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We love Christmas year round!
Garden and Nature Lover Gifts
New! Bunny Cutting Board
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New!Bird Art Pillow, Song Sparrows and Hydrangea
One of our Favorite Flags, Frog and Dragonfly
Photo by Whitney
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Our Best Selling Ceramic Tiles
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New! Magnolia Pillows and Throws
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Magnolia Woven Cotton Throw Blanket
Love for a Country House Designs
… garden flags …
… and much more!
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Images from our Days
Our Blog
Some Holiday Projects from our Archives
Building a Christmas Castle Centerpiece with Toy Blocks
— watch the video here—
See more photos from our project here.
Hydrangea Topiary from Dollar Store Christmas Trees
Watch the full video
We made easy topiaries using Christmas trees that cost just one dollar each.
Ready for display year round, for every holiday.
Christmas Decorations with Foil and Nail Polish
Our keepsake Santa cost a little over a dollar!
We made the lacquer finish with foil and nail polish over a Dollar Store figurine.
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... and we used more polish on more oraments for dazzling effect. This was Santa-in-progress above.
The nail polish worked on ornaments of all kinds, and on paper!
See the video here
Easy Stained Glass Lanterns
Update Thrift Shop Lanterns with Stained Glass Paint and Gilding
See our Video Here:
Our thrift shop lanterns were just $3.00 each ...
... and look at them now! We upstyled these with high-end glass paint and copper-leaf gilding.
Read more here --
Ideas for Next Spring ...
Make Faux Wicker with Foam Noodles
It looks just like wicker, but it's much more affordable and durable!
To read how we made these beauties, click here.
Lessons Learned from the Unicorn Deck
Text and video coming soon!
Watch our video here —
Coloring Keepsakes with Soft Pastels on Plaster, Stoneware, and Bisque
— see the video here —
We've been using soft pastels on thrift shop bisque and stoneware and love the results. Coming soon.
Coloring Keepsakes with Soft Pastels, Easter Bunnies
— watch the video here —
We found a new way to color collectibles with soft pastels that we found was a lot easier than paint.
We love the results on our DIY plaster figures and even tried eyeshadow and colored pencils on thrift shop goods.
Take a look in detail how we colored these Beatrix Potter themed bunnies here.
Chalkware Easter Bunnies from Candy Molds
Making Peter Rabbit and Other Beatrix Potter Type Figurines from Plaster
by © Stephie McCarthy
See the video how-to
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Make a Foil Bunny
watch the full video
We made these with recycled foil and glass paint!
We searched high and low for instructions to make foil bunnies. Finding NONE, we filled the void with our own step-by-step project.
Watch the video for full paint-by-number instructions and details on how to make finishing touches.
Customize a Cold Frame for the Garden
A great gift for gardeners, a cold frame kit is easy to put together and easy to customize to make it even better. We started with the kit shown above.
Now it's full of beautiful cold-hardy plants … and cat proof!
See how we did this project here.
Summer Garden Ideas ...
Make an Easy No-Dig Garden with Paper Bags
— watch the video here—
We think fellow gardeners will love this new way to garden, especially if you have problem soil. Read all about it here …
Upcycle: Make Lamp Shades into Flower Pots
(with RapidSet CementAll ®)
We coated elegant lampshades with a cement slurry …
… to make strong and durable, faux terracotta pots
Kill, Destroy, Combat, Prevent, and Fix Verticillium Wilt on Tomatoes
#KillVerticilliumWilt #DestroyVerticilliumWilt #CombatVerticilliumWilt #PreventVerticilliumWilt #FixVerticilliumWilt
— watch the video here —
In the 1980s, experiments were done on potato patches adding lots of nitrogen and phosphorous. Verticillium wilt fungus was reduced by 95%!
Buckwheat is a great companion plant for tomatoes! It adds a lot of phosphorous and nitrogen, naturally and cured our tomatoes of Verticillium wilt. Read more here ...
Red and White Buckwheat
Catch and Kill Mosquitoes & Cure an Itching Bite
#HowToKillMosquitoes #HowToStopItchingMosquitoBite
-- watch the video here --
Here's how to make a DIY Mosquito Trap that will match a cottage garden.
AND ... a new way to stop itching bites too!
Our Old House Projects ...
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Learning to Drive a Boom Lift
Have you ever wondered ... Is boom lift safe? Is a boom lift expensive?
— watch the video here —
It's a great deal safer than a ladder when working overhead, but much more expensive. I'd say the added safety is worth the cost.
