Contents
Arrangement of a summer residence and a garden, own farmstead — not stopping process. All the time something is being altered, changed, decorated. This article contains crafts for the garden and cottages that will make your possessions unique. That is what makes the things made by their urks good, that they are unique and unrepeatable.
Vertical flower garden
Decorating a fence, a wall of a country or garden house, a utility block is not an easy task. One of the options from the “cheap and cheerful” category is to make a vertical flower garden. Bags or small containers filled with soil are hung on any vertical or inclined surface. Similar crafts for the garden and cottages are good because you can attach any rubbish – bottles, boxes, pipe trimmings. From all this you can make original planters.
Most often, ampelous flowering or green plants are planted on such flowering walls. Unpretentious ordinary petunias and pelargoniums are best suited. They also plant surfinia (very similar to petunia) and nasturtium. They bloom for a long time and do not require special care. Suitable for any herbaceous plants with long hanging lashes.
So what else can you make the basis for a vertical flower garden? Yes, from anything. Everything that can be poured into with at least a little earth. See for yourself.
Flower pots
Plastic or clay pots remained – it doesn’t matter. Even if they are old and unsightly, they can be painted with some fun paint. And if they are also of different sizes, you get a very original panel.
Plastic vessels can be nailed through, although this is not a good idea. For clay or ceramic, you will have to make a “holder” from wire – a circle that can be attached to a wall / fence, or can be hung on ropes from a crossbar. In general, only here there are a lot of options. Such crafts for the garden and cottage do not take much time, and the result is pleasing to the eye.
Cans
Tin cans of different formats and sizes are not a problem to find. Small and medium ones can be used in the form of cylinders, and large or long ones can be cut in half lengthwise or remove a third of the radius from one side. It’s the way you like it best.
Mounting methods are the same as for pots: smaller ones can be fixed on stands, larger ones can be hung. Use junk material – tin cans – and make attractive and useful crafts for the garden and summer cottages out of them … Is this not the height of pleasure.
Plastic bottles
How without them? We twist the lid, cut off about a third from the long side. The mounting method is described above. There is another option with minimal damage to the wall. Knock down a lattice of wooden planks. Fix this grate on the wall, and attach bottles to it with self-tapping screws or carnations.
If the bottles are from milk or kefir – there are no problems, the plastic is opaque, the root system will be comfortable in it. To drain excess moisture, it will be necessary to make several holes in the lower part. They can be made with a nail heated on fire. Fast and hassle free. If the bottles are transparent, it is desirable to paint them. The roots do not like the abundance of light. You can use ordinary paint (preferably acrylic, it even falls on bottles easily), but it’s faster to work with spray cans. It’s better to paint outside. Inside, the paint will quickly decompose.
From fabric
From burlap, any more or less dense fabric, a bag with pockets under the ground is sewn. You can use an old organizer (for shoes, toys, etc.). With these candidates for vertical flower beds, in general, everything is simple: we fasten with nails / screws through the bar (otherwise the fabric will tear). After we fill the pockets with soil and plant flowers.
You can sew or use linen bags. Hang them on hooks. You can plant plants in them from above and / or make holes in the sidewall. If sewing is not your forte, enterprising Chinese sew such bags under hanging flower beds. Such crafts for the garden and cottage require more effort – bags / bags are usually sewn. But the flowering wall looks unforgettable.
Cutting sewer or drainpipes
We take plastic pipes. We cut them in half lengthwise and get two long containers for planting. If there are no own leftovers, you can buy trimmings on the market, from construction teams. You need small pieces, so this beauty will not cost much.
You just need to figure out how to close the edges. The easiest way is the bottoms of a plastic bottle. Find the right size, cut so that 2-3 cm of the walls remain, put on the edges and fasten. Can be attached with small screws. They cut through plastic well.
small wooden boxes
Wooden boxes can be hung in two ways. The first is to fix one of the sides like a regular box. The second is to hang not like a box, but like a frame – sideways. The second option gives more options: you can pour earth directly into the boxes, or you can use them as coasters for any other containers with flowers.
If your wall is beautiful and you don’t want to get it dirty, you can assemble something like a panel from the boards, on which you can already fix the boxes. This option is no longer a good idea. It is also suitable for a solid yard. Wood and greenery looks very attractive. And so that the boards do not darken, treat them with wood oil with a dye. Such a coating needs to be updated infrequently, and the old impregnation does not need to be removed.
Ideas for flower beds from old things (photo)
As it turned out, a flower bed can be made from everything. Even old pants, a bicycle, a boat, an old chandelier, a chest of drawers, a chair, a kitchen table are used … And this is not an ordinary standard flower bed, but an art object that few will forget. There are some very interesting ideas. These crafts for the garden and cottages will definitely be remembered by everyone.
