Tag Archives: garden

Zenfully Yours

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Cheers to a wonderful new week ahead of us.  I’m excited for two reasons, one – I’m headed to my first bloggers’ conference and two- I’m looking forward to meeting many of my blog-buddies and enjoying all there is to offer and learn.  Before I head off, I wanted to share one of the most fabulous make-overs by a FBF.  Last week while I was in the midst of perusing my Facebook newsfeed I stumbled on a picture of her outdoor zen-spot.  You know me – I’m always enthused to see beautiful Rest-Havens and when I spotted Keisha’s outdoor creation I had to share it with you.. Thank you Keisha for allowing me to share your haven.  Grab you coffee, tea and vittles because you’re gonna want to see all what’s in store and see how she created it.  Let’s look at where she began.

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I know you’re probably excited, like me, to see how she did it all on a budget of $500.00 – Let’s begin where she started.  Keisha cultivated a personal vision for her garden and began to think of ways to incorporate her style while maintaining natural elements for a zen-oasis.  The space was no where near easy to work with, and having a tree in the center was even more challenging, so she decided to make that her focal point and build around it.

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Her desire was to have a warm, welcoming area to enjoy entertaining her family and friends for outdoor festivities.  We all know that pallets are free and there are many, many, many projects you can use them for.  Keisha took full advantage of the freebies and that laid the ground work for her oasis to be created.

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With some help from her father and a friend,  they dis-assembled them and made the floor for her raised deck.

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Lots of sawing, cutting, measuring and patience went into this project, but as you see, it was well worth it.  Here you can get a visual of the framework and how the pallets became the wall around her space

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More pallets are assembled and laid to encompass the tree

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Bricks are lined to design a pattern

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She added flagstone for another natural element in the space

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Filled the area in with small stones and gravel

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This bench was a roadside special.  Luckily she found it and gave it a new life (keyword – BUDGET)

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Old bowling balls spray painted silver are being used as garden art

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She used red mulch around the tree for a pop of color

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She stained the pallets to weatherproof and give them color

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Next up was adding the plants.  She found an old ladder to use as a plant stand and the boarder pallets were used as as planters

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Nestled between these two sunshine yellow adirondack chairs is a table she made from a tree trunk

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Isn’t it gorgeous!!  I love the redwood color and blended with the jewel tone vase was pefect

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What a warm, welcoming environment she created.  By being creative, resourceful, diligent and patient, she was able to achieve her goal and accomplish a zenful retreat for her after work and weekend entertaining.

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Using pallets as the gateway separated the haven area from the garden, while still balancing the artful flow into the  haven.

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Last but not least – it was time to add the cushions and pillows for the seating area.  She covered foam and added an array of brightly colored pillow to finish the space.

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A piece of driftwood is another artistic element added to the area.

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I hope you all stand with me and give Keisha a round of applause for creating such a restful retreat – all on a budget of $500.00!!!

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Meet the beauty behind the brains of this creative garden Zen Oasis..

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And she did it her way…..

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Do you have a project that you’re working on and would like to share with my other readers?  If so, email me and you’ll be my next featured guest.  Also be sure to follow me on the blog, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest

Until next time lovies!!  Remember – it’s not what it costs but it’s how you style it.. Create your own style and design on a dime

Smooches!!

Jamala

Giving You Heads Up!

