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DIY Landscaping: California Waterwise Front Yard

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:41:15 +0100

Thought I would share a little tour of my yard. I have shared snippets here and there on facebook & instagram, but never a full spread. If I'm not DIY'n you can find me here. Gloves and wellies on, face smudged with dirt and sweat and a shovel in hand. I started out knowing nothing and now I feel pretty confidant in my gardening abilities. What was once a dirt patch is now something pretty special (at least to me!). And I guess I must be doing something right cuz the neighbors stop and say they love it (personally I think they are jut glad not to be staring at the weed haven/dirt disaster it used to be.) Hope you enjoy! If you have any specific questions send them my way. This post is mostly images.
Thanks for stopping by!
First a few before pics...

Then KA-ZAM!

I have a new love of succulents. So architectural and beautiful!

Dusty Miller

A mix of California sage, rockrose, golden euynamus, century plant and African dasies.

Can't be a southern California garden with out a few agave.

A variegated century plant

Some aloe (great from peeling and putting on sunburns)

Told ya I was shoveling gravel lately...

Can't have enough blue pea gravel. I just love the stuff.

Ornamental grasses.

Mix of flax, honeysuckle, sage and grasses

A San Diego fav... bougainvillaea

A gift from a neighbors garden.

Iceberg roses

A canna lily. Yes, I know it's not waterwise, but a few won't hurt.

Stattice and asparagus fern.

My growing collection of succulents. Which will be planted in a bit.

I hope to have many more of these soon.... like the garden tour I took a while back.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a gander at the garden. Hope you have a fab weekend

Dirt Won't Hurt

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:13:16 +0100

We are dirt people. Shoes off, hose on, toes in the mud, under fingernails and yes, smudged on the face. I was brought up under the guidance of a master green thumb (my mama-dearest) and she passed on a deep appreciation and love of cultivating mother nature. While I am still learning my P's and Q's of the landscaping laws, I sure do love the ride (again with my cliches... I just can't help myself). If I can pass on just one of my interests to my baby-kins I hope it's a passion for the outdoors. What one thing do you hope your babies will learn from you? Sure, I want to be able to pass on many things, but once you've got a shovel in you hands and feet in the dirt all the stresses seem to fade away. Mother nature's chill pill....

My little rock muncher

Making one of her 'sculptures' for her papa.

Front yard... Done (for now). This used to be a giant dirt patch. Nothing but weeds and broken tiles and concrete chunks. Now it's a waterwise SoCal oasis.... designed, dug, planted and nurtured all by my little bitty self. I'll share more pics tomorrow. I just shoveled tons of gravel. Gotta give my hands a break.

:)

Thanks for stopping by!

DIY Gallery Wall: Chalkboard Canvases

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:50:48 +0100

When this diy came to me I smacked myself on the forehead and said "Doy!".

So....I have been slacking on getting the kids room together. Seriously slacking. But this weekend I got it in my head to get'er done.... well, at least started. My first mission: The Gallery Wall.
But
always a but
I didn't want to spend a thing. And I didn't. I gathered up some old canvases from the depths of the hall closet and spray painted them with chalkboard paint. The canvases were sourced from Hobby Lobby (intended for other potential long now forgotten about projects) & Goodwill. And yes, that is a booty in one of the canvases above ^^^^^^. Don't ask ;)
Then after the paint dries, whip out your chalk paint pens, chalk pencils, side walk chalk, school chalk and scribble away. I gathered my inspo from etsy.

wait for it...

wait

wait

BOOM

Snaze-o-licious. And free. Everything was gathered from around the house and hung up willy nilly. No rhyme or reason. Just go with the flow. And better yet... I can change the art as the kids grow older and develop their own preference in art, just wipe and begin again.

Yeah yeah yeah for a beautiful week! I'm just a lil excited because I finally talked the mister into letting me have a small flip down TV for the kitchen. For the news right?! (((((((shushhhhhhh...... it's really so I won't miss the major b&*^% fests on real housewives while stirring the macky-cheese ))))))

;)

Thanks for stopping by!

DIY Vintage Painted Sign: Antique Character in an Instant

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:08:15 +0100

Anyone else have a major pickin habit? And I don't mean your nose! I mean antique hunting / salvage yard snooping / garage sale gawking / flea market fishing / swap meet swooping.... that kinda picking. I have a running list of items that I'm always on the hunt for. Goes a little like this: window frames, bird cages, beat up tool boxes, chairs (unfortunately I inherited my mother's love of a good seat) and last but certainly not least good ol' fashioned signage. The crumbly-er more beat up the better. I want to see the wear and tear of a good life. But alas alas alas. Signage is not cheap (the real stuff... not the mass produced pressed tin signs at Hobby Lobby ((Which of course I love, it's just not the same thing)))

So

So, here is my go at a 'vintage painted sign'. This post is full of my tips and trick for making a painted item look old in a snap. In a jiff. No need to set out the sign in the next hail storm, just do this.......

