an exciting patio makeover!!

okay, okay, not really. kind of a mediocre patio make-over actually.

i woke up this morning with "the itch". the itch to do something out of the ordinary- something creative. i wanted to paint my kitchen but since that wasn't really happening and since i can't sew when collin's around i decided the patio was an eyesore. actually, our whole backyard is an eyesore.

when we first moved in we had pretty green sod laid. they built the house behind us on a slight mound and didn't use a silt fence (thank you builders). so, when it rained all of that dirt washed into our backyard, ruining the grass and destroying the natural drain that ran right behind our fence. it killed the trees we planted and our shrubbery. not to mention we have a 75 lb. lab that makes our backyard pretty much her territory (and she was terribly destructive as a puppy).

(the before pictures. C was "washing" the patio for me. thanks son!)

we finally got the drain situation fixed, but i've been SICK to death of looking at that plain ole backyard. (i know this is a lot of preamble to some pretty unexciting pictures but y'all just go with me.)

(all i think of when i look at this space is BLAH. blah. blah. BLAH.)

i bought some japanese youpon holly a few weeks ago and decided i needed a little tree to go with it. so off to home depot we go. i knew this trip had to be on the cheap because we've got some expenses coming up, but most little trees are pretty inexpensive and like i said, i had the itch.

so when we got there, caleb talked me into buying some $1.00 seed packets for perennial flowers. i let him get 3 and we planted those along the fence. hey, if they don't grow- i'm only out $3.

i bought some other kind of japanese tree... all i've learned about planting and growing stuff is that i MUST must MUST read the label. if it says part/low sun and lots of water i will more than likely kill it. our backyard gets blinding sun in the afternoon and i have a black thumb so labels are a must.

after the trees and the seeds i went to get a new sprayer for our hose, and low and behold... like a gift from above... there were some darling chair cushions on sale for $5.88. people, i couldn't buy the stuff and make new cushions for $5.88... so, in the buggy they went.

after my tree, seeds, sprayer and two new cushions my total was only $26.97- pretty darn good i'd say. on the way home i got to thinkin' about all of the lovely pictures i've seen of outdoor living spaces- and how they all seem to use pretty rugs to make the space seem homey.... and should i go back and try to see if i could find a cheap rug? and- it hit me- i HAVE an outdoor rug up in the attic! i bought it a few years ago for the kitchen and decided it was too busy. with those cheery new cushions and my all my bright flowers it'll be perfect! and so, i spent the morning digging holes for trees and bushes and such- and finally, making over my patio space.

are you ready?

i mean, these pictures are going to WoW you.





i told you so. could make the cover of southern living, right?

okay, maybe not. (yes, that's maggie's tale in the way.)

BUT, when i walk outside now i don't spend my time thinking about how much i hate this space... i walk outside and get to enjoy my little corner. i might even get up early tomorrow morning and sit outside with my coffee and bible- oh, who am i kidding? i could get a million dollar makeover to our backyard and i wouldn't get up early to sit out there. i still like it though :)

sew mama, sew!

My sewing projects this week. Matching shorts for Caleb and a Jon Jons for Collin. One set down, six more to go!

And just for you, because I like you so much, I'll make your kids some too.
Jon jons are $15, cargo shorts/ruffled shorts for girls $9, and A-line dresses are $15 (add a ruffle to the bottom for $2)

None of these prices include material.

This offer lasts until I get totally sick of sewing, and then i'll swear to never do it again (for people other than my own children) like I did last year. Get it while the gettin's good :)

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makin' presents

i mentioned in an earlier post that caleb was making some presents for family/teachers. he carefully decorated each jar and labeled who it was for.



and then we made some goodies to fill it with. i think they turned out pretty cute, but homeade kid gifts always are to me!

the before

okay, so ignore the two cute men in this picture and look BEHIND them at that window treatment. such pretty fabric! it was beautiful in the store but dark and drab and you could not see the pattern at all in my living room. it looked blah.
and because i'm so bad about taking before pictures i decided to post this.
scroll down for the after!