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A few months ago I joined a Facebook group “It’s a Garden Thing“.  I truly adore being a part of this group of friendly people who love their gardens and sharing them with the cyber world.  In this group there was a lady showing some beautiful head planters. I was mesmerized on how beautiful they were. My motto is plants are people too.. green people and they need you to nourish, groom and sometimes even talk to them.  Head planters almost makes you feel like you’re talking face to face with your plants.  Looking at their faces with empty heads makes you think, what kind of hairdo would complete their look (you know how we women love our hair to be right 🙂  – it sets the tone)  “Head Planters” give your plants the personality they deserve.  I did some research for head planters.. here are some favorites I came across:

This African Queen head planter is beautiful.  I love the beaded detail along the side of her face

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and this little darling in pure white is simply lovely

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and for buddha lovers.. these are perfect

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and then there’s this one with it’s exotic eyes

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You can so much fun with them creating a new look simply by changing her hair. Are you intrigued yet? Well, I couldn’t stand not having a beautiful planter so I asked who, where, & how do I get one.  Low and behold, they were being made by a group member. I contacted her and she showed me some of the ones she had left. The minute I saw this lady.. I screamed.. she’s the one!!  I want her – so ladies (and gents) …. I’d like for you to meet Elfredah..

 

Here’s the clinker.. I have an aunt name Alfreda.. how coincidental was that.  I couldn’t wait to get her and settled into her new home with me and my green family. She arrived and  I went to the nursery to find her new hairdo. The plant I found is called Emina.. and guess what.. my twin’s name is Amina.. (both pronounced the same) so you know this planter was meant to be for me and this is her new look all dressed up!

Isn’t she a beauty… I absolutely love it!!  On Friday’s Feature post, I’m going to introduce to you the HeadMaker Lady.  So I hope you join me in getting to know a little about Cynthia and I’ll be showing you more of the lovely ladies she created.. So stay tuned!    You may want to order one for yourself.  Smooches ?

A PoP Day

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It’s been so dreadfully hot these past few weeks and I’ve just been enjoying the pool at mom’s house… but I decided to finally get a few little items done.  I called it my PoP day.. the Power of Paint.. I spend lots of time lounging in my Rest Haven and look around and see a few things that need sprucing up. Like the big planters.. They’ve been bruised over time and there’s a little vermin running around my yard knocking them over..(I feel like the Bill Murray in CaddyShack – boy do I want to get him)..

 

Of course hubby thought I should throw them away.. Me.. no way.. they’re still standing.. lol.. got a couple of cracks at the top – but all in all.. still worth keeping.. and for $6.00 they look like new

After I picked up this pretty cool pelican from Ross – I thought a touch of gold would do good in the garden

Then I found this old hat buried under some items in the garage and figured.. why not flip it and fill it..

 

Added a few bricks to cover the outer edge pallets and a few more plants around it

I think I like the upside down hat planter..

 

 

I’m still contemplating the iron hens&chick holder… I’d have to take all that apart..soooooo…you know how that goes.. (another day..lol).  Small changes but nice impact for this space.

I love how the sun hits the gold and gives it a glam glow..   Then I had this clay pot.. the worn out look was looking too worn out..

So, for another $3.00 it got a new look

Now I can smile when I look around at these pots again .  🙂

 

 

 

That’s all I could do.. cause BABY!!!! It’s HOT OUT THERE!!!

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What I’m Diggin’

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One thing I’ve often said is music is so much a part of my life and I love sharing it.. Which is why sometimes I’ll do a post with a song to reflect what or how I’m feeling.  Not sure if you listen to any of them, if so, that’s great to hear, if not, it’s cool.. Not everyone digs music.. (Yea, I still use the old school lingo “Dig” chuckles.. Ooops, I just gave away my age.. (I’m a ’60’s baby).  Not sure if you know the music of Cassandra Wilson.  She’s a jazz singer and I truly adore her style and cultural bohemian vibe.   When I listen to her my mind wonders to some exotic places where I can admire different textures and styles pulled together to create that Afro-centric flair..  Here are some images I captured to share with you…

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Which brings me to feature the home of someone who is dear to me… My aunt – we lovingly refer to as “Pookie”.  Her home is filled with such cultural vibes and exotic touches..and she is a die-hard DIYer and thrifter.  On my trip home last week I visited her and when I walked in I immediately said.. I wanted to welcome you into her home so… Welcome to Pookie’s Paradise…

When you enter, your eyes are greeted by the African mask displayed inside a wooden textured oval frame.  I remember when she got the frame.. We were all at a flea market and a man had a truck load of huge frames he was needing to get rid of.. what luck we had that day..the only unlucky part was our truck wasn’t big enough to take all of them..lol.. but we all managed to score at least two each  🙂 .

