How To Make an Outdoor Play Space Affordably

For months now, I’ve been pinning outdoor spaces that allow kids to be kids—spaces that spark their imagination through building, playing and even getting dirty. Little by little it is beginning to come together and I want to show you what I’ve done so far. My goals were:

*  create a fun outdoor space where our grand kids can explore and play

*  use materials that can be used in a variety of ways

*  use as many natural materials as possible

*  make it as economical as possible

My first step was creating a mud kitchen. After looking over lots of ideas, I settled upon this picture as my inspiration:

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We already had one old tire that we no longer needed (although I am not sure where it even came from), so I wheeled it over to our fire pit area one afternoon and measured the middle hole. Naturally, I forgot to write down that measurement before going to the store, but I found an oil drain pan in the auto supplies at Wal Mart that ended up being a perfect fit. AND, it was less than $3. I some cinder blocks behind our storage building and a piece of wood that used to be part of a pallet wood sign.

Dollar Tree was the perfect place to find a couple of storage baskets and a package of round food containers. I glued the lids on to serve as "burners" for a stove and gathered some old serving utensils that I no longer needed. We put some nails on the fence to hang the utensils.

Once we added a little sand to the water, the real fun began! Needless to say, it hasn't been this neat since!

Next up was a place to build. Tree trimmers have been working in our neighborhood for weeks, clearing branches from power lines. After seeing this stack of sycamore logs in front of an abandoned house, I talked my husband into helping me load a few to bring home.

I liked this wood because of the smooth bark that would be less likely to harbor splinters. I stood a few up to serve as stepping blocks and have plans to get a couple of the smaller ones chopped into smaller pieces for building with.

I love the way this one is organized, but it might be a while before I have something like that in place.

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Lastly, I went on a search for some type of durable road that could be used and stored outdoors. I have some road tape that we use inside from time to time, but it wasn’t at all practical for outdoor use. . . particularly over gravel. I did find one product on the market that was made of some sort of rubber sheeting and was designed for indoor or outdoor use, but it was very expensive and out of my budget for sure.

There just didn’t seem to be anything on the market that fit my needs, so you guessed it: I made my own.

I keep it outside hanging on the fence and the kids have used it regularly for a month now without any signs of wear and tear at all, other than a little dirt on the back. I even made miniature traffic signs that can be kept in the space as well.

This road set has been such a hit with the kids (ages 18 mos. - 11 years)! They  work both indoors and outdoors and can be arranged in a variety of ways. Another great thing about them is that they are wider than your typical "road tape", allowing for vehicles of different sizes.

I will be adding some road sets to the shop in the next couple of days, just in time for Christmas. If you hop over to my business blog, Dot To Dot Connections, you can sign up for email updates that will let you know when new products are added. You can also follow me on Instagram at both @Lsperki and @DotToDotConnetions.

I still have a few things I'd like to add to the space - perhaps some musical instruments, buildings for the streets and an art station - but, for now, I am certainly enjoying laying in our hammock with the kids play!

November Instagram Challenge - Make It Wild

I don't know if it is the cooler weather, the recent trip to Colorado or the fall festivals, I've attended, but lately I just want to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Perhaps I was inspired by a recent article I read about the 30 Days Wild program that is sponsored by the Wildlife Trusts in the UK, a program that encourages participants to get outside each and every day for 30 days in a row.

November is traditionally a month that we really focus on our gifts and blessings and one of those is certainly this wonderful world that God has given us to care for.  Hence, this month's challenge---Wild November. I challenge you to get outside each and every day this month and find something that is photo-worthy. You may need to re-arrange these prompts to fit your particular situation or weather conditions, but if you include the prompt in your caption, we'll be able to follow along just fine. (hint: I generally post the photo caption, then the prompt in all caps, followed by the hashtag, like this:   WILD - #mtwildnovember2017)

So here's the list for this month:

If you are interested in "upping" the quality of your phone photography skills, be sure to check out the handbook, Picture Practice that is offered in my online shop over at www.DotToDotConnections.com/shop. While you are there, feel free to browse through my other offerings as well.

See you over on Instagram!

East Texas Swamp Tour

With fall in the air, Debbie and I set out on another photography adventure last week. Upon arriving at Captain Ron’s Swamp Tours in Karnack,TX for a cruise down the  Little Cypress.