I had an old wood shelf that wasn't getting any love on the side of the garage, so I decided that it needed another life. This time as an apothecary sign. Not really sure why I landed on 'apothecary shop'... just somethin floating around in the noggin. You can find cheap pine, oak or even plywood pre-cut shelves at Home Depot or Lowes for less that $5. Tons of sizes to choose from.
Using a ruler I ran two guide lines for the lettering to fit in between (top line/bottom line). Then I started with sketching the first letter 'A' and the last letter 'Y', then sketched each letter from there. Trying to keep the spacing even, but it's not exact. Remember, I just wung it. I used a light colored pencil so I could see it. Then I painted around each letter using interior paint samples from Lowe's. I am also currently painting a mural, so I have about a dozen or so of these suckers. After I finished filling in with the base color I immediately worked another color in. A teal-ish one. Just a smattering of faded spots. Then fill in the letters. Next, using a really tiny brush I added 'shadow' to the letters. If you are confused as to where to place the shadows just think of the letters as mountains and the sun is rising to east (right side), and only place the dark lines on the west (left side) of the letters. Next add highlights to the east side. For good measure add some flourishes and extra embellishments. Swooshes. Zing zang zooms. On this sign I actually used puff paint for the highlights, to give it some texture. You'll see why in the next step. Let everything sit for at least an hour. So that the paint is pretty much dry but still just a tiny bit tacky. Next is a very important step: Antique Glazing. It's a must for any crafter to have. You can find it in the specialty paint section at Home Depot or Lowes. It comes in a few tints, I prefer pewter to straight black. Rub on the glaze with a paper towel. Harder and thicker in some spots and lighter in others. The glaze will gather around any nooks, crannies, dents or divets.... so in this case the puff paint. Then let it sit for another hour. Finally give the sign a good rub down with a medium to fine grit sand paper. Open palm, hard in some places and lighter in others. Rough it up extra around the edges or where you think wear and tear would appear naturally. Dust it off and you are gtg.... oh, and add saw tooth hangers if desired.

Definitely looks old right?! Exactly what I was going for. Now, where am I going to display this baby??.... bathroom? Ah, here's to DIY'n without an exact end game. Cheers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mama's Day to.... Me!

Mon, 13 May 2013 04:51:01 +0100

Hey-O! Gotta give props to yourself when you can.
My kids are happy, healthy and clean (most of the time) So for the most part I think I'ma doing ok. A pat on the back, foot massage, facial, pedicure, voodoo zen relaxation take-5-years-off-my-face treatment is in order. I love being in love with my babies and I know they know that. So a great big hoorah! to my fellow mamas and for everyone with a mama's heart for that matter. You don't have to have literally pushed out a watermelon to be a mother (sorry TMI) and know how being a mama feels.
I've included a few of my fav pics from the past year. In no particular order.

Thanks for stopping by! I have a mural update and a DIY vintage wood sign coming up. Stay tuned...

Green Beans with Seasoned Almonds and Sauteed Ham

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:05:59 +0100

Green Beans with Seasoned Almonds and Sauteed Ham... a pretty fancy sounding recipe eh?! Gor-met it my middle name don't cha know?! Just kidding. This recipe is a good ol stand by for me. Just perfect for when I'ma looking to impress some house guests... or cook up some home harvested veggies. Holy cow! Did you know super duper fast beans grow? I'm still learning at this whole veggie gardening thing, so bear with me while I sing with glee over the few plants I manage not to slaughter.

This little one is so excited over watching our veggies grow. She'd park her little heiny in front of the pots in a beach chair sippin on some juice and stare at the tomatoes and beans if I'd let her. Just adorbs.

Recipe & Instructions:
*Two heaping handfuls of green beans. Washed and snapped in two. If desired pluck off the ends.
*A small handful of seasoned almonds. Go nuts (ha ha) with the seasoning. This time I chose rosemary and black pepper. Roughly chop up the nuts.
*Two slices of ham ( the pre packaged lunch meat kind) diced up into little pieces
*Healthy heaping spoonful of butter
*Salt & pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients into a pan. Turn stove on high. Scoot around with spatula till the butter coats everything. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes. Don't stir very often. You want the ham and beans to get a little burned. Once the beans have reached your desired doneness, remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Yum.

Double yum. Triple yum.

Thanks for stopping by!

Chicago Spring Vacation Recap

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:51:21 +0100

I know, the picture above is not quite the image you think of when you hear the words, "Vacation in Chicago". But that's how we like it. Just a dab of the city will do ya. Our family is located about an hour & 1/2 to the west of the city in a quaint town surrounded by corn/wheat/soy fields neighbored by more quaint towns followed by more corn//wheat/soy fields and so on and so on. It doesn't take long to get deep into the heartland of America.
The trip was a success. A much needed refueling for mama here. The kiddos are lucky to have such great grandparents wanting/willing to spend every waking moment with them (and give ol mom and dad a night off in the big Chi town :) )

We love em so so much and I can't stress how great it is to have a fun/caring/loving/understanding relationship with the in-laws. And btw, aren't those red bud trees just fabulous?! We don't get the 'Springtime Glory' here in SoCal like you do in the Midwest. Where mother nature is like "HELLO! Remember me? Here's some tulips, daffodils, lilies and beautiful bloomin trees for ya... you . are . welcome..."

