A Peek At My Flowers

I love flowers. My grandmother and mom always had beautiful flowerbeds and enjoyed working out in the yard. I inherited that love from them. Would you like to take a peek at what's blooming in my yard right now? Ok, let's go look.

First up are my old fashion day lilies. These are from my mom who got them from her mother.

 Then my favorite day lily - deep red with a green throat. I can't remember the name:

 Oxalis also from my mom- they will die back once it gets hot but right now, they are blooming up a storm - even my purple oxalis.

 The Russian sage is just starting to bloom:

 The Esperanza or Texas Yellow Bells are very happy! And the bees are loving it!

 Wild coreopsis or tickseed - they reseed themselves quite readily. I got the seeds from a pasture somewhere.

 The shrimp plant (also from my grandmother and mom) is happy in its spot:

 For my shady spots, I put these caladiums in pots. They aren't flowers but I love all the different colors of the leaves.

 The catmint I just planted for mosquito control is taking off:

The angel wing begonia is full of blooms:

 My crinum lilies (from mom) are starting to bloom:

Last but not least, my oak leaf hydrangea is blooming this year! It's so pretty. It's my first hydrangea (well, first one to survive.)  It's planted at the farm, close to the front door, so I get to enjoy it as I go in and out.

That's it for now! I noticed several other plants getting ready to burst into bloom. What's growing in your garden?

Canton Finds

I found some great items when we went to Canton this last time. The weather was iffy but we managed to get some serious shopping done before the rain shut everything down.

Right off the bat, I found a folding rack (only $6 and I have a great plan for it!) and some red glass saucers ($3) that I'll use in the bathroom to put soap and the toothbrush holder on,

and these beautiful red salt and pepper shakers (also $3):

Next I found an old chippy door & a cabinet door with wire inset. As I stood there debating, the vendor offered both to me for $30. Ok sure. We left them there to pick up on our way out.

Next, Jay found a bicycle for $25. He will fix it all up and make it work great. He also found a really nice camera tripod for a very reasonable price plus some other treasures.

Then I found this old media cart. One wheel was bent and it is a little rusty but the lady had $15 on it. As I looked it over, she told me I could have it for $12. As most of the ones I've seen are $45, you can bet I said I'd take it. Nothing a little work can't fix and it's just what I want for the bbq patio.

We decided it was time to return to the truck to unload the small items plus the bike and cart:

That done we found lunch then walked around some more. My neighbor asked me to look for half a windmill but the ones I found were out of her price range. Then we spied this reproduction one in the new metal art. The price was right and the size perfect. After consulting with her by phone, I bought it for her.

 By now, it was starting to rain so we decided to pick up my doors and head back to the farm. It was a good thing too because it poured on us as we drove back.

Next morning the sun was shining so our daughter, her boyfriend, and my husband Bruce joined us in going back. I bought a duck decoy for the pond,

and a chicken line feeder for the art studio (it's going to make a very unique light fixture!),

Bruce bought a big bottle of vanilla for his mom, and the kids found a few small things as well. We had a blast and headed back after some lunch.

I took my duck decoy and tossed it in the pond. The dogs weren't sure what to think of it. They were so funny with it.

Shopping in Canton is seriously addicting (yes, I admit it!). You never know what you'll find. Sometimes you get lucky and find a lot, other times not so much. But the thrill of the hunt keeps me coming back. It's a great spot not only for inspiration, but finding items for projects as well. All and all, I'd say this trip was a great success!

The two doors and the chicken line feeder
aka my new light hanging out in the barn

Sharing here:
Thoughts of Home On Thursday

Indoor Projects

It's raining, it's pouring...

That's a picture of the backyard. I also have a creek running down the side yard. It's rained everyday this past week so the soil is quite saturated. No patio fixing up this week...

What's a girl to do when she can't get outside to work on her outdoor projects? She finds indoor ones to do, of course!

Like reupholstering the thrift store chair.

I got it about three years ago and slip covered it but it recently begin shedding the faux leather. Time to do something!

All those flecks are the faux leather...yuck

First took the back off:

Then tackled removing the seat. Yikes. About a million staples to pull to get the old cover off.

Whew...finally. Repadded the seat and added new undercover;

ready for its new upholstery with this fabric:

If it looks familiar, it's because it's the black version of my dining room chairs. I would have used the taupe but they were out of it. I like the black as well. Kind of reminds me of a chalkboard. :-) I'll share it as soon as I finish it. I'm going to use it in the art studio at my desk.

Another project is adding color to these resin fairies and friends. I'm going to make a fairy garden as soon as the weather permits. I have this awesome wagon to put it in...oh, I haven't told you the story?

This one is painted. Now I need to add her wings.

Well, it's like this - I was in Home Depot looking for tires for my old wagon when a sales associate asked if I needed help.

