Garden Hose Door Mat

For weeks I have been trying to throw out this very used and very leaky garden hose and the City garbage men refuse to take it! It’s annoying (the garbage men) but then I thought they must be sending me some type of message urging me to repurpose and reinvent this green coiled mess. Yea right.

Anyway, as you can see, I decided to transform the garbage misfit hose into a very useful door mat.

You’ll need:

• A leaky garden hose.
• A square dollar store door mat. I bought a square gray door mat for $1 at the local Christmas Tree Shop.
• E-6000 adhesive at a craft or hardware store. I used three tubes of the stuff for this project.
• Garden pruners (to cut the garden hose).
• A strong scissors to cut down the mat.
• Some heavy garden pots to use as weights to hold down the hose sections while the glue dries. Actually any heavy object will suffice.
• .75″ x .94″ corks (to seal the cut ends of the hose lengths).

Here’s how you do it:

1. Place the door mat on a flat surface.
2. Using the garden pruners, cut a section of the hose so that it creates the outer half circle of the mat. Don’t worry if the ends of the hose hang over the mat…you can trim them off when you’ve finished gluing all of the sections onto the mat.
3. Place a generous amount of glue on the hose then position it on the mat. Remember, you’re working with the outer half circle first.
4. Position heavy pots on this first section to keep in place and let dry overnight.
5. When the first section is dry, simply repeat with all of the remaining cut hose sections to fill in the half circle using heavy objects to hold the sections in place.
6. When finished and all of the hose sections are dry, cut the ends with the pruners so that they are all the same length.
7. Glue and insert corks into each of the ends to seal the openings.
8. Finally, with a scissors cut the door mat base to the half-circle shape you’ve created.
9. Done!

I feel really great about this project because I’m keeping crap out of the local landfills and this mat is super durable and easily cleaned by hosing it off….ironic isn’t it.  Thank you garbage dudes!

Happy crafting!

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Wine Bottle Garden Lanterns

If you’re looking for a fun and crafty way to create unique garden lanterns then you’ll love this project. I’ll show you how to transform empty wine or water bottles into these lovely lanterns. They’re super easy and are sure to impress guests at your next garden shindig.

Here’s what you’ll need.

Note to crafters: I found my bottle cutter on-line at Amazon.com. The rest of the supplies, with the exception of the sticks and bottles, I picked up at my local craft and hardware store.

Probably the most challenging part of this project is removing those darned labels from the bottles. My solution is simple…soak the bottle in dish detergent for at least 2 days and with some coaxing, they come right off.

To cut the glass, simply follow the directions supplied with the bottle cutter. And, don’t forget to wear safety glasses for this project. It’s also important that you file the edges of the cut glass with a glass file.

Using the pocket knife whittle (I love that word) the top of the stick to accommodate the opening of the glass bottle. Place a generous portion of glue on the top of the stick and place the opening of the bottle on the stake and let it dry over night. My adhesive of choice is E-6000.

You can also use the bottom portion of the bottle for a drinking glass or vase.  However, remember to file down the sharp glass edges before use.

All fired up and ready for your guests!

Not only can you put a votive candle inside but also you can fill them with birdseed or flowers. Enjoy your party and happy crafting!