These two, I can barely stand it. Like Tweedle Big and Tweedle Little. Two of a kind. My FIL's mom pulled me aside once and laid out what I was in for if my kids were anything like him. As a little fella he used to lay in the top bunk and shoot his BB guns at all the family books, just to see how far they'd go in. Oh and pearl snaps. She couldn't keep em on him, he was always shooting off those as well.

Nothing like Grandma hugs in real life. We facetime a lot, but nothing beats a real squeeze and smooch from one of your favorite people.

The boys having a ball in the garage. Aren't grandpa garages(barns/outbuildings/basements) one of the best places on the face of the planet? You can find all sorts of interesting artifacts and contraptions. Some a little scary... bear traps anyone?! But mostly really cool finds.

We always make it out to the farm while we're in town. Do a little shoot'n, chase the turkeys, gather some freshly laid eggs and take a ride through the cow barn. Like I said. It doesn't take much out here to get into the heartland of America.

All tuckered out after a rough afternoon chasing every type of chicken you can name.

But before that......

Whoot whoot! Mama's first night out.... ever... well, first night out after the babies. I only had to wait three years to finally drag the ol ball and chain into the city. But he treated me good. With rooftop seats at the Cubs game, drinks and dinner with some great friends and finished up with a fab room at the Hilton on Michigan Ave.
Boom
Yeah, I'd say he did a good job making me feel loved

After a long day/night out on the town. Draggin a little

Pretty glam right?! A gal could get used to that.

Lucky lucky girl :)

And ps. I did some major window shopping up and down the streets of Chicago, so I've go some major diy plans. This little vacay was exactly what I needed to get my head back into the game.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kristie Family Springmoon

Thu, 02 May 2013 22:39:16 +0100

I am writing this post from the air... our family is on the road (or sky) to Chicago for a little spring break slash honeymoon. The kiddos get to visit with the grandparents and the hubs and I get to hit the big city. We will be gone till next week so the diy'n will be on hiatus. Follow me on insta @honorkristie for snippets of fun family (and lovebirds) times.
xoxo Honor :) :) :)

DIY Rhinestone Embellished Cardi

Wed, 01 May 2013 03:30:02 +0100

In anticipation of our fam's big spring break trip to Chicago I have been DIY'n some new duds like a mo-fo. I have been a'sewing and weaving and knitting and crocheting and plucking peacock feathers and dabbling in some millinery... you know the usual.

Yeah right. Let's just stick to the craft I like to call, 'Glueage'. Where one can make designer like ensembles simply by slapping some glue on some stones. Like the Big Baubles top from yesterday. Now that's what I'm talking about. This here DIY is the exact same, just a different piece of clothing and jewels... read on for more...

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you haven't already, check out the Big Baubles top to get some more in depth details.

DIY Jewel Beaded Top (No Sewing!)

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:00:28 +0100

I've got big baubles
I've got big baubles
And they're such big baubles
fancy big baubles
And he's got big baubles,
And she's got big baubles,
But we've got the biggest baubles of them all!

Fancy Dancy DIY lyrics c/o ACDC (well, it's my rendition of Big Balls actually.. but I felt it was close enough!)

Anyone else stoked on the whole embellishments tend? Yes? No? I feel like you can never have enough beading, jewels, lace, dancing elephants, tambourine monkies, and umph! on clothing. I'm so done with the dull monochrome blah blah bleck ensembles of the past. Give me a three ring circus trampolining across my chest... shake what yo mama gave ya while you still got it right? I feel like I accomplished the B&B circus effect I was going for with this top (+ it's like, totally wearable!) Read (and look) on to see how I'ya did it.

Tips and Tricks:
*Gather up a pretty assortment of bead and jewels. I found mine at Hobby Lobby on sale, each strand was only a buck. But I also recommend looking @ MJ Trims, they have a fantabulous selection
*A nice thick sheet of cardstock is key. It prevents the glue form seeping.
* I have only used Jewel-It embellishment glue, so I can't speak to others. Jewel-It is AWESOME! I haven't add a bead fall of yet. And I have two finger picking babies and a grabby husband (just sayin!)
*Use globs of glue. You want it to seep around the edges of the bead to really get a good hold. Don't fret it will shrink and dry clear.
*Once the glue is applied, press those beads down firmly.
*ok ready? brace yourself....LET THAT SUCKER DRY FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS. DO YOU HEAR ME? CAN I STOP YELLING NOW? YES? ok good. But really let the garment dry for at least 24 hours before you really move it or pick at the embellishments.It's not a particularly quick drying glue, but it works well it you give it the proper dry time.
*Try not to launder the garment excessively. But if you must, just turn it inside out and place inside a garment (or lingerie) bag.

That's it. Basically just gluing. Like a kindergarten macaroni rainbow art project. :)

Thanks for stoppin by!