Social Gracious

Mitchell Gold Look Alike Shell Artwork for the Master Bedroom

Remember my inspiration for my master bedroom redesign above, it's a Mitchell Gold ad from last summer. It included this really cool shell artwork behind the bed. I loved it, but of course couldn't figure out where it came from. Even if I could have, I wouldn't have been willing to pay what it cost, I'm sure. 

It looked to me as if the shells were Spiny Oysters, or spondylus. I thought, of course I could spray paint a couple of those babies, frame them and slap them up on the wall. My first task was to find a couple spiny oysters. They are not exactly easy to find but I sourced some from ebay and the seller is actually located not too far from me so they arrived in a days time. These shells are not inexpensive as far as shells are concerned, for large spiny oysters expect to pay about $15.00 each.

The next step was to find frames, initially I chose two inexpensive frames I thought were wood, but they were some sort of non solid material that evaporated when I painted them, bad idea. I went back to Hobby Lobby with a coupon and bought two white wooden frames, lightly sanded them with steel wool, then painted them with two coats of gloss white paint. I also used white mats from Hobby Lobby, the associate there assured me that the back of the mat would also be white but it wasn't. I was too tired and lazy to go back and buy a big piece of white cardstock so I spraypainted the piece of cardboard that came with the frame gloss white too, and stuck that behind the shells.

For the shells, I painted them in three layers, and I hesitated to paint them, they were such a pretty color naturally, but I had a look I was going for, right? I started by priming them in grey primer. Then I painted them with two coats of gloss white. I let the frames, shells and backing dry overnight. Then I used a glue gun to adhere the shells to the backing.

Finally, I put the whole thing together, as you can see there is no glass in the front. I used Command paint hanging strips to put the whole thing up. It is pretty heavy so there are 4 strips on each piece of artwork. The dog approves, he is supposed to stay ONLY on the cover at the bottom of the bed, sigh.

DIY Thread Storage

 

Storing Thread Artfully

We are just about finished with the bedroom redesign and I struggled with what to do with all my thread that was lying about on the thread organizer on the floor. I need it easily accessible but it's not really attractive sitting on the floor next to the machine cabinet. I really wanted to make a thread tidy out of driftwood like this cool one, but alas, Ubergeek balked, saying it would be an incredible amount of work, and he is NOT retired you know. So I decided on something similar to this pretty framed one, and I'm happy with it.

 

Mine is quite a bit larger than the inspiration, I also chose to paint the thread tidy a cool blue, to contrast with my Sherwin Williams Sea Salt walls and the reclaimed barn wood frame. The frame was a damaged custom order from Hobby Lobby, so it was $10. I think it looks kind of driftwoody though, which is perfect since it reminds me of the sea, rather than a barn. I used Command Picture Hanging strips to hang both, one inside the other so no holes in the wall.

The fresh for 1960 sewing book and sewing table with machine stored inside were my grandmothers. I love that the machine stows away when I'm not using it.

Diva had fun organizing the thread in sort of ROYGBIV order, then she put it all in a box mixed up and gave it back to me. At least it occupied her for 20 minutes.

 

DIY Terracotta Clay Pot Birdbath Reveal

 

DIY Birdbath

 

A few weeks ago I was messing around on Pinterest when I found this post about creating your own easy to make birdbath using terracotta clay pots. It was a weekend when the kiddos were getting a little stir crazy and I was tempted to let them watch just a touch too much TV or play Wii for just a few minutes longer.

 The list of supplies was inexpensive:

Terracotta pots: 14" 12" 10" 6"

Terracotta saucers: 16" 6"

Patio Paint: blue, green, coral, yellow

Silicone clear caulk

All of the items were available at Lowes, with the exception of the Patio Paint, which we found at Hobby Lobby.

The first step was to put down a tarp on the back porch and lay out all the pots and saucers. Then we got out foam brushes, the kids and I painted all the pots with two coats of patio paint. We allowed about 30 minutes between coats.

We let the paint dry overnight, then assembled the birdbath with the 14" pot on the bottom, then the 12" pot and finally the 10" pot. I used the silicone to attach various pieces together and make them watertight, then allowed that to cure for 72 hours on the back porch. I did not attach the 14 and 12" pots with silicone as I thought it would make the whole thing easier to move if it could be broken down. You can see that we modified our design somewhat so that our birdseed is in the middle of the bath.

We had just come back from a Caribbean holiday, so the kids chose very bright, tropical colors but you could choose a color scheme that worked for your taste of course. The birds are really loving it and we have to refill the seed and water pretty frequently!

DIY Terrarium Tutorial

 

Terrariums have been popping up everywhere lately, at Lowes, Target, in people's homes, and on Pinterest. Succulents, long the $1.00 plants at WalMart are suddenly hot hot hot! About a year ago, on a business trip to my favorite hotel, the JW Marriott Indianapolis, I saw them at the concierge lounge, and they were gorgeous. At the time I pondered making one on my own, but just didn't think I'd have the time or materials. Lo and behold, tutorials and materials are everywhere now and I am ready.

If you are going to make a terrarium here is what you will need:

Pea Size Pebbles

Charcoal

Sphagnum Moss

Potting Soil/Cactus Soil

Glass Containers

Cute Plastic Animals: Optional, but if you have kids, there are plenty around so why not use them. Dinosaurs in particular look at home in terrariums, don't you think??

Plants: Usually succulents work best. So far I have had good luck with tiny succulent aloes, tiny asparagus ferns, hens and chicks. I have found a good selection at Lowes, and sometimes Walmart.

Most of the supplies can be found at a hardware store or Target. If you have trouble finding the charcoal, check an aquarium or pet supply store. You can use leftover glass containers from flower arrangements for larger terrariums or large recycled jars (spaghetti, relish) for tiny terrariums perfect in kids rooms, to surprise your neighbor or on a teacher's desk. If you are not too embarassed  you could walk your dog on recycling day and eye your neighbor's recycling bins, not that I personally would ever do that.

To make the terrarium:

1. Start with a thin layer of pebbles at the bottom, this helps with drainage.
2. Add a thin layer of the charcoal, it's OK if it mixes some with the pebbles
3. Next a thin layer of moss
4. Add your plants, gently breaking up the soil around the roots. Fill in the the rest of the layer with dirt, you don't have to pack it tightly, just gently tamp it down. Generally speaking your layered pebbles, charcoal, moss and soil should take up 1/4 to 1/3 of the container, but don't stress if they take up more. As you can see, some of mine I just couldn't help, and they are still cute and alive.
5. Water just a tiny bit, maybe a shotglass, or espresso glass or two full a week, that's it. DO NOT OVERWATER

Voila! You will now be the envy of all your friends. I warn you, once you start making them, you won't be able to stop and you'll have all the supplies. I started as a project with the kiddos but kept making them long after they lost interest. They make great inexpensive gifts and end of year teacher gift giving time and Mother's Day are approaching!

 

My Favorite Terrariums