Crafty Texas Girls: backyard

Showing posts with label backyard. Show all posts

6/23/14

DIY Towel Rack (for the Pool)

A sure sign of summer in my house is a big pile of pool towels. They seem to be draped over all the patio furniture and inevitably my laundry room. While there is no escaping a little 'extra laundry' over the summer, I did find a solution to the patio problem.

A few months ago when Jeff was making our Chevron Pallet Coffee Table, he had an extra piece of wood. A really good extra piece of wood. It was stamped with 'Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee'. He asked if I wanted to keep it and that's when an idea popped into my head. Why not add some industrial screws and turn it into a Pool Towel Hanger?!

So my hubby drilled four holes into the wood, added 'liquid nails' and then screwed in the screws :)

For more info on using DIY tools, click here.

Pool towels all over the patio? Noooooo!!!

After drying for 24 hours, we hung it on the fence by the pool equipment.

Now the towels have a place to hang, a place to dry, and a place to wait until I am ready to wash them.

Summer is good!

PS. If you are wondering, I just hit 2 weeks with my Jamberry Nails! They still haven't come off! So to celebrate, I am hosting a fun giveaway. Who doesn't love pretty nails for summer?!

Use the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win a fun prize package from Nicole with Jamberry Nails.

You can also click {here} to buy Jamberry Nail Wraps from my online party exclusively for Crafty Texas Girls readers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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5/28/14

Build a Tree House

The majority of our backyard is pool and patio. On either side of the pool is a side yard. To the left, we have the pool equipment and a shed for the mower etc. To the right, is the trampoline and a beautiful cypress tree. A trampoline is not the most 'beautiful' yard accessory, but when your kids are young and bouncy-- it is a necessity. While watching them bounce one day, they called out 'we need a tree house'.

We laughed it off, but that one little comment planted a seed. A seed that grew into a sketch, that sprouted into a car load full of wood, that blossomed into a tree house.

My "carpenter" built this tree house for our girls. No plans, he just measured and built. I love that. The girls were outside with him the whole time, helping the best they could. And I could see on his face that he loved every minute of it.

He built this tree house like a pro! He included all things a kid would want in a tree house. He added ladder for climbing. A slide for fast 'getaways'. He even put up a bucket with a pulley so the girls could send things up and down.

Pieces of wood from the construction process that could have been discarded, he saved. They have become one of the girls favorite toys-- simple wooden blocks. Because a wooden block has endless possibilities in the mind of a child.

The whole tree house is functional and still so visually appealing. Copper caps on top of the posts.

And here is the view from the house. The tree branches make the most beautiful canopy. The wind blows through the leaves and the girls feel like little birds, hidden away in a nest at the top of a tree.

When he was done he said, "Ever since I was little, I wanted to build a tree house. And now I finally got to do it. That will probably be the only tree house I will ever get to build."

Those words made me feel melancholy. How many things are there in life that we only get to experience once? Dreams that we thought might never happen-- and then one day they suddenly come true. "Tree house moments". Small hopes from our childhood that we keep tucked away deep inside, buried under the busy life of an adult.

When I look at that tree house, I don't just see a place for our girls to play. I see the realization of a kid's dream. I see joy in the details. And it inspires me.

How many chances in life do you really get to 'build a tree house'?

4/18/14

DIY Chevron Pallet Table

When I say "DIY Chevron Pallet Table", I mean you can 'do it yourself' or you can have your husband do it and then take photos of it and put it on your blog:) Which is what I did.

My wood-working man surprised me again by making something amazing with his own bare hands. We recently bought this love-seat and set of chairs from Target. They had an outdoor coffee table made of faux wood at the store, but Jeff was determined he could make something better. And he did!

Using a pallet and some other wood, he designed and built this Chevron Table. I love that he cut the wood in such a way that the "Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee" stamp is still visible.

We moved our table down near the pool. We'll add a sun umbrella to it soon, so we can enjoy dining outdoors.

Here is a look at how the rest of the backyard looks now. You may remember we spent a lot of time last spring adding a tin accent wall to the fence, installing reclaimed wood to the patio ceiling, putting stone on the fireplace, painting furniture, creating Texas pallet art, as well as installing that tv and pretty chandelier. (Links to all those projects are at the end of this post.) So this spring, we are happy to just sit back and enjoy it all.

For Christmas, my Dad and I got Jeff a Big Green Egg. Naturally Jeff built his own 'nest' to hold the Egg. Not sure how much you know about the Big Green Egg-- but my husband makes amazing yummy food with it.

I have to admit that the upkeep of our yard is done completely by Jeff. But picking out the outdoor throw pillows for the patio chairs--that was ALL me. I like to pull my weight around here :)

See all of our "Industrial Chic" backyard posts and projects below...

-Industrial Chic (Inspiration Board and Goals)

-Tin Accent Wall

-State Pallet Art

-Reclaimed Wood Ceiling

-Adding Stone to the Outdoor Fireplace

Painted Patio Furniture

How to Mount a TV on the Patio

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