wooden crates

I really like the the texture of an old wooden crate. Rough, humble, nostalgic. I found two crates at an antique mall in hogansville a few months ago. They are full of history and purpose. They performed some useful task for many years - containing and transporting vegetables, fabric, tools, machine parts -  and now they have retired in my living room as sofa end tables. 

I also discovered FREE used food crates at our local farmer's market. They put them out front each morning, free for the taking.  It's really hard for me to resist anything labeled free. It always creates a problem that i love to solve: how can i make this free/discarded thing purposeful and beautiful? They aren't sturdy enough to function as a table, stool, or trusty carrying container so i spent some time finding a use for my thrifty find. 

The two best ideas so far:

-plant stands for my small herb garden on the patio.

-"sentimental paper clutter" boards

We all have special notes from friends, holiday cards, kid's artwork, and other sentimental paper clutter we don't want to throw out. However, this kind of stuff can often float from counter to draw without a designated area. This wooden crate board is a nice solution. I simply used binder clips to attach my special papers.

I untwisted the wire holding the crate together and unfolded the crate so it was a long flat piece, removing the side pieces. Super quick and easy. Then i just added a coat of paint. I have one in my living room and one over the guest bed.

Go pick up some of these free crates and see what ideas you can come up with - enjoy!

Bathtub Paint Soap

Rainy days mean fun in the bathtub around here. The kid's tub is equipped with measuring cups, foam letters, bathtub books, and most recently bathtub paint soap. It's ironic....they can be creative with paint while getting clean! Hannah Grace really enjoys erasing the bathtub art with her bath poof. It's part of the fun. I've seen tub paint in the stores from $5 to $20. I'm going to teach you how to make it on the cheap. This recipe is just a proportional way to measure your ingredients. You can make as much as you want.

Bath paint soap:

- 1 part water

- 4 parts liquid soap (i use baby shampoo)

- 1 part tempera paint 

Put the tub paint in a little cup, give your kids a paint brush, and go get yourself a cup of coffee! It keeps my kids busy for at least a half hour. It will clean up with water...so no mess either! Enjoy and pass this recipe on to any mom who needs a breather:)

Homemade Teacher Appreciation Gift

Asher and Hannah Grace have been attending Mrs. Bobbie's story hour (it's actually 3.5 hours) on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They do crafts and finger plays, read books, practice handwriting and so much more. They love it. It adds nice structure to our week and they get to play and interact with a handful of other kids their age. I like that its not all day and everyday...it's the perfect balance for us. 

So the real kicker is this....Mrs. Bobbie volunteers her time, resources, and abilities to make story hour a biweekly success. When i first heard about this free program i couldn't believe it...but i took Asher last fall and found that it really did exist. Mrs. Bobbie is a retired educator with a passion for teaching little ones. She has been such a blessing to our family!

If ever a teacher deserved a thoughtful homemade gift...Mrs Bobbie does! So, my mom and i collaborated on this plant/pot/card combo. My niece Alaina also attends story hour so I had all three kids color a picture. I traced their hand prints over the picture, cut them out and mod podged them onto a terracotta pot. I also cut out shapes from some of the artwork the kids created in class and mod podged it onto the pot. I used a sharpie to write each child's name next to his/her hand print. Painted around the rim is "Thanks Mrs. Bobbie for helping us GROW! 2012" My mom found a beautiful peace lily at the farmers market to go in the pot. I placed a piece of rebar wire coiled at one end into the soil to hold up the card.

It turned out nicely. A larger pot could feature the hand prints of an entire class. That could be a neat idea for an elementary school teacher. Thanks for reading! I hope this inspires you to make a homemade gift for your child's beloved teacher.

Glass Bottle Bird Feeders

Right now we have four baby birds nesting in the purple petunias on the front porch. I hung the coconut baskets and within two days I had a bird building a nest. We kept an eye on the eggs for days and they finally hatched a few weeks ago.  Pretty neat. The kids thought it was amazing. I think the birds are teenagers in bird years now, so they should leave the nest soon.

I think the mama bird was eager to build a nest in the petunias because of the super awesome bird feeder hanging nearby on the front porch. I’m sure of it….a little bird told me…

There is something so peaceful about watching birds up close. We’ve seen cardinals, wrens, sparrows, and other varieties I can’t identify eat from the feeder daily. Better than t.v.

Our family has enjoyed the feeder so much, that I decided to make one for my mom-in-law for mother’s day. She’s a gardening enthusiast and enjoys spending time in nature, so I thought it a great gift. I wrote a bit of scripture on hers that she can reflect on while watching the birds.

This thing is so easy to make. You’ll need:

-a couple of glass bottles

- nails and hammer

-2 metal lids…I used mason jar lids b/c I like the look

- rebar wire

- ¼” drill bit to bore holes for the wire

- pliers to shape the rebar wire

- scrap wood (2x4 or 1x4 – if not pressure treated, you’ll need to paint it with outdoor paint)

Take the wood and nail together a “T” shape. Then, nail lids to the piece of wood that sits parallel to the ground. Drill two holes near the top of the vertical piece. Run the rebar through the holes and make a harness to hold the bottles in place. Twist the wire around itself using pliers. This will hold it in place. You want the harness tight enough to keep the bottle in place, but it will need to be loose enough to remove the bottle for refilling.  Drill a hole at the top center and run a string or more wire through to hang your feeder.  Decorate with paint, scripture, handprints, shells, anything.  Fill the bottles with seeds and place them in the wire harness. Keep your fingers over the opening while getting them in place so the seed doesn't spill. Enjoy!