Check out our post on the subject ... here
Spray Paint Tricks for a Vintage Look
See the video here
We updated our wall clock from Aldi's to look like vintage enamel.
Now it looks like we found it at an auction. Spray paint made the job easy.
Our video shows easy spray paint tricks for working with two colors ...
... and how to antique your projects using textured and transparent spray paints we think you will love. We also found a great masking tape with a little help from brother, Marty who paints cars.
Make a Pendant Light from a Table Lamp
You may never look at a table lamp the same way again.
Imagine a table lamp upside down as a pendant light.
It's lovely and clever, and it cost less than $20! Click here to read more.
VIDEO LINK
Build a Potting Bench (for Around $100) from Recyled Furniture
We made this cottage style potting bench from a defunct futon … the bottom of which we used to make our garden bridge.
It may look sweet, but it's designed for heavy duty gardening work too.
Read the post here.
See the video here.
Colorful Concrete with Fabric Dye and Sealer
See the video …
It's been four months since a wild experiment with liquid fabric dye and concrete sealer. We glazed this patio with color!
We kind of love it!
H O W - T O
Make Stain from Paint and a Water-based Wood Sealer
Here's something NEW in decorative painting — we blended craft paints into acrylic wood finish to make an easy-to-use stain.
the video is here
Our antique toolbox got a bright new start thanks to Behr Waterproofing Wood Finish. It's water-based and wonderful!
We had great success with this product mixed with paint on our lavender footbridge too and now we've used it on concrete, metal, and paper.
Buy Behr Wood Finish at our HomeDepot affiliate link
The benefit of using this waterproofing finish (meant for outdoor use) is that the surface can withstand water, sun, and has built in UV protection.
Check out how we created the stain here.
Preserving Cattails for Autumn Decor
Join us on a walk in the country hunting the perfect cattail.
VIDEO LINK
No-Dig, No-Mess,
LampPosts for a Bridge Garden
VIDEO LINK
Easy DIY Leaded Glass Mirror with Metal Tape
We've added a mirror over the window on the stone porch. We used the same Pebeo Vitrail lead tape used on the window below, and it was easy!
The final look was beyond everything we hoped. Super pretty!
Check out our photos and a step-by-step of how we made this mirror project, here.
We truly love this product and are giving away a free roll, a $30 value on our YouTube Channel. Jump to the post about that here.
Make an Indoor-Outdoor Window Hutch
As we worked on this window, adding lead strips, shelves, and styling inside and out, we realized how well it would work as an outside hutch … and how hutches could be made back-to-back … inside AND out! Read the post here —
Now we are searching for the perfect base that will allow us to see the stone wall, if possible. Something like this:
For lots of tips on making an indoor/outdoor window hutch, see our video here:
VIDEO LINK
Easy Leaded Glass with Metal Tape!
VIDEO LINK
Birdbath and Garden Ornaments with Real Lace
As sweet as icing sugar, this birdbath is tough enough to stay out in the garden!
We used real crochet cotton lace and our own tinted wax formula to make it.
We hope you'll click the thumb icon on our YouTube channel. You don't want to miss the gnome's upcoming makeover!
VIDEO LINK
Shortcut to a Fairy Tale Bridge
We've started a bridge garden and here's how it look so far …
Eight feet long and raised on a sturdy bed of cement pavers, it's hard to believe the bridge project began as a cast-off futon!
VIDEO LINK
Easy Waterproof Rustic Basket DIY
Make this basket for your garden or porch and leave it outside in any weather …
… we made ours while watching Outlander …
Looking like a basket from Lallybroch …
… but with lots of secrets that will keep it looking good in all sorts of weather, AND help keep mice away too!
Check out the video here …
VIDEO LINK
Special Savings Today Only! Click for the deal of the day!
Make Gingerbread Trim from Kid's Blocks!
This project was child's play with toy blocks, brackets, and a finial that looks like a juice extractor. See how we made this entry into a beautiful part of our stone porch, here.
VIDEO LINK
Our Amazing Bark Textured Flower Boxes made with Caulk
VIDEO LINK
Look how we upcycled our bland flower boxes with caulk and a plastic fork. This craft, also called Faux Bois in France, looks like realistic bark but is durable and easy to do.
We made a total of three of these wonderful rustic boxes. We used chalk paint and wood ash to finish the surface. Here's how …
How to make Victorian-Style Gingerbread Fretwork, from New Materials
VIDEO LINK
The photo essay step-by-step is here.
Visit Our Archives for More Project Ideas
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