Tellingly, such crafts for the garden and cottages also help to get rid of trash. Maybe it’s worth considering everything available for use in this vein?
Column-flower bed
Flowering columns look very beautiful. Petunia and pelargonium are usually planted in them. These two types of flowers bloom profusely almost throughout the entire vegetative period. Against the backdrop of lush greenery, an abundance of flowers of different shades catches the eye. At first glance, you will not guess how such a column was created. In fact, everything is simple.
Need a metal wire mesh 2-3 mm in diameter. A column is formed from it – the mesh is twisted into a cylinder, fixed. A bag is inserted inside (you can use a thick plastic one, but linen is better), into which the earth is poured.
For more uniform soil moisture, a piece of drainage pipe is inserted into the high columns in the middle. It differs in that its surface is perforated and water will pass through it perfectly. So, a pipe segment is inserted in the center, covered with soil from all sides. In this design, watering the flowering column is not a problem. It is necessary for a couple of minutes to throw the hose inside, into this pipe, and the water will distribute itself through the holes.
Plants are planted from above and into holes cut on the sides. The distances between plants are not too large – so that the column takes the required form faster.
garden figurines
What besides flowers decorates our yard, garden? Yep, different figures. In this section, we will consider new crafts for the garden and cottages in this area.
Of plastic bottles
Decorative figurines for the garden and cottages are made from a variety of materials, but most of all crafts are made from plastic bottles. There are a lot of them, and in different formats and very plastic material, this thin plastic. In addition, it can be painted, which further expands the possibilities.
In addition to plastic bottles, garden figurines can be made from wood, old pots, flower pots, bowls, buckets, cones, painted stones. In general, from what ordinary people throw into a landfill. But in vain. From all this, very interesting crafts for the garden and cottages are obtained.
Gypsum and cement mortar figurines
On sale there is plaster for sculptures. It is ideal for making garden figurines. But it is expensive, but it hardens quickly and has a smooth surface. Instead of special gypsum, you can use building or even a mixture of cement and sand. The cement figurines will be dark gray, so you will have to use dark or saturated colors. Under light paints it will be necessary to apply several layers of light soil. But cement is more durable.
Work with plaster and cement
It is necessary to dilute gypsum in the proportions indicated on the package. Just keep in mind, it seizes very quickly. Immediately after mixing, it must be poured into molds, so first prepare all the molds, then just dilute the gypsum mixture. After about 40 minutes, the gypsum will harden enough that it can be removed from the mold. So making garden figurines from gypsum is a quick process.
With cement, it’s different. For 1 part of cement grade M400 or M500, you need to take 4-5 parts of fine dry sifted sand. In a dry state, mix the mixture until the sand turns evenly gray (there is white cement and even pink). Only then can water be added. It is taken 0,5-0,8 parts. There are no exact proportions of water, since sand can be of different humidity, and the composition itself can be of varying degrees of fluidity. After filling the form, you will have to wait a few days. At least 3-4 (at a temperature of about +20°C), and preferably 5-7 days. So to make garden figurines out of cement, be patient.
Clearance at customs
In a frozen form, the figures can be painted with acrylic paints. You have to apply two coats of paint, and then cover with yacht varnish. In this form, garden figurines retain the brightness of colors for several years.
To work with gypsum, you need to know one secret. In order for the figure to easily get out of the handicap, the inner walls are lubricated with a mixture of soap, water and vegetable oil before pouring. Soap is rubbed on a grater, poured with water. When the chips soften, mix until smooth and add a little vegetable oil. Lubricate the mold from the inside with this mixture before pouring the diluted gypsum into it.
Plastic bottles are often used as molds. You can not stand on ceremony with them – cut with a knife or scissors. If a metal container is used, the walls must be lubricated thoroughly. If the surface does not have to be flat, it is easier to cover the container with cling film or a plastic bag. In this form, the workpiece is removed without any problems at all. While the gypsum is not yet completely dry, you can use something sharp (a needle, an awl, etc.) to form the desired relief on its surface.
If the surface should be smooth, but in fact it has flaws, we take sandpaper and get rid of the bumps. The process is long and dusty, so be patient.
Foam figurines
Crafts for the garden and cottages from polyurethane foam appeared not so long ago. Low expansion foam is used. She barks a denser surface without big bubbles. Work with foam with gloves, as it adheres well to any materials. With skin too.
How and from what to make the base
To create a conceived figure, find the base that most closely resembles the object. It can be a plastic bottle, a piece of wood, even a coil of wire or a wad of paper. Sticks or thick wire are suitable for handles / paws / if you need to give a curved shape. For tails, a more suitable hose. to give it a stable shape, a sufficiently rigid wire is threaded inside.
