Joy to the World

I had a huge frame, a love for maps, and it is Christmas time. I saw someone else online do this and decided to give it a try for myself.

I was given a huge frame but had no use for the indian painting in my house here on the Coast. I wanted to put it to use and finally found a way to do so.

I picked up a rolled map at our bookstore and paid only a couple of bucks for it. It was too big for the frame so I took the glass out and got an idea of where I needed to cut. I left a little bit on each edge so that it would fit snug into the frame.

I picked up 5" stencils from Staples - they are much cheaper than Michael's.

Place the stencils where you want them to go and begin to center them on the map.

Using painters tape, tape down each letter until they are all done.

Put a small strip of tape between each letter and put thicker tape around the outside.

Carefully spraypaint each letter and be careful not to get spraypaint under the stencil. I gave it two coats and it was perfect. After it's dry, carefully take off the tape and stencils. Frame it and that's it!

Very easy, very cheap, and very cool.

 

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Desk

After a long search for a desk, I finally found the perfect one at our Goodwill in Brunswick. The desk was in pretty bad shape but seemed solid and cost me only $35. After sanding layers of old primer and paint, a new life was put onto the desk and I'm happy with what it became.

Day 1: The desk was brought home in pretty bad shape. Paint was chipped, holes were present where the former hardware had been, and there was a layer of raised glue on the top.

The first step was sanding. I started as low as the store would sell and then finished with about 220 grit. Layer after layer of old paint and glue began to chip away to a beautiful wood that was present beneath.

After sanding the entire desk, I caulked the holes that were left by the former hardware. The spots were then sanded to make way for the upcoming coat of primer.

The Sales Associate from Lowe's talked me into getting Zinsser's Bulls Eye Primer. I had already picked out a color at this point and she was able to add it to the primer for me. That way, if I didn't like it, it was an easy fix. I loved it and chose to stick with the color when it came around to buying the paint. I planned to put the desk in front of a window and really didn't want it to be too glossy. I chose a Valspar paint with a Matte Finish and added the Eddie Bauer color of "Oyster" to the mix. I only bought a quart and it turned out to be the perfect amount for the desk. I applied a few coats and touched up a few spots that needed a little more attention. I then let the desk sit and dry for a couple of days. I wanted some sort of way to protect the paint and was talked into buying a can of polyeurathane. Having never used it and reading many horror stories, I decided to try it out on the inside shelf of the desk. Like many online said, it dried yellow and was far from the finish I was looking for. I decided to take my chances with the paint and never applied anything over it.

Living on the coast, I have tried to find ways of using nautical items without being tacky or looking like a rented beach house. I had seen this done before, loved the idea, and decided to try it out on my own project. I went to West Marine and bought two different size boat cleats along with the hardware for around $20. I put the larger cleat on the pull out drawer and the two smaller sized ones on the cabinet doors. The cleats looked awesome on the desk and it turned out better than I had imagined.

The last step I took was getting a piece of glass custom made for the top. I went to local glass shop, Pane in the Glass, and told them the dimensions of what I wanted. Within a couple of days, it was ready to be picked up. The glass was perfect and made the desk look even greater. I had planned to put old maps or pictures under the glass but after seeing how great it looked with nothing under it, I plan to leave it exactly like it is.

 

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Garden

Today I was finally able to pick the first vegetables out of my garden. Though only three small cherry tomatoes, it is still awesome to see things begin to be ready.

 

Driftwood

Over the past two years, I've been collecting driftwood and doing nothing with it. A neighbor gave me half of an old minnow catcher and I decided to put to use and fill it with driftwood.

Half of the Minnow Catcher

Some small pieces of driftwood

 

Southern Soul

Southern Soul is one of my favorite places to eat here on Saint Simons. The BBQ is incredible and it's the only place that serves Nehi.

Quote on the Counter

Nehi Peach

Yard Sale

Still on the hunt for desk, I went to two yard sales in my neighborhood this morning. The only thing I brought home was this awesome wood box for bucks. The only change that will be made is to take the terrible knob off the top.

Night Kayak

After living on the water for a year and a half, I finally went out and did some night kayaking. With a full moon and an exceptionally high tide, I paddled over to the Cloister and then back up the Blackbanks River.

