Show & Tell: Fence Picket Elevated Planters

Good Afternoon!

I finally finished up a huge project in the front of our house, and I couldn't wait to share. I was going to do a step by step tutorial, but these were measured out to custom fit our space. However, I will give you all the ramblings necessary to create your own planters!

When we moved into Ugly House, there was landscaping rock around the house. We thought about getting rid of the rock, but after some discussions, we decided that we didn't mind the rock. Not to mention we removed a small patch of rock, and it took over two days of hard labor. Uh no thanks. The rock will be there for the next 50 years.

However, one thing we hated was how much rock ended up on our front path and in the lawn. The only edging that was used by the previous owner was that short plastic type. Every time my husband went to mow, it was like he was shooting a rock machine gun. He just had to hope the rock missiles didn't hit a person or property.

If we were going to keep the rock, we had to do something with the edging between the lawn and pathway. We finished up the edging between the lawn and rock, but I'm waiting for more rock before sharing that project. We had to put our thinking caps on when it came to keeping the rock off the path. We could use brick like the rest of the project, but the pathway was not straight, and it wouldn't have looked right. We decided on a flower bed, but my husband made a valid point that our dogs would destroy anything that wasn't elevated.

Elevated Planter Boxes

So, it was decided that we're going to make some elevated planter boxes. A ton boxes. If we would have used regular treated pine or cedar lumber, I would have had to sell Ugly House to finance it. One extremely affordable option is fence pickets. If you're going to grow editable plants, make sure you don't use treated lumber (chemicals + food = bad). You will want to use ceder fence pickets. That is still an affordable option ($2.00 per picket). Since I knew I was going to be using flowers, I used treated pine for $1.04 per picket.

Math Homework

Now was the hard part. Math. My husband is the math wiz in our house, but he couldn't envision what I wanted to do. I sat down and figured out how wide to make each planter to maximize each fence post. I measured how long the area we needed planters for and played around with my measurements until I could get 1 planter from 8 fence pickets. In the end, I ended up with over a 100 fence pickets plus some treated wood 2x4's for the supports. When I cut the fence pickets, we took into consideration that we needed to cut off the dog eared top. Those small dog eared tops were helpful to level out each planter. Every inch of material was used in this project.

In the end, the entire project used the following supplies: 104 fence pickets, 10 2x4's, a big box of exterior screws, two rolls of landscaping fabric, saw (I used my new fancy miter saw), drill, buckets, sheet insulation, utility knife, and staple gun.

My Clamps, My Lovely Lady Clamps

Through some trial and error, we found the best way to make each box was to do the long sides first and then attach the shorter sides to each long side. One way to keep everything nice and tight is to use clamps. I used one large clamp to keep the wood close together and then used a small one to keep the support close to the fence pickets as I drilled in. I also set up an assembly line where I just did long sides until I had 6 or so and then put together the planters. I found that best so I wasn't moving things around in our garage so often. You will be drilling from the front back, so be prepared to sit awkwardly as you drill from the bottom up.

DEAR GOD, SO MUCH DIRT

These planters are deep. Like I might lose a child deep. And potting soil isn't cheap. So, I had to come up with a solution to fill in the planters. We did the two small square ones with popcans, and that worked pretty good. But I would have had to take on a serious pop addiction to even get close to filling the other planters. And slept for 3 weeks after the inevitable caffeine crash. After playing around with some different things in the garage, I found this solution. Two buckets turned upside down with a piece of sheet insulation on top. That created a false bottom to the planter. You could also just make a false bottom out of treated wood. (We got all our buckets for free from the local ag center) I drilled some holes in the insulation for drainage and then stapled in some landscaping fabric. You will want to make sure your planters are in place and level before adding anything into them (buckets, soil, plants, small children). They won't be easy to move once you start adding items to them. Without anything added, they are going to heavy. I have bruises on my legs weeks later from carrying them out. And my chest feels like I have a elephant sitting on it from dead lifting the potting soil bags.

Ta Da! 14 huge planters made, filled and planted for about $300.00 bucks. Not a bad investment for such a large impact.

Here's a picture of the walkway before we started our edging and planter project. And my adorable sun creating a boat out of scrap wood. 

