34 DIY Floral Vase

As I have been cleaning out my secret storage areas, I have been working on creating new piles.  But we are talking about the good kind of piles.  Piles to keep, piles to donate and piles to Craigslist.  One of the rules I am making for the keep pile, is to do something with the item now {or super soon}, or else it can't stay.  I have found that many of the items I was saving, were items that I eventually intended on doing something with, and then never did.

And can we talk about taking on these organizing projects of epic scale?  Sometimes, a happy little craft project in the middle of a giant and stressful purge project, is just what the Doctor orders.  

While looking at my piles, I noticed quite a few home accessories.  Many of them, just old, generic vases from gifted flowers.

So I grabbed one of those boring vases, and gave it a little attention.

This was a super simple, 15 minute project, that left me grinning cheek to cheek.  Gotta love those the most right?

So I started with the glass vase, and first, wanted to glam it up a bit with a gold rim.  So, I taped it off with painters tape.  To avoid having to tape the entire inside, I just stuffed a plastic bag inside below the first row of tape.

And I was left with a vase that already looked much more expensive than it did before I started.

I wanted to add a little bit of a graphic pattern up the front {not on the back, as I didn't want it to compete with the front through the clear vase}.  I have been really crushing on giant floral patterns lately, especially in fabrics and clothing.  So I went straight to my paper stash, and snagged a piece that had a pattern I loved.

I found this paper from Archivers within the past few weeks, for those who may love it as much as I do.

I could have used either a craft knife or small scissors.  The pattern was large enough in scale, that I opted for the easier route... Scissors.

Once the pattern was cut out, I grabbed some Mod Podge.  Because I would be placing the floral pattern on a glass vase, I selected the glossy finish.

I started by brushing the back side of the cut-out, with the Mod Podge, and then positioned it onto the vase.  I then brushed another thin coat over the top of the graphic.

I had tested the finish in a small area on the bottom of the vase, prior to adhering the graphic, and there was a slightly noticeable difference from the Mod Podge to the glass.  Therefore, I tried to keep it as contained to the graphic as possible when applying the top coat.  I then used a rag to clean up around the edges of the graphic and remove any excess adhesive.

Pretty darling little project right?

The gold rim really was the perfect touch to give it a nice, chic effect.

I had all of the items I needed on hand, so this project came in at a whopping FREE price tag {with the exception of the pretty Trader Joe's flowers}.  What I really love is that it can easily be replicated with cutout fabric or gift wrap as well.  The sky is the limit!

  
It also got one more thing out of the storage room, and onto our shelves!  That in itself is a win in my book!

Update!  You will want to add a few coats of protective clear spray finish {similar to this} to the vase, to ensure your hard work doesn't go down the drain the first time you carefully wash it by hand.

Anyone else playing the "Use it or lose it" game?  What other creative ways do you use your stock of simple glass vases?

35 June Monthly Challenge: Polka Dot Planters

This morning I was gazing out our patio door at the recently installed deck rail {more on that soon}, and noticed that the pretty white planters that we have had for a couple of years now, were looking a little stark next to the white railing.

Cricket cricket....

The planters are nice and I really had no intention of painting them since I already had recently planted some flowers inside.  But they needed something.  A little pizazz!  So, I channeled my new found obsession for gold and polka dots, and whipped up a super quick update.

I was about two seconds away from duplicating the gold leaf project I did on the vase on the front porch, when I opened my craft drawer and spotted the gold foil sticker paper I had from a previous project.

The sticker paper is a simple sheet of gold foil with an adhesive back.  For me, it was the perfect solution for the planters because it wasn't permanent, but would still give me instant glam.  I used my Silhouette to cut the fonts from the foil.

Each letter was it's own sticker, and since I am no good at perfectly lining up letters and evenly spacing them, I decided to let the template do it for me.

I stuck the cutout of the word onto the planter first.  Then, stuck the individual letters inside and pulled away the outer portion.

