Garden project

Hi friends !! I am absolutely delighted that my repurposed Pizza Box( mixed media art) was featured in not one, not two but Six blogs !!!! Thank you, thank you so much dear friends afar ! Alittle encouragement goes a very long way. Thank you to all the following blog parties that featured my Pizza Box.

I have several other pizza boxes which I may share in my next post. But today, I would love to share with you one of my first garden signs/courtyard signs/ pathway signs !! The best weather (depending on your definition of best !!) in Dubai is from November until February. Day time is between warm to pleasant while late evenings can be chilly enough to call out the cardigans.

We get very very little rains here but when we do get a shower or two ~ the entire city shines and sparkles while the residents cheer and run out of their houses to experience the blessed rain drops. I know, most of my blog visitors are from the west and you must think, “what is the matter with this woman ~ how can they like the rains ~ how can they not want some sun ~ how can they enjoy chilly evenings ” but you know, each one of us is blessed with something in abundance and we have been blessed with aloooooot of sunshine so we really cherish the little blissful “winter” ~ we receive ♥

This post is not about the weather in Dubai or gardening in Dubai ~ but if you do have a backyard or courtyard, I may as well tell you that November is the best time to start preparing the soil and flower beds of the garden. I generally start working on my garden in full swing by November so that, come December, the garden looks inviting and can accommodate all our holiday guests.

This year, I have worked on several décor projects for the garden, one of which is a directional sign arrow for “Home” Its not something fancy but I really like how it turned out. It stands out with its pale white color and swirly fonts. Following is a short pictorial/tutorial.

Recycled Material ~ Wood from Pallets !!

So, I started out with a dumped “PALLET” !! Yes, you heard me right, I chopped one plank of the pallet with my jigsaw. Sanding it nicely and then giving it the arrow cuts on one end. I let the long perpendicular end remain rather rugged since a large part of it, would remain buried in the sand/pot. I made sure the end of the support post was narrow so that it could be dug deep into the soil/pot.

A couple of nails from my newly bought nail gun (the one I bought from London, remember, in the last blog post ) shot it together in the center. And then the sign post was ready for the aesthetic workshop.

Nothing fancy, just your regular pale plastic paint. It is glossy. Two coats of that did the job well.

When the paint had dried, nearly a day later or more, I free-handed the letters “HOME” on the arrow. The font I have used is :- Beyond Wonderland. Isnt it marvelous ??!!

The pencil writing was later made ready with sharpies markers and a rough border was added. I did distress it alittle but just a little becoz I understand, It may have to still endure a lot of sun and will get distressed anyways 🙂 A single coat of modge podge was the last step in the process. I have used the checkered foam stamp on the long support post. Voila !!

This was my first attempt at making a sign post. I am pleased with the look. I hope you find this tutorial helpful and perhaps inspirational as well. Please share with me, any of your first wood work experiences. There are so so many fantastic ladies out there, in the blog world who are making such amazing wood works ! I hope this is my first wood work post in a loooooong series of posts about making plaques and sign posts. I am linking this post to the following blog parties :-