Old Keys and Wind Chimes

     

I've mentioned before my husband is a hoarder. I sometimes get frustrated, and then I look closer and wonder...maybe it's a good thing.

I had asked him what on earth he was planning for these, he said (and I couldn't tell if he was smirking or laughing) he is going to become 'Larry the Locksmith'. Oh brother...as expected they've sat hung for years...

...high up in the rafters of the lean-to where they were forgotten. (They will get displayed in my new craft room when I finish it)

Then, something broke.

My wind chimes are missing a lot of the 'tubes'. What a mess!

And I had an idea...but of course he had to pick out the keys I was allowed to use, because the others are "harder to find" (or he just likes keeping his junk?).

I gathered supplies and set about creating my idea.

Fishing line (not shown: glue gun & scissors)

Wiring the keys...

I used a triple knot to tie on the keys and glued the wire to the top.

I had to replace the string because it had deteriorated over the years.

 I kept a short length of the original twine to glue the fishing line in place. 

I had the keys laid out according to the length of the nylon string to get the cascading effect the original wind chimes had.

Do you remember this picture? You might have seen it here. 

I'm hoping with the amount of glue I used it will hold up!

And here it is finished...looks busier than I expected, then again, I put 2 keys on a few of the lines. But oh wow, does it sound wonderful!! Larry told me I need to make a video so you can hear how great it sounds, but the one I made turned out funny. So I'll try another...then again, I have no idea if (or how) I can upload a video here. lol

 It was night when I finished but I couldn't wait to test them out. So I hung it in the pool room. Can you see the old sea shell wind chime hanging from the light beside it? Yep, I love chimes. 

And that old rusty bottle opener? It was hanging with the keys, so I had to use it.

 By the courtyard...hard to see with all that's going on behind it.

Guess I have to trim the string...oops

 Yes, it was a lot of work, but I just love the sound of it. 

If you saw my last post, you saw a teaser...did you think this might be what was coming? And now, what am I going to do with all those other keys still hanging around? I have no an idea...my craft room will need decorations! 

I'm linking up to:

               

               

    

                          

Projects Galore...but furniture is on hold

I sometimes don't know where to start.

 Playing with bokeh on my dipledinia picture

 Whether writing on my blog, or working on a project...I usually have more than one thing on the go.

Beautiful moth flitting around my hibiscus

I have a slew of posts saved to drafts...just need to get the pictures finished and edit.

And I have a folder on my computer filled with pictures of projects needing to be added to posts.

And then there are the projects I have sitting waiting for me to get my butt in gear.

But, I have been getting ready for fall.

Fresh hydrangeas and house mums in my candle holder (a wine glass inside to hold water).

Even the games room/workshop has a bit of decor.

Fresh cut sunflowers and heliotrope in an old kettle with dollar store stuff in an old egg basket.

I am signed up for an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint 'Boot Camp' workshop at 'Diamonds & Toads' in St. Thomas. It was suppose to be yesterday, but her employee called in sick leaving her with nobody to man the store during the class. She is busy on Saturdays so it wouldn't be fair to the class if she had to run out every few minutes. So it's being rescheduled.

In the meantime, I had a whole day with nothing to do! Perfect for finishing (and starting) some projects! Just a glimpse of what I was working on yesterday. (no furniture...will wait till I'm properly trained to get those projects done! lol)

Working with old keys...any idea what I'm doing with these?

Another sale score! Strange fall decor, but it works, I think...more to come...

This one is on hold till Larry gets home...you can see how much the clamp moved when I was using the drill on a log it was holding. The second oops on this project! Not hurt bad, so all's good. 

This started out as a silver platter from the dollar store. Will be finishing this one today.

Started my Autumn gardening. What does this old piece of driftwood look like to you?

Prepping my tropicals to bring indoors for the winter, spraying for bugs & shining the pots & leaves. Oh, and see the wooden ladder behind the post? Picked that up for $6.00 last week!

Can you tell what I'm working on here? This one also has to wait for Larry's help to be finished. 

The day ended with the most amazing sunset! I have the most incredible pictures to share...but in another post. Looking at this one, doesn't it look like the trees are on fire? 

Changing colours for autumn? No, the sunset and rain clouds...

I can't believe I worked on all that yesterday, including running into town to do some shopping, twice! No wonder I'm tired today. 

Do you get overwhelmed? Do you find yourself working on multiple projects at once...sometimes leaving them all unfinished, because you run out of time, waiting for you to get back to them? 

