Category: Summer


Aug
2023

Making a Decorative Bee Skep

categories: DIY, Spring, Summer

I have always been drawn to any vintage garden item, and one of those is a bee skep.

If you have never heard of a bee skep, it is an old man-made bee hive created by using an upside down basket with an entry hole near the bottom. The bees would make their honeycomb inside.

These skeps were beekeepers go to hives for years, but because of the difficulty getting the honey out without injuring the bees, and as new hives came about, these skeps became obsolete.

People still love the skeps today but as a popular feature in gardens and home decor.

I have always wanted one for my garden area, so I made my own.

If you love garden inspired decor, as I do, let me show you how to make these easy DIY bee skeps.

I simply used an old plastic flower pot as my form, a glue gun, and several packs of jute from the $ store.

Using the hot glue gun, I attached the jute around the entire pot.

Apply a stream of glue and press the jute to it until the pot is covered.

When I reached the top I made a loop and secured it with more glue.

Since this is a decorative piece I made a circle of jute and glued it on the front as an opening, and painted the inside with black paint.

Oh my goodness, I love it!

It is so darn cute.

Hope all you garden lovers try this project.

It is still summer to me even though the stores are full of pumpkins and fall decor.

I realize it is almost September, but can’t we give each season it’s time.

I want more days to enjoy my bee skep.

Love to all you sweet folks, until next time.


Jun
2021

Tomato Cage Projects

categories: DIY, Summer

Yes, you read the title correctly!

Crazy, but I used old tomato cages to make some outdoor projects.

So simple!

If you do not have lots of money, like me, or do not want to spend too much money on your porch, patio, or yard area, these projects are for you!

After I cleaned the old cages, I spray painted all white.

This first one is amazing, just place the tomato cage in the ground and add a large plastic bowl to the top ring for a birdbath.

I used a beautiful floral bowl I purchased at Dollar General last year for $3.00.

It’s wonderful, isn’t it?

For the next two projects I used wire cutters to remove the straight wires, the wires that go into the ground and turned the cage upside down. The larger ring on the bottom.

On this one, I added a large wood piece, purchased at Home Depot, painted it, and attached to the wire base for a simple patio table.

It fits great between two chairs.

Not so overwhelming as other tables.

This last project, so simple, just place a plant in the top ring for a plant stand.

Planning to put one on my small front porch to hold a basket of colorful flowers.

I know there are different cages, some a heavier gauge than others, but for these projects I just used $1.97 cages I purchased at Walmart last year.

I also saw some cages that are already painted bright summer colors.

Have fun with these projects, get your outside areas ready for the summer ahead.

Till next time, blessings.


Jun
2021

Old Table Leg Planter

categories: DIY, Summer

It seems like most of my recent posts are about summer, a birdbath, a birdhouse, and a bird feeder.

But of course, summer is just beginning, and being outside is here!

Today I want to share one of my favorite projects, a planter made from an old table leg, a scrap piece of wood, and an old wood box.

After painting all the pieces, I used wood glue and wood screws to attach the 4 x 4 wood piece to the leg.

As I do so many times, I added a decorative knob to the box to give the planter a finished look.

When completely dry and set, I used screws to attach the box to the leg and wood piece.

I dug an 8 inch deep hole next to my back porch, and back filled the dirt around the leg and tamped it down.

Decided on red geraniums and vinca vines to fill my planter.

It is beautiful!

So unique!

Of course, I love it!

So hard to believe that this is what has come out of an old table leg, a scrap piece of wood, and a wood box.

Hope you all are getting ready, finishing outdoor projects, planting flowers in pots for your porch or patio, so that you can sit and enjoy summer and being outside

Hugs, until next time.


Jul
2020

It’s Not Jayne’s Garden

categories: Home Projects, Summer

In all of my __ years, I have never planted vegetables.

So this year, I thought I would give it a try!

No, this is not my vegetable garden.

This is my friend Jayne’s garden, a photo taken a couple of years ago, showing only one part of her garden.

I am sure this year’s is bigger and better.

The fact is, my garden consists of 2 tomato plants, and one sweet pepper plant.

Hey it’s a start!

But oh how much fun, and joy, these 3 plants have given me.

A new hobby, therapeutic during these “stay at home” times.

Just look at my first tomato, it’s beautiful, perfectly shaped!

My son and husband have even taken an interest, checking on our garden, as I do every morning.

It has brought back memories for my husband of helping his Grandmother with her garden as a child.

Sweet memories for him, his Grandmother raised him, and he was very close to her, all of her life.

I have always planted flowers, Shasta daisies, daylilies, cornflowers, and have enjoyed watching them come back every year.

I placed a birdbath, made from a deep plastic bowl and a decorative dowel from Home Depot, next to the cornflowers.

The birds in my area love it!

In my back yard, in a little hidden nook, I have a potting bench.

Planting flowers in pots, for my front and back porches, has always calmed me, especially on a stressful day.

I am reading all about growing vegetables, so maybe next year, just maybe, my little garden will grow and look more like Jayne’s.

