stalk from the bottom piece that you cut off and throw away? Cut off the end that you would normally "throw away" and then place it in a small dish filled with warm water.

Next "pot" the celery stalk (Stalk Side Up) or place in your garden. Just dig a small hole, fill it with water and set the end in the hole, then cover it up with an inch or so of soil. Water thoroughly. That is it! Now the "end" will grow into a full stalk of celery! Rinse and Repeat and you never have to buy celery again! Talk about a way to save money! This photo is taken on day 7 and as you can see it is working!

It's easy to make.

1. Find an old metal kitchen colander (or metal lamp shade). You want something with holes in it (or you can use a metal drill bit and drill them).

2. Using 16 gauge wire, wrap around marbles and hang crystals from the ends. You could thread transparent beads onto the wire. Pick colours you love.

3. Attach flat-bottom marbles or other decorations on the colander using clear-drying outdoor silicone sealant.

4. Add wire to the top and hang the chandelier outdoors.

TIP: I find crystals at stores like Habitat For Humanity. Check old light fixtures. Lots of the ugly ones from the 1970s and 80s actually have good faux crystals on them. You can also use many of the other lamp parts for more garden art projects.

something unique, and we wanted it to match the existing barn and reclaimed brick patio. Even more – we wanted to make it from the left over recycled barn materials we already had on hand. The only other requirement was to make sure we had enough counter space on each side to be able to easily prepare food straight from the garden to the grill.

We finally decided on a simple straight line island design. 14′ long, with a 48″ grill and burner slide-in space in the middle. Each side would then be flanked by 5 foot overhanging counters. We made the width of the counter 34″ to give extra surface room to prepare and serve foods. With limited time before a looming barn party– we opted for a simple wooden top for now to match the farm table – however- as future time allows – we really want to replace with some stained concrete countertops.

THE BUILDING PROCESS

We first built a simple 2 x 4 stud frame, leaving a 48″ space in the middle and front for the grill and burners to slide in. We used treated wood for the bottom to sit on the brick pad – and then built the rest from standard 2x lumber. Next -we encased the inside of the grill area with cement board to protect the structure from the heat of the grill. Then sided the entire structure with more of the left over corrugated roofing and trimmed it out to match the barn.

All that was left was to slide in the grill – attach the top and the outdoor kitchen project was complete!

Jim and Mary - www.oldworldgardenfarms.com

years earlier when visiting some friends I noticed a huge stack of shutters by the road-they were renovating the outside of their home and throwing out the old shutters. EEEEEEKKKKKK! Throwing out!!???? I immediately loaded them into the car and hauled them home-not knowing at the time what I'd do with them; but I knew it would be fun!

So, here we are needing Nook privacy–and a shed full of wooden shutters. Handsome went out and purchased four 4 x 4 posts, hinged the shutters together; and after cementing the posts in the ground nailed our hinged shutter fence to them! We are not sure why our friends had two different colors of shutters on the outside of their house?? White for some, gray for the others........ BUT, didn't matter to us, because we painted them a wonderful French blue. {We painted the other side a bark color to blend in with the trees-since this was the side facing our neighbors. We weren't sure they would be as excited about the French blue as we were. In fact, we know that they wouldn't be.}

So, if you come across (or already have!) some old wooden shutters-have fun making a little nook for yourself!

Here's what you need to make a fence out of old shutters:

* as many shutters as you would like the fence long–we have 10-6 feet hight shutters

* 4 x 4 posts (that are 2 feet taller than your shutters)-about 1 every 3-4 shutters (depending on the width of your shutters)

* 2 sets of hinges for each set of shutters

* nails/screw to attach shutters to posts

* cement for posts

1. Paint the back side of the shutters-once installed you will not be able to get to this side! (Be aware of any neighbors that may not be as excited about your nook as you are–so, be considerate in your color choices for their side. )

2. Measure off how many feet apart you will need a post, dig a hole that is 2′ deep, put post in, fill with cement. When dry, cover with dirt.

3. Attach shutters together with hinges-make sure the 'hinge' is on the back side, spread out flat

4. Once cement has dried-usually 24 hours-attach shutter sections to posts using nails or screws. (Screws are a bit more sturdy for this project, but nails will work just fine.)

5. Paint your side of the fence! {When we painted ours–we didn't make it opaque, we wanted a weathered look. That is hard to see in the pictures-if that is the look you are looking for it will only take one coat.)

6. Cozy up your Nook with furniture, plants, walkways, etc.

7. Sit and listen to birdsong while sipping your coffee!

Some things to remember:

**be sure to check your shutters to make sure there are no decayed places before using.

We used shutters that were found....so the total cost of this project was $35! Woohoo!

In the Nook~

Daune

Cottage in the Oaks

www.cottageintheoaks.com

For some more fun shutter ideas that I found...head over to my Shutters! Board here: http://www.hometalk.com/b/710723/shutters

#Love2Repurpose

#SpringFever

#Itching4Spring

#BeforeandAfter

the look but we like change so we used a cheaper mesh fabric :) These photos were taken by Christina Wedge Photography... She's the best ;)