I'm dreaming of summertime, and I have a dandy of a Gandy to show you!

 

Strange timing for a garden post? 

 

As I sit wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, on a colder than cold North Dakota evening...a garden post full of sunshine and sweet summer colors seems to be just the ticket.

 

 

Awhile back I had the good fortune to come across this Gandy seeder/spreader. I'm not sure of it's age ...OLD, I'm guessing...but it's got great character.  Check out those wheels.  Yummy.

 

With built in drainage it makes a perfect planter.  (I do have a window box planter inside, so the dirt wouldn't rest directly on the metal.)

 

 

I'm not much of a gardener, unfortunately.  Neglect is my game.  But on the bright side, I took these photos before things fell awry. 

 

 

See the metal toolbox hiding in the flowers too? 

 

 

Old farm goodies and rusty objects are perfect accessories for gardening. 

 

 

Keep that in mind when spring rolls around...then head out to the barn or shop, or take in an auction or ten, and gather some new "old" garden accessories for your gardens!

 

 

Check out this vintage washing machine.  Yet another past gardening container.

 

HERE is a post with more pics and how I prepared and planted it.

 

 

 

 

Now, if you're intrigued by repurposed and rusty garden candy, you might be interested in taking a look at the post we did after giving a presentation on gardening with JUNK.

 

You can find that post HERE

 

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Linked to:

SNS Junk Garden Planters

Common Ground-Be Inspired #125

Frugaliscious Friday

Dollar Store candles and Thrift store sheet music can personalize a Wedding!

Cassie and I had the opportunity to work on a few personal touches for a wedding,

 so I thought I would continue with some wedding decor ideas.

(Check out the "Celebrate" beverage tub from the previous post.)

I had used Dollar Store candles just like these

 for the Junior /Senior Banquet at the High School.

I printed "Class of 2013" on translucent vellum paper..

and wrapped the paper around each candle...

securing it with one strip of double sided tape

that I ran from top to bottom.

Sorry I don't have a picture of the candles lit,

they do glow nicely through the vellum paper.

For the school, it was an affordable and "easy to create" option.

When a friend approached me about adding some "JunkFest magic" to her sisters' wedding, I thought of these candles again.

The sky really is the limit on something like this:

 a photo can be printed on the vellum,

 a wedding date, a poem, a monogram, etc...

I wanted to give these wedding candles a handcrafted quality, incorporate something personal for the bride and groom

 and add a little vintage sparkle.

**tip: I found that the tracing paper I had on hand gave

 the lit candles the same glow as vellum paper.

The brides colors were dark brown and pink.

I used a "script/handwriting" rubber stamp

 and brown ink to decorate the tracing paper.

Then wrapped the papers around each candle.

The bride and groom were music lovers and their theme

was "All you need is Love".

I printed the "All you need is Love" sheet music

 on pale pink paper and cut it in strips.

Those strips would be layered over some brown ribbon.

Then the fun part came as I could dig through my jars

 of vintage buttons and old jewelry...

looking for pretty bits to embellish the candles.

I just attached them with hot glue.

 

Here is my favorite one setting on her table.

*These finished candles have a completely different vibe

 than the ones I made for the school banquet...

but they were still so affordable and easy to create!

While I was working on candles, Cassie

was creating a fun table skirt out of thrift store sheet music.

You can see where she added a little glittery sparkle here and there and used a decorative edge punch to add

 some interesting detail.

After laying the music sheets out in a pattern she liked,

 and securing them with glue, she then glued

 a brown ribbon to the top....

so we could wrap it around the top edge of the table.

This is the table that would hold the guest book.

Cassie also made a sheet music table runner for the cake table.

I thought the vintage sheet music,

 the hand stamped script on the candles

 and the vintage buttons and bits really worked well together and added a nice quality to the wedding decor.

I can only imagine the THOUSANDS of ways that these dollar store candles could be embellished...

(yes, they are only $1.00 each!)

and they would look pretty at so many events:

bridal showers, birthday parties, a romantic Valentine's Day meal...

Please send us pictures if you add some of your own "magic" to them,

We would LOVE to see them!!

