No Fuss No Cord Deck Lighting!

I love twinkle lights!

They make me happy!

I always think of the line in the movie "You've Got Mail" when Kathleen makes the comment about the new big box book store going in down the street........

"Listen, their store is new. It's a novelty. It will shake out; meanwhile, I'm putting on more twinkle lights."

 The planter boxes on the deck had been around for a long time.....and over time....they started to rot!
We decided not to replace them when we saw that they were causing the deck railing to also rot!

Goodbye flowers....Goodbye a place to tuck solar lights around to get the twinkle light effect!


What to do?

Well....when we were in Mexico...we enjoyed sitting on the patio under the umbrella lit with tiny little solar powered twinkle lights that the Sweetwater brother put up!


The perfect solution for the Sweetwater deck!!





So....a little trip to Amazon Prime and I now have twinkle lights once more!

The solar battery collects lots of sun throughout the day!











I used little cup hooks.....
easily screwed into the deck board!


I just wrapped the lights around them all along the underside of the railing.

And now with just a little effort....and no fuss or cords....
I have my twinkle lights to make me happy!

Have a Wonderful Day!

 

Link Parties

Fluster Buster   Wicked Awesome Wednesday   Adorned From Above    

Katerine's COrner   A Creative Princess  

Live Laugh Rowe     

Under the Kitchen Sink! A Cautionary Tale!

On a scale of 1 to 10 cleaning the cupboard under the Kitchen sink is probably a 1or maybe lower!

Face it....if you can find the soap and cleaning supplies at the front....

it is better not to look way into the back recesses...

you never know what you might find!

 

Never the less.....my to do list included redoing the shelf paper under the kitchen sink....and the time had come!

The idea of using 12 x 12 stick on vinyl tiles was one I had seen a while back on someone's blog!  (If you are that someone....let me know so I can give you credit!)
Anyway........I bought 8 tiles at Home Depot....for 79 cents a piece....and the project was "under" way!

Low and behold....when I took all the stuff out of the cupboard.....I discovered that there was a LEAK!   Not a pretty sight!

I waited to take this photo until after I cleaned up the mess....just in case you were having a snack while you were reading!

Anyway....see all the curly cue pipes and "STUFF" that has to do with water and drains and garbage disposal......apparently they somehow got loosened and were leaking slowly and making a big mess!


 Since Mr. S is the plumber around here....(have I ever told you how nice it is to have someone who understands all those curly cue pipes around?...Well really nice)

He was able to fix the problem leak and I could get on with my project.

The process was pretty simple....

Peel Stick Repeat!


Peel Stick Repeat!


Obviously there were a few spots to cut around...

But remember.....this is under the kitchen sink...
That same spot that I didn't know was a leaky wet mess because I never look tooo far back.....


So perfection was not an issue on this project!

I did care enough to use the square and a carpet knife to get a straight edge for the long cuts... 


But otherwise.....I just "eyeballed" it for the cuts around the pipes in the back!







I don't think I did too bad on those....what do you think?

So now the cupboard should be easy to keep clean....I said clean....NOT NEAT....that is something that is probably never gonna happen!

Project Cost......$6.42 for tile

Time.....about 15 minutes to install

 "truth in blogging" has the project costing a bit more if you throw in the extra trips to Home Depot for plumbing supplies and the time to let the "plumber" work!

Hope you have a week with only "good" surprises!
I am waiting patiently for the yard to dry out enough to get out and plant....it promises to be a beautiful day!

 

Positiviely Perfect Planters!

Hope you all Had A Happy Mother's Day! 
We certainly did around Sweetwater....maybe because...

It finally feels like Spring in the garden!

The planters for the front steps had been spending some quality time away from home!

  A month ago, the Sweetwater Daughter and I did our annual afternoon of planting at Holasek Gardens!  I have written before about the cool promotion this fabulous greenhouse offers every Spring!  

Give Your Plants a Head Start on the Growing Season!

In  a nutshell.....

• You take your containers to the Nursery
• You wander around and pick out plants to plant in them.....talk about retail AND garden therapy!
• You go to the big tables filled with dirt....next to the big bins of mulch!
• You plant the plants and leave all the mess behind!
• The "Greenhouse Fairies" then take care of your plants until Mother's Day Weekend!

Mr. S picked the planters up on Friday....and they look amazing!

Kudos to him for traipsing WAY back to the far end of the Greenhouse AND rolling the heavy cart back up a not so easy to navigate path!

I think some of the plants have doubled in size!

I saw that some of the planters being done by other people at the nursery were using grapevine as an accent!  

As soon as I got home....I was able to rescue the grapevine that was left in the yard from a tree trimming project over the winter....Mr. S was JUST ABOUT to throw it in the wood pile to burn!!!!

I like the look in the pots.....and since then....it seems that I am seeing grapevine and other "sticks" in all kinds of arrangements....

Last weekend a couple of girlfriends and I spent a fun morning at the "Art in Bloom" event at the Art Institute.  Seems those flower arrangers know how to use some grapevine too!

It is good that there is still some salvaged grapevine left for when the flowers start blooming at Sweetwater.

But....back to positively perfect planters.....
Here are some shots of the planters on the Sweetwater Daughter's Deck!

I love the aged copper boxes with the orange themed plantings.
Notice too the cool fabric on her newly covered deck furniture cushions.....a post for another day!


Have a Wonderful Week....hope you have time to play in YOUR gardens!

 

Link Parties

Creativity Unleashed      

True Confession in Decorating!

I have a confession to make!

Sometimes my craft/decor ideas aren't exactly successful!

(I can just hear Mr. S saying to himself....."what else is new?")

