Broke one of my fave garden art flowers...so I get to keep it!

The ones with "stamens" are tricky to transport and this stamen broke off. Fortunately, the fix is invisible and I don't feel right selling a repaired item, so I get to put it in my own garden.

(Half) homemade pet-proof ant traps from "not new" tins.

The ant traps from the stores can easily be chewed up by my dog (it seems like they mix the poison with peanutbutter bait, so he would definitely be interested. So, I poke two holes in a tin, place the ant trap inside and and tape it shut with heavy duty packing tape (heck, I have a hard time getting into them each year to swap out the poison). I put these puppies out as soon as it gets warm and I can go through the year with never seeing more than two ants in the house. (Wish the same could be said for stink bugs, which have invaded us the past couple years.)

My "not new" garden stake needs a little something.

Thought I'd try to create some repurposed garden art. This first attempt is both a win and a fail. It's a win because the construction techniques seem to be working. A fail because this one is kind of blah. I thought I could add some yellow wire between the two white dishes, but that didn't work out as a I had hoped. With just the two white dishes, it's a bit bland for anyone except the most extreme minimalist. I have an idea to bring some color to the center, but can't implement it until it gets warmer out (need to work in the garage to avoid the excessive fumes). I'll keep you posted how that turns out.

Full disclosure: while the glass dishes are used, I couldn't find any "not new" pipes and fittings...so the "stem" and attaching hardware are new.

Everything at TheFoundryBuffalo.org appeared "not new."

All the member's cubbies appeared to be made from reclaimed materials. The doors were all hung in the same style (shown), eliminating need for "swing clearance." Here you can see the hanging mechanism was rigged together from old stuff. I believe this is the door to the cubby of the lady who raises llamas. She uses her space to clean, card, spin and loom the wool. Pretty neat. Check out The Foundry website for info on events that are open to the public.

The "not new" leather chair's major blemish.

The leather chair I purchased with craigslist for $225 is finally in the house and seemingly undisturbed by the feral cat in the garage. It is difficult to see in the photos, but not difficult to see at all in person, that there is a large blemish smack dab in the middle of the seat. I am going to try to fix that and will post before and after pics. The chair is supposedly only 3 years old and retails for $699 (but who pays full retail?), but I still think I overpaid because of this big, stupid flaw. I figure that if I can't fix it, I will purchase a piece of hair-on cowhide to cover the seat. I think I will like the look of that, but it will likely cost at least $40. Oh well. At least I have all the living room furniture I need for the time being.