Craf-tea Summer Part II ~ Things From The Garden

Please let me begin this blog by first thanking you all who've left me such very kind compliments on my embroidery (Craf-tea Summer Part I). You ladies are all so talented and so sweet to this newbie! Your comments have just truly been the highlight of my days lately. I feel giddy!
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Part II of my Craf-tea summer are things I did out in the back garden. A couple of these projects have been patiently hanging around needing to be finished for some time, finally having the unhurried time to start AND finish them was great. I'm a little ashamed (but probably normal) that I'm really good about starting projects, and not so good at wrapping them up. You know what they say about good intentions... I'm also proud to say that these projects were all done on the cheap as well, double bonus!
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The little windchime below was a quickie project that I did on a whim. Isn't it cute? I picked up the little teapot & tea cup at JoAnn's on my first trip out of the house after my unexpected surgery & hospital stay. I had no specific project in mind, but they were just so darned cute! They're very light weight, made out of balsam I think. They were prepainted and everything. Unbeknownst to the teapot & tea cup, I also had a small broken wind chime sitting on the window sill in my garden shed for...eek, years probably. I had to take it out of the trash several times, Sean kept trying to throw it away! I knew someday I'd fix it, chimes don't go bad you know. One afternoon I'm sitting out under the tree on my ugly old garden bench working on some of the embroidery and I spy the teapot & cup peeking at me from the bottom of my sewing basket...hmm... Eurkea! I grabbed the drill and the chimes, made a few holes, straighted the chimes, tied a few knots, and voila! A brand spanking new windchime, good as new! Better than new, recycled! I already had the chimes & string, the teapot & cup were .95 cents each. Total cost $1.90!!.
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The next item is something that I saw on someone elses blog months and months ago. I sure wish I could remember where I saw this because I'd like to give them credit. I would never have thought of this on my own. I thought it was an adorable idea when I saw it, never thinking it would be a project I'd do myself. However, when I stumbled on all three pieces at the same time in a junk shop for 25 cents each... well it was kismet!
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It's a bird feeder! Well, it was intended as a bird feeder but quickly became a squirrel feeder (those guys are sneaky and waste NO time getting what they want), and is about to be moved farther down the trunk of the tree and become a tea light candle holder. This piece had some very shabby, un-chic beginnings, it's made from an old (previously ugly and black) light fixture and two chippy tea cups. I stripped out the old wires, painted the fixture, hot glued the cups where the light bulbs used to go and screwed it to the loquat tree. Ta-daaa! I think it's darling. Total cost, including the can of spray paint $4.25, yay!

**UPDATE** The original link has been found! This was posted by Denise at Uniquely Tea (uniquelytea.blogspot.com/2009/06/cup-and-saucer-light-sconce-birdfeeder.html Thank you Angela! Check out Angela's Blog, Tea With Friends it's one of my favorites... ncmagteawithfriends.blogspot.com.

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Next up, my garden bench! I was given this bench years ago, it's been sitting around neglected forever. Me and my good intentions. It was in the garage for a while, then stuck on the back porch covered with a beach towel where my cats would occasionally sleep when the weather was nice. It has good bones, just needed some TLC. Here's where we started...

Not too cute. So I stripped off the cushions, gave it some cleaning and sanding and painted it...

Getting there...
I recovered the bench with my handy-dandy staple gun, and made a new cover for the back cushion. I'm ecstatic with the cost of this project, 2 yards of fabric $5 each (barely enough!) and three cans of spray paint, total cost $20.50!! Hoo-ah!

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I bought the fabric for these pillows months ago on eBay, they're the first pillows I've ever made. I usually can't cut a straight line on a three inch piece of paper let alone on fabric, so I'm happy that these came out so...symetrical! Here's the front...

And here's the back... potted plants and garden tools, so cute. I LOVE Mary Engelbreit!!! I think I paid $5 for the fabric including shipping, and the pillow forms were buy 1 get 1 free, so another $5. Two pillows, total cost $10!
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I whipped these little-nothing-special curtains up for my garden shed just a few days ago. Not too fancy, but cute enough for me! 1 yard of fabric, total cost $1.50! Oh yeah!!

And what would you're favorite spot be without someplace to put your tea down and your feet up? Didn't want to spend a lot on a table, but I needed a little something~something. I found this small ugly (truly, it's ugly. You should see it without it's wig on!) but incredibly sturdy table at a charity thrift store that I happened into by accident. The guy gave it to me for $2.00! Sean said it was $2 too much, but I could see it's inner beauty. Did I mention it's sturdy? I already had the spray paint from making the bird feeder up at the top of this post, and I already had some tough upholstry fabric that had teapots and tea cups on it to make a nice boxy tablecloth that doesn't slip around so the total for this perfectly cute garden table... you got it, $2.00!! Woop~woop!
My mom came over and we broke it all in with a nice cuppa tea and some snackies. Ahhh... I love it when things come together just the way (or better) than I hoped!

Here is a picture of my little corner of the world. I love it. It may not be much, but it's mine, all mine. Grand total for all of the above (in case you weren't keeping track) $40.15, yesss!

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I'd love to hear your thoughts, on how I can make it even better. I know you ladies have some ideas, let me hear em.

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~Lisa