back curtains, protecting countertops and more.

Here are four of our favorite ideas: https://brightnest.com/posts/2x4-four-ways-t...

together and and I now have six garden globes that I just love. Hope you do too.

Supply list:

Perlite, Sphagnum Peat Moss, Portland Cement, Water, Cooking Spray (I used Pam), Large bucket or something to mix your ingredients in, Rubber gloves, Particle mask, Safety glasses, Various plastic or cardboard containers to use as molds

Wear your rubber gloves, particle mask and safety glasses!!! Portland cement can be nasty if inhaled, gets on your skin or in your eyes. Don't make me come over there and put them on you!

Mix equal parts of Perlite, Sphagnum Peat Moss and Portland cement. Add enough water to make it a cottage cheese like consistency.

Spray your containers with cooking spray and then fill the areas between the two items with the mixture.

Wrap your planters-to-be in a plastic garbage bag and patiently wait for them to harden. I let mine dry for 24 hours in the bag and then 4 days outside the bag.

A little more detail can be found on my post, which is linked below, and I also show you how to make a sphere.

Warning - these are sort of addictive to make. You will find yourself making them in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

UPDATE - I have successfully made a hand! I tried it again after tweaking a few things and it worked this time. You can see it on Hometalk at http://www.hometalk.com/1508311/can-someone-... and on my blog at http://www.houseofhawthornes.com/2013/05/hyp...

#OutdoorProjects

cutting the boards to size and using wood glue to fasten the boards together. You could use this mason jar storage anywhere in your home. I chose to use the storage in our bathroom, it works great for q-tips and cotton balls!

i bought Ipe, Tiger Wood, and Ceder for this project and hand rubbed 3 coats of oil for the finish. I know the sun will destroy the look within a few months, so she is going to be high maintenance with a sand and oil every year.

A few tip's:

-S.A. hardwoods are very dense! This allows a thinner material to span a longer gap with less deflection. For this project, the top is made out of 1 x 4 material.

-One of the many nick names for Ipe is "iron wood" it will sink in water, and it has helped to make this top more than i can handle alone. This also requires pre-drilling for fasteners.

-The end cuts are sealed immediately after cutting with Ipe wax to prevent checking

-The miters all received 2 - 10mm x 50mm Festool Sipo Mahogany Tenons, wiped with alcohol, glued with titebond 3, and clamped for a few hours to dry. This is not a DIY machine, but may be substituted with the use of biscuits, splines, or dowels.

-Wear a mask when cutting and sanding!! Many carpenters catch an upper respiratory infection when building S.A. decks. This has been argued that it is due to the water and bacteria in that wood we are not used to, others say it's just because the dust is much finer. regardless of who is right, wear a mask or use dust extraction.

-Order extra! This is not stock lumber, infact i had to pay freight to get these pieces trucked to my house from the online merchant. I had a few pieces that were bowed just enough that i couldn't use them... better to have too much than not enough on a special order build...

-Learn your finishes! My first two coats were with Messmers UV Plus. his really brings out the grain and contrast within the woods... makes it come alive. I wouldn't do more than 2 coats of a toner, my final coat was the Festool SurFix exterior oil blend worked into the surface.