Before & After: Bed to Bench makeover

It's hard to engage in too many DIY projects when a.) I have the LO attached to me pretty much most of the day and 2.) I don't have much of my own space here on the ranch with my parents.

But here's one of my dad's projects: an iron bed up-cycled into a cowboy bench. It was a gift for my mom.

You can see the headboard is the backrest and the footboard was sliced in half to become the arm rests. He welded horseshoes, a bit, and a steer head thing as accents.

I always think I got my desire to create, craft, and DIY from my Grandma, but it must've come via my dad.

I AM! IRON BENCH! DUUUUUH NUH, NUH-NUH-NUH.... DUH NUH NUH NUH, NUH NUH... NUH NUH NUH.

My dad also welded the front gate, which Flickr user Brave Heart snapped a picture of.

As long as I'm still on the ranch, I'm thinking of snapping a Barn Tour to really give a sense of my dad's design. Consider yourself warned.

Things I Fancy: Barney the Dinosaur's "idea bench"

Yes, seriously.

I was just watching "Barney the Dinosaur" on Sprout and saw the most awesome park bench ever:

The "idea bench". This picture comes from The Ponder Home, which also shows her kids sitting on a real one if you follow the link.

Here's BJ next to an illustrated version, courtesy PBSKids.org.

It's an outdoor park bench where the two occupants face each other, much like some types of love seats (and these toilets).

But the best part is that it spins! What fun! A full 360 of your garden. Here it is in action, starting at around 6:41: