Tag: garden

A Trash to Treasure Love Story

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a true trash to treasure love Story.

Have you ever had a project that turned out even better than you envisioned?

A project that was years in the making?

A project that truly leaves you just a little bit smug with yourself?

A true love story.

But… like every good love story, there’s always a plot twist.

Because love doesn’t always turn out the way you plan.

(Make sure to read to the very end.)

This story begins several years ago…

when my sweet daughter found an old set of red toile dishes in a Thrift Store in Wisconsin.

Knowing my Love Affair with Red Toile dishes she couldn’t resist the $25 price tag.

While packing their car for their visit home, my son in law picked up the box to rearrange the

car and the bottom fell out.  Most of the dishes survived.  Several of the large plates did not.

Deciding to turn lemons into Lemonade, I kept the broken plates to make garden stepping

stones with  my grandson, Nicholas.  (one of my most popular posts.)

  Click on picture for project.

Being a “saver”,  I saved the remainder of the broken plates for a future project.

(notice I didn’t use the word hoarder?)

Then there’s the base of a broken bird bath.

I’m ashamed to admit how many years that base has been sitting around.  (it was a lot!)

I used the rest of the broken dishes along with the base and a 20″ round wood top cut from

cabinet scraps to make the Mosaic table.

To start my project…

I gave the base a simple cleaning and painted it with Decoart Outdoor Living Paint: picket fence*

After the base was fully dried, I dry brushed the base with  Color Stain in Ash Grey.

To make the mosaic table top…

  • Lightly sand the 20″ wood circle to prime it to accept paint and glue.
  • Paint the sides and bottom of the 20″ wood circle with the white paint used on the base.
  • Glue the broken pieces of china onto the wood base using a good glue specific for mosaic tiles such as Glass, Metal & More Premium Permanent Glue* or Weldbond Multi-Purpose Adhesive Glue*.
  • Try to use flat pieces of china whenever possible.  You can smooth the sharp edges of the china using a Dremel Tool*.  (read product instructions before using)

  • I used unsanded grout because I didn’t want to take the chance of it scratching the china.
  • Mix the grout as directed and follow the package instructions when applying the grout onto the top.
  • Confession Time…I did not smooth the edges of the China before gluing them onto the top.  After the grout had dried,  I decided that some of the pieces were too sharp.   After it was grouted I  went over the sharper pieces with a Dremel tool.  The table isn’t completely flat.  But that doesn’t matter for  how I plan on using the table.
  • Seal Grout with Grout Sealer.

Mosaic Table Product Information:                   (*affiliate link)

Disclaimer:  This blog uses ads and affiliate links.  If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog.  Thanks for your support!

I really loved that table.
It was just the perfect size to sit by a comfy chair with a good book.

And then there’s the sad part…

The Plot Twist…

To be honest… I made this table on a warm week-end in February.

By the time I was staging the table for pictures, the weather was beginning to really cool down.

Being in a hurry to photograph the project,  I didn’t take the time to secure the top

to the base or seal the grout .  I stuck it into the garage to do at a later time.

When I finally got around to finishing the project…

I carefully moved the top so I could seal the grout and then glued the top to the base with

a  strong adhesive.  While the adhesive worked initially, when I went to move it again a few

days later by the top (what was I thinking), the base came crashing down on the garage floor.

To say “I felt defeated” would be a understatement.

That’s one reason…(even though I had a 100 good photo’s)

that I never posted the project  until now.

Why?   Because, I didn’t want to mislead you.

The Happy Ending…

Always resourceful, I did find that I had a 20″ black metal mesh table that the top fit perfectly on

and I didn’t have to worry about securing it.

The table has sat there beautifully on my back deck all summer.

(who am I kidding…it’s still there.)

So the moral to the story would be to find a super duper industrial adhesive.

Or…what I would do now if I had to do it over again.

