Buzzmills

A Summertime Back Yard...

I can hardly believe that it has been month since Violet's last day of First grade...and two since Henry's last day of pre-k! 

We have been so busy these past four weeks that the kids and I haven't been home for an entire week since school ended!  We've been having loads of fun flitting from city to woods to farmlands to beach but are happy to back at home too.  Because, while it is fun to be away and adventuring there is something to be said about...

Earlier, in the Spring we acquired a few items either extremely cheap or totally free and those few things have helped our backyard to continue to "grow" with us and really make it a place we love to be.

The two items that started the backyard updates were a free garden cart and a $3 piece of reclaimed lumber...

The garden cart was a boring brown/black plastic but then received a coat of turquoise spray paint to add a pop of color to our backyard...

And the reclaimed board?  I put a few coats of polyurethane on the board and then we simply plunked it atop a few cinder blocks (which we already had in our yard) and, so that it wouldn't shift, bought two c-clamps to clamp the board to the cinder blocks...Simple as that, a new rustic bench...This is, without a doubt, my favorite place to sit on our deck.  It just makes me happy.

That being said, I also love to sit on our new comfy outdoor cushions...

These news cushion covers have been a long time coming.  The original ones were dirty and gross from several summers, but really, who wants to spend their time making outdoor cushions?  The most difficult part of this project was deciding a color.  I didn't want a bold floral or geometric because that's just not my style, after days in and out of stores and online we finally decided on a bright solid turquoise.  I may have lied a tiny bit,  because while the making of the cushions wasn't difficult, it was time consuming.  I picked the stitches out of the old ones to that I could simply use them as a pattern and so that I could reuse the piping (no sense wasting perfectly good outdoor piping!).  In the end, I love the brown/turquoise combo and huge pop of color the cushions bring to the back yard!

Plus, bonus...I happened to have this wonderful blue/brown/turquoise print in my stash from a "freecycler" that made for perfect accent pillows!

There were a few bits of turquoise fabric scraps leftover from making these cushions so rather than throw them away, why not use them as "curtains" for our new "tree house"!

The kids had long passed fitting into their old freebie Fisher Price playhouse and more often than not were on top of it instead... We had been trying to come up with a plan for an inexpensive tree house to put in it's place when lucky us, someone in our neighborhood happened to be giving away a free playhouse! 

The timing wasn't at all perfect, but thanks to a playground building brother-in-law and his truck and trusty assistant...we passed along the old plastic house to a neighbor and moved this wooden one in! 

We are amazed at how perfectly it fits right up into the bows of our beloved cherry (fairy) tree, it's like the two were destined to be a match.  This tree house has truly been a labor of love.  It arrived in a pretty bare bones state.  We added handles and wooden ladders and a window just to keep everyone safe, and use our old (too small) slide as an "escape route"...

But aside from the "nuts and bolts" kind of stuff...we've also been adding little bits and pieces and odds and ends to make it just right! 

From small purchases of buckets, pulleys, steering wheels, lanterns, lights, telescopes, horns, and a fairy leaf roof...

To repurposed odds and ends from our house and my mom's garage, horseshoes, welcome signs, hanging baskets (suitable for stuffed animal swinging), chimes, dinner bells and a scrappy flag...

The space also has a new table and chairs for school, restaurant, or art play...

A peg board for "tools" underneath...

The "drum set" still lives!

And, just because I thought it was cute (and useful) a little bird storage seat...

All of it nestled among flower boxes, fairy gardens, drying mint, and flowers for butterflies and hummingbirds...

This is our summertime happy place.  The place where we retreat to throughout the day.  The place where we eat, relax, entertain, celebrate, play, tell stories, put on plays, watch wildlife and oh so much more...

Violet and Henry couldn't stop thanking me for all of the finishing touches put into their new tree house, and those thank yous...well they make this new space even better!

Happy summertime!

Pressed Flower Windows...

This week has brought us cooler temperatures and the smell of Fall is in the air.  In fact, it's less than a week away.  But, while I do love Fall and all it's leafy, pumpkin filled crafty possibilities...  I also really like those last bits of summer.  The warm glow of a late summer sun in the afternoon.  A garden bursting with sweet tomatoes, and another filled with vibrantly colored flowers.  Late summer is typically when our cosmos and other flowers are at their fullest, they may already be showing their seeds some of them, but others are still happily shining their faces toward the sun and bees. So, before the colors of fall come the colors of summer and to enjoy these even more both indoors and out we picked a few to decorate our back door...

These were so much fun to make.  The kids were in awe of their creations and couldn't stop oooing and ahhhing over their back door art installation! 

Plus, it's super simple to do...

Supplies needed:  clear contact paper, flower petals, credit card (or something similar to smooth the contact paper onto the window)

Begin with a pile of carefully plucked flower petals...

Next, cut contact paper to size, carefully peel the backing off and place the contact paper down on the counter with the sticky side up.  Now gently push your flower petals down onto the sticky contact paper with their more colorful side facing down. 

Have fun and get creative with your designs...

When you are finished with your flower petal design carefully (so as to not loose any petals) pick up your contact paper and, beginning with the bottom edge, smooth it slowly onto the window.  The credit card helps to ensure that you don't get any air bubbles. 

And now you have a beautifully adorned window...

