Pondered Primed Perfected: gift

Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts

6/7/13

DIY Mini Terrarium ~ Beach Inspired with Air Plant (Tillandsia)

I saw an article about Artemisia, a DIY Terrarium Store in Portland, Oregon, and I could barely wait to go check it out for myself. My sister and I were able to go about a week ago and it was AMAZING!

I will share pictures of the store and all the treasures they have to offer later but I wanted to show you the mini terrarium I was inspired to make after visiting Artemisia.

I picked up this tiny little Air Plant. It's also known as Tillandsia or Tilly. They don't require dirt of any kind and only need to be dunked in water about once every two weeks. If you are in the Portland area you can visit Artemisia for Air Plants and other Terrarium products. Amy at Artemisia was the sweetest, most helpful she could be! For more info and care of Air Plants or to order your own online check out Airplantcity.

I love plants and nature but I'm not the most vigilant about watering, soooo, a plant that requires minimal care is definitely a plus around my house. And one that only needs water every other week? NICE!

I was preparing to meet one of my wonderful blog friends for the first time, and I knew she loves the beach, so I decided to throw together this mini beach terrarium with the little air plant and a few other things:

CLEAN SAND ~ no salty beach sand allowed...the plant would not appreciate the salt
VIBRANT BLUE MOSS ~ This piece I picked up at Artemisia
DRIFTWOOD ~ from my beach stash
SHELL ~ also from my beach stash
JEWELS ~ I bought a bag of 'itty bitty bling' at Artemisia
MINI GLASS TERRARIUM ~ is actually a stemless wine goblet I stole from my personal collection (one can never have too many wine goblets!)

I put a decent amount of sand into the goblet and added the air plant...tucking it's long root into the sand to hold it in place. Then I just placed the other beachy components randomly wherever I thought they looked good. That's the fun part of making a terrarium...you get to play with the pieces and make it exactly like you want it. Then if you change your mind you can move things around again...

Sounds like my kind of hobby :)

I couldn't resist adding the 'itty bitty bling' jewels. Everybody needs a bit of bling, right!?

Then I tucked it into one of my Farmers' Market Baskets with some raffia and another little surprise...

The silver starfish is actually a magnetic brooch ~ you don't have to poke holes in your clothing. So smart.

I rushed off to meet my friend Meegan of What Meegan Makes for the first time with my little gift in hand. I was so excited to meet her I locked my darn keys in my car and was forced to pay an exorbitant amount of money to get them sprung free. She was worth it! We had the best time together; laughing and sharing stories and talking about everything blogging. Good Times! I was so happy to see her delighted with her little beach terrarium. Is it any surprise that she came carrying a gift for me as well? Please go say HI to her at WhatMeeganMakes and tell her I sent ya! I think you'll love her just as much as I do. :)

Meegan in pink and me in black and white. Love her!

What a great day (even if I did get robbed by a greasy locksmith who was bent on taking advantage of my desperate situation. Jerk!)

Linking with:
http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2013/06/anything-blue-friday-week-12.html
http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2013/06/mop-it-up-monday-71.html
http://www.natashainoz.com/2013/06/say-gday-saturday-linky-party-71-link.html?spref=tw
http://www.justusfourblog.com/2013/06/pinworthy-projects-party-66/#more-2229
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

2/16/13

Colors of Springtime ~ DIY Farmers Market Baskets

Wouldn't it be nice if it were springtime already? I'm craving the things that come along with spring.

Today we were blessed with some golden warm sunshine here. It came close to 60 degrees! Just a little tease for us Pacific NorthWesterners. We're pretty much guaranteed a couple months of rain still.

So a magical day like today is just what we needed to tide us over until those beautiful sunny months are finally upon us.

A little "fix" of pure sunshine will get us through the gray, wet months still to come.

You know what else reminds me of springtime?

Fluffy Clouds and Rainbows

Tree Blossoms

The Smell of Fresh Mown Grass

Short Sleeves

Kids Voices and Laughter Carrying On the Breeze

Ladybugs and Butterflies

Evening Strolls and Bike Rides

Hammocks

Planting Gardens

and

Farmers' Markets

Last summer I created a white Anthropologie Knockoff Farmers Market Basket (Below).

Say that a few times quick!

