In The Garden Archives

Hootshack She-Shed

The She-Shed

My she-shed was the inspiration behind Hootshack. The project first started as a typical garden shed, but quickly transpired to a cozy little She-Shed and the creation of my blog and online store. There’s too much information in between for this one post, so let’s just get to the she-shed for now. (My posts contain affiliate links. For more information, please read my disclosures.)

So, the she-shed was supposed to be about 4’ x 6’, but after much debating, aka convincing Jake that it needed to be larger, “we” settled on 12’ x 8’. She-sheds are all the rage right now and I thought it would be a good way to fill up a large amount of space in our yard while also creating a quiet place for me to relax and create and a place for us to occasionally entertain. It’ll make a perfect service bar for backyard BBQs.

I never really have a set plan, things just tend to come together as projects go along. I really wanted shiplap, but the costs were just more than we wanted to spend. We talked to a guy at our local lumber yard and he said that the tongue and groove would work, as long as we put a really good primer and a couple of layers of paint. I’m really hoping that works and that we don’t end up replacing it with shiplap some day.

When we first started to build our own shed, I didn’t plan to start this blog. I wish I had taken more pictures along the way so I apologize for the quick fast-forward. There’s still so much to be done and I have to admit, I’m ‘just a tad’ over budget, but who wants to talk about that right now, right?! I did luck out with some great used items. The French doors were originally a greenish color with brass door knobs, circa 1980. I got them for $100! I painted the outside jet black and the inside stark white. I really love the black, red and white together. The garden fence will eventually be painted black as well. Yes, black! I purchased new doorknobs, and I’m pretty sure they cost more than the doors themselves. Oops (eyelashes fluttering – sorry Jake).

We were shopping at Lowe’s and found the back window that looks into my vegetable garden in the clearance section. I guess someone custom ordered it and then didn’t take it. Lucky me! Another $100 find. So I guess that’s only two good deals…. The rest is history and let’s still not talk about that. 😉

We debated on the roof for quite awhile. We almost did black asphalt shingles but they’ve never been my favorite. I really love the corrugated tin we chose, even though it’s probably not the best style to complement the style of our house. We’re still working on exterior touch-ups and some trim pieces but the outside is close to done.

This is a great book about She-Sheds!

More projects you’ll be reading about soon are:

inside painting
flooring
covered porch
side window awning
wreaths for the door
garden fence
window coverings
indoor decor (cha-ching)
little pop-up shop, about to be right in my own backyard! Yay! Hootshack is born!

Enjoy this little collage of the progress so far. I hope you’ll keep following along! I apologize for the blurry pics, I haven’t mastered that yet, but I’m working on it!

This is the space before the shed

Garden fence down, she shed foundation going in – Ryder and Deano performing the site inspection

Jake working hard

Getting ready for the roof

Featured in this post, Ryder the Golden Retriever and Bali the German Sheperd, oh, and me. The pups are cousins.

xoxo,

Denise

5:59 am by Hootshack

3 Simple Mason Jar DIY Projects

I love working with mason jars. Regardless of our age, these timeless treasures seem to have a memorable story for all of us. Whether they were the peaches preserved by grandma or the button collection of your moms, mason jars have stood the test of time. One of my childhood memories was visiting my aunt and uncle’s farm in Oakdale, California. My uncle had an old room with a dirt floor that was attached to the garage. We called it “The Pop Shop” because there was always a supply of “pop” (aka soda) in there. Along the top shelves of The Pop Shop were jars of preserved fruits, jams, and vegetables that my aunt had made. I honestly thought the veggies looked pretty gross and my eyes were always on the prize, the soda! All that soda…. I can still smell the musty room when I close my eyes. I can also remember the sharp pinch from the geese that bit us when we were strolling through the gardens! Man those geese were mean!

