Jen Bowles Design

The Patio: Before & After

Last week I showed off our newly transformed patio bench.  Now it's time to show the rest of our newly transformed patio.

Up until a couple of months ago, we didn't even have a patio. 

This is what the house looked like when we moved in last year.  2 flagstone paths, a bunch of overgrown shrubs and brick-faced concrete steps.

This past spring, we removed the bushes.  And found that the long, hard, cold & snowy winter had taken quite the toll on the steps.  The steps that went from ok to falling into the ground.

So we set about finding a stone contractor to repair the steps. Oh, and the walkway.  We got a price on a patio too, just for kicks.

We decided on a contractor and signed off on re-doing our steps and building a patio.  We were able to reuse granite that we had in our backyard for the new front steps.  Our contractor used an engineered concrete paver for the patio.  Things were moving along ok... 

Then we starting talking about how we would route the water from the downspout that is located in the corner of the patio.  Long story short, we decided to add some underground drainage from two points at the front of the house.  Both were places were water tended to pool whenever it rained.  Even I know that water near the foundation of your house is not good. It made the most sense to take care of the problem before the patio went in.  Then of course, as long as the mini excavator was going to be here, the contractor gave us a price on a front walkway.  Goodbye flagstones and summer vacation, hello concrete pavers and staycation. 

Weather delays &  equipment issues made the project drag on for longer than expected.  Which is to be expected.     

Finally, it was finished.  Except for one little nagging item.  The mortar joint between the top step and the existing porch slab cracked and came loose the same day the contractors installed it in June.  Last weekend, one of the masons appeared early on Saturday morning and did the repair. Naturally that was the day we had 15 people over for a cookout and then couldn't use our steps but hey, at least we have other means of entry.

Everything is good to go now.  The patio and walkway look good, the grass has (mostly) grown in--except where Maisy keeps digging holes in it, and furniture has been found, painted and arranged.        

There's still more I'd like to do out there, more landscaping, more mulch, maybe an arbor, paint the door and the exterior of the house...Hmmm, I seem to be getting ahead of myself ;-)...

While the stonework didn't come cheap (but fair, for sure), the patio furniture and accessories sure did.  I already gave the breakdown on the bench ($55, I think, total).  The two green metal bistro chairs were $9.98 each on clearance at Target.  The pink ice cream parlor style chair was free from my dad's basement (win, win).  The blue bench and the blue square table were both found at the dump swap pile for free.  I used leftover paint to freshen them up and a $13 can of marine varnish to protect them from the rain.  The window box (which filled in nicely this summer) was $3 at a yard sale, mounted on metal brackets from Hobby Lobby (miss you!!) I already had.  The other porch accessories were also cheap yard sale purchases--except for the Welcome wielding puppy which is from Lowe's.  I didn't buy that, so it doesn't count ($15, BGD). 

I'm still on the lookout for a small, round bistro type table.  Perhaps someone will leave one at the swap pile for me...

Snippets

I was testing out my 50mm lens the other day.  Last time I took it to the beach (Skaket), it suddenly stopped focusing.  Um, eek!!  It's my favorite lens.

Luckily, after a few days rest, it seems to be working just fine. 

{Exhibit A: my small fish dish.  It sits next to my laptop and seems to have attracted a whole lotta love.  Note the X & O balls, the Love glass marble and the the white heart shaped rock.}

{Exhibit B: a few of my summer treasures including sea glass, favorite round white rocks, shells, starfish & a piece of a robin's egg found in our backyard.}

And finally,

{Exhibit C:  Maisy, the pup that loves to drive me nuts--but she does photograph well :-) }

Before & After: Patio Bench

Last summer, my mom bought me a bench at a nearby auction she attended.

Cost: $5

Admire the stenciling, the faded, smelly fabric, and the boring white paint.

Of course I used it as-is for all of last summer. I plopped it right in the garage and used it as a 'beach bench'--a place to put our towels and beach bags in between trips.

Finally this spring I started the bench makeover.

First, I ripped everything off of it--the fabric, the stuffing, the old glue, the rusty springs.    It took a while, and there were staples and old nails aplenty that had to be pulled out with heavy duty tools--like pliers.

Next I sanded and painted the wooden frame.  Two coats.

And then it sat on the patio for...2 1/2 months(?!) while I tried to figure out how to rebuild the seat and upholster a cushion or two.  Finally one Sunday morning, I went into the garage, go out some plywood, some screws and a few power tools and started cutting, drilling and gluing.  While my work is most certainly an embarrassment to woodworkers everywhere, it's fine for my patio.  I painted the new parts and then let it sit again.

We had out of town company this past weekend.  Just the motivation I needed to finally make the cushions and finish the bench.  Again, not my finest work with the sewing machine, but it works for me.

Introducing, our new patio bench: 

I love the colors, blue and green are my favorite--which is pretty evident once you walk around my house...

The bench is comfortable and people can sit on it without it falling apart (so far, so good).  Because I bought outdoor foam cushions and outdoor fabric it cost a bit more than regular materials.  I'd say my total cost was about $50. 

And it makes me smile every time I come to the door. 

Definitely worth it.

Just...Happy Friday

Wishing you a wonderful summer weekend!  We're getting ready for family visitors, some we haven't seen for years, some we haven't seen for...weeks ;-)

Also hoping Hurricane Bill and the accompanying rip tides don't spoil any beach plans for later in the weekend and Monday.

