Happy Valentine’s Day from For The Record!
We hope you are able to share the day with loved ones.
We hope you are able to share the day with loved ones.
Last week I posted two of my favorite projects from Pinterest that I plan on doing this spring, and thought it would be fun to add a few more this week. Enjoy and I hope these posts get your creative juices going!
I love commemorating memories in a crafty way, and I found a perfect way to do this and have it outdoors. Plus, it is is a great way of using up all the scrap pieces of wood from my husband’s projects that are always laying around…lol. All these wood scraps have turned into an enjoyment of using them is all kind of craft projects, and I love this idea.
As you can see in this picture, make small signs of all the places you have travelled! You can slowly build and add to it as you go places. Let your imagination fly as you create each sign – part of the charm is that they are not all the same color. And on the one I am going to make I’ll mix up the fonts as well. One hint as this will be outdoors – after you are done with the painting of each sign and it has dries, heavily coat it with a clear acrylic sealer. I use the kind you get in a spray can.
I love garden art, and this year I want to make a few pieces to put in mine. I’ve been gathering ideas, and I love the one pictured below. I found this on a website, but thought this could easily be made. Just find a narrow stake, some thin and pliable wire (I plan on using baling wire to see how that will work), and of course beads. You could use a color theme, or mix and match as is pictured. Use large, flat ones to seal off the top and you will need something to use for a “plug” . I have a short, hollow piece of metal I am going to use and then once all the wires are inserted will seal it off with Gorilla Glue or use my hot glue gun. Imagine watching the colorful beads dance in the breeze and capture the sunshine!
If you are like me, this time of the year I start getting the winter blahs and start thinking of spring and my flower gardens. The other day I spent some time on Pinterest looking for “garden art.” I found some really easy, fun ideas I wanted to share!
The first one that caught my eye looked so cute and easy! Called Garden Whimsies, they are made with terra cotta pots and saucers. Simply paint the pot in one color and paint the saucer in a contrasting color, when dry paint dots on them! They will look like darling mushrooms for your gardens!!
Easy and Colorful!!
I LOVE gazing balls and came across this idea on making your own mirror balls. What really attracted me to this idea is using recycled items, such as old bowling balls. The only other thing you need is a can of Chrome Metallic spray paint that you can get at Hobby Lobby or any crafting store!! So much cheaper than buying something like this at a store!
Clean whatever ball you are going to use with rubbing alcohol before painting, then lightly spray one side and let dry. Roll the ball to the other side and spray that side. Repeat as often as you like to achieve the amount of reflection you want. Spray with a clear gloss when the paint is dry, and that is it!!! One can of spray will make 3 balls, the size of a bowling ball.
Be creative when displaying these shiny, mirror balls. You can put them on a pedestal, an old bird bath, or as displayed above and place them strategically throughout your yard and gardens. Imagine the sparkle that will be added to your yard and gardens!
Have fun with the above projects!! There will be more to come!!
Looking for a great deal on trees, plants, even bluebird houses for your yard? Or maybe you are getting into recycling all that rain water by utilizing a rain barrel! Check out the information below from the Paxton Record:
The Ford County Soil & Water Conservation District is selling rain barrels, fish, trees, native plants, wood duck houses and bluebird houses.
Rain barrels — The order deadline is Feb. 26. Fifty-five-gallon plastic barrels, formerly used for food product shipping, have been modified into rain barrels that are 35 to 42 inches tall. They are assembled with a spigot, with linking fitting at the bottom end, overflow fitting near the top and a screen enclosure for the top. The rain barrels come in black, grey, blue or terra cotta colors at a cost of $65 each. Accessories available include: a linking hose, flex elbow, rain water diverter and wooden pedestal riser.
Fish — The order deadline is March 13 for grass carp and March 23 for all other fish. People can call the SWCD office at 379-2372 to ask about possible deadline extensions. Pickup is at 11 a.m. March 30. Available for purchase in various sizes are catfish, sunfish, bass, bluegill, redear and minnows. Pond delivery is available for orders of at least 1,000 fish or 250 pounds of catfish.
Trees — The order deadline is April 6, and pickup dates are April 10 for balled and burlap trees and April 20 for all other trees. Available for purchase are evergreens, hardwoods, shrubs, in-potted plants and bare-root seedlings. Also, a variety of fruit trees are available for $28. Grasses are on sale for $9.75 per plant in one-gallon pots. Evergreens are available in larger sizes for $30 apiece. The supplier also has many other items available upon special request.
Native plants — The order deadline is April 15, and the pickup date is May 29. Native plants come in a variety of colors, bloom periods and sizes. The plants cost $2.75 each and range in height from 2.25 inches to 2.5 inches.
Wood duck houses — People who own a pond and want to enhance the wildlife quality are encouraged to buy a wood duck house. The wood duck houses are 31.5 inches by 17 inches and are made of either pine or cedar. Pine wood duck houses cost $50, and cedar wood duck houses cost $65.
Bluebird houses — The bluebird houses are 28.5 inches by 12 inches and are made of either pine or cedar. Pine orders cost $20 and cedar orders $30.
To obtain order forms, visit the Ford County SWCD office in the USDA building at 1380 W. Ottawa Road, Paxton, or call 379-2372, Ext. 3.