(But at least he knows to say it to HIMSELF!)

This is the True Confession of one of those little decor snafus!

Remember when I upscaled the baker's rack shelves with burlap and rope?

Remember how cute it was?

Remember how I blogged about it and told you all that you could/should do this too?

Well...."Never Mind..."

 

 

After about a month I ended up taking the burlap off....it got all wrinkly and yucky!

OOPS! 

 But you have to admit it was cute!

Maybe if I had taken the plants off the shelf to water them and treated the rack more like indoor furniture the fabric would have stayed nicer!  Since the entry is partially covered...the rain isn't the issue.....it is my laziness!! (more confessions....and probably more of Mr. S saying "What else is new?"

The problem of  water spotted glass shelves on the baker's rack has not gone away....so I wanted to figure out something new.

Following the mantra of "Use What You HAVE" I got out the leftover fabric from my wrapped fabric wall art to solve the problem.

Since the new front door is now red.....this pattern is nice and cheerful!

It was a simple process of cutting the indoor outdoor fabric to the shape of the shelves and tucking it around the edges.  I figure that if it gets dirty...I can just wash and iron it and put it back on!

The red pots are some that I bought at Goodwill and spray painted red!  If the weather ever really gets warm enough to put plants outside....they should look nice!

If this doesn't work....I will be sure to share that True Confession with you all!

Have a wonderful day!

Inexpensive Wall Art!

 I noticed last week that the picture hanging in the entry hallway was in need of replacement.

Somehow...over time...the print had started to wrinkle....and it looked kinda sad!

It was time for a change!

And of course....I didn't want that change to cost an arm and a leg!

Besides....the frame was good and just the right size for that spot on the wall!

Here is my thrifty solution!

Do you remember the post about Waterlogue?  (the link is here)

This is the fun APP for my iPad that turns photos into watercolors!

This is a photo of the Gulf Shore (Alabama) beach that I took when we were there in October.

 

Here is the "Waterlogued" version!

I had the print enlarged to a 16 x 20 poster for $17.00

 

I used white and blue matting and cut a double mat!

Seriously....I just can't say enough about how nice it is to be able to cut my own mats!

(check out this post about custom matting at home)

The old frame has a bronze finish that compliments the print!

Not bad for under $25....and I "Used What I Had" besides!!!

Have a Great Day!

Link Parties
It's Overflowing  Boogieboard Cottage    
Three Mango Seeds  Nifty Thrifty Tuesday    
Hope Studios  New Nostalgia   Funky Polka Dot Giraffe  

Practically Functional

Planting Pots of Pansies!

The thermometer hit 70 yesterday.....

It is about time!

It is still too early to plant, but we have some seeds ready to go!

I always seem to buy seeds....then lose the packets...or forget to plant them!

This year I decided to use them as decor on the chalkboard.....they are a reminder that Summer will really come soon!

Now on to Planting Pots of Pansies!

Mr. S got these pansies on a trip to Home Depot the other day.

I left them on the counter for a while....

until Mr. S. dropped suggested that it was probably time to get them planted!

He was right!  

Those 12 little plants made 3 nice plantings!

They look okay don't they!?

But here is a little trick that can make your planters look like the ones in the fancy floral shops!

Do you notice the plastic planter and the dirt showing around the edges of the planter?

GASP!!!

There is a simple and cheap solution for this first world problem!

Just a bit of Spanish Moss tucked in and around the plants hides the plastic and the dirt.

In fact....I use Spanish Moss a lot both indoors and out!

 It is cheap....and it fills in around plants when they haven't grown big enough.

Just this little addition makes a big difference...don't ya think?

Perfect Pots of Pansies....Sweetwater Style!

Have a Great Day!

Goodwill Goodness!

YIKES! 

I just realized that I haven't devoted a post to Goodwill for a while! 

 Did you think (GASP) that I started shopping RETAIL!?

Not to worry!

This post will catch you up on all my deals and steals the last few months!

Here is a peek at my Spring and Summer Wardrobe!

"Wardrobe" sounds fancy....

actually this is "the stuff in my closet" that I got at GW!

I think I have a thing for Navy Blue this Spring!

This St. John Sport Jacket...

This great little Ann Taylor shell...

a grey and navy Izod T...

and a pair of navy leggings...and a slim legged pant I bought awhile ago...

almost a whole weekend worth of clothes for less than $25

I usually look through the shoes at GW.....but hardly ever buy....

somehow shoes need to be in the "new" or "almost new" before I buy them!

Even then...I wipe them down with a disinfectant wipe....a COUPLE of times!

These sandals fit the NEW category! Absolutely no sign of wear!

This is a case of "risk taking" at GW....they are cute but kind of trendy....but for $9.99 worth a go!

I have been wearing this fun necklace a lot...

The color goes with a lot of my clothes....

Another case of taking a $4 risk...even at Target this would have been over $10!  

The silver backing is nice and heavy and it is interesting!

The perfect Summer skirt is long and flowing....

this one is my favorite shade of brown...the picture doesn't really do it justice....

add a camisole and a jean jacket and it is a never fail look!

hmmm...I bet those sandals will look nice with this!

Now...you know I almost never pay more than $10 for anything at GW...

but this Eileen Fisher jacket was too good a bargain to pass up....even though it cost $14.99!

The picture makes it look sort of green.....

but it is really a great brown and black tweed color that will be a great neutral!

 

Most of these GW scores seem to be clothes....

now that I have my "wardrobe"....

Maybe I can score some new "decor" for the house on my next GW trips....

I guess that is a good reason to go again soon!

Have a Great Day!

Link Parties
A Vision to Remember   Life on Lakeshore Drive