the time a neighbor placed an old chest on the street for garbage collection. The one drawer that still existed was retained at the bottom for storage of extra furniture. Some of the furniture in these photographs was mine (1940's). Other pieces were added in the 1970's for our daughter and some later than that. The drawer keeps the assortment available for redecorating. During its early years, Santa with his sleigh and raindeers sat near the chimney at Christmas.

PHOTOGRAPHS SHOULD EXPLAIN THE RESULTS:

The top of the chest is an attic room. The front side of the roof is built in two pieces and hinged so that the lower portion can be lifted. It is held in place with an attached wooden prop (see photo). The roof is made with latticed wood strips, the chimney is painted with a brick design and trees and flowers are painted on the outside walls. For the floors we used carpet scraps for the bedrooms and the bathroom and a Formica scrap for the kitchen. My husband cut tiny pieces of wood and created a parquet floor for the living room. There are doorway openings between the rooms and a movable staircase. We added wheels for obvious reasons.

inside. Use them like little time capsules or part of a treasure hunt. And, of course, the covered jars look like pretty jewels in the garden.

1. Cover any used jar (keep the lid) with flat-bottom marbles (also sold as 'florist stones' or 'glass gems'). I use GE Silicone II sealant (clear, waterproof) as an adhesive.

2. Mount the lid on a post or dowel.

3. Attach the jar.

Notes and tiny treasures can be added at any time.

Full instructions, material list, and sources are listed on my blog here: http://www.empressofdirt.net/gardentreasurej...

tutorial on the Empress of Dirt site listed below.

Don't be afraid - it's a simple, slow process that takes a gentle touch, and once you know how to do this, you can make all sorts of other garden art projects as well.

It is also possible to make these just using silicone sealant as the adhesive but I prefer drilling holes and using wires to make it last through Canadian winters.

maybe they will look better soon. I think I also am going to move them back further, to the neighbors ' ugly house' to detract maybe from their peeling paint etc. Any suggestions as to how I could have done them better? Different plates, rebar? (Which cost more than the plates did!) This is my first attempt after seeing the great ones on Ht, and I was very leery. But FINALLYYYY! tada! NEW PICTURES.....hostas growing in, I am happier, doesn't look so barren now! Next ones will be green pvc or whatever! @KELLY, GAIL

So I decided to spray paint them with a "hammered" bronze paint, I let them dry overnight and now we will see if the glue sticks to the one I painted on the bottom of the plate, and if they chip with jewelry thrown on them. If anyone has a better idea...please let me know. At least they are more interesting , than the plain jane dishes they were.

to a matte finish is to spray a light coat of matte spray as a last topcoat.