Backyard Playhouse Shed made with Recycled Wood

I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at  what I was working on this past summer for our 5 yr old son.  I started to build  an  8 x 10 shed playhouse for him from recycled wood.  It is still under construction and I plan on finishing it up in the spring.  He has alot of those pricey ride-on toys that we didn't want to leave out in the weather.  I didn't want to take up space in our sheds for our mowers and yard tools with all his toys. I built this strictly for him and his toys.

A Farmhouse Chair even you can make

I apologize for the long time in-between my posts.  I've been busy going to school and training.  As I was moving stuff around in the shed and putting away my summer yard tools and pots, I came across my sons crib mattress.
I thought I would make a farmhouse chair out of it like I made a bed for our dog with the other toddler  mattress and it came out pretty cool.

Make an Autumn Wreath for $10

It's that time of the year again when we head over to the local Topsfield fair.   It's perfect weather to change the wreath on the door.  We usually try to make it over there least two days during the week that it is up and running.  After all , how much Fair Food can you eat in one day ?   It's windy and the temperature is slowly dropping and leaves are everywhere.  Cold and rainy for a typical Fall day in New England.

Antique Wrought Iron Arbor with a DIY Pallet Fence

It's back to school this week for our son which means it's back to blogging for me.  I hope everyone had a great fun filled summer.  I took some time off from posting on my blog this summer to spend quality time with our son.  I still managed to complete a bunch of projects.  I received an antique wrought iron arbor for Christmas 2 years ago.

New House built on original foundation tour

Happy Friday everyone. I thought I would share with you a new  house built on the original foundation that we worked on.  The original house is on an unconforming lot which had to be taken down piece by piece and built back up.  The contractor on this build is the contractor that we have chosen to build our 1,000 sq.ft. addition.  He does wonderful quality work and the only problem starting our build is the fact he is  busy busy busy.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the original house.

DIY Sandbox for under $100

Hello Everyone. We made a large sandbox for our 4 year old son for under a $100.  He had a small green plastic turtle sandbox in which he was starting to outgrow.  I noticed he no longer could play comfortably and the toys he was using were way too big.

Painted Signs for Shed

Hello Everyone. Glad it's friday. My list of  to-do projects grows everyday and we're already into June. Most of my other projects should of been completed weeks ago.  Since it's been raining every other day this past week, I decided to make some painted signs for one of my sheds.

Window Box Plant Stands - DIY

 I was picking through the shed and came across two plastic window planter boxes.  I probably got them at the end of last summer because I didn't use them anywhere.
   Last Spring,  the neighbor out in front of us cut down a few 50' pine trees.   The trees shaded the front of our house nicely.  I miss those trees.  They kept our second floor relatively cool during the summer.  They blocked the late afternoon sun which now means all that sun beats through all our skylights and windows.  It gets very HOT now.
I've been thinking of way to block some of that sun and add some privacy.  I'm going to start with the window boxes and make plant stands.  Grow some vines and put them up on the balcony to the master bedroom.

Garden Ponds

Happy Weekend. I haven't been posting much lately. Sorry . Busy with a million projects and still painting the house. Lots of rain or it's too hot. Changing a lot of things around the yard this year. Rebuilding the vegetable garden fence and getting ready to plant some veggies. Not to mention , doing firewood, still mulching, making a potting bench, baseball, school activities, and chasing a woodchuck that is making a mess of our yard.
I did manage to get the garden ponds up and running and made a couple of bird houses.

front yard pond

                                   

A Day of Horse Racing

Hello  Since it's Kentucky Derby weekend , I thought I'd show you what a day of racing looks like here at Suffolk Downs Massachusetts. I stopped by to visit my old boss and to see his horses and one of them race.
My family also had race horses at Suffolk Downs for many years.  I remember hanging out at the race track as a kid all day saturday and  running up to the window to put in bets for my grandfather. I felt like a big shot betting $50's  even though it was his money. I remember my grandmother yelling at him when we got home because he came home broke, well at least that's what she thought. It brought back memories when I stopped by to visit my old boss Randy.

Rain delays Painting House

Hello  I thought I would have some things all wrapped up this week , but the heavy rain has delayed all my big outdoor projects. I am also putting together some other accents for our yard.
Here's a sneak peak at what I've been working on. The front door is finished with the new colors we chose. These colors so much better than the white against the cedar siding , it brings out the grain in the wood.

