Polymer Village Planters

I'm sharing a fun little project I did to give homes to some lonely little succulents.  And when I say little... I mean itty bitty.  

All you need is:

Polymer Clay

Rolling Pin

Ruler

Knife

Parchment Paper

Baking Sheet

Glue gun

+

Dirt and a plant!

First, cut 1/5 of your block of polymer off and roll it out to be about 1/8" thick. Cut 2 squares that are 2"x2".  Cut 2 squares that are 2"x1 3/4".  Next, Cut the front of the house with a peak on the front.  That should be 5 total pieces. 

Now, bake them according to the instructions on your clay.  Make sure they are laying completely flat on your baking sheet!

After they are baked and cooled, paint the windows, doors and any other accents you'd like to add.

Piece your house together and use a hot glue gun to seal the edges and make it water tight. 

Use the 2 pieces that are 2" x 1 3/4" as the sides so they will fit snuggly between the front and back pieces.

Next, plant your succulent and water!

I made a tiny village of these for my windowsill in the kitchen.  I absolutely love them!

   

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

Vintage Toolbox Herb Garden (Revived & Repurposed!)

Happy Hump Day fellow blogerinas!  Just a few more days until the weekend is here!  For me, that means getting lots of projects done.  Last weekend I finally finished reviving this awesome vintage toolbox that I scored for just a few dollars at an estate sale a few weeks ago.  As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted it to be an herb garden for my porch.  I considered just putting the soil directly in the box, but I like to keep my herbs as long as possible into the winter, so I decided to use pots inside the box that I can bring inside when the temps drop.  (from Ikea, of course!)

To paint the triangles I used the same paint that I did on the front door (see that post here).  I thought it would be a good way to make my porch cohesive. 

After I painted the triangles, I coated the bare wood with Thompson's WaterSeal to keep it safe from the elements.  This goes on super easy, but takes about 24 hrs to dry.  Make sure you do this outside because the fumes are killer!

For my labels, I took some little wooden triangles, painted them with chalkboard paint, drilled holes in them and tied them to the toolbox handle with bakers twine.  This way, you can change the labels when needed.

The best part of this?  Using the herbs to make delicious food!  I made a whole wheat margarita pizza with fresh basil and oregano on top. SOOOO yummy!

I love finding little gems like this toolbox and repurposing them into something fabulous!  What kinds of things have you repurposed lately?  We'd love for you to share inspiration with us!

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!

MAKE: Revived Vintage Screen Garden Wall

This project was inspired by what my family thought was a very odd purchase at an estate sale for $2.  An old mesh screen framed in old wood.  It was love at first sight to me.  As soon as I saw it a hundred ideas flooded my imagination of what could be made with it. 

After a couple weeks of pondering, I settled on the idea of a garden wall.  My aloe plant (that had a bunch of babies last year) was ready to give birth yet again.  Check out my post about separating your aloe plants here.  This little wall piece was going to give me the perfect place to display my new potted baby aloe plants. 

I had seen these little white aluminum pots at Ikea months ago and knew they'd be perfect for this!  A tiny S-hook would fit perfectly in the little holes around the top.  They'll also be great to pull off this wall during the colder months and bring the plants inside where it is safe and warm. 

I love this project because it can be made appropriate for any and all seasons and holidays! 

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!

Metallic Checkered Planters at The Lovely Cupboard

Hey friends, how are you surviving summer so far? I think school is out for most people by now, and  my kids are already begging to be entertained every minute of the day (thank the good Lord for summer school!) My daughter seems to think that we are millionaires and can afford to go to the zoo, mall, and out to eat every day with each of her old classmates. I need to figure out a way to teach that girl that restaurants don't just hand out food for free if you ask nicely - which is what I spend half the day doing (growth spurt much?)

I'm so thankful to live in a city that has lots of activities for kids, so we have the zoo, strawberry picking (which we did recently - pics soon!), the pool, and tons of parks to go to. That should keep them entertained for a week or two ;) I'm just glad they still nap for me. How's a girl supposed to get anything done without nap time? I don't know how you nap-less parents do it. I think I may lose my sanity the day my daughter goes nap-free.

Anyways.

Here's a quick peek at some cute checkered planters I made to hold succulents and decorate my creative space. I ADORE succulents because I can't kill them! did I ever mention that I have a black thumb? True story.

Please tell me someone else has similarly bad luck with plants? I love the idea of having flowers, I just can't keep them alive. Maybe it's because I don't see the point in buying flowers because, while they're beautiful, they only last for a few short months. Now fruits and veggies are another story altogether because you can eat them. I did try to grow some cucumbers in 2011, but those turned out yellow and disgusting. Maybe I should stay away from fruits and veggies too... 

You can find the full how-to for making these metallic planters over at The Lovely Cupboard today!

LIVE: Separate Your Aloe Plant (without killing them all)

I bought this adorable little aloe plant 5 years ago when it was only 4 inches tall.  Now, it's over 2 feet tall and reproduces like Gremlins in a hurricane.  The pot I have it in is rather large, but it was ready to bust because of all the spawn popping up.  So it was time for the little babies to leave the nest and find their own pots to inhabit.  I break down the process of separating baby aloe plants from the mama plant for you with the final outcome of them all surviving the transition.  It's been about 2 months since I actually did this, and I'm happy to say mama and babies are all alive and thriving!



Depending on how crowded your pot is, this can be tricky.  Gently move the plants out of the way to determine where the stems are.  Begin digging gently with your fingertips, feeling for the roots and carefully moving dirt away from them. 




Each baby connects to the main root of the mama.  Break the main baby root from the main mama root gently.  This should be the only root you break.  Try to keep the little ones intact as much as possible.




As long as you have about this much root left after digging up, your babies should thrive in their new home.  Make sure to bury the roots deeply so that the soil can help support the top heavy mass of the aloe plant.




Our mama was so huge that my husband had to use two hands to hold her up.  Look at that root system! 




All in all, we ended up with 6 babies out of this litter.  These will be going to good homes in the near future.  They just need a little more TLC before they're sent off.


Anytime you transplant something it's a pretty traumatizing experience for the plant.  The first few weeks are critical to watch the babies as they adapt to their new pots.  Normally, I only water my aloe plant once a week, but for the first week after transplanting, I water everyday.  This is to ensure that the roots don't go into shock and that the soil settles around the root system.  After the first week, just keep them near a window with lots of sun and water once a week.

I'm in the process of experimenting with rooting broken pieces of other cacti as well, so if I find success, I'll share a tutorial on that as well!  (That came about from my cats continually knocking my pots off the window sills and finding broken branches on the counter...)

We will also be sharing recipes and ideas for how to use the aloe plant's gel! 

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!