I would cut a small wood disc that is slightly smaller than the top of the bird bath base so that it

would fit inside.  I would glue the disc (with a really good glue) to the bottom of the wood and

keep it as a removable top.  That would help stabilize the top and make for easy storage.

So remember if you decide to try this at home…. 

Sometimes you have success and sometimes you don’t.

And…sometimes you have a little bit of both.

   

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DIY…Bloom Garden Stepping Stone

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Create a little fun and whimsy in your Garden with a Bloom Garden Stepping Stone.

(The links and instructions to make the Garden stone are included down below.)

I just got the Garden Issue of Craft Ideas Magazine and I’m so excited that I can finally share

with you my “Bloom Garden Stone”.   (you can find it on page #24)

Make sure to check out the entire Garden issue of Craft Ideas,

the issue is full of great garden themed ideas and inspiration.

Materials and Supplies:                                                                                    (*affiliate links)

Directions:

  1. Cover the sides and bottom of an old cake pan with Petroleum Jelly for easy removal.
  2. Mix Rapid Set Concrete Mix according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Fill pan with cement approx. 1″ thick. Shake pan a little to fill in the gaps and smooth.  Allow a couple hours for cement to set before removing from the pan.  Let the cement stone dry for a day or two before painting.

3.  To create a better surface for painting and stenciling, paint cement stone first with DecoArt DS17-9 Americana Multi-Purpose Sealer*

4.  Mix together Night Sky and Cotton Ball acrylic paint and basecoat entire stone.

5.  Tear a piece of white cardstock with an irregular edge as shown to create a mask stencil for  cloud background.

6.  Place cloud mask stencil onto stone and paint with an upward motion. Move mask stencil around stone to paint additional clouds and let dry.

7.  Stencil bloom flower using a mixture of Watermelon Slice and Marigold and stencil “bloom” with Night Sky as shown.  Paint leaves Woodland Green and let dry.

8.  Apply DecoArt Americana DuraClear Varnishes* using paintbrush over stone to help protect the stone from the outdoor elements.

You also might like this stepping stone project I created with my grandson Nick.

The Bloom Garden Stone was created for and sponsored by Craft Ideas Magazine.  Craft Ideas for Every Occasion, Every Skill Level.

Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial

*Disclaimer:  This blog uses ads and affiliate links.  If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog.  Thanks for your support!

Spring Bling for your Garden

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Spring Bling for your Garden 3640

Add a little Spring Bling to plain boring terra cotta pots.

With Spring Fever setting in, I decided I needed a new flower to perk up the place.

I chose a pretty little African Violet that reminds me of my grandma.

Grandma loved African Violets.

In no time at all, armed with a few simple products, I transformed a boring terra cotta pot into

something sparkly and fun.  Just what I needed.

Spring Bling 3596

 To make my Spring Bling Pot you’ll need:      (*affiliate links)

  1. Start with a 4 1/2″ Terra Cotta Pot painted with black acrylic paint.
  2. Cut Black Damask tissue paper the width of the lower portion of the pot.  Cut the strip into smaller sections.  (my sections were 2 3/4″ x 1 1/2″)
  3. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to a small section of the pot, add tissue paper and apply another layer of Mod Podge over tissue.
  4. Continue adding tissue sections until the bottom of the pot is covered.
  5. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge over the top of the pot to give it a nice shiny finish.
  6. Cut a strip from the Black Crystal Sheet to fit around the rim of the pot.
  7. Glue crystal sheet onto rim of the pot.
  8. Glue vintage button over seam for added sparkle.
  • FYI:  I could have used the Weldbond glue shown in the picture above which is a good permanent glue.  But, because of the weight of the crystals I decided to use my Quick Grip glue instead.

Spring Bling 3606  Spring Bling 3607

My Spring Bling Pot was created for and sponsored by Connie Crystal.

connie crystal logo

Disclosure:  I am an Amazon Affiliate.  If you chose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission that helps offset the cost of running this blog.  Thanks for your support!