Month: May 2013

With the summer months approaching fast, a lot of us will be taking our family and friends camping! Here are some tips to make it just a little easier for you! Happy Camping everyone!

Use bungie straps to attach a paper towel holder to a water jug. Put some soap in the water or next to the jug and you get a nice little Hand Washing Station!!

Need some lighting in your tent? Strap a head lamp to a gallon jug of water to fill the entire tent with ambient light.

Get some solar powered light stakes to put around the tent stakes so there won’t be any late night tripping of those darn things.

Bring along some Orajel! Not only will it be useful if there are any painful toothaches, but it also help calm the irritation of mosquito bites.

DIY Fire Starters! Grab some of that lent from the dryer and stuff it in some saved up toilet paper rolls and there ya have it, fire starters!

Everyone knows that duct type can fix everything! But sometimes having a whole roll of duct type toting around with you can be a spacey issue. Just wrap a couple feet of duct tape around a lighter so you have a nice handy roll of duct type right there in your pocket.

Put your papered goods in coffee cans for safe keeping from all types of weather!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s time to get out there and start planting your gardens and flower beds. Here at Rural King we have a lot of gardening options. One thing I love is the watering globes. It can be tough to know how often and how much to water your plants or flowers, but with the watering globes things have gotten a lot easier. What you do is fill the globe with water and place it in the ground. When the soil dries out it releases oxygen in the globe which then pushes the water into the ground. The plants will never get over watered or have too little water with this handy device.

Another item we have that is especially handy is the Step2 Garden Kneeler Seat. After spending an hour bent over the garden trying to get everything planted, your back starts to ache and you can no longer ignore the pain. Well, why not avoid all the hassle and just use the Garden Kneeler Seat? This will give you the perfect height to get down there and do what needs to be done without having to continuously strain yourself. It makes gardening easier and more enjoyable, the way it’s supposed to be!

Are you looking for that one-of-a-kind centerpiece for either a graduation, wedding, party, or even just a house decoration?  Have you thought about creating your own vintage picture?

Supplies You Will Need:

• Quart-Sized Mason Jar with Lid
• 4″ X 6″ Black-and-White or Sepia Photo
• Vegetable Oil
• Clear Drying Glue
• Pebbles or Dried Flowers (Optional Decoration)

How to Create:

Step 1: You will need to begin with the Mason Jar, Picture, and Glue. Glue the picture into the mason jar.

Step 2: From there you will need to add vegetable oil. The vegetable oil is what makes the picture look vintage.

Step 3: (Optional): Now you can add decorations to the Jar. You may either add dried flowers, pebbles, or anything else that would make the centerpiece more memorable (like pieces from the time frame).

Step 4: It is now time to finish. Place the lid on top of the mason jar and tighten the lid.

Now it is time to decorate. You may also use this vintage picture as a gift for any occasion.

 

Stepping stones are a great way to dress up your garden, but can be quite pricey. So why not spend an afternoon making your own garden stepping stones? They are super easy and fun to make for the whole family!

There are tons of different kinds of stepping stone, whether you want to add them to your garden or just accent a walkway into your backyard stepping stones make cool landscape accessories. They can also make great gifts, although they may be a little heavy to wrap!

What you will need:

• Concrete (you can find this in your local Rural King store or special stepping stone concrete at a craft store)
• Plastic mold (you can also find these at craft stores, but you can also use a pie pan or a plastic pot drainage saucer which is also found in our Rural King stores.)
• Decorations such as paint, shells, marbles and glass beads or pieces of a wind chime.  

What to do:

• Put on a pair of plastic gloves and lay out a few sheets of newspaper to cover the floor.
• Pick which mold you’ll use to make your stepping stone.
• Mix the cement according to the instructions on the package and pour it in the plastic mold container. It should be at least two inches thick.
• Depending on how you want to embellish your stepping stone, start decorating it while the cement is still soft or wait at least 24 hrs for it to dry before removing it from the container. 

Stepping stones: before the cement hardens, you can make a hand or footprint, stick on shells and glass beads or use cookie cutters to make cool shapes. You can use anything lying around your house to jazz up your stepping stones. If you’re more of a painter, then wait for the cement to completely dry before you paint your stepping stone!

Is there anything more annoying in the summer than a mosquito bite? Avoid the cost of mosquito traps at the store and just make your own! It is quick and simple. All you need is an empty 2 liter bottle, yeast, sugar, and water.

What to do:

1. Cut off the top of the bottle, just where the the top curve ends
2. Add mixture of:

— 1 tbs of yeast
–1/2 c of sugar
— Luke warm water

3. Put mixture in the bottom of the bottle
4. Place the cut off top of the bottle up-side down into the bottom of the bottle
5. Make sure the the mixture doesn’t touch the up-side down piece of the bottle. (This is so the mosquitoes can’t find their way out.)
6. Tape or staple the end of the bottle together to secure the hold.

Simple as that and your DIY Mosquito trap is complete! The mixture gives off Carbon Dioxide which is what we breathe out and attracts mosquitoes to us.  That gives them something else to dive into that doesn’t cause us irritation!

      

This is for all those bird watchers out there. If this is something you like to do as a hobby or just like sitting on your porch I imagine that one of you favorite birds is the hummingbird. If you are new to this the best way to attract them is putting out humming bird feeders. The sweet smell will attract them and have them buzzing all over your yard. Stop by Rural King and pick up a feeder and try this homemade recipe.

Homemade hummingbird nectar recipe instructions:

1 part regular white sugar to 4 parts water.
Example: 1 cup sugar, 4 cups water

1. Boil the water.
2. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Let cool.
4. Refrigerate in a designated hummingbird feeder pitcher.

Using a microwave works too. Put the water in a microwave safe container and heat to boiling point. Carefully remove and add sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. I fill my clean feeders and set them aside to cool and let the rest cool a bit before storing in the fridge.

Nothing extra: There is no need to add anything extra to the homemade hummingbird nectar recipe, i.e. coloring, honey, etc. It’s not necessary and could be harmful. Honey will quickly ferment becoming poisonous to the birds.

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