Pool Noodle Lightsaber

Just get a skinny pool noodle. Cut it in half with a bread knife. Then take Duck Tape and create the hilt by putting layers of tape on the end. Look at online images to find cool lightsabers to copy. They are great for the kids to use for wacking each other without danger of injury.

Garden Creation - Pot Waterfall

Clay Pot Lighthouse

This lighthouse was fun to make but very nerve-racking.  It is made of inverted clay pots with a solar light on top (post through the holes). 

Materials (Everything came from Lowes):

4 clay pots (stack them at the store to make sure you get what you want)

1 clay tray (inverted) that fits smallest pot and looks the way you want it to look

1 solar light (9 lumens)

1 can Zinsser Cover Stain Primer (Oil Base - Interior & Exterior)

1 can Rust-oleum high performance enamel - gloss black

1 can Rust-oleum high performance enamel - gloss white

1 can Rust-oleum high performance enamel - gloss red - cherryish (I used spray paint - don't do it)

1 can clear sealer gloss (you choice of kind) in a spray can

1 tube Liquid Nails Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive - Interior & Exterior

Several masonry drill bits and electric drill

3m painters tape that is special and stops bleeding (cant remember the exact name)

1 tiny roller for the white primer and paint

Several tiny sponge brushes for pot rims, door and windows

Instructions:

Paint primer on the pots and tray using roller

Paint the tops of the pots white and let it dry

Tape off the white so you can paint the rims of the pots

Paint the rims and tray the color you want and let it dry

Tape off your windows and door, paint and let dry - firmly press

Peel off tape

You will have to place a hole in your tray for your light to fit and will probably have to make the hole in the topmost pot bigger. Place painters tape on the tray and pot before drilling. Drill on a piece of wood for stability. Start with a small bit and gradually get bigger until you get a hole that is big enough for the light. Slow and steady means no breaks. Be patient.

Assembly:

Take it to your location

Place flagstones on the ground where it is to sit. Make sure they are level.

I didn't want my pots sitting in the dirt.

Stack and glue with Liquid Nails.

Spray with clear sealer gloss to keep it pretty, let dry

Put light in hole on top.

What I did Wrong:

At first, I spray painted everything white. DO NOT USE SPRAY PAINT - bad idea. Then I used Frog Tape on the white and spray painted the lips of the pots black and red. DO NOT USE SPRAY PAINT!!! The red and black blew onto the white. DO NOT USE FROG TAPE -- It left a sticky mess behind.

So then I used primer over the white spray paint (roller) and repainted with white oil paint (Rust-oleum in a can), again using a roller. Then used 3M blue painters tape that is suppose to stop bleeding over the colors (it sorta worked for the most part). I used the tape to make the door and windows. I did the door first and just eyeballed it. Then did the same with the windows. For the windows I put the tape in thin strips and made crosses for the middle of the windows and made sure they were lined up. Then used the tape on the outside of the windows to make black rectangles. Painted with oil Rust-oleum paint in a can. Used sponge brushes. Used a tiny roller for the white. 

I really wanted a red door, but could not get the spray paint to work right when trying to brush it on. So settled for black - this time. I am a perfectionist, but had to let all that go. It looks good, but is not perfect. As soon as I get it in the garden, I'll post another picture.

Clay Pot Waterfall

I have two of these. One in the back and one in the front. Both in the shade because the pots tend to dry out quickly. I have impatiens growing in both of mine. They are just newly planted but should get big and full in a short while. 

Materials:

1 piece rebar (6-8 feet)

1 big plastic pot for the bottom

4-5 clay pots which gradually get smaller as you go up.

Instructions:

In the location you want your pots to be placed (mine are under trees), place the plastic pot and drive in the rebar through the middle of the pot. It must go into the ground enough so that the whole thing will never tip over. However, you must leave enough sticking out the top to hang all your clay pots on. Just play with it until you have it like you want it.

Fill plastic pot with potting soil, place pots like you want them as in the picture above. You are threading the pots on the rebar using the holes in the bottoms of the pots. Put dirt in your pots and plant your flowers. Put mulch on the top of the pots after planting flowers to retain moisture. You will have to water frequently. You have to water slowly because the plants are sideways and the water will want to just slide to the side and not go down to the roots. To help with watering, I stab holes into the dirt along the topmost edge of the pots. This way, the water has a channel to follow down to the roots instead of just sliding off the surface.

Here is the WHOLE Alpha!!!

OK.  So I was going to give out my alpha one letter at a time as suggested to me by someone who is very knowledgeable about these things - since I'm new to all of this.  I realize people do this to get you to keep coming to their blog from time to time.  There is just one problem.  I'm not very talkative and I don't have very much interesting to say.  AND I haven't created anything other than the alpha. Plus, I have no time to put these things on here one at a time.  This weekend alone, we had 9 hockey games in 3 days, plus a basketball game.  My kids keep me running.  And we won't even begin to talk about getting ready for Christmas.

So here is the entire alpha all zipped up for you.  I hope you like it.  I had a lot of fun making it.  It is 12x12 (300 dpi).  I was trying to figure out how to use them for a Christmas album.  But it would be hard to do some of the letters for Christmas.  Maybe some of you have a suggestion.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy them.  Have a very Merry Christmas!!!  Gena

Freebie: A-Z Templates

I created some 12x12 .psd templates to share.  They are 300 dpi (3600x3600).  They are the letters A-Z and I will be putting them up one at a time.  I think they are very pretty and large enough so that you can put some big pictures in them.  Great for those ABC albums.  Plus you can make them smaller if you would like.

I'm putting them on my 4shared account.  I am new to creating, sharing and 4sharing.  So if there are any problems please let me know as I am just learning  --- but having fun.  

If you use the templates, please send me a copy of your LO.  I'd love to see it and post it here to share with those who are interested.  ***** NEVER MIND -- The whole alpha is available in the next post!!!  So I removed the link here!!*****