Backyard Pond with a Waterfall

The backyard pond and waterfall is FINISHED!  I think.  I never know what else my husband will come up with.  As seen in the first picture below, the pond before was basically grade level with a small waterfall.  We put it in last year using a small piece of liner cloth.  Tim decided that he wanted a bigger waterfall and extra seating area around it.

We didn’t have a lot of money to invest in this so we tried to reuse as much as possible.  I suggested that he make it out of concrete because the larger pond liners and fabric can get quite expensive.  It also helped that he had extra bags of concrete left over from another job.  He started by building a level footing for the cinder blocks.  The cinder blocks will give us the extra height not only for the pond and waterfall but also the seating.  He hand troweled the cement in the bottom of the pond but that didn’t quite work the way he wanted so he built another form to pour the sides of the pond.  He made the right end of the pond deeper for the pump to go in.  After the concrete was dry, it was painted and sealed with an epoxy concrete paint.

As you can see in the above picture, his idea worked out really good.  We now have additional seating.  The cinderblocks were covered with slate tile and topped with flagstone.  The slate mimics the bar in the outdoor kitchen to the right of this area.  It was my job to arrange all the stone and I made sure that it covered the cinder blocks and the edge of the concrete pond trying to make it look as natural as possible.

It was more difficult to build the waterfall.  We probably tore it down about 4 or 5 times before we got it right.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of this step but I’ll try to explain what he did. Okay, we didn’t buy anymore rocks or flagstone but we did buy a load of sand that was used to fill in around the pond and mound up in the back.  He submerged a really large bucket, almost the size of a barrel, in the sand up at the very top.  There is a hose that runs from the pump in the pond to this bucket.  This fills the bucket up and causes it to over flow down the rocks.  Originally, he used the old liner fabric for the waterfall but it kept leaking so he tore it back down and used concrete for this part also.  We arranged and rearranged and REARRANGED the rocks and flagstone until we got the right look and sound that we wanted.  The noise level depends a lot on the positioning of the rocks and how far the water falls.

See my concrete bird?  I got him from a yard sale a couple of weeks ago for $5! I’m thinking about painting it to look more realistic.  What do you think? Should I paint or just leave it alone?

We added in a few plants including some Aztec Grass from Home Depot.  Due to the extreme heat of the summer, the plants are not looking as well as what they should.

Hunter put this piece of telephone pole in.  Tim plans on getting some type of rope and wrapping it around the pole.  He wants a pelican to sit on it but it hasn’t found one that works.

Of course, he added in a few tiki torches!  He loves these things.  We probably have about 25 of them!  We purchased them from Home Depot.

I also arranged the flagstones up top to cover the top of the bucket.  I wanted it to look as natural as possible.  We are really enjoying our new pond and especially the waterfall.  I love the sound of the water!  It is so relaxing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Home Sweet Home Friday @ The Charm of Home

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Tuesdays Treasures @ Myuncommon Slice of Suburbia  

Tuesday  Your Cozy Home Party @ Cozy Home Scenes     

Cowgirl Up Party @ The Farmhouse Porch    

White Wednesday @ Faded Charm Cottage 

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here 

Home & Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life   

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage

Thrifty Things Thursday @ The Thrifty Grove    

Thrifty Thursday @ Tales From Bloggeritaville 

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch To Yours

Campbell’s Vegetable Soup in the Tablescape

Today I’m sharing a table set for two in the breakfast area and on the menu is a can of Campbell’s vegetable soup!  It’s mmmm, mmmm, good! Yes, I know it’s a 100 degrees outside but I’ve got a summer cold so I thought a can of soup would help.  I’m just coming down with it and Savannah is just getting over it.

I started with green placemats topped with square red plates (JCP).  The Campbell’s Soup bowls are from the Salvation Army.  My gumbo spoons were purchased from a yard sale.  I got 48 NEW gumbo soups for $8!  They were from a restaurant that went out of business.  I bought plenty because in Louisiana we like our gumbo! and it’s something easy to prepare for a crowd!

