Making the Swing

We decided the old tire swing was too tiresome to hold onto.  Literally, it was exhausting trying to swing on it.  That's why we took it down and in it's place built a nice traditional swing!

How to Build an "L" Shaped Raised Garden Bed

With our huge backyard we had plenty of room to build our garden area.  We decided to build four "L" shaped raise garden beds, with future plans for a circular flower bed in the center.

Tip for Getting Moisture Out of Wood

This summer my Grannie's beautiful cherry dinning table had a catastrophic incident!  It all began with some steaming hot pizza boxes...

How to Install A Mailbox

Say hello to our new Mailhouse!  Yes that's right, not mailbox, mailhouse!  We learned all about the proper way to install a mailbox and now we want to share it with you.

How to Build A Composting Bin from Pallets

This weekend Ben and I built a composting bin for our future garden from recycled pallets.  It was important for us to build this first, as it can take several months for the compost to be ready to use and we are still working out the details for our garden beds.

Collapsible Camp Table

As Loni's husband and partner in all things crafty and historical, it is my pleasure to guest-write on the Clearwater Cottage blog. As Loni may have mentioned, we reenact the American Revolution. Among our camp equipment, we have for the last two years eaten off a picnic table that we had scavenged from a roadside while visiting friends in Santa Clara. Though by no means perfect, it had a simple design that approximated camp furniture of the Colonial era. However, since it was by no means new when we found it, it has finally given its last performance at a reenactment. The table still stands, but is too weak to travel to and from events, especially since it must be dismantled for transport.

A replacement needed to be built and here is what I made:

Garden Table

Analog Farmville is what my husband fondly calls our "Garden Table."  Last spring we decided that we wanted to grow our own plants but didn't want to do it strictly in buckets.  Then I remembered a Martha Stewart show where they had made what they called a lettuce table.  

We decided to try it, and it was the best decision!

BBQ Stand

Our apartment complex has a regulation that all BBQ's must of course be propane (no charcoal allowed) but also that they must be camping size - not full size.  Placing the BBQ on the patio table was not working for me, so we built a BBQ stand!

Ben drew up some plans and we collected the lumber and tools for the project.

He was also in charge of construction of the stand.

I was responsible for sanding all edges of the cut lumber.

 The stand was now built, but not very weather resistant.

 Therefore we stained it with a nice outdoor stain.  The little BBQ fits quite nicely on it!

After the project was completed, we decided that our stand resembled an actual BBQ, I guess that's what we wanted all along!  It is no wonder we've actually received a citation notice for having an incorrect BBQ, of course when I explained they understood and let us off the hook...