{photo taken during a beach trip last Friday}

Cape Cod Beach Day

Finally, on Monday, we made it to Cape Cod.

Hard to believe it took until August 17th to bring the kids to the beach on the Cape(!). Now that we live closer, you'd think we'd be heading down there more often, not less.  Of course we are lucky to have several beach (and pool) options nearby and now that the weather has finally heated up and dried out, we've been exploring all our options :-)

We ventured to Skaket Beach in Orleans.  I don't remember how I first heard about Skaket, but I do remember that our first trip there was when Ebby was just a year old.  There are wonderful tidepools and when the tide is low, you can literally walk a mile before getting to the water.  Not so great for body surfing, but excellent for exploring.

Our timing worked out pretty well, we arrived just after high tide and stayed until the tide was almost dead low.  I packed our gear the night before, in hopes I wouldn't forget anything (and I didn't--amazing) so the boys had their nets.  Will had more success than Cuyler in capturing minnows, that peristance award he won in first grade rearing it's head again.  Cuyler had more luck with hermit crabs, shells and sand sculpture.  Ebby and her friend Danielle swam, sunbathed and did some sand sculpting of their own... 

Speaking of sand, we came across some of the coolest and most unique sand I've ever seen at the beach.  Out past some of the inner tide pools, we found a spot with what I was describing as 'sponge cake sand'.  It was light, airy, squishy but not in a bad way, and looked like a sponge when you broke it apart.  We had a great time playing in that spot--building, burying and digging while Will continued to persue minnows nearby. 

When it was time to leave, we took advantage of the outdoor showers and restrooms to get cleaned up.  Then we headed to the nearest $3.99 t-shirt store-- which just so happened to be across the street from a fun looking art/sculpture gallery.        

We headed back to Brewster via Rt. 6A for ice cream--which we got at the Brewster Scoop, next to the Brewster General Store.  I must've been in vacation mode because in addition to ice cream, I let each of the kids spend $1.50 on candy, penny and otherwise.  I fell in love with a Cape Cod beach towel. However, not even Cuyler could believe it when I showed him the $68 price tag (which apparently was a bargain based on the online price). 

We meandered up 6A all the way to Barnstable, taking in the Cape Cod charm--that road oozes it!

45 minutes later we were back home, where one of us is already thinking of her next Cape Cod adventure ;-)

Hello Again

Blogging has definitely taken on a summer schedule.
A slow, languid pace.
We haven't been doing anything extraordinary:  trips to the beach, visiting with friends & family, errands, etc.
Picture taking has also been on a slower pace but I have a few random ones to share--until something spectacular & blog worthy happens ;-)

A front yard rose from the second round of blooming.  Slightly less beat up by rain and Japanese beetles than the first round.

New metal folding chair from Target.  It was on clearance for $9.98 and I love the color.  I bought 2 of them for our front patio.

Rolling surf at the beach today.

Silly faces at the beach today.

Hope you're enjoying your summer--at whatever pace it's going!

{First day of school: Sept. 1st...}

Pirate Crafts from Camp

Tomorrow the boys start their 2nd (and final) week of Y camp for the summer.  Ebby and I will be holding down the fort at home, hoping to get lots and lots accomplished.  I thought I would share a few pictures of the craft projects I did with the kids during my week as Arts & Crafts mom--so here we go.

• Pirate Islands

I did this project with the older kids (Grades 4-7).  It was a last minute idea and a lot of campers really got into it.  The base is a ripped piece of corrugated cardboard.  They covered the island with wrapping paper/map pages & paint.  I gave them lots of materials to pick from  for embellishing the islands including salt clay, cork and styrofoam.  The kids did a great job making palm trees (from tissue paper and straws), rafts, boats, and assorted other creations.      Campers were able to work on these projects over 2 days (25 minutes each day) and they turned out great.  I love putting out the materials, giving a few ideas and seeing what kids create!

• Paper Bag Pirate Puppets. I did this project with the younger kids (K-3rd grade).  I made the 3 project samples, explained what we were doing, and let them go to town with the scissors & glue sticks.  Amazingly, the kindergarteners seemed to need the least assistance.  They referred to the samples, made some choices and stared working.    They made some adorable puppets.  Unfortunately I only had the chance to take this one picture (sniff, sniff).  Trust me, they were cute ;-) The rest of the photos are my samples--which I had waaaay too much fun making!      

• Eye Patches.  Nothing really original here--except that I was able to score a bunch of leather samples from EXCL.  Amazingly, most of the scissors we had were able to cut the leather.  Very authentic, leather eye patches.  And a bonus:  lots of the older kids loved the smell ('Smells like new shoes!')

• Pirate pencil cup.  This one was actually a back-up project that I didn't end up making with the kids.  I thought it was cute though. I made it out of a toilet paper roll, scrapbook paper and covered chipboard, along with a few die cuts I colored in with marker.

I had a great time thinking up the projects, making the samples, and watching the campers interpret my ideas.  I must say though, it was a lot of work.  Very hectic pace with only 25 minutes with each group and no break in between groups--just straight through from 9:10 until 12:30.  With a wide variety of ages.  It gave me confidence though and allowed me to get my feet wet again back in a classroom-type setting.  I'm sure that not every camper enjoyed every project, but overall, we all had a good (and creative) time.

If you have any questions about the projects or would like more detailed instructions, just shoot me an email or leave a comment : )

{Materials sources:  EXCL, my recycling bin and Oriental Trading}