Flowers for the Garden

After making my garden hose mat, I found I had a little hose left over. Not wanting to waste my scrap materials, I decided to make a flower for my fence. Have I mentioned how much I love flowers?  

The most time consuming aspect of this little project was waiting for the paint to dry.  Other than that, this was a snap to put together.  Quite simply, I cut three equal lengths of hose and used electrical tape to keep them in a "petal" shape.  Next, I used a little more electrical tape to tie the "petals" together.  A pretty little yellow spray paint job and my ugly old hose bits became a cute little flower for my fence.  

This flower now hangs on a fence in an area that gets a little dark at night. Considering I do not like dark little corners, I decided to add a little glow of my own.  I placed a solar light in the center of the flower.  This small landscape light emits a sweet little glow each night.  Now I can enjoy my flower day or night!  The silliest things bring me joy!

Tropical transformation - metal patio furniture

Many years ago, I purchased a patio set.  My boy was very young at the time, so I wanted something sturdy, heavy and not easily tipped.  Toddlers have a tendency to topple furniture.  I wanted to prevent my little one from taking a nose dive on the concrete floor of the lanai.  Simple mommy logic - keep the young ones out of the emergency room, if at all possible.  Long story short, I ended up with a somewhat heavy metal patio set.  In black - my least favorite color for outdoor furniture in Florida.  

My boy is now a teenager.  The black paint has long since peeled away and I have been looking at one ugly patio set for quite some time.  Black may be my least favorite color, but rust is even worse.  Yuck!  It was time to either throw the set away, send it to the scrap yard or find a way to fix the mess.  I chose the latter; I have a strong dislike of disposing of usable items.

This particular revamp was quite time-consuming.  The black paint had not completely peeled away and the rust had made quite the mess. There were many hours spent sanding, scraping and pressure washing. This was followed by priming, spray painting, light sanding and painting again. Although I love the tropical colors, I was very tired of smelling the paint. I spent the better part of a week in my back yard, applying paint.  Bright sunshine and paint fumes can give a girl a whopper of a headache! 

Only time will tell how long this paint job will last.  I have seen what rain, direct sunshine and teething puppies can do to metal patio furniture.  It's not good.  Hopefully, all of the prep work will pay off in the long run.  If not, well, I'll just cross that bridge later.

Garden hose upcycle

Spring cleaning certainly produces many creative opportunities.  Case in point, a blown garden hose.  I have been battling one of my hoses for weeks.  It has twisted and kinked so many times, it sprouted holes. Trying to use the hose for its intended purpose became impossible, but I did not want to throw it away.  However, I had no idea what to do with the thing. 

Thank goodness the Internet is available to help find solutions.  Truth be told, I felt like such a slacker once I saw all of the fabulous things people have made with old garden hoses.  However, I am in constant need of door mats and throw rugs,so I chose the path of need rather than want.

Turning the hose into an oval shaped mat was simple enough.  A little bend here, a twist there and bam, one new outdoor mat!  I admit that it took me a few minutes to realize that I did not want to pull the zip ties as tight as they would go though.  I had to cut several ties off and rework the shape once I realized how misshapen the rug became.  Lesson learned. pull the zip tie securely but not overly so.  

I am super excited to make another one of these little garden mats! There is one more old hose sitting in my backyard as I write, just waiting to be repurposed.  I believe the next mat will be made with colored zip ties.  A rainbow in the round, so to speak.