It was a beautiful morning and we were virtually the only ones on the river at the time.

We enjoyed the peace and quiet and just observing the scenery. Although we were in east Texas, it certainly felt like Louisiana as well with the towering cypress trees and Spanish moss hanging from every limb.

While narrating the trip, our boat captain also educated us about some of the flora and fauna. Even after living in Louisiana all of my life, I never knew what gave cypress trees their flare at the bottom. (Can you spot the birds in the next couple of pictures?)

I learned that the flare is created when the cypress knees close to the base fold in and join the tree as it grows. In addition, cypress knees are only produced in standing water, not on land, and will not be adopted by another tree, even if they pop up closer to that particular tree.

As the knees fold in and are incorporated into the tree itself, the flared bottom provides additional stability as it grows.

And have you ever wondered what inspired manufacturers to produce a water repelling products like Rain X and Scotch Guard? According to our guide, scientists were inspired by the water repellency of the leaves of lily pads and lotus.

He splashed water on some to demonstrate the principle that also allows them to float on top of the water.

After our tour, we wandered around a bit until we found the tiny marina café that was recommended to us for lunch.  And I must admit, the fried catfish that I enjoyed was the perfect ending to a great day!! 

The only thing better than inspirational scenery to photograph is having a great friend who shares your passion!

Colorado Road Trip

Having just returned from a wonderful "girls trip", it still feels a bit unreal that at this time last month I was settling in for one of the best meals ever in a tiny town in Colorado with 2 of my closest friends! We had such an amazing time together---so much laughter and sharing and fun adventures. We started the trip with a day full of travel. Since this was the first time Debbie and Valine had spent much time together, it was a time filled with getting to know each other through some of the most ridiculous stories you can imagine. All three of us are doing the monthly Instagram challenges, so it was fun to brainstorm ways to interpret each prompt. We had so much fun together and I took so many photos, so I should warn you that this is a PHOTO-HEAVY post!  And because of the sheer number of pictures, I am posting them SOOC, with absolutely no editing at all. :-) But, as you will learn, I had lots of battery issues, so there are not as many as there COULD have been.

Debbie's baby, Cassie, joined us for the trip. What a sweetie!! She is so cute and well-behaved that both Valine and I came home wishing for puppy just like her!

Debbie's house in Colorado is beautiful and we had fun exploring the yard surrounding it our first morning. It was quite chilly that first morning and we got our feet wet jumping over the spring-fed stream, but had enough time to dry them a bit before we headed out on our first real adventure.

Debbie's good friend, Ruthanne, took us on an amazing journey up the mountains and through the passes in the four-wheel-drive side-by-side. 

 Everywhere we looked there was beauty--from the towering evergreens that still showed the effects of a wildfire to the quaking balls of gold and orange that clothed the aspen trees.

I completely forgot to charge my extra battery and my phone battery was not cooperating after the latest OS update, so I had no photography equipment for the second half of that adventure. Not to worry though: Valine let me use her camera while she used her phone and of course, I captured it all in my memory forever!

One of the really fun things about this whole trip were the somewhat impromptu, unplanned stops we made during the week.

• Lavender Ridge Farms in Texas

• Searching for, and finally finding, the ruins of Morley Church, all that is left of an old mining camp near Trinidad, CO.

• Stopping for pictures of old churches and buildings along the Highway of Legends, as well as the rock formations in Stonewall, CO.

Learning of a different route up to Lake City, that took us through tunnels of aspen trees and up to North Clear Creek Falls

Spending time in Lake City, CO (food, gardens, galleries, churches and deer)

• Watching the colors of Lake San Cristobal turn to fantastic shades of turquoise as the north wind blew in.

• Stopping to find a mama moose and her baby at Deer Creek Lakes

• The fun and quirky Tumcumcari, NM

• and of course, stopping by Cadillac Ranch on the way home.

Sometimes, when you put 3 women together, one of them tends to be left out. But, that was not the case with the three of us. We shared stories, laughed till we cried, relaxed when we wanted and explored the beauty of nature together without even a touch of uncomfortable vibes. Seeing such beauty will stay with me forever, but the very best part was the friendships that were deepened. As different as we all are, we shared something incredible that connected us in a way that is difficult to describe. I am so very thankful for the hospitality of a dear friend that allowed us all to spend that week together!