The napkins are from Target and the cute napkin rings from the Trash to Treasure Sale.

The tomato salt and pepper shakers were a recent purchase from the Dollar General Store.  The cute little corn bowl is from a yard sale.

Keeping with the vegetable theme, I topped ceramic candleholders with artichoke candleholders.

I’m sure you recognize the iced tea glasses from the Dollar Tree!  I think a lot of us have glasses from the Dollar Tree!

TIP OF THE DAY: When baking cookies, I use two sheets of parchment paper and one pan.  While one pan is baking, I put dough on the other sheet.  When the baked cookies come out of the oven, I slide the parchment paper and cookies from the pan onto a cooling rack.  I immediately put the other parchment paper with the dough onto the pan and put it in the oven to bake.  After a couple of minutes, I slide the cookies off the first sheet and put cookie dough on it, repeating until all the cookies are baked.  This save time and cuts my oven time in half.  With 100 degree weather, I don’t want my oven on any more than it has to be.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Let’s Dish at Cuisine Kathleen

Tips, Tutorials & Tidbits @ StoneGable

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

Lettered Art Work

I do like an easy project and this is one!  Plus it's cheap!

I purchased 3 letters from Hobby Lobby.  They sell several types of large letters but I chose the ones that were on sale that day!  The letters are made of cardboard and are sold in the scrapbooking section.  Regularly, they are $1.98 each and I got them 50% off which was 99 cents each.

I used some blue craft paint and a little foam brush to paint the letters.

After painting, I sprayed them with a matte finish.

And there they are!  I used some E6000 and glued a bent paper clip to the back to use as a hanger.  As you can see this is a small narrow space and my "EAT" art works perfectly here.

I pulled the blue color from the valances and

the blue pillows on the breakfast bench!

It's a little different from my normal decor but I like it!  It brings in a little more color!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing with:

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Vintage Pickle Jars

Vintage pickle jars make good beverage dispensers.  Whenever we have a get together and serve canned drinks or individual bottled water, there is a lot wasted.  So this time, I decided to use Hunter’s vintage pickle jar for a water dispenser at our recent barbeque.  He found it in the old family barn and based on the age of the jar, it was was probably his great great grandfather’s.  I used a ladle as the dipper and one of my PB inspired dispenser tags.

My mom said that the jar reminded her of the root beer barrel candy that was sold individually when she was a little girl.  I goggled it but found nothing to indicate that they were used for that but you never know.  I did find a great site that gave many details about glass markings.  You can visit it here. This jar is marked Duraglas with a bail wire and wooden handle. Based on the other markings of the jar and this site, this jar was made by the Owens Illinois Glass Company.  It was made using mold cavity #9 and made in plant #7, which is in Alton, Illinois, in 1955.  This makes the jar 57 years old!

Awhile back, I tried a new pickle jar but the opening was not big enough for the ladle but I happy to say this one was!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing with:

Flea Market Finds @ Her Library Adventures
Thrifty Treasures @ Southern Hospitality

Metamorphisos Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

White Wednesday @ Faded Charm Cottage 
Cowgirl Up Party @ The Farmhouse Porch

Master Bath with Exotic Touches

This week at Kelly’s Korner, it’s all about bathrooms.  I shared my powder room a few weeks ago but decided to share some old pics of our master bath.  The pics are from 2008 but the room hasn’t changed since then!  I’ve been so busy getting ready for the 4th that I didn’t have time to take more.

We had the mirror cut to run the length of the vanity with two holes for the lights.  Tim trimmed out the mirror and I added the little medallion.  I purchased the two lights from ebay to match the chandelier over the tub.  The 2 glass canisters on the counter house the toothbrushes and drinking cup.

I found this chandelier at a garage sale for $5.  It is antique brass with glass crystals.  Now that I’m looking at the pic, I have changed the large candle stick on the side of the tub.  It’s now painted black.  The window is draped with a window scarf and layered with a gold sheer.  I added the eyelash trim to the ends.

Here’s a close up of the rug.  I purchased this from Home Depot.  I don’t know if they still carry it though. 

