12" x 12" Self Healing Mat
X-ACTO Designer Series Retractable Knife
X-ACTO Designer Series 9" Paper Trimmer
X-ACTO Designer Series 12" Metal Ruler
Elmer's White Glue
6 feet 1" wood trim
18 inches of 20-gauge wire
Paint color of choice
Duct tape
Miter saw
Other embellishments of choice
three 4" x 6" photos of choice

Cut the foam board in half by placing the foam board on the self healing mat, score the foam board using the ruler as your straight edge. Score lightly at first, and then repeat the cut until the board is cut all the way through.
Apply the glue stick along the entire backside of one piece of the foam and press the pieces together to form a 1/2" thick board. Place some heavy books on the board until the glue has dried, about 1 hour.
While glue is drying, cut molding to form three 4" x 6" picture frames. You'll need to set up a 45 degree cutting angle on a miter box or saw to accomplish this. You can use any type of molding you'd like, but with a board this size, a 1" wide panel molding seemed to work the best for me.
Create three picture frames evenly spaced by gluing the molding to the board using the Elmer's white glue. Press molding firmly and wipe any excess that might squeeze out the sides. Use the ruler to help space them.
Paint trim to match foam board. In this case, I used black, but if you are starting with white foam board, by all means use white, or what ever color you like.
At this point, you can embellish the board any way you'd like. I sprayed mine with metallic copper paint and glued on vitreous glass tiles in the color squash and black.
Cut photos of choice to 4" x 6" using the paper trimmer and glue to the inside of each frame using the permanent tape runner. You could use the repositionable tape runner if you'd like to change the photos out over time.
To hang, I found it easiest to duct tape an 18" piece of wire to the back.

This foam board was so easy to work with and it looks great, in my opinion. There are even 1/2" thick pieces available for purchase. There are so many things you can do with it, so make sure you check out the Looks for Less Guide to get some ideas of your own.

Now on to what you can win!

Elmer's will send the following prize pack to two of my readers