so i'm not trying to be a "craft" blogger but...

i actually saw this idea on a blog but i can't remember where. anyway, i bought two drop cloths from the home depot for $9.99 a piece.

i measured my windows and then cut the drop cloths to size. i also bought some chocolate outdoor material from hancock for $5 (on sale. SCORE!) i wanted the chocolate material to break up the top part of the panel- just like a strip of brown at the top. so i cut it to size, and then ironed the edges down. i put it behind my drop cloth, folded the edges over, and then pinned it.

i sewed all four edges of the drop cloth, including the top where the brown part was pinned. clear as mud yet? good!

here's the finished product. i don't know why i feel the need to say this on all of my photos- but this one doesn't do these justice. they look a little washed out. i can't tell you how much they do for the room- i'll have to post a picture of my new couch- the inspiration for these $25 panels!
also, just wanted to point out that because i'm obsessed with all things Southern Living i hung my curtain rods almost to the ceiling. it makes your windows look bigger and more dramatic. really, i think the orange golf clubs are the crowning touch of the whole room :) i guess my imperfections are what makes me NOT a good crafty blogger.
and, anybody see anything cool lately that i could hang between those two windows? that cross is way tired. now, there's nothing wrong with kirklands, but i really don't want my home to look like the big K threw up in there. i like vintage, re-purposed, flea market. even if i had bookoos of money to spend, i'd still buy flea market crap. it makes me happy.
and since i'm already chasing a rabbit- that chair on the left came from a thrift store (little paint and antiquing- $15!) and the console table in the middle was a $40 find that i painted and distressed. i'm so serious when i say i'd live in a million dollar home with flea market junk in it!

cheap (but pretty i think!) stuff i made for a wedding shower

a friend of mine "hired" me to make some things for a beach wedding shower. here's the two flower arrangements- they were HUGE in person and i think a little fuller in person too. the camera doesn't always do stuff justice! and by the way- can you tell which part of these arrangements were fake? i usually like to mix both in- if you've got real in there you can't tell what's fake. and it cuts waaay down on the cost if you're working on a small budget. i made something similar for another bride and she had no clue. honest! (okay, i just read back over this and i realize it made it sound like i tricked her or something. everyone just kept commenting on the flowers and i offered to loan the "fake" part to the bride to use in her wedding. she said she couldn't believe that they weren't real. and that is how i got hired to do this stuff because i'm way cheap on the supplies people.)

i made these little dealios to hang over the food table. i think i made three- but here's how i did it. AND, i must tell you that i got all of this stuff from the dolla tree. YEP. i made these for another bride and i covered the entire ring with sea shells. it took all.night.long. i decided to work a little smarter and bought this cool moss tape (at the dolla tree- holla!). i hot glued it all around the outside, and really wish i'd bought enough to do the inside too.


the finished product. again, much bigger in person. i bought pretty chocolate ribbon to hang them with- her colors were red and chocolate.

we iz so smart!

at some point which i've forgotten but i think it was july me and my best buddy carey decided to build headboards (with a little help from our men, yeah right!). i'm not sure why i didn't post about this before, but i think it has something to do with pictures saved all over the world (meaning multiple SD cards in multiple cameras hanging on trees). oh well, better late than never!
here's my man and carey's man gabe measuring and cutting.
i WISH like crazy i'd gotten a picture of carey using the miter saw- priceless! i think at that point i was running in the house to check on collin.

they built the frame, and then we upholstered a piece of plywood. the upholstered plywood we mounted onto the frame. the molding on the frame and batting for the upholstery were kind of a big deal, we kept having to go back and forth to buy different stuff. it was a pain at the time, but it ended up being so worth it! really, we did have a lot of fun, and only spent about $150 for the whole thing!
we used a website called http://knockoffwood.blogspot.com/ to help us with our plan. or actually, it's where we got the plan!


the finished product! except for the fact that i'm making new pillows for our bed :) more to show you later.