Already looking pretty darling, I wanted to take it up a notch and add my love for polka dots.  So, I snagged to nearest kiddo and had him partner up on the rest of the project with me.

He punched polka dots with a craft punch, out of pink indoor/outdoor vinyl.  We had a crafty, pj porch party!

So chic, fun and pretty!

I love the gold and pink, they are a fav color combo.  I adore that it is temporary should I change my mind someday but should also last until that day comes.  And most of all, I am super smitten that the planters are no longer boring schmoring... They are now bright, cheerful and even little bit glam!

 

A quickie little spur of the moment update, that will add all sorts of fun to the entire patio project!  I am so SO excited to get it done and throw our first non-crafting, non-pj patio party! {although those rock too!}

 

130 June Monthly Challenge: A Refreshing Porch Revamp!

Hello lovers!  How was your weekend?

I missed you folks on Friday, but it was worth it.  I took the day to revamp and refresh our sad and neglected front porch!  And boy oh boy does it feel amazing!  So amazing in fact, that it was where I spent my few minutes of down time throughout the remainder of the weekend!

As a reminder of where I left off, I took a risk and painted our front door in Behr's Harbor.

I was so gaga over the update that I couldn't stop there!

Our home is blessed with a little front porch.  However, as awesome as it is to have, I am kicking myself for not making better use of it sooner.  We have owned our home for almost 12 years now, and I think I used the space more this weekend, than the entire time we have lived here!  It has always been on "the list", but seemed to take a backseat to interior projects.  I wish I would have prioritized our home projects a bit differently from the start, and taken on the exterior projects first so that when we need a break from the interior ones, we would have a place to kick back, put our feet up and enjoy the great outdoors.  Oh well, live and learn I suppose.

So, back to this front porch of ours.  After our long winter, here is a true to life vision of the front porch.

Up to this point, I had done nothing but purchase a plant!  See that nice fern in the corner, it really made the space amazing right?  Ha!  Nice try Jen, but seriously, this space was going to take a lot more than a nice plant to make it warm and welcoming.

Speaking of, this is the first thing you see when you walk up to our home.  Did I mention that I wish I wouldn't have waited so long?  This front porch should reflect the interior!  It should reflect our family.  It should make an impression.  And an impression it may have been making, but it wasn't a good one....

So, I started this project as I would any project, and removed everything.

It was already a zillion times better.  A good sweeping and I was off to a great start.  But then I started thinking, how can I make this special and unique?  Two seconds of thinking and I knew exactly what I wanted to do; paint the porch ceiling!

So, I taped off the ceiling with green painters tape and got started!  Here is the photo I shared on Instagram as a teaser.

Y'all figured out what I was up to right away.  And you even taught me a little somethin' somethin'.  Apparently painting your porch ceiling a shade of blue is called a blue haint ceiling.  Never knew!  You can snag all of the interesting details here.

So, yes, I was creating my own blue haint porch ceiling, only mine was done with Behr's Ice Folly.

Here it is after the first coat, still in the drying phase.

When selecting the porch color, I wanted to do something uber subtle, so that the front of our house didn't turn into a circus tent, but a relaxing place to sit with a cup of coffee.  So, I took the paint swatch from the new front door color, and moved all the way up the swatch to the lightest shade of blue.  I painted the ceiling in a semi-gloss exterior paint & primer combo paint, and it ultimately covered in two coats.

Once the paint dried and I pulled the tape, the nice and pretty clean ceiling made me realize that the rest of the house needed a scrubbing!  So, I sprayed down the siding and scrubbed it with warm soapy water, along with the windows and trim.

The next step was to update the little white table.  It was beginning to show it's age, and with all the white and gray, it was time to bring in some color!  So, a few coats of Rustoleum's glossy warm yellow spray paint, and it was updated and looking oh-so-happy!

Although we have some planted flowers out front, I wanted to add a place to put fresh cut flowers, again, to make the outdoor space feel like an extension of our interior. 

