~reclaimed wood planter boxes~

It's that time of year to spruce up the gardens and deck areas, which is what inspired today's project.
Warning picture overload coming….

I am so in love with these new planter boxes I made that I think I might cry.
Happy tears of course.

Would you like to make your own?

Great!

Let me show you how.

Start with a basic wood planter box.

You can buy them new or you might happen to have a couple laying around like I did.

Lay it on it's side and mark the center.
Draw a straight line down the center of it.

Now comes the fun part. 
You will need a ton of scrap wood.
I didn't worry about the thickness of each piece, I just sorta went for it,
 using up all my scraps in my studio.

Cut 2 corner triangle pieces, and lay those down.
{#1}
Whatever you do on the right side, you will do on the left side.

Next you are going to cut
{and every time I say cut, it's on a 45 degree angle}
the pieces that say #2. You want these pieces to touch the top and join together at the center line you drew. 
{look for my purple line I drew on mine} 

Notice how mine hangs over on the bottom right?
Using a pencil make a mark on the underside flush with the edge of your planter box. This is where you will cut.

Now using a nail gun {or by hand}
nail on your 2 #1 corner pieces followed by the 2 #2 pieces.

Once those are in place measure the spot between #1 and #2 and add those pieces.

Then you are just going to work your way down all the way to the bottom.

Repeat on the other 3 sides. 

Once all 4 sides are complete you will need to add your trim pieces.
For the trim I went down to a salvage yard and bought enough matching white trim to cover both planter boxes. 

"Frame" out each side, cutting on 45 degree angles again, and nail in place.

For the tops I used more salvaged wood, cut again on 45 degree angles, nailed into place.

Plant them and you are done!
Stand back and enjoy your handiwork.

The sky is the limit with the scrap wood.
As you can see, I used old signs torn apart on one of mine.

The one below even 
has a piece of rusty metal on it.
Can you spot it?

Let me know if you make some, I'd love to see!

xoxo

~cabana stripe planter box~{DIY}

I need a bumper sticker that says,

"Stops for free junk"

Because I do.

I see a free sign and my foot hits that brake so fast.

Remember this table I got for free?

Well, this time it was a pile of wood boxes in all sorts of lengths. 

They had faux grass in them.

{which I scooped up for another project}

Here is what they look like:

I thought this had a good shape for a planter box but wanted to do something besides paint it.

So, I striped it, with duct tape.

Going for the "cabana stripe" look, I alternated black and white tape, up one side, over the top, and down the 3rd side.

About every 4 pieces, I cut down the center and tucked the extra down on the inside.

Here it is all covered in the tape. 

And here it is on our outdoor table all planted up with white geraniums and trailing flowers. 

 Such a simple project.

Now I have about 5 more boxes to go…..

xoxo

~up close & personal~{in the garden}

I do not consider myself a gardener, but I am really enjoying spending time outside lately poking around and doing what I can to make things look pretty.

I walked around yesterday and took a few photos of some of the things popping up.

These photos are mainly close ups, but hopefully I will be taking some all over shots in the near future.

Isn't this time of year magnificent?

Hope you all are having a great Friday!

xoxo

~my new potting bench~

I was driving to pick my son up from a birthday party a couple weeks ago, and out of the corner of my eye,
a FREE sign caught my attention. Can you hear my tires squealing?
Check out this bad boy, all 8 feet of it......

Gorgeous right? Super old, super sturdy, and heavy as heck.

I brought it home my husband reluctantly drove over to the strangers house to pick up yet another free thing I had to have. He was super happy it was really light. Wink-wink.

Fast forward a week later and I am out at it again. This time a garage sale that was advertised as vintage treasures. Here is what I hauled home, and yes, this one fit in my car.

I knew when I saw it that it would make a great match for my free bench.
They make a great pair don't they?

So yesterday, I fixed it all up and outfitted it with all my gardening supplies.
And now presenting, way more photos than you probably care to see.

I am so excited to have a place to keep all my gardening stuff together finally! And the whole setup was under $35.00 Can't beat that!

xoxo