arrows on the wall

Dropping in with a quick little tip you might find useful: hanging arrows on the wall with simple hardware!

These clips are usually used for fastening cables to interior and exterior walls; I've shown them to you before when I hung my lights in the living room, I think.

They also work wonderfully well for hanging arrows directly on the wall.

I measured down from the ceiling to make sure to keep these level with each other, then just used the clips to nail them directly in place.

That's all there is to it. Maybe this will come in useful at your place? Thanks for reading!

p.s. wall art is by Nikki McClure

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The Cottage Market

climbing structure for a climbing climber

I said my last post ended in a cliff-hanger; well, I guess this is more of a climbing wall than a cliff, but I'm going to pretend it counts.

My kid is an enigma. Climbing thrills him. And I mean climbing anything, from stacks of unstable patio chairs to the furniture I pulled out of the shed to donate, to crawling into the hammock or up a set of stairs or on top of the sail / awning on the top of his pirate sandbox. But slides: slides make him nervous most of the time. He'd rather clamber over a pile of something certain to shift than slide down a nice, safe playground slide any longer than 3 or 4 feet.

As a deterrent to climbing stacks of unsafe stuff, we decided to build him a climbing structure, something on the small side (so if the daredevil launches himself off the side, odds are he'll escape without serious injury) with steps of varying sizes and some climbing rocks. Also on our wish list was something we could fold up and store during the winter months. (There are enough tarps in our backyard at that time of year already, thanks.)

I found a similar structure on Pinterest before starting this project (and we used it to guide our design), but I apparently didn't actually pin it, and now I can't find it. If this was originally your idea, please send me a link!

As far as building one  goes, it's pretty straightforward. I will say, though, that we aren't professional builders of children's play equipment, and it's possible that something we've done here isn't up to current safety standards. We plan to be in the yard with him every time he's playing on it, so we're not too worried. Stay tuned for the end of this post, where I'll talk a little about things I have planned or might change later, FYI.

We bought cedar for this project rather than pressure-treated wood, to limit exposure to toxins.

We used: 

• six 8-foot 2x4s (cut to eleven 4-foot lengths and two 2-foot lengths)
• a 3x4-foot scrap of plywood
• a used set of three door hinges
• exterior paint
• a 4-pack of climbing rocks
• exterior screws in 3-inch and 2-inch lengths

As you can see in the photos, we have three vertical supports on each slope. On side 1 (the "ladder" side), we also have three full-length horizontal supports (4-feet long) and two 2-foot ladder supports. We left about a foot of space at the bottom, because the kiddo doesn't need a step there.

On side 2 (the "climbing rock" side), we have only one horizontal support at the top, and the painted plywood provides the rest of the support when attached directly below.

We made sure that the vertical supports on each side line up, so that we were able to attach it at the top with hinges.

Though probably not necessary in the grass, we used the leftover 4-foot 2x4 as a support to keep the structure solidly supported at the desired angle. You can see that support, and a hinge, in this next photo.

We still need to get the sander out to knock down some roughness and edges, and I think a top piece of some sort is going to be necessary for the gap at the top (the kiddo thinks it's funny to stick his leg in there. I do not), so that'll be happening soon. And maybe some stain for the cedar?

I'm also aware of the possibility that the 4.5-inch space between the ladder steps on side 1 might be too narrow, so it might get altered if we notice any issues with it. I'll do a future post with updates soon to let you see the FINAL final product.

We've also got our eye on one of those tire climbers, but we'll have to see if it fits into our plans. It looks really cool though, right?

So: what kind of crazy outdoor projects are you planning or working on? Here in the northwest, we've been spoiled with a ton of sunshine the past couple of weeks, so projects like this climbing structure and the arbor have been possible and necessary. Have you been having an early summer where you are, too?

Thanks for reading!

p.s. to make these photos larger, just click!

Linking up to:

Mop it Up Mondays

pinterest challenge: vertical hanging planter (upcycle!)

Pinterest, I've said it before and I'll say it again: you'll be the death of me.

