there was no way I would allow myself to buy them. I knew I needed to figure out a way to make them myself. I bought some solar lights at the dollar store and was able to come up with my own Mason jar solar lights. Please visit my blog to see all of the details.

wash. They look very much like vintage milk bottles....love this look.

We use them as drinking bottles...they look great with paper straws in them, vases...have fun tying burlap or twine around the neck to dress them up a bit...... we also use them for our collection of sand from the different beaches that we have visited.

You can leave the lids as they are...or spray paint them any color you wish. For my son's sand collection we spray the lids silver...for the collection above we just left the lids as they are because we store them on a high shelf. We then tie a tag with the beach's name on it around the neck.

It's neat to collect sand from different beaches and see the vast differences in each one. Some are dark, some are light, some are fine, some are course....if you have never been to the website that shows the magnification of sand.....by all means, please visit it here. It is amazing and so beautiful! We are walking on these lovely treasures!

So, find some Frappuccino on sale.....have a Frappuccino Party {or drink them all yourself, like me}......and have some fun with the neat empty bottles! #BeforeandAfter

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it in the shower. That way everything is ready to go. When you get in, wet the sponge, and scrub away. Next, well, take a shower. That's it. I do a little section of the shower each day and work my way around the whole area about twice a week.

If the mixture gets thick, just add a little water. Also, I would caution that it is important to rinse well, and keep out of eyes as you would any cleanser.

mulch is the perfect finishing touch to your fall/winter garden. But don't let these pretty looks fool you....the mulch is serving the function of protecting hundreds of bulbs too. For more pics and a complete tutorial go to: http://www.sowanddipity.com/decorative-bark-...

shoe(boot)box with 4 ply jute twine. #OrganizedHome

#Bestof2012

at http://askannamoseley.com/2012/03/vinegar-ti...

#Bestof2012

www.oldworldgardenfarms.com A lot of people want to know the particulars. So we created a post on the how 2′s of building things with pallets or shipping crates – with a little extra information on the canning pantry. It's a great project – cost very little – and lets you store over 200 jars of canned goods!

We have actually made two of them – the first we built from pallets – the second from some old shipping crates and pallets. But for both – the only tools we used were a Sawzall, Nail Gun, Construction Adhesive (liquid nails heavy – duty), 3″ coarse drywall screws and a drill with a Phillips #2 screw bit (for drywall screws)

For the canning cupboard, we started by tearing apart about 4 pallets to use for the sides and shelving boards. We learned early on to not waste time trying to pull the nails from boards and remove every little speck of everything. It's time consuming, you damage way too many boards and it takes forever!

We use a sawzall with a long demolition construction blade and simply slice through the nails. Leave all of the remnant flat nails in the boards, not only does it add lots of character – its super quick. If you place the pallet up on end you can slice through all of the nails in about 15 seconds. Just repeat the process until you have cut them all and you end up with 15 to 25 single boards to work with for every pallet. (depending on pallet size and make-up – you usually get boards about 3 to 5″ wide by 30 to 48″ long). With shipping creates – we just disassemble the sides with the sawzall and then you have ready-made building panels to work with. Whatever you use – pallets, shipping crates or old barn wood – the important thing is to have simple straight boards to build with.

Anytime we make anything with pallets – whether it's the canning cupboard or the buffet hutch – we will then use the left over 2 x 4′s that make up the pallet's inside rails to build the carcass structure. They are durable – and although heavy – they are free and make the structure strong. Speaking of the structure – we always use coarse drywall screws and heavy-duty construction adhesive to assemble. The screws hold tight and the adhesive holds forever. Don't worry about anything other than the framing being straight. Once again if there are some left over bits of nail that have been sawed off smooth – let it be – it just makes for a great patina when stained or painted over.

Once we have the structures carcass built – we just simply use all of the straight boards cut from the pallets to cover. For this we will use the nail gun for speed and looks – but you could just as easily use a hammer and nails. Once you have trimmed it out to your liking – you can paint, stain or leave natural – and you have a unique conversation piece.

The biggest piece of advice – don't sweat the details! The biggest mistake people make when using reclaimed lumber or pallets is tot try to make it too perfect. It's far better to not try to sand everything super smooth - or take out every little crack or dent in the wood. Let them be - it just makes it look that much better.

If you like this - please visit our little blog (oldworldgardenfarms.com) for more of our projects. And if you can -help us spread the word about our farm and site and make sure to like us on Facebook! Thanks so much, Jim and Mary

#Bestof2012

removing the tape after they dried 24 hours. They are still a bit damp so you can do "wet carving" on them to make your forms more rounded or smoothe. I used rebar again as I had with the Polatems in my earlier post, or you could use conduit, and make them into lanterns. Be sure to put a hole in the middle of each piece so you can fit them over the rebar/conduit. The circular pieces I made by just rolling in my hands...other pieces can also be made such as a finial for the top, which I have yet to make and put on the top.