Crafts are one of my favorite past-times and I’m always needing little trinkets, screws, nails, paint brushes and many other things. Most of these items live in mason jars in my craft room. This month I participated in a #DIYBlogChallenge where the theme is mason jars, and I had no shortage of ideas! Other than using them for storage, here are three of my favorite mason jar DIY projects:

Painted Vases or Containers

Things you need t0 paint mason jars

Acrylic paint or chalk paint
Paintbrush
Rubbing alcohol
Cloth or cotton ball
Sealer

Not every craft needs a full DIY with pictures and tutorials, but there are a few things that are important to note when painting mason jars

wear gloves and clean the surface of the glass with a lint-free cloth and rubbing alcohol prior to painting in order to remove oil from your hands and other debris (cotton ball will work but watch for fuzzies)
allow paint to dry completely between coats – two coats are recommended
to get the distressed look, sand the raised edges with a small piece of sandpaper
if you’re using a chalk paint, be sure to also use a sealer

Burlap Flower Vases

Burlap flowers vases are easy to make. You can read my Rustic Burlap Flower Wreath post to learn how to make the burlap flowers. I attach my burlap flowers with a hot glue gun using glue that dries more clear. I think these would make beautiful wedding centerpieces with your favorite floral arrangements inside.

Hanging Mason Jar Lights

These hanging lights are one my favorites and are really quite easy to make. I bought these light cords for this project and they worked great. Because this one might need a little more explaining, I created a quick DIY tutorial for you!

On your light cord towards the socket, there is a larger ring that unscrews from the socket. Remove that ring and set it aside (see next photo)
Remove the center of the lid from the mason jar and set the ring and jar aside
Using the end of the socket, trace around the end that holds the light bulb onto the back of the mason jar lid like in the next photo – you can see the socket end I traced with the ring that we removed laying to the left and the circle. I traced the socket end, not the outer ring.

Place the mason jar lid on a block of wood and use a small drill bit to drill holes close together. You can keep going all the way around or just get started with the drill bit and then use tin snips or old scissors to cut out the rest of the hole. Please wear gloves. The edges are sharp!

Fit the socket into the hole and then attach the outer ring from the socket onto the inside of the lid – I should still have my gloves on! Please keep them on. 😉

Now screw in your light bulb then feed the plug end through the mason jar ring and screw the mason jar lid onto the jar. The plug will be facing towards the sky out the top of the mason jar ring and the rest of the lighting attachments will be hanging out the bottom. This is not a pretty light bulb but I plan on using it in a painted jar. If you’re using a clear jar, buy a pretty light bulb.

I’m going to hang three of these mason jar hanging lights from my outdoor gazebo. I love the way they turned out. This photo does not do it justice but have you ever tried to take a picture of a light hanging at night with an iPhone?

I would love to hear what your favorite use is for mason jars. If you have extra ones, be sure to check out my Mason Jar Bird Feeder. Also, be sure to comment below and let me know what your favorite use is for mason jars or what your favorite memory of them is. I would love to hear.

Please take a minute and visit some other creative ladies from this month’s DIY Blog Challenge! Makes, Bakes and Decor and Cassie Smallwood.

xoxo,

Denise

9:32 am by Hootshack

To Market, To Market – Farmer’s Market

I absolutely love gardening. The only problem is, gardening doesn’t love me! We used to live on an 80 acre almond orchard just outside of Paso Robles and I had this amazing garden. I had the most amazing (apparently everything is “amazing” today) vegetables and I didn’t even have to try hard at all. I got all of the dirt from the orchard itself. I had tomatoes, beets, carrots, garlic, onions and anything else I wanted. I got so much joy out of that garden and I really thought I had a green thumb. Well, fast forward quite a few years later and now we live in a neighborhood in town on a small lot that was heavily compacted with decomposed granite. It takes hours with an electric shovel contraption to dig one hole for a tree. No problem, right? I’ll just build a couple of raised garden beds and plant all of my veggies there.

My favorite little gal, Ryder, waiting for her sweet peas. She loves them! Hence, the fence….