On the other hand, I'm lucky enough to get to participate in the Young House Love/Bower Power Blog completely unauthorized Pinterest Challenge because of you, so maybe it's a draw?

Okay, fine. I love Pinterest. I've found it an endless source of inspiration and ideas. The only trouble I have is in distilling the content; I want to do everything. Like vertical gardening, for example. Wall pockets, hanging planters, cinder blocks, you name it, I want to make it.

original pin here

inspiration board dedicated to vertical and hanging planters and gardens here

Distill! Distill!

I took all those inspirational images and tutorials and made this: an upcycled wall planter homage to wall gardens. It wasn't exactly free, but it was pretty inexpensive, and mostly used materials (and plants) I already had on hand.

Materials:

Old iron planter basket (sans chains)

burlap coffee sack remnants

soil

pine shavings

hardware cloth or chicken wire remnant

awning remnant

hens & chicks

wire

thyme

heavy coat hook 

Get an old iron planter basket (mine cost $2 at Bring). You'll need to acquire this first, as you'll use it to determine how large to cut your burlap and hardware cloth. You could also use an old bicycle wheel; one of the pins above makes a spinning planter with one. (Note: Bring marks prices with a paint pen; I've had good luck removing their prices with a Magic Eraser.)

After testing placement, replace your chintzy picture hanging hook with a nice, sturdy coat hook.

Sew a "pillow" from old coffee sack burlap, using twine pulled from the sack to sew it up. Turn it inside out and fill with a mixture of potting mix and pine shavings (to make it more lightweight).

Stitch the pillow closed and stuff it into your planter basket.

Cut some hardware cloth to the approximate size and shape of your container's back using tin snips. I had a large piece leftover from an old playhouse we tore down awhile back; chicken wire would work well, too. Cutting it down to an approximate size first makes it easier to work with when you're ready to do more exact cuts later.

Set aside your hardware cloth for the next step.

If you'll be hanging your vertical wall planter on a surface you want to protect marginally, you should add a waterproof layer so that the dirt and water don't soak through the burlap, causing stains and rot. You can use an old piece of tarp, or one of those poly pet food bags, or (like me) a piece of an awning destroyed in a windstorm. Cut it out and place it on top of your dirt pillow.

Trim down the hardware cloth to fit, then tuck it in place over the waterproof layer and use wire and some needle nose pliers to attach it to the basket.

Turn the pod over and lay it flat to begin filling in your plants. 

                               

I trimmed some of my hens & chicks plants down, and also added a divided thyme seedling and a whole lotta moss. (We'll see what survives!)

Poke or cut holes in the burlap and thread roots or runners into the holes.

 Fill in around plants with moss.

I hung mine up right away for photos, but pretty much universally, it's agreed you should water it and leave it flat for a couple of weeks to allow the plants to take root. So after taking some pictures, I took the planter down again and laid it flat to do exactly that.

Patience is a virtue.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Sherry and Katie for issuing the Pinterest Challenge! It's always good to have the chance to mark a project off my list . . . especially one that first caught my attention over a year ago. 

Linking up to:

Young House Love

Decor and the Dog

Bower Power Blog

The ReModeled Life

Ginger Snap Crafts



The CSI Project

naptime mischief

Awhile back, I wrote about the mural I painted in my kiddo's bedroom. Here's one of the images from that post:

My guy's two-and-a-half now, and we're trying to accommodate his increasing independence. The idea of converting the crib to a toddler bed turned out to be a bad one though, so within a couple of days, we'd converted it back.

Unfortunately, one of the picture frames I'd removed from the bed's new location had left an air bubble under the paint. And, well, you can probably guess what happened from there.

All told, he peeled all the paint off of an area about eighteen inches across. He must have gotten started as soon as I'd closed the bedroom door; this wasn't the only piece of mischief he'd accomplished . . . yikes. That kid is something else.

Happily, we'd built the wall ourselves and painted it using modern paint, so lead exposure wasn't a concern here. Still, that was a bad time.

