April 8, 2021 by Born To Organize

Thirty Days in the Garden: Projects

I enjoy a good garden project. I like refreshing things as needed, but I know my skill set. I don’t tackle the unmanageable.

I have two garden projects lined up. Now that I’ve committed them to my blog, I know I’ll see them through.

San Jose summers are getting hotter, so I’ve learned to tackle outdoor projects long before the summer solstice. If I wait, then it’s just too hot.

My first project is to replace the top of my potting bench. The bench doubles as a sideboard when we entertain (ha), and it also stores our emergency earthquake kit.

I sanded and repainted the entire bench a few years ago and it turned out well. I used chalk paint, a first for me. I stenciled a fern pattern on the lower half, a small detail that made me smile. It’s fun trying something new.

*2018: The rest of the bench looks good, but the top is shot*

Unfortunately, the surface of the bench didn’t last. The paint started to chip after just two years. Last year I decided to repaint the surface with house paint. House paint is made to stand up to weather, so it seemed like a safe bet. It was a production buying anything last year due to the pandemic, but we waited in line, got the paint, and came home. I sanded and repainted the surface and it looked ok.

This is what it looks like today.

*2021: A year after house paint application*

This time I plan to remove the boards and replace them with a solid piece of wood. I’m hoping the hardware store can cut a couple of notches for a snug fit, but if not, I’m happy to go with a rectangle. I’ll apply to coats of the house paint, and I might even buy a topper to extend the life of the bench.

The second project will come as a shock to my regular readers: I’ve decided to replace my garden swing with a glider.

*2012: My first and most ambitious makeover*

Mike and the boys bought me the swing for Mother’s Day in 2009. I’ve finally crossed over from sentimental to enough already. The challenge with this swing is that the cover and cushions are built-in to the structure. You can’t remove them during the off-season. Instead, I covered the entire swing with a clear drop-cloth. This protected it from the rain, but not the squirrels. Season after season I replaced the cover, re-stuffed the cushions, made new pillows, only to start over again in a year or two.

Mike will help me take apart the frame so we can move it through our narrow sideboard. Curbside recycling will haul and recycle the frame. Only the tattered cushion and mesh will go into the landfill.

I ordered the glider on-line, so it’s slowly making its way across the country. I hope it’s as pretty as it looked in the photo. Once the glider is set up, I’ll replace the half umbrella cover, and I might even paint the tables.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

May 11, 2015 by Born To Organize

Swinging into Action

I like to curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and a small pile of mending. The cats gather ’round as buttons return to their proper place. It’s therapeutic.

Unfortunately my garden swing is too big to bring indoors. So as the sun set on a warm Sunday afternoon, I sat in the garden instead. More specifically, I knelt, squatted and contorted my body around the edges of my damaged swing. You can read more about the squirrel damage here.

Busy squirrels make quick work of my swing

I’ve been gathering materials for the job at hand with the following criteria: the repairs had to be cheap and easy. I spent hours on the original swing cover only to see it destroyed by a nesting squirrel. I love all animals, including squirrels and after all, Sunday was Mother’s Day. Mama squirrel is just looking for fluff to line her nest. My goal: restore the swing so that it’s attractive and functional, but with a minimal investment of time and money.

Here’s what I did:

After trimming away the damaged cover I cut the remaining polyfill stuffing till the edges were even. Using the stuffing from a worn out cushion, I filled in the area, then covered it with part of an old tea towel. It was challenging, working my needle and thread around the edges of the swing, but I wanted the stitches to be small and taught. It doesn’t look pretty, but once covered it doesn’t matter.

Tea towel repair

I used a bit of Nature’s Miracle to clean the rest of the surface stains. Now to make it look pretty again.

I found a cloth shower curtain at a local thrift store. I liked the cheerful print and the fact that it matches my blue end-tables. It took about 15 minutes to make the cover with minimal sewing.

I draped the curtain over the swing, tucking a few inches underneath the built in pillow running along the swing’s top edge. I draped the rest of the curtain over the back. By hand, I took a few stitches through the folds of the swing cover, then attached a couple of ties to hold it in place.

Covering the built-in cushion

Swing ties for easy removal

Swinging into action

All told, I probably spent a few hours putting it all together and for under $10.

Materials On Hand:

polyfill batting from old cushion
tea towel from the rag-bag
fabric ties made from thrift store remnant

Purchased:

thrift shop shower curtain, $6

Ready for relaxing (pot filled with stuffing nearby)

As for the squirrels, I’ve left them a peace-offering. I took all the scraps from the damaged swing, shredded them into small pieces, and stuffed them into an empty pot near the swing. As I was finishing up, I heard rustling in the bushes, then saw what I think is a baby possum climbing the fence. I called to my boys to grab the camera and they shot a few pics as the little one ambled along the fence. She exited the yard through the lattice. At least she was heading away from the swing.

Baby opossum or rat?

August 13, 2014 by Born To Organize

A Nesting We Will Go

What do garden swing covers and shower curtains have in common?

Give up?

They’re almost exactly the same size. Serendipity!

After a nesting squirrel did this

Squirrel hard at work

and this

The squirrels have a field day

I knew the swing cover I’d sewn was beyond repair. Eventually I brought in the tattered cover, washed it, and put it in a bag in the car. I planned to use it as a pattern when I got around to making a new one.

The soft cord inside the piping of the cover seemed to be the prize. I cut a strand of leftover cording and draped it on the back of the swing to test my theory. Sure enough, I returned home to find it gone. I took the rest of the cord, cut it into strips, and placed it at the scene of the crime.

There the cord sat. It sat and sat. No more squirrels. Perhaps nesting was complete for the season. Eventually I brought in indoors, figuring I would put it out again next spring. I don’t want to put the time and effort into a new swing cover, only to have it shredded once again.

Sigh. I acted too soon.

A few weeks ago, an anonymous squirrel was at it again. The swing looked bad enough without the cover when this happened.

Shredding the original cover

Fluff and stuff

It was demoralizing staring at the swing in its damaged state, but I couldn’t muster the energy to do much about it.

Well, this past weekend the husband of a friend came to call, all the way from Australia. We planned a coffee and catch up in the garden, and I wanted a quick fix for the unsightly swing.

Backing up a bit, three years ago I bought a brightly colored shower curtain to use as a patio tablecloth. I couldn’t find a cheerful tablecloth at the time nor did I have the time to sew one. Twenty-dollars later a tablecloth was born.

Now it’s getting a second life as an impromptu swing cover. Serendipity!