Got Styrofoam? Make an Advent Calendar
Here's another clever Advent calendar to make yourself, all thrifty and creative... And I'm really liking this as a great way to re-use those styrofoam flats that are still widely…
DIY Faux Snakeskin Mirror
I spotted these sleek chrome-and-snakeskin mirror frames while doing a bit of online window shopping at Wallis Designs — and that’s a brilliant place to pick up ideas for a mid-century or modern decor, by the way.
Now, for those of us not in the swanky Scottsdale neighbourhood (or income bracket), this look is still do-able.
The proper way, of course, would be to matt a chrome-framed mirror with faux snakeskin and bind the inner edge with bent aluminum chrome trim to match the frame. But that’s not going to happen.
I’m not exactly a real whiz at bending metal so that it’s nice and tidy… so I’d probably just fake the general effect.
It can be done quite handily with a pair of chrome picture frames in two different sizes, a mirror, and a piece of faux snakeskin fabric or printed vinyl. Snakeskin-printed paper would do nicely, too, if it’s a good quality and not too easy to rip.
You see where I’m going with this?
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How to Make a Pop-Up Photograph
A pop-up photograph has a lot of the same appeal, for me, as a shadow box or diorama. Wouldn't it be fun to make a 3-d holiday display from family…
How to Make a Toga
What do you think, is it too soon to start planning ahead for Halloween party? Only, that southern fashionista Amy has me thinking ahead, with her mention of a toga…
Green Garden Art
Yes, you guessed it — there's a new shop on the block, garden fans! Goods for the Garden hits my list of sources for garden art and accessories, partly for…
The Desperate Gardener and the Homemade Deer Repellent
I can live with the adorable little deer eating my apple trees. Well, I can tolerate it because there’s not any practical way to protect the orchard, short of a ten-foot-high electric fence (not practical) — but when it comes to the flower garden, the deer had better keep off!
My pride and joy (and the result of a heck of a lot of digging and weeding) is a 40-foot mixed perennial garden bed. The deer seem to feel that this lovely garden is a buffet table, laid out for their browsing pleasure.
Asiatic lilies don’t stand a chance. Every year I get all excited to see my gorgeous exotic lilies budding up, and then comes a night when the deer tiptoe in and work their systematic way down the length of the border, eating off the top half of every single lily.
This year, even the delphineum plants have been thoroughly browsed, and the heuchera, and the lavatera. The deer have even been eating my daylilies, and I just gave up on growing hosta plants some years ago… It wouldn’t surprise me to go out some morning and find the prickly Scottish thistles eaten down to the ground.
It would break a gardener’s heart.
How to Make a Pom-Pom
I remember learning to make pom-poms with my best craft-buddy, Diane, when we were both about eight years old — it's fun for kids, and it's easy to do! All…