Painting and Staining Exterior of House , Doors and Windows

I started a major project 2 weeks ago. I never really liked the color of our garage door , windows and accent so I'm redoing all of it before the new addition construction begins. Late Fall of last year we started to stain the cedar siding , of course, it started to snow and got really cold so I am now finishing up where we left off. This is how it looks with the cedar siding finished and the white doors and windows will be painted in the new colors I picked.

Make a Vegetable Bin

Happy Spring ...I know, I'm taking way too long of a time between my posts. I have many projects behind me and not posted for a reason. I have been busy making some major changes here in our house recently with the new addition project coming up. I'm scrambling you could say because I will be losing a closet and a room will have to be emptied out before construction is started.
I have a moment to show you a vegetable bin I made from some scrap wood that I have been moving around in my garage all winter.

Wood Baby / Dog Gate

Hello, I thought I would show you the wood baby / dog gate that I installed  going from the den to the kitchen. The gate was in another place , but I decided to move it when I found our dog on our sofa in the wee hours of the night.  He's not a small lap dog and rolls around in the yard.  So our sofa is no place for him to be.

Kitchen Backsplash on a budget

I have been wanting to add a backsplash to our old eighties kitchen since I bought this house. Last year we got an estimate on a new countertop, refacing the cabinet doors and a new counter. Plans have changed since that time and it's not in the budget any time soon. Since we are adding an addition, we also have to spend on changing out our heating system and electrical, so forget the kitchen makeover for now. I thought I would paint on a backsplash instead.

Old Picture Frame and Chicken Wire Art

Ever wonder what to do with old picture frames that have no glass?  Try adding some chicken wire to the back of the frame to hang pictures or accent another piece of art.  The projects are endless and you also get to recycle the old frame instead of tossing it.

                                                                            

DIY-Electric Fireplace make-over with storage

I thought I would show you what I was busy doing during the Holidays while it's still cold outside. Our master bedroom is very large.  It's approx. 20 by 30 with an en-suite and large walk-in closet.  We have an electric fireplace that we purchased from Home Depot for a couple hundred dollars when our son was an infant to take the chill off of our room when he was in his bassinet. The fireplace cabinet finish is a cheap veneer.  I thought I would paint it to get rid of the veneer fake wood look. Here's the finished fireplace cabinet in which I added top storage for vases and candles.

The bedroom has high cathedral ceilings and rather than cranking the heat up,  this fireplace works great to take the chill out of the air. We run it for about an hour and the temperature is comfortable.

Spring Forward

Spring is officially 2 weeks away. Remember this weekend is Daylight savings time. Move clocks forward 1 hour which means longer daylight and hopefully more sun to melt this snow. It is snowing right now as I look out the window. I thought I would try to force spring into my home since it looks like it's going to be a very long time before I see my spring flowers popping up in my garden.

Here are the beautiful Tulips and Iris'  that I received on Valentines Day  (3 weeks ago). I will give you some tips on how to make your fresh cut flowers last longer.

Vintage Bed Spring Toilet Tissue Holder

Awhile back I received a significant amount of old mattress bed springs. I have three different sizes and styles. I have come up with a few ideas on what to do with them, but I mainly have them to sell on my Etsy shop. I think they will sell better if I take different pictures on how to incorporate them into decorating.
Here's is one idea I thought was different.

Scrap Wood Phone Caddy

I haven't been doing too much lately since I've just wrapped up some big projects that I started working on during the Holidays. I have been targeting areas that just need a fresh look or different accents added. One of those areas is where the telephone is located. Since our house is a mix of old and new construction, the footprint here on the first floor just doesn't make sense and neither does the location of the phone. I'm not a phone type of person, therefore  I keep it located on the counter so I don't have to stay on the phone for hours talking to anybody. I like to keep calls short , sweet and to the point. I thought I would give it fresh look with some access to paper and pencils for the calls that need notes and numbers.

Bathroom floor tile in Black

I'm almost finished with bathroom no. 2,  which is another 1/2 bath in our home. It's more for our son to use because it's the closest one to his room. I wasn't sure of using black tile in a bathroom , but I honestly love it now. Most people  tend to choose lighter and neutral shades of color to play it safe, but I took a walk over to the darker side and it looks great.

Bathroom floor tile

Snow, Snow Go Away !

