Summer Backyard Project and Tour

Hi Friends,

We have beautiful weather here in California,

but it's true it never rains!

We have been experiencing a drought for years.

Recently our area is requiring drastic cut backs on watering.

Putting limits on watering times and days

makes it impossible to

keep a lawn.

We made the decision to remove

 about 25 percent of our grass in the backyard.

My before pictures were hard to see, but you get the idea.

We used spray paint to make our curve and just

started digging up the grass.

My husband capped off some sprinklers and left others.

We put down sand paths, and spaced out large stepping stones.

We filled in our path with pea gravel.

Then put down some planter mix.

I  knew our plans in advance, so I have been

dividing my perennials and putting them in pots until we were ready. 

Here is the same area 2 months later.

We added mulch to help save on water use.

My Lemon Balm and Lambs Ear plants are so happy!

This plant below was new to me this year-

Japanese Forget-Me- Nots

Nasturtiums do well in my garden.

We are looking forward

to having grapes, although they need a lot of water.

Feverfew is another perennial we love.

It grows well here. I love the tiny daisy-like flowers

Here is another path around my herb garden.

This pomegranate bush produces well,

but the best part is

it hides my neighbors basketball hoop.

We just added a dwarf Peach Tree.

When we get more rocks, we plan to continue the path.

Over in the Vegetable garden,

we are starting to have some cabbage.

This window box is under my kitchen window opposite the

veggie garden.

We love Blackberries! I wish I had more

And Zucchini...there's plenty.

Lots and Lots of Kale-

Sequoia Strawberries

Mini White Pumpkins and white corn

Mexican Sage and Hollyhocks

Here's another view.

I wanted to wait to share this post after

we received our water bill.

I am thrilled to say we were able to cut back on

our water bill and keep within our city reduction

requirements.

The native and drought tolerant plants we have used

are very easy to maintain.

If you are interested I can share my list with you.

Thank you for taking the tour with me!

xo Lisa S

Paper Bag and Vintage Table Cloth Junk Journal

 

Hi Friend !

Yes, I'm back with another Junk Journal.

It starts with a clean paper bag from the grocery store.

A scrap of cloth the size you want for your journal and some

white glue.

I used a sewing machine but  you could hand stitch

if you prefer.

Take it apart at the seams to make one big sheet of paper,

folds and wrinkles are fine!

I bought this scrap of fabric for .25 at my favorite

Thrift Shop.

It was just a portion of an

 old table cloth or runner.

It had a few holes, but I really liked

 the pink and black stitching.

I did a little measuring to

decide how big the cover would be.

Cut and fold bag to desired size.

I used white glue and a brush to 

adhere the cloth to the bag.

So the cloth will be on the front and back when folded.

My finished size will be 13'' x  8 3/4''

I had some other scraps from some vintage floral sheets.

I was able to patch the holes with some scraps

sewn down using my sewing machine.

I used clips to hold together the back

or what will be the inside cover

Flipped over, this will be the front cover.

I used my sewing machine to stitch around

the entire piece.

The piece becomes a fairly thick and durable soft cover

that makes a lovely crinkle sound !

I did not seal the cover, I left the cloth with rough edges.

I liked it that way-

When cover is folded in half,

my journal will be 6  1/2'' x  8  3/4''

I made my signatures [ groups of folded papers ]

Clipped one group in place and stitched along the spine.

I ended up adding a 3 signatures-

This is the inside front cover.

This shows the stitching.

I even added extra paper bag pages.

Back inside cover.

I added a scrap of elastic for a closure.

Yes, I recycled this piece from a face mask :)

A hand sewn vintage button was used on both sides.

If you have any questions, I 'd be happy to

 answer you in the comments.

Thank you for spending some time with me!

I hope you have a great day ;)

xo Lisa S