A Backyard Hangout

Doesn't this time of year just make you want to spend every moment outside? It does for me and now that we finally have our lives back from the wicked allergies this year threw at us, I intend to get some fresh are and sunshine.
Last winter we got rid of our kid's Little Tikes house in favor of my new garden.  They'd just outgrown it even though they still liked playing in it. But my garden really is cool and I'm obsessed with it and composting.

After pinteresting tons of ideas...
like the pallet playhouse

this is not my child so I felt she should remain anonymous 

or this great treeless tree house

I could just see a cracked skull from falling of the top or swinging into the house

I decided that maybe I needed something simpler, maybe less permanent and lets be honest, cheaper.

So I turned to Ana White and found the $20 tent. It literally took  $4 worth of screws, I already had enough 2x2x8 boards and a couple of old sheets. Score! 

I worked on it for about 3 hours this morning and here is what I came up with 

The tent "door" can be open 

or closed for a little more shade

you can see it closed a little better from this angle.

I gave it a few touches like a solar lantern, every camp needs a lantern right?

And pinwheels from their Easter baskets, which have had aprx. 10 homes since Easter. 

It really is a hit, he is one happy "camper!"

Ok for my mods off Ana White's plan...

I used 8ft pieces of lumber, its what I had and I wanted as few cuts as possible. You should just stick to her plan, those 2x2's were a beast to work with. 

As for the fabric, I used a king sheet and a twin sheet.  I sewed them together end to end and made the corners line up in the back. Does that make sense? 

then I just draped them over the top along my stitch and tucked them in at the bottom and around the sides. The king sheet allowed for a bit of a door.  I didn't want to attach it because I wanted it to be super easy to take off and on so that I didn't kill the grass leaving it covered all summer. 

Also I plan on using at as a greenhouse over my garden this winter and just wrapping it in plastic. We have a small yard, multi-functional is a plus.

Insert greenhouse tent over top and the perfect place for my hanging baskets to weather the winter. 

Ok so thats it, it really is simple guys. Make one and feel free to ask if you have any questions.