Next...make some more because you surely will want to...
And before you know it your entire window will be covered in flowers!

And the sun will shine through and you will have a little bit of outside shining in...

It's magical! 

Oh, and when you are done, the contact paper simple peels right off and a little window cleaner will clean up any leftover flower petal residue.

But don't forget to leave some flowers behind for those bees...

Have a wonderful day!  Enjoy!

Preschool Project: Embroidery Hoop Leaf Suncatchers...

I love the colors of fall! 

I am always amazed by the different colors in the leaves.  I love how some leaves change their colors all at once, while others loose their colors bit by bit making them polka dotted or striped. 

It's still early fall here and we are just getting the cooler temperatures back, but colorful leaves have been floating around for quite some time now.  It's hard to walk by and not pick up one, or several, of those beautiful leaves to save.  But, what to do with all of those leaves!

In the past we have preserved some of our leaves with wax paper which was fun, but it also involves an iron.  This year we decided to do something a little different...

Here's what you'll need to make one of your own...

(Scissors, ribbon, contact paper, embroidery hoop, twine, a handful of leaves.)

To make...

Cut contact paper to size.  1)  Peel the backing off, lay down on work surface with sticky side up, place inside part of embroidery hoop on top.  2)  Press leaves onto the contact paper, with front sides down.  3)  Cut another piece of contact paper and place on top, sandwiching the leaves.  4)  press contact paper firmly together, smoothing out as you go.  Push tightly against the hoop and around the outside edges as well.

Add the outer part of the hoop to front of your inside hoop.  Tighten screw...

Trim contact paper edges.  Add a loop of twine to use for hanging.  Tie ribbon around the screw for decoration. 

And there you have it...a beautiful way to keep some of those colorful falling leaves... I took this project and it's supplies with me to Henry's preschool and each child had a chance to make their own suncatcher... They turned out beautifully didn't they?!  They were each so happy to see how beautiful their finished projects were. Check out some of our other preschool projects here.

And, as I always say...it was so much fun being in the classroom and creating with the kiddos.  Most of them are so used to me by now, as many are returning students.  I love to see how each child approaches the project and listen to them chatting and asking questions.  After the craft was completed Henry came over and exclaimed "It's so beautiful!"  and then gave me a hug.  So, yeah, that's always nice too!

Have a great day!

My Garden Helper...

Have a wonderful weekend!  Enjoy the first day of Fall! 

Linking this moment up with Amanda.

DIY Toy Hummingbird...

Today, I'm reposting a guest post I did earlier this summer for my friend Celina's blog, Petit a Petit & family. 

The week after this post went live on her blog we finally had our first hummingbird visitor of the year and since then they've been flitting around here and there.  We love them so much!  This morning it's cool and crisp out and fall is surely on it's way...but the hummingbirds haven't taken there leave just yet.  In fact, just the other day Henry was nearly buzzed by one!  There's still a bit more time to rejoice in the beauty of these tiny birds.  Enjoy!

Hello, I am thrilled to be here at Petit a Petit & family, thanks so much Celina for letting me share your space for the day!  My name is Jane and I blog over at Buzzmills where you’ll find me making crafts with my kids, sewing, and exploring nature, stop by sometime to say hi!

Celina just recently had an epiphany of sorts in which she decided that she would simply blog about things that she loves and in turn she suggested that to her guest posters as well..."Write about something you love."

There are lots of things I love, my husband, my children, breezes, summer pies, boats, trains, giggles, the beach and ocean...and many more...but one thing that I really love about summer in particular are hummingbirds!  They are simply magical flitting from one flower to the next.  The sound of their wings buzzing as the zoom past you. 
Their grace as they change direction mid air.  Every time one zooms into the yard and is noticed there is a whisper and a point from someone, "a hummingbird!" followed by a pause to watch and observe it until it moves on...

Sadly, for some reason, the hummingbirds haven't graced us with their presence this summer.  Perhaps it's because we don't have much Salvia this year (yet) partly because I began to add to the garden a bit late in the season.  Maybe we put out our feeders too late and they had already passed us over (incidentally, if we did have them I would gladly make them a new feeder!).  Or maybe it's something else all together...

Whatever it is we miss them.  And it doesn't quite feel like summer without them.

So, we decided if we can't find any hummingbirds we will simply make some intead!

To make 

supplies:  thin sheet of balsa wood, exacto knife, eye screw, wire, dowel, cardstock, glue (I used hot glue) acrylic paints, and a Hummingbird template

Cut two hummingbird body shapes out of the balsa wood.  Glue together for stability.  Paint your hummingbird as you'd like. 
While you are waiting for your bird to dry, carefully drill a hole into one end of your dowel, insert eye screw.  Feed a short length of wire through the eye and twist around on itself. Once the hummingbird is dry use your exacto knife to cut a small slit in the balsa wood that is slightly down from the top and about in the middle of the body to feed the wings through.  Cut out your wings from the cardstock and feed it through the slit.  Finally, carefully poke the wire between the two balsa pieces near the wings.  

And you are done!  Take your hummingbird outside to enjoy your garden... 



And, because I couldn't stop at just one hummingbird craft...I've got another... Stop by my blog to see more details...

Thanks again Celina for asking me here today, it was fun!