Five years in Tassie

Five years in Tassie

Five years ago today we moved into our new home in Tasmania. Every day I am grateful we did. I am grateful for the clean air, the beautiful landscapes, the wildlife, the great food, the opportunities we have had and the many, many wonderful people we have met, who have made us welcome and added so much to our lives. We thought we would be getting the quiet life. Instead, we found a welcoming community and so much to do, its far from quiet. And then there is the view that I never tire of. Rain, sun, snow or all three at once, I love Tasmania.

Five years in Tassie

My Friday Five Fourth Of July

My Friday Five Fourth Of July

Fourth of July is right around the corner - so heres a collection of patriotic ideas to help you celebrate!

Ready?

1.  Patriotic outfit - 

Patriotic by kristenmycoveredbridge featuring satchel handbags

2.  Patriotic Wreath - 

Oddlekadoodle Primitives

3.  Flag - 

Simply Cy-Fair

4. Cheescake Bars - 

My Recipes

5.  Decorative Accessories - 

Makoodle

Are you inspired yet?

My Friday Five Fourth Of July

My Friday Five Week 25

My Friday Five Week 25

You know what Sunday is?  Mothers day.  Yup.  And just in case you forgot havent found the perfect gift yet, dont worry - theres still time.  And you dont have to run to a billion stores and spend a fortune to make mom happy.  You can make something for mom instead.  It really is the thought that counts!  

Ready?

1.  Check out this cute Mothers Day Photo Flower Pot - 

Courtney from A Diamond in the Stuff made this for her mother in law.  What a great idea! Head over to her blog to get all of the details!

2.  A Glitter Candle Holder - 

Erin from House of Earnest created this glamorous candle holder.  Isnt it fun?  As my daughter would say "You can never have too much glitter!"  

3.  Do you really want to make your mom happy?  Bring her a homemade Chocolate Mouse Cheesecake - 

I found this over on Mangio Da Sola and fell. in. love.  Doesnt it look yummy?  Oh, and if you decide to make this for your mom, feel free to make an extra one for me.  I would be happy to give it a try.  :-)

4.  If that recipe is too complex, why not try some Pink Lemonade Cupcakes?

These look delicious! And what mom doesnt like cupcakes?  You can get the recipe at Sweet Cheeks - go check it out!

5.  Make your mom a Decorative Mirror (out of plastic spoons...) - 

That is beautiful!  Kristi at Addicted 2 Decorating created this Chrysanthemum Mirror using simple and inexpensive plastic spoons!  Amazing!  

Are you inspired yet?

My Friday Five Week 25

My Friday Five Week 24

My Friday Five Week 24

Accessories.  They really make a room.  But they can get really expensive.  Which is why its great to find some cheap frugal ways to stretch your decorating budget. Heres a list of cute (and clever) DIY accessories that wont break the bank.

Ready?

1.  Wrap an old lampshade in jute - 

This is a great idea!  Ashley from The Handmade Home updated an old drum shade by simply adding jute.  Complete transformation - for pennies!

2.  Just because its called a wine rack, doesnt mean it has to be a wine rack -

Ashley from Rustic Living found this old wine rack at a thrift store - and used it as a towel rack instead.  Smart - and beautiful.

3.  Buy a new crate from a craft store, and give it some age" - 

Old crates are beautiful - and sometimes very expensive.  But look what Erika from Retropolitan did with these brand new ones.  They are just as beautiful for a fraction of the price!

4.  Need cute - and cheap - vases?  Wrap yarn around old tin cans - 

I found this at The Thrifty Crafter  - how cute!  It would be so easy to customize the colors for a party or even everyday decor.  This is a great idea.

5.  Make monogrammed glasses - 

These are cool - and made from dollar store glasses!  KariAnne  from Thistlewood Farm can give you the step by step (and its not that hard) - head over to see how its done.  

Are you inspired yet?

My Friday Five Week 24

My Friday Five Clothes Pins

My Friday Five Clothes Pins

Clothes pins arent just for hanging laundry anymore - check out these fun projects!

1.  Planters

Seventh House on the Left

2.  Table

Better Homes and Gardens

3.  Snowflake Ornament

Under the Table and Dreaming

4.  Ombre Decor

Style Me Pretty

5.  Wreath

A Soft Place To Land

Are you inspired yet?

My Friday Five Clothes Pins

My Friday Five Week 22

My Friday Five Week 22

Heres a collection of DIY projects that I found through Pinterest.  I love finding projects that I can actually try myself - and most of these I can.  Yay!  


Ready?

1.  I havent featured a wreath in a while so I wanted to include this adorable Starburst Twig Wreath - 

Kristine at The Painted Hive created this out of twigs in her yard and a base cut out of an old cereal box.  Ummm can you say affordable?  I love this!

2. Who here can sew?  Well, this is not my specialty but Id love to whip up a cute Zipper Purse like Kris from Everywhere Orange did - 

I think this is so clever - and cute!  I may have to brush up on my skills.

3.  If sewing isnt your thing, how about gluing - 

Julie from Belrossa made this awesome piece of art using Scrabble tiles!  Go over to her blog to see how easy it is to make.  

4.  I love sitting around a firepit on a summer evening.  We have a small portable pit that we use all of the time but I have always wanted a more permanent one in the yard.  Something like this - 

Steve and Moriya from The Harpster Home can give you step by step directions for building on of these pits.  Its sort of exactly what I want to do.  Hmm...

5.  This is a super fun idea - transforming an old dresser into a little girls costume closet - 

Jennifer from Rambling Renovations created this for her little girl.  It kind of makes me wish my girls were little again - this is adorable!

Are you inspired yet?