Sunset over St. Simons

 

Garden Labels

Now that my garden is finished and everything is growing, I wanted a way to remember what each plant was. I know what it will bear will make it obvious but between now and then, I needed a way to keep me informed. Each plant came with the little plastic info card but I think those are tacky and with the amount of wind we usually have, they weren't going to last long in the ground.

I saw on another blog where someone had used items such as spoons, wine corks, and even small chalk boards. The spoons were also tacky, I don't drink so the wine corks were a problem, and the chalk boards didn't seem like a good idea because when I watered the garden, it seems like the chalk would rinse right off.

I finally found another blog that came up with a perfect way and one that was exactly what I needed. They used the paint stirring stick that you can get from just about anywhere that sells paint. I set out to Lowe's and was given a handful without even buying paint. I was still a few short and decided to give Home Depot a try on another trip to Brunswick. Once I had the amount I needed, I used some old green spray paint to give these some color and cover up the logos on them. Each side needed a few coats because the wood absorbed the first few. Next came the task of putting the labels on them. I decided to use the end opposite of the handle and used a white marker that I bought at Michael's. This seems to be permanent and looks like it will hold up throughout the Summer.

When the marker dried, I went ahead and put them in the ground. When doing this, I realized I had misspelled Cantaloupe but at this point it was the least of my worries! Because of the length of the stirring stick and the heighth of the garden, these can be put at any level you want them.

Because I went with green, they blend in with the garden and do not take away from the plants. This is exactly what I wanted and it was basically free and can be used over and over each year.

And FYI, the stirring sticks from Home Depot seemed to work a bit better and took a few less coats of paint!

Raised Bed Garden

After last years failed attempt at growing anything, I was determined this year to make it work. A few weeks ago I built at raised 8x4 garden and filled it with plants a few days later. Two weeks in the ground, the plants are getting taller and even small tomatoes are beginning to appear. Here is what I did to build the raised bed.

Items Needed:

Six 2x8 Boards

Two 4x4 Posts

Drill

Pack of Outside Rust-Proof Nails

Hammer

Roll of 24" Chicken Wire

I went to Lowe's to get the wood - buying six 2x6 and two 4x4 posts. I had two of the 2x8 cut in half and both 4x4 posts cut in half. The smaller 2x8 served as the ends and the original 8 foot boards were both sides. I placed the 4' posts in each corner and screwed all sides into the boards. While others have cut off the posts so that they are flush with the top, I am using the posts to hold up the chicken wire.

Once completed, I moved it to the place where it was going to go. I picked this place because it was out of the way and would receive the most sunlight throughout the day. The garden bed needs to rest flat on the ground so I had to dig out some ground underneath one end of it.

While nothing was growing in this spot before, I wanted to put something down to keep out any weeds and anything else unwanted that may begin to grow. I simply laid down newspaper in a few layers and was sure to have some of it going up the side so that nothing could grow around it.

Now was the dreaded task of filling this thing up with dirt. I went back to Lowe's and bought ten bags of Top Soil and ten bags of Compost and this completely filled up the raised bed.

Once it was filled, I gave it a good mixing and begin to plant all of the plants. Being on the marsh, it is constantly windy and I didn't want to take any chances with seeds. Everything I bought was already a small plant, many coming in the peat pots that they can be planted in.

I planted over twenty plants so many are closer than they are suppose to be. In a few months I will find out if this was a good decision or not. Here are the plants I went with:

Red Bell Pepper

Green Bell Pepper

Silver Queen Corn

Egg Plant

Squash

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Cucumbers

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

Mr. Stripey Tomatoes

Solar Fire Tomatoes

Homestead Tomatoes

Super Sweet 100 Tomatoes

Lemon Boy Tomatoes

Once all these were in the ground, I went ahead and put the Chicken Wire around the garden. I put a nail on the outside of each of the four posts on the top and bottom. Because of the shape of Chicken Wire, it can be attached to these nails and it holds is perfectly. I pulled the wire as tight as I could so that it didn't droop and stood up straight. I also put a single nail on the inside of the garden about halfway down on each side. I attached the bottom of the wire on this nail so that the wire couldn't be pushed or pulled in either direction. So far this is working great and keeping the animals out.

Once this was up, I gave it a good soaking and let it begin to grow!