I sure hope I'm not alone! 

Double Autumn Wreath

We get a few trade magazines at work and sometimes they will have incredible ideas we use in the store. And sometimes an idea will inspire me to do one for my home. We recently received the Canadian Florist Magazine. Browsing through I came across a Christmas decoration created by Darlene Rupke  made with two wreaths, large & small, decorated with assorted greens, pine cones, moss and phalaenopsis orchids. It wasn't a hanging wreath; set in a holder it made a beautiful table-top arrangement.

I knew the double wreath idea would be perfect as Autumn decor. I love how it turned out.

Have to go for a hike to find real acorns...

Let me show you how I did it.  First I had to take off all the 'stuff' on this old dollar store wreath.

Then I attached it to my larger wreath using twine & my trusty hot glue gun.

Next I started adding the items I had in my Thanksgiving box and some new ones I picked up at the dollar store. I cut off what I needed from sprays of artificial flowers. It's not often I use artificial, but come fall and Thanksgiving I use some because I need them to last a long time. Yes, I decorate weeks ahead of time because I'm so tired of the heat and decorating for fall makes me feel cooler. :) And for my American friends, our Thanksgiving in Canada is always on the second Monday in October. 

I used burnt umber acrylic paint to cover up any glue and twine that showed.

I had a bag of raffia left over from last year, so I made a bow to add. And it took me a while to decide which spot I liked it best in!

Didn't it turn out cute? I eventually hung it on the inside of our door so I can enjoy it every time I walk by. I'll have to do something different for the outside because with the storm door, this would get squished.

I love how the sun coming in the door window created 'sundrops' reflected in this picture. 

I'm linking up with:

                  

                             

                        

Bird Station from a Recycled Skid

I love watching the birds. I've had bird feeders and bird houses for as long as I've had a home to place them. Where we live now has a lot of property and I've had them scattered around. But that can make for a lot of work filling the feeders. So, when we built the fence to keep the chickens out of the courtyard garden, I moved all the feeders to a section that is close enough for me to still watch the birds and accessible for the chickens (they peck and eat the seed that falls to the ground, which keeps the weeds down). But it was still a bit of a distance from where I stored the feed. And, come winter, will be a bit of a pain to drag all the containers out for filling.

 The bird fence

The bird garden with my home made bird bath

I knew what I wanted...a bird station. My husband has a bunch of old skids and a slew of wood out back. I asked him nicely if he could cut one of the skids.

And while he did that, I used the saw to cut the legs. I wanted a tall table to I didn't have to bend over to fill the feeders.

Then I screwed the legs to the skid and voilà! I have a bird station!

Yes, there are a ton of weeds in this section of the property, and what is with that little pot sticking out from under the lean-to? 

I had made a sign that was perfect for this area. I printed out a bird graphic from The Graphics Fairy and using Paint Shop Pro I typed up a bird saying in a cute font. I reversed the words to transfer to a board I had painted.

I painted over this...for some reason I didn't like the way it turned out so I started again.

 And this is what it looks like after I painted the letter transfers and mod podged the bird graphic! I love it. I distressed it to look old, and I just noticed, I still haven't painted the screw heads.

 I actually ended up using a different bird from The Graphics Fairy than the one shown previously.

I have it against the back of the lean-to and added the bird house, feeder and signs. I absolutely love my bird station! It is right beside the 'bird garden'. It's on the north side of the building, I don't have to worry about baking the feed. 

 The large plastic container underneath is the one I use for unshelled peanuts for the jays & chipmunks. 

The large wooden bird was on sale at Zellers. Metal feed containers I got for a song at the thrift store. I toyed with the idea of painting them, but I like the designs on them, they fit the theme. One has mixed bird feed and one is filled with finch feed. I still need to find something to store the suet blocks in. 

 I plan to plant ground-cover underneath the bench.

 My little wooden birds I picked up from work, Walter's Greenhouses, last spring.

This suet sign I picked up at work on sale a few years ago...plus my employee discount. I love shopping at work! 

 This birdhouse, and basket feeder on the wall were also on sale at work.

I love how easy it is to fill my feeders now. The board underneath is where I store a scrubber for the bird baths, and a screwdriver to pry open the smaller tin container (it sticks bad). 

As I find more bird decor, feeders & houses they will get added to this special spot on our property. 

Do you have a specific place to store your bird feed? 

I'm sharing with: