.99 cent garden planters {& other such things}

i've been hunting for ways to make some fast improvements without buying new things.
while buying new can feel easier, i've been finding that using up and making do is often much more fulfilling.
buying this foreclosure feels a bit like someone somewhere is inventing things to us to fix and spend money on...but this weekend, we made "almost" free our newest vocabulary word.

starting with these...

my husband gives me slack every time i save a glass spaghetti jar, pickle jar, salsa, dip, peanut butter, etc. but i always end up using them for vases or bottling goodies or crafty items. i just can't throw away a jar.
now i've found my newest reason for saving them :)

i've been seeing similar ideas in magazines, but these knock offs couldn't have been easier.
after taking the labels off, i made wire handles, added some rocks (from the $1 store) so rain water can drain, and a discount flat of annuals from home depot (.99 cents for 12!!!)

i'm loving them!


my brother found these free palates for us a few weeks ago when we found out the boys bunk beds wouldn't fit in their new 3rd floor bedroom.

i instantly knew palate beds would look awesome and be a big hit, but the problem with our 3rd floor is it's ultra skinny stairwell. we couldn't even fit a tiny ikea dresser.

insert my husband and the skinny-mini 3rd floor windows.
just when I thought he was strong, he hoists a palate over his head, dead lifts it up a ladder 3 stories high with one arm and fishes it through a 6 inch window opening...and then does it 3 more times. he's mr. incredible living incognito among us. legends are made of this man

thankfully we had 3 helpers to assist mr. incredible during the palate bed construction. :)

(might be one of my favorite photos ever of these three silly ones.)


we have lots of ideas for our little yard. most fall lower on the to do list than other more pressing projects, so i'm improvising and starting with the largest eye sores. this properly wasn't lived in for over a year before we purchased it. let your imagination decide what a yard looks like after a year of being uninhabited. there are creatures and spiders and trash and strange shrubs at every turn.
this shrub saw it's last day yesterday.

i decided a mini garden (and the lopped off ends of our palates) would be a perfect fit.

although my arms feel like they will literally drop off at any moment and the puppy seems to enjoy using the overturned dirt as a toilet, it's a vast improvement from the crazy shrub.


and then there's these...

found at the little antique dealer down the street from our house...listed for $65 but purchased for $10. the owner loved seeing how much emery loved them and marked them down on the spot. they might be my favorite find of all time. perfect for little fingers, especially those of a really cute & tiny tea drinker i know :)