Creative Gardening: Unique Planters

Remember my sink planter idea from last year? Here it is in full bloom now with shades of blue and white!

This second installment of creative gardening ideas is all about clever and unique planters. Pictured above is an old wash tub set filled with annuals next to my Mom's shed. The wash tubs already have drainage holes so they are perfect for planting. I love how she planted them to mirror each other! Wash tubs like these can be found at most antique markets, flea markets, or even garage sales. These wash tubs were from my Great Grandfather's house and have been sprayed with a coat of silver Rustoleum to prevent rusting and give them added shine. The legs have been set on old broken stepping stones so it has level footing.

The wash tubs before planting.

The old fashioned enameled metal baby bath below is perfect for planting, just make sure to drill several holes in the bottom with a power drill to ensure proper drainage. (Make sure to wear eye protection anytime you use power tools!) Then simply fill half way with soil and put your plants in. Old metal wash basins and baby baths can be found at antique stores, flea markets and garage sales as well. My Mom once again, was lucky enough to have saved these from her family.

The finished product with terra cotta added for interest :) Don't you love the cat planter in the background?

An old roasting pan and baby bath make a lovely place for shade loving Pansies.

Creative Gardening: Tool Caddy

A lovely butterfly in my Mom's garden

I have been watching my Mother garden for years, and she is not only creative in the way she gardens but thrifty and earth friendly as well. So for the next couple of weeks I am going to be sharing some of her most creative gardening ideas. Here is the first-

Golf Bag tool caddy:

Several years ago after my Grandpa passed away my family and I were going through some of his belongings and we came across his old golf bag with cart(just means the golf bag has wheels), nobody knew what to do with it, except my Mom! After lugging shovels, spades, and rakes around the yard for years she had finally found a way to easily move her big gardening tools. To find a old golf bag of your own look at Garage Sales, and thrift stores for a cheap golf bag then simply fill with your tools and wheel or carry around with you while gardening.

Perry is glad it's Spring!

Perry enjoying a lovely Spring day with his gnome friends.

Happy Earth Day!

The unofficial Earth Day flag

It's Earth Day again, and I have been pleased to see that this day seems to be getting more and more serious attention every year. Earth Day was founded by U.S Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. Many communities also celebrate Earth Week, which is an entire week of environmental related activities.

To celebrate Earth Day do something good for our world, join a neighborhood clean-up, attend a festival at your local park, or just recycle some things you've been meaning to recycle for awhile. Here are some other things to get you motivated about helping our environment!

Use Reusable Bags When You shop-Plastic shopping bags take up to 1000 years to degrade in a landfill, and most become airborne and end up in the ocean. So buy yourself some reusable bags to take shopping with you. Most stores have bags that are relatively cheap, usually around a dollar, or you can go the cute route with these adorable bags from Shana Logic.

Buy a Tee, Plant a Tree!- All this week buy any tee from Threadless.com and they will donate a dollar to Plantabillion.org. Plus, all nature themed tees are all just $12 for Earth week!



Recycle the Cute Way-With these free, uber cute recycling labels thanks to Jinjerup.

Donate-Donate to reputable organizations like the World Wildlife Federation, Defenders of Wildlife, or the NRDC(Natural Resources Defense Council). All these are wonderful organizations who have done and with our help will continue to do do great things for this world!

Craft Green!- There are plenty of blogs and craft websites out there that have alot of tips for green crafting, like Craftzine.com, and Zakka Life. Here is one of my own past green crafts, a tiny terrarium made from a bottle cap, and the top from a gum-ball machine plastic prize ball.


You can make everyday Earth Day just by making smarter choices when it comes to how you clean your house, shop, travel, take care of your yard, etc. Always have the future of the planet in mind!

Perry Meets Another Pincushion With Attitude...

Spring Fever!

Crocus from last year's Spring

Pussy Willows in my back yard

After months of being stuck indoors due to copious amounts of snow, and of course the bitter cold, I am so ready for Spring! So in celebration of the turning of the season, (today is the first day of Spring!) I am posting some Spring crafts from the archives. I promise to start posting new projects ASAP. I am still recovering from my two and a half month sinus infection nightmare, and getting back into the swing of things is taking a while longer than I expected. Happy Spring everyone!

For those who are already planning their gardens, my favorite project to date, and one that I won an award with :) Mosaic Mushrooms for the garden.



An easy Spring Pencil Holder



And Easter is coming up, so here's a great Easter project!

An Angry Pincushion Success Story

Several months ago I posted about starting a new project, turning my Grandpa's old bowling ball into yard art. A while later I received a very nice e-mail from a great gal named Marisa. She had been reading my blog, liked my idea, and had an old bowling ball that was her Grandfather's too! She wanted to know how to finish the project. I told her after giving her instructions on how to finish grouting etc., that if she sent me a picture when she was finished I'd post it on here. You did a fantastic job Marisa, it will look lovely in the garden no doubt!