The "No Back Yard" Garden Photo Tutorial

Thank you all for your patience as it has taken me a while to get all of the supplies I needed for this project.

The supplies you will need are:

kiddie pool
drill with 1/2'' hole cutter bit
pavers or wood blocks to elevate
small to medium size rocks (40 lb bag)
dirt (potting soil)
plants
water hose

On to the photo tutorial:

First you need to get a kiddie pool from Wally World.....

Then you need to drill some holes.  I used our 1/2 inch hole cutter drill bit.



Be sure to use safety glasses!



Ok, now you that you have drilled the holes you need to elevate your kiddie pool so it will drain properly.  Preston and I chose to use these 59 cent pavers we found at the Home Depot.



Close up of the elevation....

Ok now that you did that it's time time to get some rocks.  I found this 40 pound bag of river pebbles at the Home Depot for only $3.65 pre tax.  Place a layer of rocks on the bottom of the kiddie pool.  It will sag in some areas, this is ok.  The rocks will help with drainage. 

Now put some dirt over the rocks....

Keep spreading dirt over the rocks until the kiddie pool is pretty full of dirt.



Now get your plants.  In March Preston and I started some watermelon and sunflowers indoors.  It's time to move them outside to our garden.....

Now just gently scoop out the plants from under the original dirt and transplant into your "NBY" garden.

Make sure you keep it watered especially on hot summer days. 

I hope you had fun learning how to make a garden for your back porch.  Hopefully within a few months we will have a couple of giant sunflowers and some awesome watermelons!!!

Ashley Holland 5/12/2011



Cute Handmade Drawstring Bags

These drawstring bags are so fun and easy to make.  You can use them for just about anything; like loose change in your purse, earbuds, or lip gloss.  One of my friends that I gave one to is using hers for her sunglasses.  I'm doing them in all sizes, and all sorts of fabric designs.  Here is just one example of the bags I've made so far.

Oh and check out the cute dog in that photo.  That would be my adorably sweet little sister, Darby.

Ashley Holland 5/7/2011

Coming Soon: The "No Back Yard" Garden

Learn how to plant a garden when all you have is a porch.

Preston and I bought a townhome a little over a year ago, and all we have out back is a concrete slab. This Spring we decided to start a garden, however.....our Homeowners Association doesn't allow us to plant anything in the grass, or flower beds.  So with a little advice from my green thumbed stepdad, I have a plan in place to build the perfect porch garden.  Stay tuned for the "NBY" Garden photo tutorial. 

Ashley Holland 5/7/2011

Thrifted Muppet Treasure Island Fitted Sheet

So I have been watching tons of video tutorials by Whitney Edwards on her youtube.com channel aglanceatmyworld aka Whitney Sews.  Anyway, she does alot of things out of thrifted vintage sheets, so I recently picked some up at my local Goodwill store.  I found a twin size Muppet Treasure Island fitted sheet, and before I do anything with it I'd like to find out first of all, if it is a collector's item someone might want, and if so I will leave it intact.  And/or how to take out the elastic without wasting much of the fabric itself.  I have googled myself into a corner and can't find a single thing about this sheet online....anywhere.  Not even google images or even on a Muppet collector's item website.  Anyway should anyone who sees this know anything about it, please let me know.  Otherwise I'll give an update in the very near future.

5/4/2011 Ashley Holland