Linked to:

 

Frugaliscious Friday



Dairy trough perfect beverage tub for Country Wedding!

On one of our junk adventures, I was compelled to purchase this 
two sided dairy trough: 

I wasn't sure if it was used to water cattle,

 or if it was used to handle the milk somehow...??

~ I am a city girl after all ~

...but I did know it was in great shape

and it was made of virtually indestructible stainless steel. 

(It even held up to my husband backing his pick up into it!

Indestructible, I tell ya!!)

I had a metal base custom made to fit the trough...

I was thinking it would make an awesome

 beverage holder for parties and picnics.

I liked how it turned out.

It looked kind of industrial/Farm Chic, wouldn't you say?

A few months later, I got a call from Cassie.

Her friends' daughter was getting married

 and they were looking for a large beverage tub.

 If it was going to be used at a wedding reception,

I thought it needed some personalization...

a little bling...and a little junk style embellishing.

Something to soften it up just a little.

I thought of this large metal door plate a friend gave me.

I had Cassie cut the word "celebrate" out of black vinyl.

I also had her cut out the wedding date.

I just adhered the date to a burlap type of ribbon,

then brushed on a few coats of poly to both the front

and back of the ribbon for durability.

I added some bling with faceted crystal and a key.

 I poked a hole at the top of the ribbon

 and threaded the screw from the door plate through it. 

That way the personalized ribbon would be easy to remove...

in case the tub would be used at other events.

Cassie found two plugs to fit perfectly in the drain holes...and a truely unique beverage tub was born.

I hear it worked out perfectly at the wedding.

The family of the groom liked it so much, they bought it!

How cute would this be filled with

 mason jars full of lemonade at a country wedding?

What do you think?

(I think I want to borrow it back

 for my daughters upcoming graduation!)

:)

LINKS:

Common Ground

 

Frugaliscious Friday

 

Furniture Feature Friday

Weathered Crate...or is it?

A perfectly weathered crate for a porch.  Or perhaps there is more to this "weathered" crate than meets the eye.

 

Take a look below at the sad, sad before of this project.  Oh, my.  This crate is not weathered at all.

It will eventually age on it's own (with some help from Mother Nature), but to get a jump start on the "look", I used vinegar and steel wool.  Variations of the recipe and method can be found on the web.

 

My preferred, after some trial and error, is to put white vinegar in a glass jar, add a piece of steel wool, and let it sit for a couple hours.  The longer it sits, the darker your results will be so find your preferred timing and have fun!

 

For more fun and personality I added some big old barn door hinges to the top (sorry you can't see them in the pics), and some adorable old license plates.

 

You likey?

 

Linked to: SNS Crazy for Crates

My DIY Crate Wall Art

 

This is an oldie but a goodie, and I wanted to share it again for all our new followers!

My "created" crate still hangs by the kitchen table and is one of my favorite DIY projects ever! I first shared it with you in THIS POST.

 

I had this wood (?crate top?) hanging around for a few years waiting for some attention.

 

I decided to incorporate some family history with my project, so I did a little research to get accurate dates and such and here's what I ended up with...

"Miller's Spur" was a store my Great Grandfather and Great Aunt were involved in back in the day. The establish date is when the land of my home was purchased from the US....way back in the day! The number "5"....well, that's just a special number to me! :)

I started by playing in some photo editing programs trying different placements and fonts until I found a combination that worked.




Then I had Young One hold the wood piece up so I could be sure it would look ok in the intended spot. He was ever so delighted to help me. (notice he could not take his eyes off the TV)




I printed out the intended fonts and got to work planning to resize and graph them onto the wood piece.




This was in my "pre" projector days, so it took alot of time and WAY too much coffee!!!




Yes, I spend way too much time prepping and thinking. Perhaps this is my own personal productive procrastination.

Ahhh....the "5" is all graphed in chalk and ready to paint. That projector would have come in handy!

TaaDaa.....

Once I had everything painted (some by graphing in chalk, and some were stenciled) I sanded the lettering to make it look aged.

I was thinking it needed something more....hmmm.



How about this old broom holder, a test tube, and some fresh flowers?

LINKED TO:

SNS Crazy for Crates