Friend Friday - Link Party

I've finally been able to spend some time outside this week. Mostly be I have to get the yard spruced up for our upcoming graduation party. The trees are finally getting some leaves and we mowed our grass for the first time last week. We're in Zone 3 for planting, so you can see just how far behind spring is when  you live way up North.

What do you think? Did this homeowner push re-purposing too far?

As I dug around in my flower beds (in between picking of tics and swatting mosquitoes) I couldn't help but dream about all of the T2T fun I could have in my yard. Unfortunately, my flower beds and front yard are pretty cluttered already with stuff I've picked up, so I'm going to have to be really choosy if I add anything new.

I have an old pressure canner filled with sedum, and an old porcelain sink spilling with greens between the lillies. I've got a wheel barrow half-buried in the ground and an enamelware coffee pot filled with a gerbera daisy...Can't you see why I have to be careful about clutter?

As you get outside and work on some decorating, I'd love to see pictures of how you've repurposed your stuff. And while you're at it, why not share whatever you're working on this week, inside or outside.

Link up for Friend Friday and be sure to make the link direct to a specific blog post, not just to your blog home page. Any dead links will be deleted.

Thrifty Thursday - Repurposed Calf Pail

I grew up on a dairy farm and when my dad cleaned out the last of the shed after he sold the farm, I let a lot of great T2T stuff go because I hadn't yet thought of all of the great uses for it. But a while back, I was at a garage sale and saw this calf pail for $1 and snatched it up. 

 There's a hole down on the bottom where the bottle nipple would attach. This is perfect for giving flowers good drainage. I put a rock loosely over the hole before filling the pail with dirt just to be sure all the soil didn't drain out too. This still allows the extra water to trickle out.

Transformation Tuesday- Gorgeous Desk

Looking for a way to spruce up an old piece of furniture? I was inspired by Nikki's transformation over at Kreative Knack. She took this old desk...

Image belongs to Nikki at Kreative Knack

...and she turned it into this!

Image belongs to Nikki at Kreative Knack

Gorgeous! Now, you're just going to have to pop over to Nikki's blog to see the rest of the pictures. Can you believe she used wallpaper for the drawer fronts? Sounds like a can-do project for sure! Thanks Nikki for sharing this fab project on my Friend Friday link party a little bit ago.

Muted Monday - Photo of the Week

Living in an old church means we have some great windows on part of our house.

Friend Friday - Link Your Blog

I've had a crazy week and didn't do my usual blogging. I'll be so glad when May is over! My first son is graduating and it seems my mind is all clogged up with graduation plans. As mother's day approaches this weekend, I can't help but think of how privileged I am to be a mom to my two boys.

I loved your Friend Friday links from last week. So much creativity! I've discovered some new blogs to follow through your FF posts. I keep my links casual so I don't list any requirements or make you add any buttons. Thank you so much to those who have chosen to do a link back on your blog post to my FF posts! Aren't blogger connections fun?

Here's your chance to link up your favorite post from the week. Just be sure it's a link directly to your post and not to your blog main address. Otherwise, we can't figure out which project it was you were trying to show us.

The Elemental Journal: A Book Review

Do you love creating something useful from stuff most people throw away? The Elemental Journal by Tammy Kushnir is perfect for anyone who enjoys using pieces from nature, cast-off containers and scrapers of paper, plastic, and metal. Tammy Kushnir and several other artists feature their journals, big and small, created from scraps.

These aren’t journals like what  you would expect to find in a store. They are small, intended to hold just a few pages of memoir. This book is chock full of photos and projects. It has 15 projects that are shown step-by-step with photos for recreating your own similar item. They include a supplies list as well. It’s also full of many other trash to treasure journal ideas.

I loved the layout of the book and the color photos. Every page has some sort of photo. Since I love recycled projects, I enjoyed it. Projects have a child-like simplicity without being childish.

One drawback is that these are so rustic and so primitive in their nature, some readers won’t see them as treasures. It definitely is for a niche audience. All of the fabrics and elements used are rough-edged and natural. After seeing some of the projects, I wonder what I would do with it…or where I’d store it or display it.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants to break out of the usual and stimulate creativity. Even if you don’t create a project exactly as shown, the ideas will certainly spark something creative in your own mind.

I received this book for review purposes from Thomas Nelson's Book Sneeze program in exchange for my fair and honest review.