HOMEMADE WOODEN KIDS PLAYHOUSE

We wanted to give our girls a playhouse for Christmas to have in their playroom.  When we started looking on Amazon at the prices and assembly requirements, the hubby decided that he would make it from scratch himself.

It took him about 3 months to complete, working an average of 2 days per week.  He designed it himself, cut all of the pieces, sanded it himself, painted/stained it himself, and assembled it with my Dad's assistance.  It was quite interesting moving the walls and roof pieces up the stairs from the garage, but we figured it out.  He assembled it on Christmas Eve while the girls were napping at my parents' house.  

It has a bar, bay window, windows with flower boxes, front door, very high ceilings, and custom shingles for the roof.  The only thing that the hubs wanted to possibly add -->

 a light for the inside ceiling.

My sis-in-law created the green pot and purple flowers using materials from hobby lobby (tissue paper for the flowers).  She also made the sign hanging over the door out of burlap and hand painted the letters.  Thanks to her for her awesome creativity!

 Needless to say, they loved it on Christmas morning and said, "Thank you, Daddy, for our new house."  

FRESH LANDSCAPING AND BLACK MULCH

The hubby and I were trying to think of ways to spruce up the yard.  We have been watching a lot of "Desperate Landscapes" on the DIY network.  They always seem to have dark mulch in their yards.  So we went on a search for dark mulch and found "Midnight Black Mulch with Weed Barrier" by Preen at Lowe's.  It costs $4.49 per bag, but we got it for $4.00 per bag with the military discount.  AND, then we needed more a week later.  It was on sale at Lowe's for $3.39 per bag ($3.00 per bag with the military discount). It makes a huge difference in the flower beds.  It makes everything "pop."

BEFORE the new mulch:

AFTER the "Midnight Black" mulch:

 Notice how this pot of marigolds looks really nice against the black mulch.  You can see where we hadn't finished putting the mulch in the back of the picture.  Huge contrast in color.

HOMEMADE THREAD HOLDER

My hubby made this thread box out of MDF and wood glue using a nailgun and a table saw.  It took about 2 hours total including the time to paint it.  It is really nice to have all of my thread colors handy right there where I need them.

HOMEMADE KID SWING

The hubs put this together with a few pieces of wood and some bolts.

The kids love it!