The leopard shade was a clearance purchase from Walmart for $3.  I added the eyelash trim.  I like how it brings out the leopard accents in the pictures which were from Hobby Lobby.

This is still one of my favorite little pieces, a vintage window frame.  I added cast iron robe hooks, also from Hobby Lobby.  The chippy white frame accents the walls, which are painted Old Gold by Laura Ashley.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing with:
Show Us Your Bathrooms @ Thrifty Decor Chick

Show Us Your Life @ Kelly’s Korner

Inspiration Friday at the picket fence

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello

Sunflowers & Berries

Gosh, it seems strange not featuring a beach or patriotic table!  With the summer heat, my mind does tend to lean towards beach themes even though I don’t live near the beach!  I noticed some sunflowers blooming on the side of the road and thought I would use some in a centerpiece. No, mine are silk not real!

Let’s step outside onto the screen porch, where the ceiling fans are!  Yes, it’s just about too hot here to have a comfortable meal outside.  This is the view from the living room.

I used a birdhouse planter that I have had for many years as the centerpiece.  It’s made from old barn wood accented with old pieces of leather straps on the front.

The colors I used were inspired by the Pfaltzgraff salad plates that I found at a thrift store.

I draped the table with a rusty orangey red tablecloth from Goodwill.  The white chargers are actually vintage Homer Loughlin plates that are extra large.  The bright yellow dinner plates are from the Dollar Tree.  Black and white checked napkins bring in an unexpected color but the checks add to the country style theme.

Vintage silverplate is Rogers “Daffodil” pattern.

Green wine glasses from the Dollar Tree and tea glasses by Gorham.

Here’s my most recent garage sale purchase, a set of yellow and white checked salt and pepper shakers!

How do you like my faux strawberries?  I love the look of tablescapes with strawberries but they don’t stay at my house long enough to make it to the table.  Fresh ones that is!  The cute little container was from the Dollar Tree.  I bought them at Easter but never used them.

The red and yellow flowers look so pretty together!  It is one of my favorite combinations!

TIP OF THE WEEK:  Did you know that charcoal works great as an odor eliminator?  A couple of years ago our refrigerator in the camper was unplugged and the food spoiled.  I wasn’t aware of this right away and when I did, WOW!  I cleaned it numerous times and the only thing I could find that worked at removing the odor was regular old charcoal that you would use to grill with.  I filled up a little plastic bowl of it and put it in the refrigerator and closed the door.  It took a couple of days but the charcoal absorbed all the bad smell!

Sharing with:

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground 

Pin the Tail on the Bloggy Time @ Debbie Doo’s Blogging & Blabbing

Let’s Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tips, Tutorials & Tidbits @ StoneGable

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Patriotic Porch for the 4th!

 

I finally finished decorating my front porch!  I didn’t want to fix it too early because we live on a gravel road and I wanted it to still look good for the barbeque.  When I did start working on it, I ran out of bows and then nobody had anymore!

I was planning on trying to find some reasonable priced bunting but I found two flat sheets at Goodwill for $1.99 each.  And they were red, white and blue stripes!

I started by folding each sheet evenly into three equal sections and cut them to make 3 panels.

I purchased the large bows at the Dollar Tree.  I used jute string to gather the material and attach it to my porch railing.  After I started, I realized that I would have to have more drapes. Are you following me?  I hope I’m making sense.  I wanted to put a bow where the drape met the porch but I didn’t haven’t enough.  I went to town yesterday and the Dollar Trees were out.  I checked Hobby Lobby for some ribbon to make some and they were OUT!  So I went back to the Dollar Tree and bought the pinwheels.

Hunter hung a flag outside the window upstairs.

My mesh wreath is on the front door.

A view to the left….

and a view to the right.

A close up of the bow…

and a close up of the pinwheel. So, for $15 I have my front porch decorated!  Now, I have to get busy, I still have more to do before the 4th.  Time is running out!

Sharing with:

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday Treasures @ Coastal Charm