1. I began with a plain IKEA Socker vase.
2. I cut out the word "five" with my Silhouette on the double sided adhesive paper.  Five because we are a family of five, so it is special to us.
3. I decided to try my hand at gold leaf for the first time!  Since the double sided adhesive paper is sticky once the white layer is removed, I just stuck the gold foil to the top of the cut adhesive paper.
4. Using a soft brush, I gently brushed away the remainder of the gold foil, only the word "five" remained on the front of the vase.

Boring vase no more!  It is now customized for us!  And in a super sassy way!

Speaking of gold.  Our teal planters flanking each side of the front door, were looking a little boring and I was contemplating ways to spruce them up a bit.  They originally came with a black medallion attached to the front, but I wasn't a fan so I turned the planters around and left the front empty while the medallion lived on the backside.  After seeing the gold leaf on the vase, I knew I wanted the medallions to be sprayed in a pretty gold spray paint.  So a little Rustoleum Pure Gold later, and they were beautiful!

We already had a couple of hosta plants out front along the sidewalk, but I wanted to add a little color, so I planted a few flowers too.

In the far corner, the fern was begging me for a little height.  Trying to be resourceful, I pulled the thrifted stool from our lower level bathroom, gave it a coat of the gold spray paint and had an instant plant stand.

A basket with a soft throw and magazines make for a cozy afternoon, and can easily be toted inside.

Ooooh!  And we hung a little white sunburst mirror too!  I stole it from our guest room, but I have a replacement mirror for that spot so it was time to swap it anyway.  It was a total front porch game changer.

Paint, spray paint, scrubbing, cleaning, more spray paint, some accessories and lots and lots of love and what do you get?

A colorful and welcoming space that now reflects us!

I have been hoarding our old seagrass dining room chairs for a chance to put them back to use.  Although they didn't make sense with our new dining room setup, I was so in love with them that I just couldn't part with them.  After some research, I found that they are suitable for covered porches since they have a protective coating {they just shouldn't be out in uncovered exteriors full time}.  I will just have to bring them in during the harsher winter months when we wouldn't be using them out front anyway.

How about some more up close and personal pretty porch eye candy?

 

And a view looking back...  I just adore how it all plays off of our stunning painted door!

Happy happy joy joy!  Wanna know why I am so goofy giddy about this update?  The before and after says it all!

The power of a little elbow grease, cleaning, drive and lots of paint is an amazing thing! 

Are you taking this monthly challenge as seriously as I am?  How do you give the exterior of your home the same personality as the interior?

68 An Organized Garden Tool Caddy

I couldn't be more giddy about the fact that the days are getting longer, the sun is shining brighter and the green grass, leaves and fresh blossoms are making their appearance.  Love it!

What I don't love, is our current landscaping and garden situation.  We have a bit of work ahead of us this year, and I am getting excited to hop in and get dirty.  Weeding, planting, digging and gardening.  And this current "garden caddy", a.k.a. ceramic planter filled with tools, just isn't going to cut it!

Toting around the planter isn't the safest {could easily slip and break}, and when combined with a huge bag of potting soil in my arms, it is just a recipe for disaster.

So, it was time for a new plan.  We dug out an old five gallon bucket...

Filled it was potting soil.

And ordered the cutest little garden apron off of Etsy, which I tied around the bucket.

Seriously, isn't it adorable?  I am smitten!  And if you have sewing skills, you could totally DIY this at home.

I couldn't wait to fill up all those pockets!

Six large pockets to be exact!

Garden tools, weed picker, sheers, gloves, seeds and flower food... and with room to spare!

I totally adore that I can just toss on the cover and keep this stored in the garage, and the dirt stays nice and fresh.  And because it's a bucket with an awesome handle, toting it around the yard from place to place is now a breeze!

Will the apron get a bit dirty?  Maybe.  But it is washable which is a huge plus.

Who else loves this time of year?  Big gardening or landscaping plans in your future?  Anyone else have a bucket system like this that they heart like crazy?