Next year, I want sunflowers, and pumpkins growing by my little barn, in my back yard.

How lovely and colorful it will be.

Thank you Jayne, for your inspiration.

Folks, it is so true that the simple things in life, are the most rewarding.

Love to all on this hot summer day.

Can’t wait to slice my perfectly shaped tomato!


Jun
2020

It’s Summer on the Porch

categories: DIY, My Simple Home, Summer

The most popular blogs are all showing their porches and patios for summer.

Beautiful, expensive outdoor furniture, amazing decks, yards, and many with unbelievable pool areas.

For many of us, just a dream.

If that is what you are expecting in this post, you need to click out now!

But, maybe, just maybe, the most of us want and have simple lives, with little money to spend on such things.

We love what we have.

I know I do.

So here’s my crooked back porch tour for this summer.

Same outdoor furniture for the past 8 years, it is perfectly fine.

Changed up the color with pillows as I do every year.

This year a whimsy bright flower pattern in turquoise.

I purchase most of my pillow covers on Amazon, the prices are very reasonable and good quality.

Again this year, I used red geraniums with the turquoise, love them together.

I used the same wood box planter I made, painted white, with an old knob.

You will see a new birdhouse, thanks to a Mother’s Day gift card from my sweet sister.

My DIY wind chime hangs above, along with a beautiful Dauphin violet hanging basket.

My Shasta daisies are blooming, spreading around the bunny next to the porch. So cute!

The birdhouse I made several years ago is still standing, surrounded by Vinca vine, growing wild on the side of our house.

Well folks, that’s my crooked little porch tour for this year.

Nothing expensive, just loving and using the things I have.

It’s wonderful to us.

Beautiful, peaceful, just ours, a part of the home that we love.

We need nothing more!

Hope you all enjoy your summer.

Blessings.


Jun
2020

Don’t Throw That Away!

categories: DIY, Summer

Well, this was almost thrown out in our trash.

Oh, no, no!

I still see life, a new life for this old basket that has been in my garage for so many years.

The lid is gone, no matter, don’t really need one,

The color has faded, no matter, a new coat of stain or paint will fix that.

It is still sturdy, lots of useful life ahead.

Could be used for many things, but I saw a picnic basket for two!

First step was to clean, really clean, especially the inside.

I then gave it a new coat of stain inside and out. When completely dry, I painted the outside area a medium shade of gray, leaving the handle and trim the brown stain.

So pleased with the finished look.

I filled it with some plastic outdoor dishes, an outdoor tablecloth, plastic glasses, all things needed for a lunch outside.

I keep my basket in a handy place, where I can just grab it on those beautiful days when being outside is a must.

We have a wonderful large shade area in out backyard, perfect for a mid-morning brunch, or lunch.

I found the floral dishes at my local Dollar General store for $2 each. They are really nice.

Picked up the salad bowl for $3.50.

I have other plastic dishes and outdoor tablecloths, but I could not resist the colors in the floral plates.

Today we are going to have a beautiful day, 80 with low humidity. A perfect day for hubby and me to head outside.

Don’t just throw old things out!

Take a look, make sure you don’t see life with just a bit of work.

Until next time, thanking God for this beautiful day.

Blessings and love.


Aug
2018

When Life Gives You Lemons…

categories: Flea Market Finds/Thrifting, My Simple Home, Simple Recipes, Summer

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”.

That is exactly what I did on one of the many very hot days we have had in the past several weeks.

Hard to find anything more refreshing than ice cold lemonade.

A treat for me and hubby when we are sitting together, on our small back porch, which is most days.

Of course, I made a bright beautiful tray out of a thrift store frame, and a lemon filled fabric swatch.

I suppose it does seem as if I am obsessed with making trays.  Maybe so, but they are just so easy and inexpensive to put together, making just a wonderful addition to any table.

The frame I found at the thrift store for $1.00 was large, perfect for my lemonade pitcher and glasses.

A fresh coat of black paint, and simple black screen door handles, completed this summer project.

If I can find a day when my sewing machine doesn’t hate me, I want to make a few napkins out of the remaining lemon fabric.

Lemon print toss pillows, found at Kirkland’s, helped to brighten up my living room for the summer.

The print on the pillows is so wonderful, soft colors!

I like to use toss pillows in the living room, adding color to any season, and they also allow my old outdated wing back chairs look so much better.

To end my “lemon” post, I want to share a recipe I tried from a sweet new cookbook, Magnolia Table, by Joanna Gaines.

I do not buy a bunch of cookbooks, but this one is special.  The recipes are fairly simple, and the photos in the book of Joanna’s farm are lovely.

This lemon pie was so very yummy!  My family loved it!

Definitely a summer dessert.

Here is the link to the recipe.

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, make the best of what you are given, make something good out of a bad experience, turn a negative into a positive.

We are all given bad situations to deal with in this life, but if we ask for God’s blessings, we deal with them, get through them, and move on!