A completed planter ready to be leveled before getting anything added to the bottom.

My DIY wood shims were the tops of the fence pickets. They worked great. If you put the angles facing out, they look like feet and more finished as a result.

 

Buckets in the bottom of the planter.

Sheet insulation cut to fit perfectly into the planter. I used a utility knife and jigsaw to make each cut.  

Drainage holes drilled. 

Finished planters! I wanted to keep the flowers simple and cheap this year since we had the expense of building them. I chose wave petunias that hopefully with spread out and over the sides. 

 Finally I got the dogs out of my flowers. Until they start jumping up on them. 

DIY Sunday: Children's Talk Tube

Hello There!

I've been on a roll reusing various junk I have found on our property. Last post I spoke about an old satellite dish that found a second life as a bird bath and lamp post. This week's post is about some extra sump pump tubing my children found in the garage.

We already have quite a bit of tubing for our elaborate pump. I was just going to let the tubing sit on a hook, for, well ever, until my children took it out of the bag one day. Just as I was going to enter into "mom mode" about playing with stuff in the garage, they realized if they talked into one end, the other person could hear it. The tube entertained them for hours as my husband and I worked on the yard. I was almost tempted to give them a saw if it lead to a couple of hours of fight free play. But then I remembered Parenting 101 and child abuse statutes and decided to stick with nonlethal play things.

The tube continued to be popular every evening as we played in the yard. One night they were playing with it and running it over bricks. Basically they were tearing the heck out of it. I decided it was way too popular to let it get ruined. So using a couple of supplies from the plumbing section of our hardware store, the talk tube became a permanent mainstay on our secret path. (Check out our DIY painted stones & secret path here)

DIY Children's Talk Tube 

Supplies:

Sump Pump Tubing
Plumbing Hanging Wire
Plumbing Bracket
Optional: Duct Tape & Screen

Approximate Cost: $5.00-$10.00

Directions:

1. Tape Off Ends

It's optional, but I decided to cover up each end with some screen and duct tape. I wasn't sure if it would be a popular place for a bee or wasp to create a nest, but I didn't want to take any chances. Each end got a piece of screen with some fun duct tape to attach it.

2. Hang Tubing

We put our tube through the "v" in trees. To ensure it stayed in place, I attached the tube to the trees using screws and the plumbing hanging strips. On each end, I placed the tube at just the right height for children to reach and secured with a bracket.

This idea isn't restricted to trees though. You could easily attach to a playground, play house, shed or swing set. If you don't want a permanent fixture, you could hang it with string or tape it. Now we have a really fun "telephone" from one end of our secret path to the other. I can't imagine what kind of conversations will be had as our children grow!

Show & Tell: DIY Headshots with a iPhone

Hello!



So, today's post isn't really craft related so much as blogging related. I am not one for "selfies." In fact, I wish I could stop Facebook from sharing my profile picture every time I change it. I feel very self aware when people are commenting on pictures of me even if they are compliments. However, many people out there that have blogs or professional social media profiles (i.e. LinkedIn). Having a headshot not only makes your profile look more professional, but it also allows your audience to relate to with what you're posting.


If you're like me, you're probably not going to pay someone for a headshot for a blog you do part time. That doesn't mean you should never get a professional headshot. I absolutely find professional pictures are worth the money spent. I know from experience that anyone that can get two kids smiling at the same time deserves sainthood.


If you are in need of a simple headshot, you can get it accomplished right in your living room. I had been wanting to update my headshot for a couple of months. My first headshot was done with my nice DLSR, remote and tripod in my craft room. The background was a white wall, and I diffused the light with some wax paper taped to a window. It turned out pretty good.


However, I now look a bit different..well..mostly just more wrinkles. I wanted a updated picture. However, my remote's batteries are dead and the tripod is in the attic. I've stopped using my DLSR over the past year out of laziness and, because, my new iPhone 6 has a pretty darn good camera. It's convient to have it with me all the time. I decided to give it a go for my updated headshot.

DIY Headshots from an iPhone

Supplies

Camera. I used my iPhone 6, but of course you could use any sort of digital camera.

