Pinterest Picks: Succulent Furniture

We might as well admit it.  Those of us who use Pinterest are familiar with those times that you just get completely lost and blown away by the things you see there, that you just never thought of. I know I do anyway!  If you don't have Pinterest yet, I can invite you. People say, what is Pinterest, I don't get it? And honestly the best analogy I can think of, is, you know how we used to cut out things from magazines that we liked?  I had so many ideas cut out from magazines that I had to keep them in binders - all with the intentions of "saving" an idea that I would one day, hopefully, tackle.  Well Pinterest is just that. Saving ideas but one step further, categorizing them into easily accessible "boards" and sharing them with each other - without hogging shelfspace.  So I thought, what better way to add to our little addiction than to have a Pinterest Picks section now and then? And here we are.

I really should have named this post "Plant Furniture" or "Planters you can also use as a table" but I didn't.  The succulent table has had me so captivated, that it won for title of this post. I can't wait to try one of these, or it's siblings, when I finally get to make my mid-century modern patio a reality. Check out my Pinterest Picks, if you please:

 

 Can you believe that table? That's the one that started all this, that's the culprit, right there! I'm in love with that table. I can't decide if I would rather put succulents or herbs in there, or what the hey, lettuce and strawberries?  The person who made this was nice enough to do an entire tutorial on it and it's all over Pinterest. For good reason! Click here to hop over to Pinterest and check it out.  Re-pin that, it's fantastic!

 

This here is another take on that table.  But if you look closely the edges are open. That's a nice touch! Click here to dash over and re-pin that beauty.  Click again once in pinterest to be automatically redirected to it's source site. That's what I LOVE about Pinterest, it's like visual bookmarks. Honestly, have you ever heard anyone say they don't love it?

Here's a clever one - a coffee table! In my opinion all the outdoor furniture needs a strip of plants in the middle. It's a way for the table to say, hey - I love the outdoors, it's where I belong!  Wait a minute, did you notice that bench? That's no ordinary bench it's a vintage metal slider!  I would love to find one of those, they're gorgeous! Here's the pin' link.

Just in case tables weren't enough for you, fear not - the succulent treatment knows no bounds.  Look at that dresser! Normally a piece like that outside would make me sad, but once you throw a plant in it I'm all for it. Click here for it's pin.

Aaaw, here's a personal favorite. The Cinder Block planter wall. I have very serious plans to do this one in the next year or so of my life (ya like that time frame? I don't like pressure).  I think it looks really modern, it's fairly simple, and would be excellent for seasonal herbs and leafy greens - while saving space! Link!

Yes, this isn't a table or piece of furniture but I still thought it was delightful.  When something is easy but really makes an impact, you have to love it. Succulent Brick Planter Tea Lights, summer bbq anyone?  Line 'em up and you dont' have to cut a hole in your table! See? I made it relate to furniture somehow...

Hope you enjoyed my Pinterest picks, it's perfect for a Friday because pinning is the perfect thing to do when you just don't wanna work.  Do you have some clever planter meets furniture ideas? Do tell! Have a great weekend!

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DIY: Modern Vases

More and more I see solid colored ceramic textured vases and I love 'em.  I have quite a few myself, but the bigger ones come packing a heavier price tag.  I was looking up ideas to mock this look using recycled materials when I stumbled upon a fantastic tutorial from Redbook Magazine.  It's so simple, and can be done in no time at all! Party coming up needs vases? Just save those wine bottles my friend.  Here's the finished product:

 

Aren't these great? I keep a pretty colorful house, and let me be the first to say that a bright pop of white in the accessories department really adds a lot to a room.  These are just my style and my budget.  Head over to Redbook Magazine for the full tutorial - it's as easy as clean, puff paint, and spray. 

Along the same lines - here are a few other projects I scrounged up from the interweb.  Cans with puff paint, plastic pots with puff paint. They look great after. Clay pots would look great too! Here are two from the blog, Changing My Destiny:

 

If you do go with something plastic, be sure to grab a spray paint that says it will adhere to plastic.  This way it won't flake. If your color doesn't come in such a paint, just grab plastic primer. Then you can paint your color on after!

The herb can tutorial can be found here, and the pot tutorial here. Both from the same great blog! Looks like there are a lot of fun projects there.

Start collecting those fun shaped bottles, this is the perfect Saturday  morning project - and you'll be done by lunch!  Thanks for reading and have a great one!