I phoned my dad for advice on fixing the wall.

His solution called for spreading joint compound over the entire area (available pre-mixed in little buckets at the hardware store), nice and thin. I let it cure for almost a week in the heat, then rolled some primer over the patch, and three coats of paint leftover from the original room painting (lucky lucky!).

Next, I pulled out my acrylic paints for repair and blended the old and new together as best I could, plus one apple.

It looks different from before . . .

but I think I actually like it better now. So far so good; the new apple hasn't tempted him yet!

So, what unexpected projects have you taken on due to your little troublemakers? Do tell!

Thanks for reading.


p.s. you can make these photos larger just by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that.


Linking up to:

Mop it Up Mondays

old clock + looking glass paint = convex "mercury glass" mirror

I told you I'd be back with more spray paint on glass! Woohoo! I'm following through!

I saw the idea for this project somewhere, but it's not on my Pinterest boards so I'm afraid I don't remember whose idea this project spawned from. Basically, the idea was to take an old clock (found this one at BRING; it wasn't repairable by me for use as a clock). . .

Remove the backing and clockwork. Turn the glass face down on some cardboard . . .

Spray the backside of the glass lightly with water . . .

Spray over the water with a light layer of the looking glass paint . . .

Wait for it to dry. Spray over the surface again with water and another light layer of the looking glass paint (it doesn't need to be solid). When dry, flip over and check your work . . .

Replace backing and hang!

I pulled some pretty cool brass gears and other worky-bits out of the back, too, for use in a future project . . . stay tuned.


Once I had the mirror up and had hung some other things around it, I realized the cord from my 5-cent pendant shade looked pretty crappy in photos.

See? Totally crappy. Dangerous, too. So I took some cord clips and a little light weight hammer . . .

And I fastened the cord to the ceiling and wall along the trim.

Much better. A little paint will help, too, eventually, and spacing things more carefully.

But those are just asides that will make the mirror wall look better. People who've been in our house are also getting a nice peek here at the new room color. More on that soon!

So, have you been spray painting any glass lately? Making any mirrors? Making ridiculously simple fixes like attaching cords to your walls so your house doesn't look like the underside of a computer desk? Link it up in the comments. I promise I'll come visit!

p.s. You can make these photos larger just by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that.

Linking up to:

My RePurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

butterfly specimen placeholder art

These frames are the best option we found for framing our monthly photo booth strips (something we started doing regularly about the time of the kiddo's first birthday, but only occasionally before then).

Afraid they'd stop carrying these glass-backed frames, I bought ahead and ended up with an empty frame on my wall. I decided to fill the empty one with some placeholder art until we have photo strips to fill that frame as well. (The glass-backed frames I used for this project are available from Target.)

This is a deceptively easy project. Find some butterfly art in a magazine or as a copyright-free image on-line. Print it out.

Cut carefully. Make sure your cuts aren't too straight or choppy, for the most naturalistic appearance possible. Go ahead and cut off the antennae.

Gather a spool of heavy thread, some double-sided tape, and your butterfly.

Cut a length of thread. Bend and twist at the center, and attach to the back of your cut-out butterfly using a tiny piece of the tape (this will also loosely hold the butterfly to the back pane of glass to help avoid slippage).

Flip over and check placement. Adjust if necessary.

Place in frame, sandwiching the butterflies between two pieces of glass.

I used three different butterflies to mimic the look of a specimen collection; you could switch it up even more and use three different colors of butterflies, or a dozen in different shapes and sizes.

The thread antennae give these a very realistic appearance, especially if you just let them lay, rather than adjusting them until they're perfectly symmetrical.

And in less than a typical nap period, it's done, and ready to hang on your wall . . . permanently, or until something better comes along!

Thanks for reading!

p.s. you can make these pictures larger just by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that.


Linking up to:

Handy Man, Crafty Woman

Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night

Today's Creative Blog

DIY Show Off

The Stuff of Success

Mop it Up Mondays at I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Catch as Catch Can at My Repurposed Life