Natural Light

Diffuser for Natural Light. I used a white curtain already hanging on my window. You can also use a sheet or strip of wax paper. 

Neutral Background 

Optional: Selfie Stick and/or Timer. I also use Photoshop Elements to blur my background.

Directions

1. Get Ready. 

Since you're going through the trouble of doing a headshot, of course you want to get yourself all dolled up. I don't wear make up unless I have somewhere important to be, so I waited until I had a reason to get ready. I work from home so my usual attire is sweats and t shirt. A uniform I'm rocking as I type this. You will want to put on a nice shirt. Simple solid colors work best. You also will want to keep jewelry simple.

2. Find a Location.

Natural light is your friend, so you want to find a location in your house that is getting good light but not overly harsh light. For example, you probably wouldn't want to use a east facing window in the morning, but you may find the same window okay as the day goes on. You will also want to look at the area around the window you choose. The background should be mostly free of distractions. A blank neutral colored wall is best. If you can't find that, you can try to rig something up with a sheet hanging behind you, or if you have Photoshop Elements, you can try to blur the background after the picture is taken. (I ended up doing this with my pictures to moderate success. One looks a bit strange because the blur was so strong, but otherwise it worked pretty good). 

My favorite chair and the white curtain was the perfect set up for me.

3. Diffuse the Light. 

You will want something to diffuse the light. I have an actual light diffuser disc, but it's with the tripod in the attic. I decided to instead pull the white curtains on my South facing window. It worked as a great diffuser for the light. You want to diffuse the light because it creates softer more flattering light. 

 

4. Position Yourself & Shoot...a lot.

 

I decided to sit in my favorite chair for my pictures. When you take pictures, you will want to face your light source. I just extended my arm out and took pictures that way, but if you have a selfie stick, this would be a good time to bust it out. As for what type of poses you chose, that's going to be up to you. I was a old time photographer for a summer (crazy fun summer job, by the way) and I learned quite a bit about flattering poses. As you probably have noticed from the "selfie" craze, pictures taken from above are more flattering. Just don't get crazy with your angles. I also did some research of different headshots to find poses I liked. I wanted something that was more relaxed and not too formal. 

 

Since we're in a digital age, we can afford to take a lot of pictures. So make sure you do! You will want to periodically stop and look as see what is working and what isn't working. Look out for distractions. I have a vase with pheasant feathers on my end table, and I found that at one angle it looked like I had feathers coming out of my head. I also had to be mindful if my hair was sticking up or my jewelry was caught on my shirt. Be detail oriented when reviewing pictures. In my blog picture, I have my hand on my head. I keep looking at it, because in some ways it looks like I have an appendage growing out of my head. I decided I didn't care. :)

 Lamp growing out of my shoulder.

Strange angle and some cra-cra eyes.

Another important tip to follow (and I found it very hard to follow it myself) is to make sure you're looking at the camera. On an iPhone, you probably will find yourself looking at the image on the screen. That means that your eyes are going to be looking slightly down in the picture. The camera is above the image, so make sure you look at the camera not the image on the screen. Also, make sure the screen is focused on your face, not your hair or some object in the background. Otherwise you'll have an out of focus picture. You can pick the location to focus on by tapping on the screen.

 

5. Edit

 

You can use an online program such as Picmonkey to edit your pictures. I have Photoshop Elements, and I love it. I used this tutorial on how to blur the background, and it worked wonderfully. I also have some of the CoffeeShop actions that I use. Finally, I'm a big Scott Kelby fan. I have used his books for years when editing pictures. I try not to go too crazy. Reality is I have some wrinkles, terrible under eye circles and blemishes. I'm just going to have to live with them and it doesn't do anyone out there, including my daughter, a service to pretend that I don't. 

This was a good blurred background. I minimized the heat thermostat in the background and the railing on my stairs.

Err. Not as good. Removing the door way was a bit more tricky and the section under my arm was hard to do.

So, there you have it. How to do a headshot with just your iPhone and different things around your house. Now you can create a professional looking picture without taking your sweats off.

Here's my final images. I tried both with and without my glasses. The glasses one is my "professional" one for my LinkedIn profile and the others are for my blog & social media. I'm set for another 5 years. :)