Isn’t our milder weather nice? We hope everyone is enjoying it. If you’re like us though, the warmer temperatures and sunshine make us want to get out and go!! While the weather still isn’t quite suitable for us to get the RV out, we have still made some great local trips. While researching some places we can go on a day trip or a weekend trip, we found a great site that listed free days at Chicago museums. Yes, we said FREE!!! We wanted to share the information from the site, http://www.christinetrevino.com. You bet we will take advantage of some of these free days, and we hope you do to! ENJOY!!
Adler Planetarium
1300 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL 60605 | 312-922-7827
Free general admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28
Chicago Children’s Museum
Navy Pier | 700 East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 | 312-527-1000
Free admission for ALL visitors every Thursday 5PM-8PM.
Free admission for visitors 15 AND UNDER on the first Sunday of each month.
Field Museum of Natural History
1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605 | 312-922-9410
Free basic admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 14, 15 & every day in February
Museum of Science and Industry
5700 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60637 | 773-684-1414
Free museum entry for ILLINOIS residents
January 5-9, 12-16, 19-23, 26-30
March 2-6
April 22
May 21
June 1-5, 8
September 8-11, 14-18, 21-25, 28-30
October 5, 6
Shedd Aquarium
1200 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605
Free general admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
February 2, 3, 9, 10, 13, 14 , 15, 16, 17, 23, 24
June 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16
September 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29
October 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27
November 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch ATM, credit or debit card holders
Eligible for ONE free general admission
May 3-4
June 7-8
July 5-6
August 2-3
September 6-7
October 4-5
November 1-2
December 6-7
Brookfield Zoo
8400 West 31st Street, Brookfield, IL 60513 | 708-688-8000
Zoo admission is free from January 1 – February 28, 2015, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL 60022 | 847-835-5440
Free daily admission for ALL, parking fees apply.
Elawa Farms
1401 Middlefork Drive, Lake Forest, IL 60045
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.
Emily Oaks Nature Center
4650 Brummel Street, Skokie, IL 60076 | 847-677-7001
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.
Gardens at Cantigny
1S151 South Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL 60189 | 630-668-5161
Free daily admission for ALL, parking fees apply.
Garfield Park Conservatory
300 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL 60624 | 312-746-5100
Free daily admission for ALL, street parking available.
Lincoln Park Zoo
2001 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614 | 312-742-2000
Free daily admission for ALL, parking fees apply.
Lurie Garden at Millennium Park
201 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60602 | Southeastern end of Millennium Park
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2430 North Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614 | 773-755-5100
Thursdays are suggested donation days for ILLINOIS residents.
The Grove
1421 Milwaukee Avenue, Glenview, IL | 847-299-6096
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.
Wagner Farm
1510 Wagner Road, Glenview, IL 60026 | 847-657-1506
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.
Cantigny Park Museums
Robert McCormick Museum & First Division Museum
1S151 South Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL 60189 | 630-668-5161
Free daily admission for ALL, parking fees apply.
Chicago History Museum
1601 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614
Free admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 5-9, 12-15, 19-23, 26-30
February – every Monday through Friday
March 4
July 4
August 18-20, 24-27, 31
September 1-3
Free admission for children 12 and under.
Clark House Museum
1827 South Indiana Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616
Free for ALL on Wednesdays
Glessner House Museum
1800 South Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616 | 312-326-1480
Free for ALL on Wednesdays.
Illinois Holocaust Museum
9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077 | 847-967-4800
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch ATM, credit or debit card holders
Eligible for ONE free general admission
January 3-4
February 7-8
March 7-8
April 4-5
May 2-3
June 6-7
July 4-5
August 1-2
September 5-6
October 3-4
November 7-8
December 5-6
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
The University of Illinois at Chicago
800 s. Halsted, Chicago, IL 60607
Free admission for ALL (suggested donation).
Art Institute of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603 | 312-443-3600
Free admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 5 – February 10, 2015 every WEEKDAY, all day long.
Every Thursday 5-8PM.
Residents under 14 free everyday.
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602
Free daily admission for ALL.
City Gallery in the Historic Water Tower
806 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Free daily admission for ALL.
Ed Paschke Art Center
5415 W. Higgins Avenue, Chicago, IL 60630 | 312-533-4911
Free daily admission for ALL.
Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
220 South Cottage Hill Avenue, Elmhurst, IL 60126 | 630-833-1616
Free admission for ALL every Friday.
Loyola University Museum of Art
820 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 | 312-915-7600
Free admission for ALL every Tuesday.
Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art
Northwestern University
40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL 60208 | 847-491-4000
Free program admission for ALL.
Museum of Contemporary Art
220 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 | 312-280-2660
Free admission for ILLINOIS residents every Tuesday.
The Renaissance Society – University of Chicago
5811 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
Free daily admission for ALL.
Smart Museum of Art – University of Chicago
5550 S. Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 | 773-702-0200
Free daily admission for ALL.
DuSable Museum of African American History
740 East 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637 | 773-947-0600
Free admission for ALL every Sunday.
Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
3001 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201 | 847-475-1030
Free admission for ALL every first Friday.
National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 West 19th Street, Chicago, IL 60608 | 312-738-1503
Free daily admission for ALL.
Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
1155 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 | 773-702-9514
Free daily admission for ALL (suggested donation).
Swedish American Museum
5211 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60601 | 773-728-8111
Free admission for ALL every second Tuesday of the month.
International Museum of Surgical Science
1524 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60610 | 312-642-6502
Free for ALL on Tuesdays.
If you can’t make it to local museums during Free Chicago Museum Days in 2015, you may still be eligible for Chicago Museum Discount Admissions. Take a look at the special deals these Chicago area museums offer to various groups all year long.