A Peek Into My Summer Garden

I've been peeking into a little corner of my summer garden today through my camera lens.

 My camera helps me see details in my garden that I don't otherwise take the time to notice.

Like how the daisies are growing all the way up to touch the new Fresh Flowers sign hanging on the side of our shed.

 

And the way these tall lacy flowers fit perfectly beneath the window box

 

 and cascade over their shorter neighbors.

How the lacy yellow petals on one flower complement the bold yellow fringe on the other.

And how the textures of these two so different flowers, when captured together by my camera, help me to appreciate the beauty of the other even more.

 

I just love how my camera slows me down and opens my eyes wide to details. It lets me see and enjoy my garden in a whole new way.

How about you? Do you peek into your garden through your camera lens?

 

 Please join me as I slow down to smell the roses at these lovely garden parties:

Elizabeth & Co.

Fishtail Cottage

A Joyful Cottage

DIY Garden Signs

 

I love signs of all kinds, and I have quite a collection of them on my Pinterest.

When I was taking photos of my garden the other day, I thought the side of our shed was looking a little bare. It must be time to try my hand at one of those sign tutorials I've been squirreling away!

I cut some plywood that was laying around in our wood pile on the side of the house into two 12" x 24" boards. I sanded them lightly and painted both of them with some plain old white latex paint we also had laying around. I wanted my signs to look old and weathered, so I painted them haphazardly, letting the wood show through the paint as though the paint had worn off naturally.

I used a ruler to figure out the spacing and letter size that would work best for the size of boards I had, then I found a couple of fonts I liked and used Photoshop to size the letters to my measurements. (Picmonkey is an online program you can use if you don't have a photo editor.) I printed out multiple pages for the large sized letters and taped them together. I used the scribbling pencil method of transfer to transfer the letters to the boards, where you cover the backs of the letters with pencil lead, turn the page over, tape it to your board and trace the letters.

 

I've never painted letters before, and I thought it would be a bit tricky, but it was easy peasy. I used a couple of artist brushes from my stash and good quality craft paint. It only took one coat, and the paint leveled out and covered beautifully. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was, and I enjoyed catching up on a bunch of House Hunters International while I worked at my desk. It was very relaxing!

When everything was dry I used sand paper for distressing and a spray sealer for outdoors.

The Fresh Flowers sign is hanging on the shed in a corner over the daisies and some other perennials.

 

 I should have waited until the daisies were blooming to share, but I'm not very good at waiting.

The other sign I made was inspired by one created by Kristen over at Jennifer Rizzo. She shared her design and fonts, so all I had to do was download them and blow them up in Photoshop. 

 

The Fresh Produce sign is hanging on the wall of the house over the raised beds where our tomatoes and herbs grow in our other little side yard.

I'm so glad I finally got around to trying my hand at making my own sign. It turned out to be a really fun and easy project, and I'm looking forward to making more for inside the house, too. 

Need some ideas to make your own sign? Check out my Signs Pinterest Board, and happy painting! 

  It's time to party at:

Rooted In Thyme
My Repurposed Life
The Cottage Market
Jennifer Rizzo
Elizabeth & Co.
Mod Vintage Life
Cozy Little House 
Fishtail Cottage 
Craftberry Bush

Garden Signs

I love garden junk art, and I have it all around my yard. 

Well, usually I have it all around my yard. Right now most of it is packed away in the shed while the new sprinkler system is being installed. Are you as surprised as I am that the sprinklers aren't finished yet?    

First, it rained, and then the contractor got sick. Hopefully, he'll be feeling better soon and have the new sod in before the temperatures climb much higher. I'm afraid it's too late now for a vegetable garden this year, and the summer heat will have us waiting until next fall to plant new bushes and perennials. 

There must be a silver lining around here somewhere... oh, there it is: with no yard to fiddle with I'll have lots more time to work on indoor projects this summer. 

 

Elizabeth & Co.

My dear friend, Sharon, is hosting her June Garden Party at Elizabeth & Co. and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'd never show up to a party empty handed, though, so today I'm sharing an easy garden art project I made last year and first showed you on my urban garden post here.

 Last summer I made these directional garden signs as a little garden humor because my yard is so small that you sure don't need a sign to find anything!

 I chose a spot for them at the corner of the house between the side yard where the vegetable garden beds are, and the back yard where the deck and shed are. You can see it all if you simply turn around, but I think the signs add some charm and whimsy to an otherwise empty expanse of fence. They make me smile!

 You might remember this old milk can, now sitting beneath the signs, that I faux rust-painted back in this post. I'm thinking it would make a good perch for a potted flowering vine to twine around the gate. What do you think?

 My husband built the gate that I shared in this post. He built it to keep a couple of sneaky tomato bandits out of the vegetable garden. 

Sneaky tomato bandits.

 The signs were super easy to make. I cut some 1" x 2" lumber into 12" lengths and trimmed the ends to a point. I dry brushed a couple of swipes of acrylic craft paint on each piece and painted the place-name over that. To seal and protect, I went over it all with some Minwax wood stain. 

No one will be getting lost in my yard thanks to my cute little garden signs! 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my garden today. 

I hope you have a great week! 

Please come join the fun parties at 

Elizabeth & Co.
Coastal Charm 
Green Willow Pond
Common Ground 
Rooted in Thyme 
My Repurposed Life