There’s something deeply satisfying about building something with your hands and then watching it spring to life through play. My four-year-old is deep in a “build it” phase. Dens, caravans, planes, boats, if you ask him if he wants to make something, the answer is always yes. Outdoors? Even better. His two-year-old sister is rightContinue reading “Building, Crafting, and Imagining: Summer Adventures with My Little Engineers”
Tag Archives: Outdoor
Plant pot markers
It was birthday season in our house, just a week between the two. As is tradition, we marked the occasion with a bit of guerrilla tree planting, using saplings we’ve nurtured from seeds collected over the past year. This time, we were lucky to be gifted a couple of ash saplings especially for the birthdays.Continue reading “Plant pot markers”
Kids outdoor play area water toy
Upgraded the outdoor kids’ play area with a DIY water feature for the pallet den! My toddler’s a water fanatic, so he wasted no time testing it out—even if it was a bit high. No problem for him: he dragged over the slide, climbed up, poured water, and whooshed right down. (Don’t tell his mother!)Continue reading “Kids outdoor play area water toy”
Kids outdoor play area
After making my pergola out of reclaimed fence posts, one night my wife said, you know, one of these would be good outside the house for the kids to play under in winter… ignoring the fact I had suggested that for the one we were now sitting under at the other ending the garden. SoContinue reading “Kids outdoor play area”
Reclaimed fence post pergola
Not all this wood is reclaimed. When we moved house I found behind the shed some large fence posts. Fence posts have proven useful before when I’ve made tables and even a fort! I’ve always wanted a porch, and having reroofed and insulated our shed, I felt a nice addition might be a pergola toContinue reading “Reclaimed fence post pergola”
Scaffolding board planters
Having had two garden tables and only one now required it left some scaffolding boards for screwing together by my new pergola. I plan on growing some grapes vines the wooden stakes. The great thing about up-cycling is there are no limits. I no longer needed two tables and that wood has now been usedContinue reading “Scaffolding board planters”
Fort and club house – reclaimed and up-cycled!
This was an inspired build! I’ve always wanted to make a tree house or fort. My packing crate I used for storing cushions in, a bit more up-cycling and some of the wood from a spare garden table made for a rather simple and affective fort. The sides are left over wood from my shedContinue reading “Fort and club house – reclaimed and up-cycled!”
Scaffolding plank garden table
Look familiar? Almost… when I left our last house we had two rectangular garden tables made out of scaffolding planks. The downside was the weight. I dismantled for moving and used the parts from one to make some planters and a fort and clubhouse for my children. It’s really very simple. Four scaffolding planks, IContinue reading “Scaffolding plank garden table”
Whisky barrel planters
Whisky barrels, new home, new lease of life. This time with trees, asparagus and sunflowers! A change from last house.
Scaffolding board planter
I’ve made many of these before, this scaffolding board planter was the first for our new house. Unlikely to be as many as the last garden- a couple of examples include raspberry beds and our front garden. As simple as always. Eight good screws, 4 x 500 cm scaffolding boards, lined with pond liner andContinue reading “Scaffolding board planter”
Cool Upcycled 