Hopefully today is the day the doctors take my sling off and I can start to use both my arms - or at least hands!! But as I still am one handed at the moment, I thought I would share some fun DIY projects we have done in the past to spruce up our outdoor living space - especially as we love to entertain!!
PLANT HOLDER:
Have an old ladder hanging around - put it to good use as a way to hang flowers. We had this ladder in our back yard not being used. We cut it down to the size we needed and then used a few lag bolts to hang. Viola you have a vintage looking plant hanger. We left ours in its natural state but it would also look great painted.
PHOTO BOOTH:
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For props, I took heavy cardboard paper and drew various fun items - mustache, glasses, super hero hats, top hats, lips, etc - then colored them in with sharpies and added some trim here and there. These were then hot glue gunned to wooden sticks - I actually used the wooden skewers you use for grilling.
WINE BOTTLE LANTERNS:
Have any empty wine bottles lying around? Here is a good use for them. Start by soaking them to peel of any labels. Then you will need to hit the hardware store for some items - copper top plate connector, split ring hanger, copper coupling and cap, threaded rod, wick, some screws and bolts - most of these items you can find in the plumbing section. You can find detailed instructions all over the web so just google it - but here is one site that does a good job showing all the steps - http://www.designsponge.com/2009/08/diy-project-eriks-recycled-wine-bottle-torch.html. We love ours - not only is it a stylish way to keep the bugs away but it becomes a talking piece at all of our backyard gatherings.
MASON JARS:
I love mason jars. I use them in many ways at all of our parties. They look vintage but you also can't beat the price. You can buy a case of 12 for $8-14 depending on the size. I get mine at Walmart or the grocery store. Here are some of the ways I have incorporated them into my summer parties
Hope you enjoy some of these projects! Do you have a favorite backyard DIY? If so send it over and we will post about it!!
PLANT HOLDER:
Have an old ladder hanging around - put it to good use as a way to hang flowers. We had this ladder in our back yard not being used. We cut it down to the size we needed and then used a few lag bolts to hang. Viola you have a vintage looking plant hanger. We left ours in its natural state but it would also look great painted.
PHOTO BOOTH:
As I have mentioned numerous times - we love to party here. As there are loads of young ones in our family, we built this photo booth for them to have a bit of fun - although the adults enjoyed it just as much. We simply took a piece of plywood and cut a window out of it big enough to make sure a few faces can fit in there. Make sure you do not cut the hole out too low - you can always use a step stool for the little ones as we did - as it is harder for the adults to bend over. I decided to paint the wood with chalkboard paint as I felt it would be fun for the kids to draw on it before taking their photo. I used 3 coats of paint. You can also choose to use paint, wallpaper or anything else to cover the plywood with. I then took some decorative trim and screwed it on to make it look like a frame. We took 2- 2x4's and screwed them at an angle to the back to make legs to prop the photo booth up. Now you have a fun addition to any party!!
For props, I took heavy cardboard paper and drew various fun items - mustache, glasses, super hero hats, top hats, lips, etc - then colored them in with sharpies and added some trim here and there. These were then hot glue gunned to wooden sticks - I actually used the wooden skewers you use for grilling.
WINE BOTTLE LANTERNS:
Have any empty wine bottles lying around? Here is a good use for them. Start by soaking them to peel of any labels. Then you will need to hit the hardware store for some items - copper top plate connector, split ring hanger, copper coupling and cap, threaded rod, wick, some screws and bolts - most of these items you can find in the plumbing section. You can find detailed instructions all over the web so just google it - but here is one site that does a good job showing all the steps - http://www.designsponge.com/2009/08/diy-project-eriks-recycled-wine-bottle-torch.html. We love ours - not only is it a stylish way to keep the bugs away but it becomes a talking piece at all of our backyard gatherings.
MASON JARS:
I love mason jars. I use them in many ways at all of our parties. They look vintage but you also can't beat the price. You can buy a case of 12 for $8-14 depending on the size. I get mine at Walmart or the grocery store. Here are some of the ways I have incorporated them into my summer parties
Flower Vase - Painting Mason Jars can transform them into many things. There are many ways to paint them but for these, as they were going to be outside, I used spray paint. You can find spray paint in so many great colors now. I use Rustoleum especially for outdoor projects (even the green chair you see in the background was spray painted)
Drink Cups - I don't know about you but one of my pet peeves about outdoor dining is bugs!!! A very simple way to solve that problem yet still stay vintage and pretty is cupcake liners over the mason jars. I have also drilled holes in the regular tops they come with but the above method tends to be much simpler!
Now this one is for the adults - Candied flavored shots in a mason jar! Take some candy and add vodka and let it sit for a day or two and here is what you have. Add some ribbon and a little label and the party can get started!!
Hope you enjoy some of these projects! Do you have a favorite backyard DIY? If so send it over and we will post about it!!
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