The Frugal Gardener 1

Welcome to my garden.  I live in a suburb of Los Angeles in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.  We have lived in this home for 31 years and raised our two beautiful daughters and several pets.

These are photographs of our front yard which is really a very compact space.  Just because it is small doesn't mean I haven't packed every square inch with what I consider to be visual impact.  And in the whole scheme of things I have spent very little on accessorizing this little part of my world.  The fairy below came to reside with us almost 10 years ago.  She was a Tuesday Morning treasure.  The large rosette type succulents you see were just planted last year and I purchased them at a yard sale of all places.

This beautiful statue below and the pedestal it sits on were also yard sale finds.  Of course I purchased it to resell it, but then couldn't part with it.  He is carrying a fish which I am surmising must have some biblical meaning.  I have watering cans tucked in just about every area.  I also purchased the lavender painted flower can a couple of weeks ago.  It's sitting there because I can't decide if it stays or goes to the shop.  All of my iron chairs and settees were also yard sale finds.

This area could be considered a secret garden of sorts.  Why do I think it's secret?  Because the gardeners ignore it and it's usually left to me to maintain it.  It's one of my favorite little spots.  The wooden painting in the back is a purchase I made at Julie O'Keefe's Home and Garden back in about 1996.  I have had it all this time and I still love it.  These are my Christmas geese and they come into the forefront during the holiday season.  Can you see the little fairy on the left?  Yep, another yard sale purchase.  She was painted very bright colors and now she is just a silhouette.

Here is a close up of my garden painting.  Isn't this so special?  Of course it's chipped and peeled over the years but I still love it.  It was painted on fence boards.

Thanks for spending time here today.  I have a few more photos to share next week so check back again.  See ya soon.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Debbie Doos         The Graphics Fairy
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style           Primp         Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild     It's So Very Cheri Bloghop     Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Little Black Credenza

I love this little black credenza.  It is actually a piece my fellow dealer put together from parts of other pieces of furniture.  The left side is not drawers but rather a cabinet.  Jim is very clever and crafty.

 This has just the right amount of shabby finish.  It's a great piece.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Debbie Doos         The Graphics Fairy
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style           Primp         Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild     It's So Very Cheri Bloghop     Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

French Typography "Construction"

I'm not sure how I missed sharing this document before, but here it is.  This is the vintage typography I used for yesterday's post on the beautiful book covers.  I think this might  be one of my favorites of my French invoices.  Hope you can use this for something amazing.
Enjoy!

 

I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Debbie Doos         The Graphics Fairy
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style           Primp         Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild     It's So Very Cheri Bloghop     Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Beautiful Book Covers

I found the inspiration to do this project at Confessions of a Plate Addict's blog.  She has a beautiful blog and I have just become a loyal follower of hers.  To see her tutorial  click here.    

 For the first stack of books I used one of my vintage French typography sheets.  I copied it three times and then placed it strategically on the book bindings so it would read across.  I just realized that I did not share this image with you so it will be the focus of tomorrow's post.  I love this French paper.  For the actual cover of the books I used brown mailing paper which I purchased at Walmart.  Basically the cost of this project is finding three books that match in size.  I purchased mine at a thrift store for $1 each.  Don't limit yourself to three books either.  You could do a whole row depending on how wide your image is.

 This look is totally romantic which is definitely my style.

 Here is an image I got from the Graphics Fairy.  It is a new image of hers.  I absolutely love it.  To use this image click here.

 Isn't this a fabulous decorating idea?  It makes a great presentation.  I hope you will give it a try.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Debbie Doos         The Graphics Fairy
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style           Primp         Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild     It's So Very Cheri Bloghop     Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Washboard Tray

I was rummaging through my junk treasures this week, and I came across this old washboard.  It does have a crack, which doesn't affect its sturdiness, but I really liked the faded printing and the textured glass.  So I decided to reinvent it and came up with this cute tray.  Now, while I'm not going to serve tea and scones on this little gem (or I just might), I think in the garden or in a rustic country kitchen it is adorable.

 I had the small wooden knobs already.  I drilled all the way through the screw hole and attached it from the wrong side which I'll show you in a sec. Then I did have to go purchase these simple handles which were very inexpensive.  Believe it or not, I didn't have two that would work in my extensive collection of odds and ends.

 Notice one handle is on the side and one is on the top of the tray.  That was the easiest way to attach them and it adds a little interest.

 The graphics are still great although faded.

 Now see how I screwed the knobs from the wrong end?  I do this a lot when I want a footed tray.  And please don't forget to put a little piece of felt on those screws.  You wouldn't want to scratch any lovely surface.  Notice I didn't counter-sink the screws.  Not to worry.  It wont show anyway and the felt sticks better to the exposed head. 

Thanks so much for paying me a visit.  I always love it when you drop by.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Debbie Doos         The Graphics Fairy
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style           Primp         Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild     It's So Very Cheri Bloghop     Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sweet Cherry Towels

I love anything with cherries on it for the summertime.  I love the vibrant red against a white background.  Something about it has a happy feeling of a moment in time that has long since passed. 

 First of all, I have not learned Photoshop (yet!) so what you see here is literally cut and pasted with my two little hands and a pair of scissors.  Yep, it was done the old fashioned way.  I printed out the French typography image of my choice from the Graphics Fairy and sized it in Wordpad to fit my towels, which, by the way, I purchased at Target.  They come in a package of four and the package was $4.  Then I used another Graphics Fairy image of the cherries and made a smaller image to superimpose over my typography.  I cut those out very carefully, positioned the cherries image over the script and made a reverse color copy of the two images together on my color printer.  Then I printed that onto my Avery light weight iron on transfer paper and ironed it on.  The result is magnifique!  Two pretty towels ready for a summer luncheon.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Debbie Doos         The Graphics Fairy
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style           Primp         Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild     It's So Very Cheri Bloghop     Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Easter Party and "Slutty Brownies"

Last week my daughter had a friend visit from out of town and she likes to bake for him when he visits so she made him some "slutty brownies."  Duncan Hines' definition is that they are a little bit dirty and sinfully delicious.  I would have to agree.  They are amazing.  It's one layer of chocolate chip cookies topped with a layer of Oreos and then topped with a layer of brownies.  Bake 'em all together and be prepared for pure heaven.  For the recipe click here.

They are very attractive as well due to the layering.  They also look pretty with my Easter chicks.  Found these adorable critters at Home Goods last year.  They sure do add a lot of color, don't they?

Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter with family and friends.  

I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Debbie Doos         The Graphics Fairy
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style           Primp         Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild     It's So Very Cheri Bloghop     Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors