Category Archives: Made It Myself

The Fabric of Our Lives

Err, well, of our someday-to-be bed quilt.

You guys know I’m not much of a sewer, but my mom is. Without her, my pillows, placemats, and owl stuffies would still just be a pin and a dream. She’s been quilting for years, and while I have wall-hangings, holiday pillow covers, and a throw made to look like a football field, I don’t yet have a queen-sized quilt for our bed. That changes now.

After much debate, I’ve decided on a pattern (see bottom right of photo), and I think I’ve selected all of the fabrics as well. Clearly, I have a thing for batiks. Gawd, I love batiks.

Oh, is there some purple in there? I hadn’t noticed that it seems to work its way into EVERYTHING in my house. Oops 🙂

And while there are hot pinky fuschia colors, I think I’ll talk them up as “merlot” and “sort of reddish-wine colors” so Tom doesn’t freak out. The man has already said he likes jewel tones, so I think I’m in the clear.

DIY Plant Stand Makeover

I bought this small table a few years ago. It was meant to be used for drinks and such, but it’s just so small that it makes a much better plant stand. Well, I left it out on our patio over the winter, and this happened:

Oops.

At first, I thought I’d chip out the tile and replace it with a more colorful sheet of the mosaic stuff you find at the hardware stores. Then I realized what a horrendous project that would be. So, I switched to how to cover the problem 😉

Then I remembered the scrap-paper covered coasters I made last year. Mod Podge is a miracle worker, right?

So, I dug out the same items I’d used in the coaster project, selected a piece of scrapbook paper, and got to work!

Like. New.

Create-Your-Own Container Garden

I’ve been a fan of container gardens since we got married and moved into a third-floor condo that had two decks. There’s quite a lot you can do with a few planters! I’ve carried my admiration to our new home, and it’s still proving very handy since we haven’t really touched our backyard yet as far as landscaping is concerned. We have lots of ideas, but those ideas cost money, so for the time being, we’re content with our patio set, grill, and whole bunch of pots full of pretty blooms.

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In Da Ground

Or, what I planted in my veggie bed.

Last weekend, we built an awesome raised cedar bed for vegetables. And this weekend, I filled it with plants! Here’s a look at what I planted:

I’m proud to say that I grew most of these from seed (remember my dining room set-up?). In particular, the cucumber and all of the tomatoes. I forgot to buy bell pepper seeds, and my zucchini squash seeds refused to grow, so I just bought these more mature plants at local nurseries. Here’s hoping Operation HomeGrown Eats 2013 is a success!

Oh, and we added the border of small white rocks around the bed so we don’t get weeds growing up the side and trying to take it over.

Building a Raised Vegetable Bed

We (okay, I) decided that this year, the vegetable garden was going to get a facelift. In the form of a raised vegetable bed! Tom was on board more so because he likes to build things than because he shares my vision of “living off the land”. I’m still trying to convince him of how awesome it would be to clear some of our overgrown woods and put in an apple orchard.

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