Small details – ears, horns, etc. – can be cut out of cardboard, plastic, foam rubber. They can simply be inserted into the non-hardened foam, and then, after its polymerization, foamed. Before starting work with foam, all the details of the frame must be connected together. The aesthetics of the connection is absolutely unimportant – everything will be covered with foam. Strength is important so that some parts do not fall off.
Features of assembly and work with foam
If the base is a plastic bottle, pour sand into it so that the figure is not blown away by the wind. For the rest, you will have to come up with some kind of weighting coasters.
Foam is applied to the assembled frame. Vertical or horizontal stripes, one not far from the other, but leaving room for expansion. The foam is laid in layers. The second layer is applied after the first has polymerized. The initial polymerization time is indicated on the packaging. Apply the first layer, correct, wait 20-50 minutes until the foam hardens, apply the second layer. And so on until you get the desired shape.
During operation, the shape of the foam can be adjusted. To do this, you can use a piece of plastic soaked in water, a plastic or silicone brush, whatever is convenient for you. For some figurines, a smooth surface is important. If smoothing does not help, the flaws can be cut off with a sharp clerical knife. The “wool” of hairy animals is also made from foam – it is applied in short strokes. In general, the creative process …
How to paint
It is most convenient to paint garden figures from polyurethane foam with oil paint. It is necessary to cover in two layers. After it dries, it is desirable to cover in two layers with yacht varnish.
Just look, it gives all the colors a yellowish tint. If this does not suit you, look for another composition for external use, but colorless.
Functional crafts for summer cottage and garden – pallet garden furniture
Buying furniture for summer cottages in stores is not the best option. You won’t take an expensive one, a cheap one is made of fiberboard, which swells from moisture in an unheated room and the furniture becomes unusable. So it turns out that the best way out is to do it yourself. There are many ideas that allow you to get a very comfortable environment with minimal time and money.
There are many strange things in our country. One of them is the use of wood for the manufacture of cargo pallets. You can buy used pallets quite inexpensively – they are written off after a certain period of time. It is from these pallets that you can make a table, a sofa, an armchair and many more different useful furniture. For sofas/armchairs, you will need to sew additional pillows or foam rubber mats, but this is not a problem for most. It is doubly pleasant to make such crafts for a garden and a summer residence – every time you get a charge of positive emotions when you see them, and even when you use them …
Pallet handling
The wood used is not of the best quality, but it is many times better than fiberboard. Especially for a summer residence. So, we take a pallet, we grind wood. You can, of course, manually using sandpaper with different grains, but things will go faster if you use tools. Red emery wheels are suitable for a grinder, but processing will be better when using grinders.
After grinding, we proceed to the initial stage of assembly, and then, before the final assembly, it will be possible to paint. Why not paint right away? Because during the manufacture of ideas come, for the implementation of which it is necessary to remove or add one or two or more planks. If the pallets are already painted, light/dark spots remain, which are then difficult to make the same color. In general, it is better to first try on what will be and how it will be, and paint everything before assembly.
You can paint with any wood paint, but do not forget about wood oils. They do not create a film of coloring matter on the surface, but penetrate inside, while protecting the wood and toning it. When using oils, the texture of the wood is not painted over, but appears brighter. The advantage is that the coating must be renewed without cleaning off the old one, but only by covering / impregnating the top layer. All in all, a good option if you want to keep the grain of the wood.
Connection methods
Pallets are connected to each other with nails or wood screws. In especially loaded places, you can use metal mounting plates – so that they do not move 100% relative to each other.
The inclination of the back in the manufacture of armchairs / sofas can be set using metal strips or corners welded at the desired angle. Maybe this is not very aesthetically pleasing, but it is reliable and fits perfectly into the overall style of “pallet” furniture. In general, everything is really easy, even if you have not done anything like this before.
Other Ideas Worth Considering
The theme of home-made country furniture is inexhaustible. Craftsmen from waste material do very interesting things. For example, a table made of a bunch of birch logs. A glass table top may be too much for a summer residence, but it’s very beautiful.
Developing this idea, you can use an interesting trunk, a few snags, etc. as a “leg”. Just do not forget to pre-soak the wood, and especially the bark, in antiseptic additives (which do not contain chlorine and dyes). Otherwise, the bugs living in it can quickly turn wooden walls into dust.
Another noteworthy table for washing the harvest. All summer residents are aware of how much effort goes into “washing root crops from the ground.” An elegant solution to the problem is a special table, where a stainless steel mesh is fixed instead of a table top.
The smaller the cell, the smaller root crops can be washed. And in order not to carry dirt on the site, the platform under the table can be concreted and runoff towards the beds, for example.
And not exactly furniture (more precisely, not furniture at all), but also interesting ideas that you can’t pass by – a tool shed made of old doors, painted concrete tiles / asphalt, a chandelier made of glass bottles, a broom made of plastic bottles …