My Friday Five Week 22

Design Your Own Garden Shed Plans! Five Tips to Consider

Design Your Own Garden Shed Plans! Five Tips to Consider

Building your own garden shed requires a set of detailed plans and procedures. During the planning process you should examine some of the many garden shed plans available at building supply stores and on the internet. Compare these plans with your own designs and interests. By following these five tips you you should be able to develop your own detailed plans to build the shed exactly the way you want it.

1. Picture in your mind the garden shed that would look best in your back yard with all the features to meet your needs. Look at pictures of different sheds as well as actual sheds in various neighborhoods in your town or city and make a mental note of each.

2. Examine different sheds at building supply stores such as Home Depot or Lowes. Take note of the design of each, their door entry features and their interior size. Look at the prices of each and think how much you could save by building a garden shed yourself and according to your own specifications. Consider also how large you could build it to stay within building regulations.

3. With tape measure in hand note the measurements of various details such as interior length and width, distance between studs and rafters, height of walls, size of door opening and pitch of roof, just to name a few. These measurements can aid you in making your own changes and design plans.

4. Take note of the material used in the garden sheds on display and decide on what improvements you could make. Look at the quality of lumber, sheeting and roofing they used. Remember, to keep the price low, the builders often use lower quality or grade of materials.

5. Make a scale drawing of the kind of shed you would like to build, such as one inch equals one foot. Then make a scale drawing of all the different parts of the shed, such as walls including stud spacing and headers, front wall with door opening, roof parts with rafter spacing, soffit and fascia, and corner moldings. Also make a list of all nails, screws and other fasteners.

Since there are numerous garden shed plans on the market and some at a very reasonable cost, you may want to examine them and decide what parts you could use to make your own plans. Making your own detailed plans by following these five tips can give you the confidence needed to do a professional job building a garden shed.

Visit http://marbuckshedplans.com  for more information on how to build a garden shed with detailed plans.


Design Your Own Garden Shed Plans! Five Tips to Consider

My Friday Five Week 11

My Friday Five Week 11

Here we go - another week of great inspiration from around the web.  I love spending countless hours some of my free time searching Pinterest for cool ideas - and sharing them with you.  So, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.

1)  I am so in love with this pendant light - 

Can you see what its made of?  Hundreds of paper fortune tellers.  Yup.  Those folded paper fortune tellers that you used to make in elementary school.  How awesome is that?  And I pinned it on my DIY Pinterest board - as if I could really DIY this thing.  Ha.  But Allison at the 3 Rs blog could.  And did.  Wow.

2)  Here is a project that is more up my alley.  Spray painted wine glass stems - 

Alejandra from Always Order Dessert used chalkboard spray paint on her wine glasses to create this look.  How clever!  Not only do they look beautiful but they are functional too.  Your guests can write their names right on their glass.  

3)  Home accessories can get very expensive. I am always on the look out for inexpensive (or free) knick knacks to use around the house.  So when I came across this 3-d star, I was sold.

Lisa from grey luster girl used old cereal boxes to form a 3-d star decoration.  Head over to her blog to see the finished star - its beautiful.  And you would never know it was made from a cereal box!  What a great way to recycle - and accessorize at the same time.

4)  Want another inexpensive way to accessorize your home?  Check out this penny art - 

I saw this at Embellishing Life and fell in love.  Jenny made it using old pennies.  Such an easy project - anyone could do this!  As a matter of fact - I think Im going to do it too!  

5)  I pinned this last find a few days ago - and it was repinned over 50 times in a matter of minutes!  It seems that everyone wants to try this - 

Those are fried marbles.  Yup.  Who needs diamonds?  These are stunning.  Bethany at dream-it-make-it has the whole step-by-step directions on her blog.  Head over to see how she made ordinary glass marbles into beautiful necklaces.  

Are you inspired yet?

And if youre interested, head over to my money saving blog - thrifty house - for my first My Friday Five money saving tips!

My Friday Five Week 11

How Large to Build a Garden Shed! Five Tips to Consider

How Large to Build a Garden Shed! Five Tips to Consider

At the beginning of your planning process to build that ideal garden shed, you need to determine how large to construct it.  A short answer might be; Build it big enough.  If it is too small, it can get too crowded or cluttered to find things and if it is too large, the shed may look out of place in your yard.

These five things could be considered as part of the planning process.

1.  Consult building codes if they apply;  Some cities require a building permit for any structure added to your back yard or property, while others require a permit only if the structure is larger than a certain size area such as, nine square meters.  You may be subject to a penalty if codes or regulations are exceeded.

2.  What you plan to store in the shed;  You will want to build the garden shed large enough to store children outdoor toys, garden tools and equipment, and possibly a barbecue and snow blower.  To access these items easily, you need sufficient room.

3.  Workshop space;  If you can build the garden shed yourself, you should be handy enough to do small repair jobs or small building projects that you dont want to do in the house or garage.  Therefore, you can keep the dust and paint smell out of the house.

4.  The size of shed that looks good in your yard;  Friends and neighbors will see the garden shed you built.  Therefore, the size of yard, location of trees and size of vegetable garden space need to be considered so that the shed will fit in the yard neatly and not look over crowded.  If you have a large back yard, a large structure might not look out of place.

5.  The cost;  If you have limited funds, you may want to consider building a smaller shed to save money, or design it so that an attractive addition could be added a few years later.  Items such as windows, vinyl siding or electricity from the house can also be added later as needed.  You might also consider buying good surplus materials or items on sale.

While making your initial plans to build a garden shed, these five considerations can guide you with the planning process.  Discuss these suggestions with the people at the building supplier service desk.  With their experience and suggestions you should come up with a perfect plan to build that shed.

Visit http://marbuckshedplans.com to discover a huge selection of plans, information and procedures on building a garden shed.


How Large to Build a Garden Shed! Five Tips to Consider