I hope you “squeeze” all kinds of happiness and joy out of this day!

Love to all.

 

 


Jun
2018

Our Summer Family Gathering

categories: Celebrate, Summer

Last weekend our family gathered at a local park for a picnic.

The occasion was the visit of my sister’s oldest daughter and granddaughter from Florida.

It was terribly hot that day, the temperature was well into the 90’s. We picked a shady area and tried to stay as cool as possible.

A watermelon pinata, purchased at Target, kinda gave us a theme, and a fun activity later for the kids.

Loved the cute, whimsy watermelon tablecloths, plates and napkins!  So festive!

The yummies were fried chicken, baked beans, fruit salad, and my brother-in-law’s famous mac and cheese.

I made a banner with family photos, tied around a large tree in the picnic area, our “family tree”!

There were many very old photos, and more recent ones, I wanted to include everyone!

My niece loved it!

Later, I gave her a small box to hold the photos, along with a note, as a keepsake of our gathering to take back to Florida.

We played games, of course.

Stenciled letters on cardstock and we played a version of “Bananagram” in the grass.

A hula hoop contest…

I remember the day when we all could “hula hoop”, not anymore!

We gave out simple gifts to our winners, wrapped in colorful tissue paper, tied with twine.

Made some silly tags to highlight which gifts were for men, women, or kids.

The pinata was filled with treats, a fun time for the kids.

Love those wonderful smiles on those beautiful faces!

I would like to end this post by saying a bit about families.

None of us are perfect, no family is perfect.  I think that is something we all should remember.

Ours has so much drama at times, and there are times when forgiveness is hard, but oh my gosh, how we all love each other.

We were all together for love, sharing our time together, to be with each other, making a wonderful memory!

I am so very emotional writing of my family, they, each and every one of them, mean the world to me!

Gather.

Love the imperfections of your family.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

 

 


Sep
2017

Crooked Again This Year

categories: Autumn, Random Thoughts, Summer

Our small back porch, a gathering place for just the two of us!

Morning coffee together, reading, music, sometime lunches, simple everyday conversation.

But Saturday mornings on our porch, in the fall, are so special.

We can hear the cheers and yells coming from the many soccer fields near our home.

Shh…!

Listen.

Remember.

The oh so many joyful times, years and years ago, when our son, our only child, played soccer.

Jimmy loved to play, he was quite good, and we were so proud, loving every minute.

We can’t forget those days, those never to return days.

Recently, I talked to Jimmy about those times.  He remembers it all, the smell of the grass, the cheers, the concession stand, run by the parents, and even riding his bike up to see games he was not playing.

Our small porch was crooked again this year, no money for repairs.

No matter, I added some colorful pillows, some plants, no one cared about the crooked floor!

It is our beautiful gathering space to be together, to remember, to be thankful for memories.

Blessings and love to all this weekend.

Remember.

 

 


Aug
2017

Making Fudgesicles and Popsicles!

categories: Simple Recipes, Summer

No little children in our home anymore, just two aging, forgetful, cranky at times, adults.

Doesn’t matter, we still love afternoon treats!

I decided on making some chocolate fudgesicles and very cherry popsicles before the end of summer.

Have you ever read the ingredients on a box of fudgesicles?

Ingredients:

Nonfat Milk, Maltodextrin, Sorbitol, Polydextrose, Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Whey, Palm Oil, Contains 1 Percent Or Less Of Each Of The Following: Tricalcium Phosphate, Cellulose Gel, Cellulose Gum, Mono And Diglycerides, Malt Powder, Salt, Guar Gum, Aspartame, Polysorbate 80, Acesulfame Potassium, Polysorbate 65, Citric Acid, Carrageenan, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Caramel Color, Locust Bean Gum. Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine.

Oh my gosh, make your own!

The recipe I am sharing is so easy and so chocolatey.

Here’s the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbsp corn syrup
  • 1 Tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups of milk

Instructions:

  • Whisk together cocoa powder and sugar in a pan
  • Add corn syrup and vanilla and place over low heat
  • Add milk while whisking constantly until everything is dissolved
  • Pour mixture into 6 molds and freeze until solid

(source of recipe was cincyshopper.com)

For the cherry, really cherry popsicles, I just used a Kool-Aid unsweetened packet adding sugar as directed, but shame on me, I used less water than directed to make the flavor intense. I taste tested as I added the water.

Seriously, they were wonderful!

As kids, we would fill ice cube trays with Kool-Aid to make popsicles, some of you folks might remember.

Now days there are so many different molds on the market that are inexpensive and fun to use. Lots of different shapes.

The one thing I like about using molds is the fact that the stick is plastic.  I hated, and still do, running my tongue across a wooden stick!  Chills!

After my husband finished his very cherry popsicle, I looked over at him and he had bright red lips, as if he had just put away his lipstick. We laughed together.

Where was my camera?

Just a precious “sweet” moment shared.

Don’t let your summer pass without making yummy chocolate fudgesicles and very cherry popsicles.

“Sweet” love to all of you today!