It seems like it's been snowing here in MA every 3rd day. I don't mind the snow since I love being outdoors all year , but it's the clean up that is the downside. It takes  me approx. 7-8 hours to clean up around our property. I have to snow blow driveway which is roughly 150'. It's a lot of shoveling and after a total of 50 +  inches this season , it's safe to say I quit.

Rustic and Rusty Hearts

Hello . While it was snowing heavily the other day , I was dreading to have to go outside to snow blow ,  shovel , and roof rake again, I decided to sit and watch the  snow from the window. I made a strong cup of coffee and sat at the table to make some hearts. I added an old chippy painted window to the wall and it needed some accents.

Valentine's Day gifts for nursery school kids

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.  I made some quick and easy gifts for our son to hand out in school to his classmates. I figured I would do something not pertaining to food or candy since some kids have food allergies. I saw this on Pinterest but I put my own twist to it.
It probably took me an hour or so to do.

DIY Chalkboard

Hello Everyone, I thought I would show you how to make a chalkboard really simple. No paint required.
Our son has been learning to write his name in school this year. I thought  the chalkboard would be a great gift to his teachers to say  thank you  and sign his name for  Valentines' Day . I made three of them for his two teachers and one for myself.

Love signs

A while back I made some signs on some scrap wood. They all say LOVE and what a perfect time to show you them.

I used the same stencil on some of them and painted them different colors. They  will probably  end up in my shop for sale but for now they are just with the rest of the signs I've painted. 

Scrap wood Heart

The other day when I finished making chalkboard gifts for my son's teachers for Valentine's day ,  I had a small pile of scrap 1 by 2's leftover.  The way  they were piled on the floor kind of looked like a heart so I went with it.  I only had to make a few cuts since most of the pieces were already at 45 degree angles.

Craft Table in 15 seconds

Hello  I want to share with you this great Christmas present I received this year. I am always looking for that extra   work space  when I am working on a project. I start my projects in the garage and before you know it , I 'm in the house and  I have the kitchen counter and table loaded with either tools or paint . I got this amazing fold up table made by Keter.  I do have a work bench on wheels that I built last year with a vice mounted to it and peg board for small tools. Unfortunately, I always have junk loaded on it that shouldn't be there.

The table comes with 2 clamps that you can use mounted on the table or separate.  It has a bottom shelf  for extra space for tools. It's great, the legs have an adjustment for height , press 2 buttons and the table will open and you can be set up in 15 seconds.

The best part of the table is the large handle to carry it from one place to another to have an instant work space in any room. I can carry it around like a very large suitcase. Yes, it folds up flat for a convenient storage. It measures approx. 34.5 inches by 22 inches by 4.5 inches when it's closed up flat. If  you are like me and always needing some more work space then you would like this table.

Grapevine wreath with painted Farmhouse Arrow

Make a farmhouse arrow and grapevine wreath as shown here

Storage Cabinet made from salvaged scrap wood and old window

Hello Everyone. It's been awhile since I have posted anything new and I apologize .  I have been busy creating new storage spaces for our home.

This is what I created from this pile of wood that was suppose to be cut up for firewood for second wood stove.

I started out with some wood from this pile and an old window.

Painted and Stenciled Stool

Hello . Have you ever looked at something to paint and get a million ideas all at once ? Well , I always do and this vintage stool I have in the corner was looking plain and boring so I thought I would change it up a little . I just wanted to do something easy and quick with this so I thought I would stencil a number on it.

Tips & Tricks : Fresh Air instantly throughout the house

If you are looking for a way to freshen the air throughout the house in an instant , you might want to try this. Candles can take some time before you can smell them throughout the room , and room sprays are a temporary fixer.

Bathroom re-do

Hello Everyone. It was starting to look like one of our 1/2 bathroom was turning into the new location for our newspaper recycling. Newspapers on the floor and trucker magazines always needed to be picked up for the simple task of cleaning until I bumped my head on the sink while I was picking them up.

That 's when I decided to re-do the bathroom.

Chalk painted side table for bathroom storage

Hello Everyone , I hope your Holidays were happy and safe . I managed to do a few projects in the middle of the Holidays . One was to paint this small end table or you could call it a night stand since I have 2 of them . It's been sitting down the cellar not being used. I made my own chalk paint with some  ivory white paint that I have. I used this color because it happens to be the same color of the trim in one of my half bathrooms where I plan on placing it for a small storage space.