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Wood Slice Chargers and Lemonade

Wood slice chargers/placemats and coasters!!

This is an easy and creative way to add the outdoor-sy feel to your table and have an added table dressing for each setting. We used a chainsaw for the large pieces under the plates {Brant did this} and a compound mitre box saw for the small pieces under the cups {I did this part}. You can seal these for storage and multiple uses. The best way to seal the wood is to use polyurethane and be sure to lather up both sides. Other ideas for enhancing these are to stain them, sand them so they are smooth and to burn and image or letter into them. If you are using them indoors {on a nice table} it may be good to add felt underneath.

Below is an image of my hubby chainsawing the wood.

He made this brace to hold the wood for easier cutting.

We couldn’t end this post without a fabulous lemonade recipe for you. We found this one on myrecipes.com and it is wonderful!

Peach Lemonade Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups water
2 cups coarsely chopped peaches
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
4 cups ice
1 peach, cut into 8 wedges

Preparation

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Place peach mixture in a blender; let stand for 20 minutes. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid. Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
2. Press peach mixture through a sieve over a bowl, reserving liquid; discard solids. Stir in lemon juice. Place 1/2 cup ice in each of 8 glasses. Pour about 2/3 cup lemonade into each glass; garnish each glass with 1 peach wedge.

David Bonom, Cooking Light

Hope you have a great week!! We always love hearing from you here and on Facebook!

Be sure to check out our Pinterest boards too when you have a chance!!

Organize your Kitchen with a Pallet Shelf

Here is a great way to re-purpose old wooden pallets. My dad is a cement man so wooden pallets are plentily available to me! I was so excited to find this great tutorial by the Real Housewives of Bucks County on how to make these great pallet shelves. They were the perfect solution to use in Kim’s kitchen for storing cookbooks, utensils, etc.. We plan to make more to have for sale at this springs JosieJones Cottage Sale!!!

Globe Lights

I mentioned that my hubby can create anything I dream up and this is proof!

This is a globe that broke apart but I could not bear to toss it out. The globe halves have a simple shop light inside of them. I kept the shop light as is {I didn’t take off the metal dome} so the heat of the lights will go to the shop light aluminum before the cardboard globe. This way, they also have switches so you can turn one off or use this as the main way to control the light.

The wood piece came from an old barn that was being torn down. We found the barn teardown posted on Craig’s List and went for the vintage wood to make our pergola {which will be featured another month}. This piece was left over from that project.

Brant did a series of wiring things…he tacked the cords down to the wood to minimize visibility, he spliced them together so they could connect to a single plug-in and then used the rope and copper wiring to hide it all.

Globe: Free

Shop lights: $7 each

Wood: Free

Rope: $14

Copper wire: Free

Pulley: $10

Hardware and cord ties: free

The biggest challenge: To carve out the metal circular piece on the tops of the globes. It was a hidden surprise when I was making the holes for the shop light cords.

The Homemade Frame DIY

This great one-of-a-kind frame was made with the leftover siding from tearing down half of our garage. It sits on the side of the house begging to be used! This was a great way to add texture to a room, to use free materials and to make a unique frame.

What you will need:

Wood scraps

Wood Glue

Joining Biscuits

String/Rope

Staple Gun

Saw

Clamps

Biscuit Joiner {not pictured above}

The first step is to cut your scrap wood pieces for your frame. The trick is to make sure that the inside box of the frame a 1/2 inch smaller than a standard photographic print size {5×7, 8×10, 11×14, etc.} so it is easier to print your photos in a standard size and fit into the frame.

The ends need to be cut at a 45 degree angle to fit the next piece.

Once they have all been cut {either by hand or by electric saw} mark a straight line with pencil in between the adjoining sides so they will line up perfectly. These marks will be used to line up your Biscuit Joiner so that the biscuits will be perfectly centered with the adjoining side of the frame.

The next step is to use your Biscuit Joiner {we found ours at Menards and use it for a ton of projects} to make the holes for your biscuits. Line up the guide to your pencil line. This ensures the biscuit will fit into both holes evenly. Do this to each open end {you will make 8 biscuit holes for 4 corners}.

Add glue to each side and insert your biscuit. Put the sides together rather quickly…as the biscuit will begin to expand once the wet glue touches it. This is what is great about biscuits…they will expand to fill the biscuit holes to make a more secure corner than just glue alone.

Next, use clamps to hold it in place overnight for drying and setting. Check out this great frame clamp we found specifically designed for frames and other square projects from MENARDS for $21.99.

We’ll be linking up to these great parties:
The DIY Showoff
The Shabby Nest
Home Stories A to Z

Today’s Creative Blog

Sugar Bee Crafts

Block Art ~ So Many Possibilites

One of most favorite tutorials has been our Block Decor from “Natalie’s Bathroom”. It was simple, but we have made it even simpler!! Once again, with help from the Graphics Fairy, we were able to turn a a 2×4 wooden block into something unique and fun. We also used some fun scrap booking kits to do a little layered art. Follow these simple steps to create your own.

{By the way, this is just a sample of the fun items we will have for sale at our JosieJones Cottage Sale coming up in September! Stay tuned for details!}

Create Your Own Block Art

Materials Needed:

mod podge

block of wood

clip art image

sponge brush

scissors

pencil

glue and glitter and fine paintbrush {optional}

The first step is to select your clip art image and size it slightly smaller than the block of wood you are using {ie. for a 4×6 inch rectangle of wood, I would size my image to 3.5×5.5 inches}. Cut out the clip art. Next you will need to cut a section of 2×4 to your preferred size. Sand the wood to get a smooth surface.

Paint the entire front of your block of wood with Mod Podge using your sponge brush.

Adhere the pre-cut clip art onto the block with the Mod Podge. Use the heel of your hand to flatten out any bumps or bubbles. Mod Podge again over the book page. This step will give it a finished surface look.

Once the Mod Podge is dry, you can add glue to certain areas you would like glitter to adhere, then sprinkle glitter onto the areas with glue.

{This step is optional, but we think it’s especially fun on holiday art}

So there you have it! Unique, simple, and totally one of a kind!!

ENJOY!!!

{These are a great inexpensive alternative to the Sid Dickens Memory Blocks!}

Repurposed Toolbox Ideas

You may recall this rustic little tool box we used in our first Brunch Affair post. We’ve offered 3 more fun ways that it could be used. It is so simple, yet it’s possibilities are endless! We love to find attractive storage solutions and we think this little guy fits the bill perfectly!!

June 2011 Natalie’s Bathroom Before and After

Well hello! Welcome to week one of “Natalie’s Bathroom”. As you can see, it wasn’t always the oasis shown in the “after” photos.

It took a ton of hard work and long hours, but the end result was better than I had ever envisioned. Good things come to those who wait and I waited 12 years for this bathroom.

When the day came, I grabbed my crow bar and hammer and the rest was history!!

I worked with the existing walls and plumbing layout to keep the cost down, but then splurged some on the tile flooring and tub (although I was able to still get the tub for a steal!).

Over the next 4 weeks we will feature several DIY projects, recipes, and fabulous finds from “Natalie’s Bathroom”. We hope you enjoy!