The tires rotted off my red wagon :o(

I told him what I was looking for and after showing me what they had (none were the right kind of tire), I told him, "No. I need tires for a red wagon. Not inflatable, just plain hard tires." He shook his head, then exclaimed, "I have an old wagon at home I was going to redo but never have. I'm going to throw it away. You can have it but you have to take the whole wagon!"

The "new" wagon

Uh, yes. Are you kidding me? Of course, I'll take it. We arranged for me to pick it up later and voila! I have this great wagon. :-) Don't worry. I have plans for the other one too.

I'm also working on my BBQ signs. Got the arrow put together and primed:

Now I just need to add color and lettering.

I'm doing my best to stay busy and productive. I know the sun will come out everything will dry out. Then I can work outside and finish my projects out there.

Linking up at these parties:
Thoughts Of Home On Thursday 15
Creative Circle Week 66

Painting Patio Cushions And What I Learned

My patio chair cushions needed to be refreshed. After sitting in the shed for three years, they were kind of grungy. I tried washing them but they were stained from all the dirt and pollen.

So I decided  I'd try painting them. I figured I had nothing to lose even if it didn't work out - I gathered my supplies...off white homemade chalky paint, black paint, water, paint brush. I dampened the one side of the cushion and then painted on a thin, watered down coat of paint. Let it dry then painted a second coat. The flower pattern was still showing through. It took two more coats of paint.

I liked the way it was going, so the other three cushions got their first two coats painted on too.

After two more coats, I let them all dry before tackling the black stripes I wanted to paint on. A light sanding then I tried to stick tape on the first cushion to mark off my stripes. The first "disaster". The tape wouldn't stick so holding in place, I painted the first stripe followed by the others. Ugh, it was awful looking and I messed up the spacing. Maybe if I added horizontal stripes? Oh, no, I should have left well enough alone! "Disaster #2"!  I didn't want to have to paint over it and try to hide the black. Time for plan B.

Two hours later I had this: four cushions with these pretty new covers.

Yep, I bought fabric and recovered each cushion.  I figure the paint will just make the them more waterproof. Fortunately, the fabric was half off and sewing them didn't take long.

What did I learn? I did learn I could paint fabric but I need a better plan for adding pattern. Stencil perhaps? And painting fabric takes a lot of patience since you have to keep the coats thin which means it takes several coats to cover. Plus you have to let them dry in between coats. Kind of annoying for a two sided cushion you want done quickly.

So next time? I'll probably just get fabric for such a small project.

In other news, yard sprucing up continues. The pups left our test grass alone so Bruce ordered 2 pallets of grass to put down.

Because I'm still taking it easy with my back, I had our son come over and help (bribed him with supper- ha). He and Bruce had it all done in a couple of hours.

I can't tell you how strange it is to walk out and see green grass. After three years, it's a beautiful sight to see.

Now all I have left to do is to repaint the table and chairs, add plants and BBQ art, and spruce up this find from Canton!

It's going to make the perfect barbecue accessory cart.

Hope your week is going well!
Hugs,
Cecilia

Patio Refresh Ideas

We built our barbecue patio about 7 years ago. I moved our table and chairs there and later worked on a flowerbed around it.

In the beginning...clearing out the grass

shortly after it was completed

It was a great spot to barbecue and eat dinner or to sit out in the evening and relax. But what with Buddy and Herbie's destructive puppy stage, things got rather neglected. Now that they are past that stage, I decided it was time to refresh it.

We're so sweet though

I began by cleaning it and moving things around. Then I assessed the umbrella and chair cushions. The umbrella needed to be replaced and the cushions had gotten black stuff on them from the trees and then sitting in the shed for three years. I washed them but they were stained. So, I'll have to do something to them to refreshen them up.

Add more plants to this area and mulch:

Buy a new umbrella - done! I went with lime green. It's my happy color.

Try painting the cushions. I figure I have nothing to loose and just maybe they'll turn out. I'm going to paint them off white and then add a black pattern to them. Fingers crossed! I love the stripe and the one on the left:

Get Bruce to move the boat that's against the shed. It needs to go up to the farm. Once that's done, I want to get a metal shelf or something to place next to the bbq pit so we'll have somewhere to place the meat tray. Something like this:

Add decorative accents to the fence. I have a large metal lizard and will probably use him and then add things as I find them.

My lizard looks a lot like this one only very colorful 

Perhaps a wooden sign like this one

Rustic metal letters perhaps

Or wooden arrows and other wood signs

Solar lights for the umbrella. We don't have an electrical plug out there so these would be ideal. They are from Wal-Mart. I'll have to go check them out.

 Large flower pots planted with mosquito repelling plants. It would not only keep the bugs down but would also soften the area. Here's a few:

Mosquito Plant

Citronella Grass

Catnip

So that's my plan. Here's my idea board:

I'll keep you up to date as I complete each project. I'm so looking forward to Summer and cooking and relaxing outside!