Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Ixora In My Garden

I love hydrangea bushes, but sadly
they do not grow in South Florida.
We do have ixora and I think of them as
 Florida's version of the hydrangea plant. 
The ixora is made for the tropics.
Every few days I snap off 3-4 branches
 and put them in one of my vintage Ball
jars. The coral flowers are so pretty in
the complimentary aqua color glass.
I have several bushes in my yard.
There are also lots of bushes along the
sidewalk where we walk Lucy.
They have a faint sweet fragrance that
is noticeable on our last walk at night.
 Big plus is that they flower year-round.
Ixora have large clusters of flowers
similar to those of the hydrangea. 
They come in shades of yellow, pink, orange
 and red. They can tolerate the heat and
humidity. I'm enjoying the local flora.
 Bloom where you're planted!

 Cheers!

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Build A Trellis From Wood Scraps

A few scrap pieces of wood were
 all we needed.
We had just enough to build a small trellis for
 the side of the house.
These were pieces leftover from
 other picket fence projects.
I save everything. I never know 
when a project will pop into my head.
Lay out a simple pattern.
Bevel cut the ends.
Attach to the wall. I had rooted several
cuttings from the huge Clerodendrum
vine that's on the large trellis at the 
front of the house HERE. Cuttings are easily
rooted in water or moist soil.
It's a fast growing vine.
This is how it started last year.
 We may build another trellis on the
opposite side to create an arbor.
It's on the wall just around the corner 
from the potting bench.
No one really sees it but us. 
'before'
'after'

Cheers!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Front Door Before and After

 We replaced the glass inserts in the
front doors a few years ago.
BEFORE
Etched glass inserts were removed.
We were able to sell them.
AFTER
Beveled leaded glass
Larry installed them, saving lots of money.
I love having glass inserts in the front doors.
It lets in so much light and the beveled glass
still gives privacy.
Pretty from the inside too.
Remembering how much Lucky and Princess
loved looking out, along with Lucy now.
Somehow they always knew when Daddy
went to pick up the pizza! How do they
know these things? They just do!

Cheers!

Links: Between Naps On The Porch,
The Girl Creative, Somewhat Simple,
My Romantic Home, Common Ground,
French Country Cottage,
The Charm Of Home






Sunday, July 21, 2013

16 Easy Signs To Make

Signs are fun and easy to make. 
Using scrap wood boards and trim pieces,
 a little paint, a Sharpie and printing out 
the letters from the computer gives me 
endless possibilities. I can make one for 
each whim, season, holiday or month. 
Here are 16 I've made so far.
Click on any of the pictures below to
 read the complete post. Then just hit
 the return arrow to come back here.
Fresh Lemons
A good sign for Summer.
a little LUCK
For my March sign I used horseshoes for
 the letters U and C.
Spring Bunny
For April I painted a Bunny
for the outside entry.
M ~ monogram
The 'M' sign is for between holidays.
Kaffee und Kuchen
For my blue and white kitchen. Most signs
 hang on 2 cup hooks under this cabinet.
Fresh Baked Brownies
Using a piece of pallet wood for
another sign under the kitchen cabinet
Guten Appetit
My German sign hangs in my daughter Kim's
 kitchen. I still need to make one for me.
Chalkboard...Give Thanks
This chalkboard painted sign is easy 
to change using chalk pens.
"It's wonderful to be back."
A favorite quote from a Nelson DeMille book.
This one hangs in our North Carolina place.
I gave a tutorial on how I make a sign.
Merry Christmas
I used a stencil to make these letters.
and red wood stain for the wood.
White Christmas
For a blue and white Christmas bedroom.
Happy St. Patrick's Day
I doctored this store sign by adding it
to a larger painted back piece.
...and to all a goodnight
Blue bedroom sign got scrolled corners.
Be Sweet
Small sweet sign for Valentine's Day.
FALL in love
I made these last two before I started using
 the printed font outline.
Pumpkins
Freehand and rustic.

Signing Off!
 

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

What's Your Sign?

This one is so true for me...
You'll always find homemade brownies
in my kitchen. Now I have a sign too.
 Most of my kitchen signs hang here.
I space the eye hooks the same so they
are easily changed onto the cup hooks.
 I wanted this sign to be very simple. 
 Plain block letter font traced onto
 an old piece of pallet wood.
Brownies!
Not my only brownie sign.
I made a printable HERE.
Fresh baked brownies.
My daily treat...still warm.

Cheers!