I started with a small greenhouse and planted each little seed by hand. I tended to them daily and established some great little plants that were ready for their permanent home in the garden. I transplanted everything, worked in my garden regularly and guess what happened? Absolutely nothing. That’s right, pretty much everything died. I had some carrots that went crazy, but they ended up tasting like perfume. What the heck happened? I did everything the same with my little green thumbs but I could not grow anything. It started to become a regular joke with my son. He’d see me planting something and say, “Is that your next victim?” My “gardening” attempts were just plain sad!

The following season, I really got ahead of the game and dug out all of my soil and bought organic garden soil that was recommended by our local soil company. I did some soil tests, added some amendments and spent more money on more established plants rather than grow things from seed. I don’t want to make this story too long, but my season was about the same as the year before. We have a lot of wind and sun in our backyard. Two things I didn’t have on the almond orchard. This year we had an extremely windy day and the cover from my outdoor gazebo ripped off and I was left with the frame. I got to thinking that maybe I could use it to cover my little garden to provide some cover. I bought 3 rolls of bamboo fencing and my husband helped me cut it to fit and zip-tied it on the top. I’ve decided that if this doesn’t work, I’m calling it quits.

After apologizing to my neighbor for my new cover not looking as “neighborly” as it should, I promised to replace it with something nicer if it worked this season. So far, I’ve had some plants grow from seeds that I put in last year. Seeds that didn’t grow last year at all. Some I can’t even identify. I’m pretty sure I have two eggplant, but I honestly have no idea. Anyone know how to tell? Is there some sort of plant identifier app out there? I also have carrots, kale, peas and bean “seed duds” from last year and tomatoes that are growing from the seeds from the old tomatoes that dropped last year. (My tomatoes actually grew.)

I’m not getting too excited yet. It’s only May and the heat has just barely started. I’m definitely ahead of last year, but I don’t want to jinx myself! For now, I’ll still enjoy my trips to the local farmer’s markets. My favorite one is in Templeton, the town where I attended high school just a few short years ago (maybe a little longer than that). I’m so envious of everything I see and am patiently waiting to see if this is, in fact, my season to redeem myself. My thumbs are sort of half-perked up….

Look at my sugar snap peas! (Go me!)

Stay tuned as I’ll be posting my progress as the season progresses. Let me know if you have any amazing gardening tips for me. I can certainly use them!

Happy Gardening!

Denise

9:29 am by Hootshack

Mason Jar Bird Feeder

How To Make A Mason Jar Bird Feeder

(My posts contain affiliate links. I may make a small commission at no cost to you if you choose to purchase an item by clicking on a link in this post.)

My Mason Jar Bird Feeder is honestly one of the easiest projects I’ve made so far. I made it very quickly using heavy gauge copper wire, a mason jar, a poultry feeder and some bird seed. That’s it. I got the copper wire in a package at Lowe’s and the poultry feeder at the local feed supply. I’ve included some links at the bottom if you’d like to purchase the items on Amazon.

If you look at the picture, you’ll see a spiral pattern near the poultry feeder. I achieved this by putting some duct tape over a pair of pliers and wrapping the copper wire tightly in a circular pattern until I got the look I wanted. From there, I placed the jar on a towel so it wouldn’t slip and wrapped the wire around the jar as tightly as I could. The last section, which makes the hanging hook, was done by hand. The reason I used the tape on the pliers is to keep the wire from being scratched.