She’s not one to fuss with long drapery, and loves to expose her bay windows and let all the sunshine in, so she opted to Go-Green to cover her windows.. I’m totally envious of her green thumb.. (but thankfully it’s starting to rub off on me).  These are all her babies she meticulously takes care of.  Some of which she’s had for over 20 years..

To your right you’ll spot this cozy corner which has a few collectibles she’s had for decades, like the hand carved wooden statue.. A snazzy, cool find she picked up in St. Marteen

And if you eyes caught the painting – like mine- guess what — she’s the artist.. She painted that approximately 40 years ago..It’s called Crying Heart and totally LOVE IT!!

Resting on her coffee table is another hand carved wooden sculpture that she picked up in the Caribbean.

Every little corner is influenced with cultural accents..

Step to her outdoor living space and this is the showpiece in her garden.  The outdoor faux “fireplace”.  This is a curbside find and her creative juices flowed and this is what she did with it.

 

And at night.. look how it’s lit up.. and no it’s not a real fire, it’s red lights inside to create the fire effect.  Isn’t it fab..

This space is called the Hobbit Hole.. chuckles.. (how cute)…

The stained glass has an image that looks sort of  like a bug…  and the fox and midget chair are perfect accents for a hobbit..

She’s got little pockets of garden candy all around her yard and you can see more here.  But before you go, I’d like to introduce you to the lovely lady behind the home of Pookie’s Paradise..

That’s my aunt and I love her and the home she and her husband, Clay made.  It’s one you just kick your shoes off, sit back, relax and enjoy all the good food, music and cultural vibes they share.  I can’t wait to go back to visit again.  If you enjoyed this post and missed my other “Inspired by Music” posts you can see more here.   Until next time – Smooches!!

 

 

 

 

Friday Finds

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Hey there everyone! It’s Friday- and a big Woohoo!! Your thrifty girl has been finishing up a couple of little projects to began my larger project, (I’ve finally mustered up the desire to freshen up the dining room).   But moving along – I’ve had this planter hanging on the wall and just didn’t get to buying the coco fiber to re-line it.

Back in the winter I dressed it up with natural clippings

Well it’s summer (almost over) and I still haven’t touched it yet…Then I remember seeing how burlap was used as a liner, well, I didn’t have any of that either.. but what I do have plenty of is fabric.  So – I figure I’d give that a try.   I found this in the pile and figure it blends perfect with the shabby wrought iron look.

Found a plant that needs re-potting (my staghorn fern) and a few cactus for filler..  Simple little project finished for zero dollars.  The fabric adds a bit of color to the wall space.

I tested it out and yes the water goes through.

Awhile back I received lovely new art ordered from HoeMama.  His artwork is inspired by women who love to nurture, encourage,  and build people up – sort of a “gardener of people”.  I fell in love with this particular piece.  The beauty of the woman and how he depicted her in the garden was very eloquent.  I can’t wait to get it framed and hung.  You can view more of his pieces here:

Let’s move onto Friday Finds:

This vintage bird cage was $12.00 –  I have plans for it and it doesn’t include a bird  🙂

A mirrored tray always comes in handy – a Goodwill find for $3.75

And this cute little hand painted birdie planter by Bob White for Napcoware for $1.00

I’m not usually into birds, but there was something about this one that caught my eye to bring it home and like I said for $1.00 it sure didn’t break the bank – giggles…

not such a bad find…I’ll figure out some use for her.   One last thing,  I want you guys to find some friday fun to start a great weekend!  Cheers to you!  Kick your feet up, relax and have a happy… See you Monday !