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Triple Layer Cut Canvas

A short while back, I showed you my new found love project - cut canvas.  Well now I love them even more.  After that post, my sister and I were talking about them, and she mentioned she'd love some for a wall in her house. I started telling her about some variation ideas I had for them and she was all for it.  Her birthday was right around the corner so I thought, perfect! So, with the good feedback, I set off and tried a little experiment in layering.  Let me show you first before I ramble on about 'em.  Warning: I made a huge mistake in not taking progress pics (again!) - but luckily my mom is a photography queen and finding pics from the birthday party was a piece of cake.  (Ha! Get it? Cake?! So cheesy.)  First up, is the finished product in it's handmade frame on a dark grey wall:

 Next against a lighter wall:

 Here is my one good progress picture, I kind of like the all white on red thing going here:

 I love how this project came out and plan to do so many more! My thumbs on the other hand, are begging me not to! I'm not going to lie, the results are worth it, but using an exacto knife for this many cuts, three times... is really a workout on the digits.  You have to push a big harder too to get through the canvas. It was SO worth it though. Here's the canvas at the party, look at my beautiful gift wrapping behind it.  Yep - plastic trash bag, what choice did I have? It was raining!

 Now the hard part will be deciding which wall to put it on in their house.  Here it is on her beautiful blue wall ( I LOVE that color, don't you?)

 and on the darker green wall:

Which wall do you think is best? Cast your vote in the comments section!  I'm so happy she liked it, and that it turned out like it did in my head.  I'm glad I got to try out the idea! I have a few plans & changes for the next one, I learned a lot this round.

If you are planning on trying your hand at this, let me pass along a few tips and tricks that I figured out:

• Draw and plan out your design on the backside.  This will help keep things lined up in the finished product.  Since you won't have all 3 stacked as you work, it takes a lot of planning to make sure everything lines up.  
• Stack & hold up to the light.  I can't tell you how many times I stacked them up between cuts and held them up to a bright bulb.  This let me see where things were actually lining up.
• Paint the back of your canvas in mod podge to help keep it stiff during cutting and in the long run.
• Hairspray? I didn't use it, but I wondered if it might also help it stay stiff?
• No islands or peninsulas! When you're cutting, be sure your design doesn't leave any "islands" - because obviously there is nothing left to hold them up.  Peninsulas would be long hanging strands, or peninsulas, of canvas that aren't connected to another side.  These are risky because they will likely curl as it gets older.
• Book press after painting. 
• Stretch your thumbs!

I'll do a whole tutorial on these soon, because I just realized that the above list could go on and on! So I promise I'll do a tutorial!

So what do you think? Have a great week!

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Spotlight: Wild Wallpaper

I never imagined myself to be that person, peeling old wallpaper and applying new. The whole process seems so intimidating that I'd rather just grab a roller and a can of paint and just cover everything up.  Then everything changed one day, when a post came rolling into my inbox from the blog SFgirlbybay, featuring Catalina Estrada's new wallpaper designs. They are, to say the least, amazing. Check these bold and beautiful designs out:

I love these designs! What can I say really, they speak for themselves.  I love how playful and fun they are, and the colors are gorgeous. Plus flowers and birds get me every time. I could see myself sitting at a desk, staring at the details instead of working. Sounds like my kind of productivity! These prints are serious works of art, I can only imagine how much work went into this.  The scale alone is impressive, these are huge! You could also work this into a wide range of styles, since they are so wild I think that keeps it non specific.

I'm not entirely convinced that I can commit to wallpaper however, because I like to be able to change the design of a room on a whim.  Yet there must be a way I can still bring these into a room. I'm considering using the wall paper on extra large canvases or boards.  That way I could hang the design, and move it as desired.  That's just me though, I think I'm just scared of the process that is wallpapering, which is so not a word!  Check out more of Catalina's designs on her site, and check out the original post that I read on this wall paper here: on SFgirlbybay.  Have a great weekend!

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Spotlight: Kerri's Desk

Recently a new friend on Etsy, Kerri, had written me with some questions about refinishing furniture. I'm always willing to help, and she liked the Teal & Cozumel Table in my shop.  I gave her as much info as I could think helpful, and she took to her desk. Here's a before shot:

She stripped it down, made repairs, and did a really wonderful and thorough job.  Here's after picture:

 

 What beautiful and bold color! Way to go Kerri - you did a fantastic make over here.  Head over to her blog, Domestic Goddess to read more about the entire process.  Thanks for sharing Kerri!

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