I wanted to mention that I immediately cut my finger a little bit on the end of the copper wire where the initial cuts were made. Not bad, just a thick paper cut that makes you scream in agony when you squeeze that slice of lemon in your water… I’m going to use a file to soften that up a bit or squeeze the ends in a little with some pliers. (I never suggest or indicate that you should make one of my projects on your own unless you feel comfortable with tools and can follow all of the safety instructions provided by manufacturers for each product. I’m not a specialist in that area so please try any projects at your own risk.) The one thing I don’t like about the feeder is the filling part. You have to fill the jar, place it in the wire holder and then screw the poultry feeder to the top (so it’s upside down at this point). Now, in one quick motion, you flip the feeder right side up. Don’t do this slowly or you’ll lose all the bird seed! You also can’t refill it unless it’s completely empty or as you tip it to refill, guess what? You lose all the bird seed! 😉 This is a cute feeder and the birds love it. You’re probably just getting to know me, but I love specialty packaging. Check out this post about a cute packaging idea for the birdseed. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did, be sure to look on the left side of my page (no, your other left….it’s clearly on the right as I just saw when proofreading this post for the 20th time) and sign up for more posts delivered to your inbox. xoxo, Denise

9:26 am by Hootshack

Pallet Wood Tool Caddy or Planter Box

(This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure by clicking the disclosures link in the sidebar.)

Sunday was a busy day. I prepared dinner for 25 people, cleaned my entire house, decorated for a graduation party and created a new DIY project, all by 3 pm. I know what you’re thinking, “I hate these over-achiever types that make life look so easy.” Well…. If you had seen me running around like crazy, whipping things into random closets, scrubbing like a mad woman and racing to the hardware store to finish a project that I had procrastinated doing when I had weeks to prepare, you would have seen one heck of a mess and not the well-put together, organized person that it may have sounded like I was when you first started reading this post. I wish I was better at preparing, but honestly, my entire life is last minute.

In May, I joined a new #DIYBlogChallenge where a group of DIY bloggers pick a new theme each month and create something new. This is my first month and the theme chosen was Father’s Day. I thought this was going to be an easy one for me, but I actually had a hard time trying to think of something that I could make that a dad would use. When it comes to gifting, I always feel like I need to choose something practical that someone will use. I rarely pick something just for fun and I don’t know what’s made me that way. My bobblehead statue of Dwight Schrute on my desk that my kids bought me is clearly not practical, but it’s one of my favorites and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. (Please give Dwight a shout out in the comments if you know who he is!) I saw a lot of cute projects to make with your kids, but since my last one graduated from high school, that didn’t seem appropriate at this time in my life.

I decided to make a DIY Pallet Wood Tool Caddy that could be used to tote around some of the essential tools while working in the yard. I already had a pile of pallet wood scraps that were pre-cut, so all I had to buy was a piece of closet dowel and a set of closet dowel hardware. I did cut a few square pieces that I used to hold the pallet pieces together. You can see how I did it in this picture.

The closet dowel hardware was used to hold the two pieces together at the top so that I could drill the hole for the dowel and not have the two pieces of board separate. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on this project so I bought white, metal hardware and spray painted them gray. It would have looked great with the galvanized pieces I found, but they were about $7/each. If you’re going to resell these, it may be worth it to spend a little more in order to achieve a more authentic look. Since I was pressed for time, I tried using wet tea bags to tarnish the closet dowel a bit. It worked a little but if I had more time, I would have spent a little longer and roughed up the dowel a bit so it looked older like the pallet wood. I don’t have a lot of patience for pulling out all of the nails from pallets, so this DIY Pallet Wood Tool Cady was made using pieces that we cut out of pallets with a skill saw. I saved some pieces that split and that’s what I used for the upper railing pieces.

Because the wood was already cut, this project took less than an hour from start to finish. Pre-drilling the holes for all of the screws took the longest. This is necessary because the pallet wood is so hard that the screws will split the wood if you don’t pre-drill the holes. It may be hard to tell from the picture, but I drilled a hole through the closet dowel on both ends and ran a bolt through them so the handle doesn’t slip out.

I hope you enjoyed this project. I have to admit, this little gem is going in my new She-Shed that my husband and I are in the process of building. I’m really looking forward to my she-shed reveal post. I’m hoping it will be done in the next couple of weeks. In case you’re wondering, the She-Shed is the woman’s answer to the Man Cave!