Jute Hugging Curves

Summer, you have worn out your welcome this year.  It's just too darn hot and dry.

I'm retreating from the outdoors, which means I've been finally addressing some of the household chores that I ignored this spring, like hauling the glass to the community recycling area.

I'm pitching glass into the bin, when I notice that some of these bottles are pretty substantial.  And some have a great shape.  I'm seeing subtle colors.  Curves.  And jute.

And something my hands can work on while my husband and I watch his favorite cooking shows.  In the basement.

The cool basement.  And think of cool water, the color of this blue glass.

While everything outside is turning brown, I'll remember the greens.

I think the bottoms are my favorite part.

Both are available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Pineapple Lamp Love

Recently, I was a stalker.

A thrift store stalker.  Someone found some vintage watercolor prints before I did.  She called over her companion for a look.  She held one up, "Look, they are scenes from Rome!"

They were in a stack on the floor, and I had walked right by them.  Dang it!  I pretended to be interested in nearby shelf of candlestick holders, stealing glances over shoulders.  Hoping she might change her mind.  And ready to pounce if she walked away from them.

Win some, lose some.  More often than not, I'm hauling something to the cashier, and I can see it in everyone's faces...

"What is she going to do with THAT?"

Like this pineapple lamp I found at a vintage market.  Love at first sight!  It was a busy afternoon, and the store was filled with people.  I couldn't believe it was still there!

The lamp shade wasn't included, but I had the perfect black shade at home.  The price is right.  It was meant to be!

I think it originally had dangles from its leaves.  No matter, it looks much better without them.  Check out the patina.

Forget about those predictable three-matching-lamps-in-a-box found at the usual shopping center home stores. 

Vintage-glam-oversized pineapple lamp, you will be mine!

Repurposed Garden Orb

Hot.

Hot.

Hot.

That's all I have to say today.

Just kidding.  I've spent hours working in the garden.  Planning, planting, dreaming.  Now everything is wilting.  I did some pretty zealous weeding last weekend and discovered the next day that there is poison ivy or poison oak lurking somewhere in my backyard that I overlooked.  It made its way into my garden gloves.  Oddly, it doesn't itch too badly, but with my skin type, it's going to leave a nasty scar on the back of my hand.  There goes my dreams of being a hand model.

In my early gardening days, I loved hanging baskets.  I still do, but I don't even try them anymore.  Everything in them seem to wither in the hot Kansas winds.  Years ago, I tossed the coconut liners and abandoned the wire baskets on the top shelf of the garage.

I've seen several DIY orbs in blogland this summer, like this orb chandelier from Ballard Designs.   I love the shape, but I think these sort of lights throw off weird shadows.  Then a few weekends ago, I was doing a garage sale drive-by.  Is it worth getting out of my air-conditioned car?  I thought I saw something, a sundial or a ornamental orb for the garden?  I turned around for another look and realized it was just a stack of hanging baskets. 

But it got me thinking...I could take those old wire baskets in my garage, put two of them together with four black zip-ties, and I'd have a nice little orb.  I found an old curtain rod and finials at ReStore and made a trip to the hardware store for oversized washers to hold the whole thing together.  The washers received a quick blast of black spray paint.

Originally, I was going to use hot glue to hold the washers, but that wasn't working.  So I used black thread to keep the washers in place for the final assembly.  If I had four hands, I probably wouldn't have needed it because ultimately, the wire basket is squeezed between two washers, one on the inside and one on the outside of the sphere.  I rested one more washer at the bottom, just to add a more finished look.

I have two more hanging baskets in the garage and the other finial to make another orb, maybe when it cools down a little, like October.

I'm linking up...

Savvy Southern Style

Handy Man, Crafty Woman

Garden Statuary

Since I'm running out of room for new plants, this year I decided to focus more on decor and hardscaping.  Well, at least planning for future hardscaping.

I found this statue at a thrift store last spring.  She's about three feet tall and was covered in green and gold paint.  Yikes!

Inspired by classic bronze statues, I toned down that gold paint with oil rubbed bronze spray paint, then dry brushed her with two shades of craft paint.  Then she was sealed with multiple coats of clear sealer.

With less gold and more bronze, she's a lovely addition to the garden.  Check out that curve of her right shoulder!

I think she might have originally been a fountain.

For now, she's nestled between the feather reed grass and the salvia.

Sit a Spell

I was busy this weekend.

Busy with outdoor work but not really working outside.  Saturday was kind of hot.

So I spent the hottest part of the day in the basement, where I'm re-organizing my craft studio, again.

It's really become a disaster, again.  I mean a real obstacle course!  Once I had enough room to work, I made a wreath for the garden.

Isn't the little sign cute?

Originally, it said something along the lines of "My husband said if I bought any more flowers, he would leave me.   I'm sure going to miss that man."  But it was fading and my husband didn't really appreciate the sentiment.

So I repainted it to something a little less offensive.

Next, I turned to a stack of old pillows I had been saving to recover for the patio furniture.

I had found a floral print in a remnant bin at a fabric outlet. I paid about three dollars for about two yards of it. I wasn't one hundred percent certain about the colors, but the price was so great for outdoor fabric, I decided to take a chance on it.

Then I found a geometric print, which coordinated perfectly.

I combined the two for the square pillows.  Check out my lazy trimwork.

I just have a hard time putting a lot of money or effort into something that will eventually be pooped on by some passing bird.  Don't you agree?

That's two projects off my list.  I think I'll set a spell for while for now.

I'm linking up...
Southern Hospitality
Savvy Southern Style

What's Blooming Now

Hello, Daisy!

What's blooming in your yard?  I always plant lots of geraniums.  I buy every shade of pink, but the orange one is my favorite this year.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the settings quite right on the camera, and the bright orange was completely blown. 

So I DIY'd my own Instagram effect with Photoshop.

iPhone?  We don't need no stinkin' iPhone!

I harvested the lavender last week, my favorite garden chore of the year even though I have to deal with the bees.  Sorry fellows, this buffet is closed, but there's a row of rose of sharon bushes about to pop.

We had another bumper crop of oregano this year, which is now cut, dried, and ready the tomatoes to join them in a yummy sauce. 

If I could make a living growing lavender and oregano, I'd be a rich woman.

Rustic Cedar Boxes

I reached a milestone recently...100 followers!  Of course, we all know blogging isn't a popularity contest, but the feedback for all the work is rewarding.

I mentioned in my last post that I had some new cedar boxes I was crazy about this summer.  I started scheming this project as soon as the weather began to warm this spring.

I had been meaning to stop at the big box home improvement stores for some wood to build some wooden boxes to contain some of my garden supplies and pull together some of the small flower pots on the deck.  Then I came home from work one night and found my new next door neighbors replacing part of their fence.

Usually I'm pretty bashful about asking for things, but this time I spoke up.  Oh, let me take some of that old wood off your hands!

My new neighbor looked at me like I was nuts.

No worries...she'll get to know me soon enough!  I pulled enough wood to build two boxes, one for the potting bench and one for the deck.

I found the iron cherub at a local antique store, although I doubt he's an antique.  I've had this terra cotta pot for years, and it's my favorite.

Too bad trash day came so quickly, but they have three more sides of their fence that I'm sure they'll replace eventually.  I'll have my crowbar ready.

I'm linking up...

The Great Outdoors Linky Party at Thistlewood Farm

Savvy Southern Style

Handy Man, Crafty Woman

Common Ground

At the Picket Fence

Funky Junk Interiors