Summer Deck Party!

Hi, welcome to my deck.

I picked the fabrics and made new cushions last year,

but there has been some re-arranging going on.

However, I always have ferns!

It's hot and humid here, so they seem to thrive.

Here are some plants that have been thriving this summer -

totally unbothered by the deer problem in the previous post.

We do have picket gate doors on the ends of our deck,

so that keeps most critters out.

I have dragonwing begonias, sweet potato vine, and pink lantana.

The tall spikey plant is purple shield, which gets even taller

and is a beautiful plant!

The rest of the porch doesn't need explanation.

                                             
                                          The pictures above are on the open part of the deck.
The table & chairs, along with the rockers are on the part of the deck with a roof.  We thought about making it a screened porch, but enjoyed the unobscurred views of the trees and greenery and decided to leave it.
              

See the little picnic basket below.....

with the plants in it?

Well, behind it is a bird nest.

Let me just tell you that while I was taking pics of the deck,

the mama bird and one of her friends had  absolute

hissy fits - chirping & and screaming!

I finally gave up because I was afraid the mama was going to have

a heart attack and leave her eggs/babies abandonned!



BTW, I just noticed that EVERYTHING (except for the

rockers,wicker chairs & coke crate) came from GW or a yard sale.

Amazing how those things pull together.

Hope you are having a great summer.

It's HOT here!

Blessings, and stay cool!

Linda

I'm joining

Kim at Savvy Southern Style for her Deck Party this week.

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.

Porch Decorating Bargains

No garage saling for me this weekend.....high 90's and we are melting! However, over the past few weeks I have come upon some GW bargains that helped me finish the porch....when I wasn't even trying!

I found this GW gem of a tall folding metal table for $8.

I loved the shape of this $3 candlestick - reminds me of "Lumière" in Belle (Beauty and the Beast).

Never underestimate the power of paint! Here it is in white....with a bow.....and apple green candles.

I had walked out of GW one day and remembered I wanted to look for a wooden box to paint. As I walked right back in 30 seconds later, they were bringing out the 2 chairs and lounge chair & footstool below, along with 2 matching swivel chairs AND the table shown above. I had been looking for a glass top table to replace my molded white porch table (previously pictured covered with a tablecloth).

The price was $35 for all 7 pieces! on senior day and I almost just took the table and left the rest, HOWEVER, I remembered daughter & daughter-in-law and took the whole pile -and voilà! The table is perfect for my curvy chairs, and both girls were thrilled to get extra chairs for free!

I think this mis-matched set works so well together. 30 year old rockers - gift from Mom 30 years ago, $20 for 4 iron chairs bought several years ago from a friend while helping her run a garage sale, $35 for table a couple of weeks ago....hmmmm, well, it takes a while for a plan (that's a plan?) to come together. I am ECLECTIC! How about you??

My little iron footstool from Daughter just fits right in, doesn't it!

I came home from an errand yesterday, and hubby was doing a little makeover -or, should I say improvement.
Check out the stepping stones below. After 31 years here (and our house on the market) he has added stepping stones. It is a nice little walkway to the faucet. Why didn't we think of this 31 years ago?

Thanks for checking out my thrifty makeovers. Thanks also for your comments. I try to return them all, but sometimes life gets crazy....it's been that way lately!

I'm joining these parties:

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Blessings to you! Linda

Porch, Patriotism, Plans

Happy Fourth of July! What a privilege to celebrate the freedom of our country, when courageous men declared their independence from England and then put their lives on the line. We are very blessed people to live in a land with such an amazing heritage. I pray we don't ever forget it. God has certainly blessed our country.

We began flying our flag daily, beginning the day after 9/11, and our porch seems "naked" without it!

And now for some random, thrifty redos.....first, this little dated $3 green box with compartments and a fruity painting.

I thought this would be fun for the grandies. I painted it white, tied some jute around it, and filled it with Scrabble tiles, dominoes, sea shells, golf balls, corks, cards, and Scrabble trays. I am looking for marbles, and some other interesting stuff for them to dig out and play with.

Daughter gave me this adorable little footstool - a thrifty GW find, and it didn't need paint or anything...good to go! I love the iron legs and the straw covering tied on with jute.

I found this tall $2 tin pitcher looking like this...OK, I know it's patriotic, but it's just too busy for me.

So I painted it apple green with left over paint from my green porch chair and it fits right in on the porch.

I have a GREAT project to show you that Daughter did, but am having trouble with the pics sent from her camera. I'll take some pics with my camera and show you next time. You won't believe it!!!

Also, this is a project waiting in the wings to be completed by Daughter-in-law and me. I can't wait to see this makeover.

I'm joining these parties....oh, and thanks, ladies, for your weekly hostessing!

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures

Marty at A Stroll thru Life for Tabletop Tuesdays

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

May you have a safe and Happy 4th of July! And May God bless our country, guide our leaders, protect our servicemen and women, and allow us to be a beacon of freedom to the world....one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Blessings to you. Linda

Back Porch & Bargains

Well, it's hot here in the south, but I'm getting my porch and deck refreshed with some sewing projects and some bargains. We just have to enjoy the outdoor rooms in the early morning or when the sun goes down.

I have seen so many fun projects in Blogland where people have painted chairs, etc., whimsical colors. I decided that apple green would tie in well with my refreshed cushions on the porch and deck. Sooooooo, this little chair has been hanging out in my basement, drab and neglected for about 8 years.

One can of apple green spray paint later.....

Isn't she cute!

We have a deck that extends the length of the house on the back. Hubby decided (very wisely) to roof part of it to make it comfortable in the afternoon sun. This is the open deck part. The all-weather chairs have new cushions.....er.....one new cushion and one folded fabric. I just finished recovering the chair cushion on the left. Let me just say.....if anyone asks, "Do you make box pillows with piping?" RUN THE OTHER WAY. Argh! I am quitting sewing for a while. I'll finish later today (maybe). What a pain! (Why does the window box on the left look 4 times fuller than the one on the right??Same sun....same direction??)
The petunias in the window box (I promise they are there!) are re-grouping, resting, and getting ready for another bloom (I hope!).

This is the part of the deck that is covered....yeah! That's a little GW wicker table from last year.

And the black tole-wanna-be tray was $1 last year at a church sale.

On the baker's rack I found a brown wooden candlestick....I used the famous Heirloom White paint and then distressed it a little. Next to it is a flea market find - a children's wicker lunch basket. I used it for a plant holder. You won't believe what Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict has done with a large one. I'll probably be copying that soon. It is gorgeous!

The lanterns and white container holding the red flowers are all from garage sales last year.

Oh, my grandies adore the swing, so it stays up ALL the time!

The large wicker basket on the bottom shelf holds my grandies' bubble containers and refill.
You've gotta have that in the summer!

OK, this little cutie almost hit the trash can or GW. She is a rather large ceramic turtle that I have had for about 30 years. She used to have ceramic shoes, but they broke sometime back and I almost got rid of her. But now she has some ivy and sits on top of the sand box container for my grandies. I'm glad I kept her.

See her there.....this is the fun area for my grandies.

Hope you enjoyed visiting my porch. Thanks to all of you for sharing so much inspiration. I'm a good copy cat!

I'm joining up with:

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday,

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures,

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday,

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.

Be sure to check out their sites!

Have a wonderful weekend and week! Blessings to you. Linda