I used one of the cardboard baskets that berries come in and coated it with some Gesso (used to prime and stiffen artists' canvases), white spray paint, and spray polyurethane.

You can read about it HERE.

I thought it would be fun to make more using some spring colors, so I got busy mixing my Gesso with acrylic craft paint until I had the pastel colors I desired.

Once they were painted I got all glittery-eyed and decided they needed some glitter too.

The Gesso makes them really stiff and the polyurethane makes them water proof.

The glitter just makes them cheerful!

Then I dressed them up with ribbons and filled them with a few little trinkets.

These will make adorable mini Easter baskets or fun little gift baskets for friends.

In the first basket I put some raffia, a Sweet Little Bluebird, and a mini egg.

The next one got some pretty seashells and a silver starfish.

Gifts from the Seashore.

This next one holds some fragrant lemon body treats. I love lemon!

I haven't decided what to do with this Tiffany Blue one yet. Its my favorite, with the gleaming organza bow. I might just have to keep it next to my bed for holding jewelry and other stray stuff. :)

These were easy to make and didn't cost anything since I already had the cardboard baskets saved from last summer. The Gesso, paint, glitter and polyurethane were already in my craft cabinet.

My Inspiration:

Anthropologie's Farmers' Mkt Baskets

Here's to more sunny days and laughter being carried on the breeze!

Sherry

Sharing with:
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
http://thefrugalgirls.com
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com
http://www.notjustahousewife.net
http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com
http://www.alderberryhill.com
http://diyshowoff.com
http://www.iheartnaptime.net
http://www.lizmarieblog.com
http://www.therusticpig.com
http://betweennapsontheporch.net
http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/
http://www.homestoriesatoz.com
http://thediydreamer.com

11/29/12

Each Day A Gift ~ An Advent Calendar

I really love the idea of an advent calendar. We didn't have one when I was little. At least I don't remember. They're fun to make and they help kids understand the passing of time until the highly anticipated Christmas morning! It must seem like it takes FOREVER for Christmas morning to get here.

(Not for us though, right moms!?)

We're heading toward a very meaningful holiday. And if you are a Believer, then the birth of Christ is cause for celebration. I want to teach my children that this season is about so much more than just receiving the presents that have come to represent Christmas. I hope to share with them that we should be appreciative of every little gift AND each and every day we have been blessed with ~ as His gift to us.

So in our home an Advent Calendar is more than just a countdown to presents...

It's a celebration of each day we have been gifted.

I found this advent tree at Goodwill for $2.99. It was still in it's wrapping.

When I opened it I discovered it contained 24 tiny little cards inside the drawers depicting the nativity scene. How darling!

Similar trees at the craft store were going for $8.99 (on sale) and up. I knew I was getting a steal. Except...the trees in the craft store were a "blank canvas" white...and this one was finished in an exciting shade of "Christmas Tree" green...with numbered "stars of Bethlehem" on each little drawer. Cute. (Okay, not so much).

So, I sprayed it white!

I laid out all those cute little drawers on my work-space (otherwise known as the kitchen counter) and set to work.

It appears I'm using a glue stick for this project...and I am...but only to trace the little curve onto my scrap papers. I cut out 24 little scraps, just slightly smaller than the fronts of the drawers, then added the little curve.

I glued them on using white craft glue.

Some embellishing was in order. I used up all of the number stickers I had on hand, so I had to get creative for a few of the numbers. See number 21 down towards the bottom (below)? It's actually made with an exclamation mark instead of a one. I cut a few capital L's to look like 1's as well.

It works, right?

DONE!!!

5 minutes of spray painting

30-40 minutes embellishing (Just because I can't make up my mind when choosing papers!)

A $2.99 advent tree

All other supplies on hand already.

I put the numbered drawers back in randomly...adding a little surprise to each one...

And now Alex gets to count-down-to-the-day he can start counting down to Christmas!

Good thing it's only two more days until December 1st!!!

Do you still remember what it looked like before???

Yeah, that was so worth the time it took!!!

I hope you find each day a gift in some special way.

Enjoy the delights of the Season.

P.S. Speaking of Christmas Trees ~ Inspiration Cafe is sharing a sparkly, thrifty Christmas Tree project you have to see to believe, courtesy of The Thrifty Rebel.