DIY — Page 13

Riley’s Dish Garden

November 12, 2012 at 8:04 am by Claudia

This was Riley’s dish. That boy loved to eat and this battered, not-very-attractive dish was his version of a plate. When he was able to navigate easily, I would fill it with food and place it on the rug by the kitchen sink. It was easier for him to stand there. When he couldn’t get up and down quite as easily in the last month or so of his life, I would take the dish to him and he would chow down right there from his perch on the rug.

I can’t throw it away. It’s my boy’s dish. Just as I saved some locks of his hair and his collar, I am hanging on to his dish.

But what to do with it other than storing it in a cupboard?

I had an idea. It reminds me of a planting dish, so off I went to a local nursery. I bought some succulents and some special potting soil.

Each of the plants came in a terra cotta pot with little rocks on top of the soil. I shook out all the rocks and added them to the bottom of the bowl for drainage.

Then I filled the bowl with plants and soil.

While I was doing all of this, Don and Scout were out on the porch with me. Ever the blogger, I picked up the bowl to find the place to photograph it. As I set it down on the bench, this happened:

Immediately. Our girl misses her brother.

Riley’s Dish Garden

Yes, there are prettier planting dishes – I have several McCoy planting dishes right here in the cottage. But this may be the most loved planting dish to be found anywhere.

It helps a great deal. Creating this garden is a fitting tribute to my Riley.

Miss you, my dear, sweet boy. With all my heart.

dogdishcollage

Happy Monday.

Tweaking an Old Display Shelf

September 11, 2012 at 9:31 am by Claudia

As the days turn crisp and cool, I’ve moved back into my old blogging station – the den. I was using the yellow chair in the living room for several months as that was where Riley was and I needed to be right by his side. As I sit here this morning, sipping on Peet’s French Roast, shawl wrapped around my shoulders (it’s that nippy!) my eye keeps landing on this little wall vignette. (I bought the Lost Lamb print from Debra of Common Ground.)

For those of you who are newer readers of this blog, I tweaked this display shelf a few months back. It started out like this:

I really liked the carved edges of the shelf – sort of scallopy – but I didn’t want to use the mirrors. So I painted the shelf, did a little distressing and then cut scrapbook paper to fit over the glass. Very simple. But what a transformation!

It’s amazing what a coat of paint and some leftover paper can do. This shelf displays my newish miniature pottery collection. What is it about all that is tiny that I love? I am immediately drawn to miniatures. And since I love pottery and have tons of it here in the cottage but have limited space, these smaller pieces seem like the perfect thing to collect.

I want more.

They are not easy to find. But that’s the challenge, isn’t it?

I’m linking this post to my pal Brenda’s Tweak it Tuesday.

Happy Tuesday.

Sunday Bits

June 10, 2012 at 9:11 am by Claudia

A gorgeous morning. Rain may fall at some point in the day. It probably will. (It’s been like this for days.) I have to mow today…and clean…and organize. We have guests coming to stay for a couple of days mid-week. Nothing like the prospect of visitors to sharpen your ‘house and yard vision.’

I was looking for something yesterday and found something else. Didn’t I post about that sort of discovery earlier in the week? I found the door knocker I used in our little rental cottage. It’s such a pretty acorn and oak leaf design. Our doors, however, are metal and I don’t want to mess with all that. Since we have no doorbell, I thought I’d attach it to one of the porch posts – right by the porch entrance.