crafty sisters summer garden stakes

It's still Thursday somewhere right?

In my mad rush to head out of town to a Lacrosse tournament,  I was barely able to get my pictures uploaded to post for this month's summer project!  I even forgot to upload my original wood cuts for a full tutorial.  Sorry!

OK...to get to the point of my project...I love summer!  I love love love being out in my yard in the heat but most of all I love gardening!  There is honestly nothing more I enjoy then digging in the dirt.  So my daughter and I made some quick and easy garden stakes made from a fence board.We cut our cat heads into various squares and rectangles about 8 and 9" high, did a few rough cuts to add some ears and sanded down the rough edges.  For the noses we used left over pieces of wood lathe which was the purrrrrfect width.....sorry I couldn't resist that one!

I found these cool little screw on caps in the electrical department that I used to hold my stake in place.  I used my miter saw to cut different lengths of metal stake that was 1/4" in size.  Watch out when you do this cuz sparks will fly!

We used acrylic craft paint to customize replicas of our own kitties, nailed on the noses, sanded off the edges for a little pop and then sealed with a couple of coats of polyurethane to protect them from the elements.

Super easy and a fun project you can do easily in an hour with your kids!  

I see some more to be made in our future.....ducks....squirrels.....options unlimited!

Happy Summer from Crafty Sisters!!

Phoebe, Fluffy, Callie & Morris.  Four very spoiled kitties!

Summer Fun Stand from Craft Goodies

Summer can't seem to get here fast enough! I've been ready for it to get here for at least the last month. Hey there all, it's Wendy from Craft Goodies here to share my take on our ongoing "Summer" theme. 

I have to admit, this one had me stumped for a bit. Summer is just so many things, I just wasn't sure where to go with my project. But, leave it to my girls to help me with that! Every summer, without fail, they ask if they can have a lemonade stand, or popsicle stand, or cupcake stand, or whatever they can sneak out of the pantry stand. I decided to finally be the good mom and help them out with a "Summer Fun Stand" of their own.

 

This one was a recycled project of sorts. As life is super crazy right now, I ended up shopping from my pile of "left over" pieces in the garage instead of the hardware store. I ended up using a few 1x3's, a 1x10, the side panel of a torn apart armoire, and the trim that was once on my bathroom wall. I used wood screws and staples to put it all together.

Here's the quick how-to:

1. Cut the pieces to size. My girls aren't tall so the overall height of this is 45 inches, the counter is 27 inches from the floor, and the counter is 33 inches long and 19 wide.

2. I used the wood screws to create the base.

3. I added the roof support, notched out where the support fit on the counter top, and then attached the counter top pieces with more screws.

4. The roof pieces went on next--again screwed into place.

5. I cut the trim to fit the sides, front, (the back is open for foot room) and roof, and then stapled them all into place.

I left the trim the color it was, so just had to paint the counter top and roof supports. And last, added a bit of generic sale décor so that no matter what they are selling, it will be easy to change--namely a clip board to post the days wears and a fun rag garland.

Summer is off to a tasty start here at the Craft Goodies house! Come on over and say hi, you might be just in time to grab a quick.....(who knows!)

Happy summer crafting-

Wendy