Last time, I showed you how I made cement candleholders out of ordinary plastics purchased from the grocery store.  Today, the focus is planters.  Unless you want just a simple cachepot, if you truly want your planter to drain there is an added trick.  How to add drainage holes to a cement planter?  With the addition of plastic straws to your plastic molds. 

Here’s a glimpse at some of the planters I made using regular plastics for the outside mold.  For the inside mold, I used the plastic container that housed my plant from the nursery.

A fern planter for my master bath:

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An idea came to me in the middle of the night.  What if I could create my own candleholders and planters with plastic items purchased from the local market ?  I’m pretty sure it was the night that HGTV Design Star challenged the contestants to design the white room with nothing but items from the grocery store.

I knew that cement wouldn’t stick to plastic, so why not use plastic forms from my kitchen as molds for candleholders ?  I started testing this invention last weekend to see if I could create something wonderful out of something mundane.  After a few rounds of trial and error, my creation took form. 

You’d never guess that these lovelies were created out of yogurt cups and plastic storage containers. 

How perfect are these for lighting a twilight path to your door ?

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I see so much beauty in nature that I find myself bringing it indoors whenever possible.  River stones.  Driftwood.  Fresh flowers.  Beachy accents in the bath.  Acorns in the fall.  Evergreens during the holidays.  And branches.  I love branches, especially as accents. 

I once saw a designer spray paint gigantic branches in a hot coral color, and place them in an urn on top of a piano in a very grand living room.  It made me swoon.  While this look is a bit over the top for some, I have always wanted to spray paint branches to make them sculptural.

So I was pruning my wild oak tree last weekend.  It should be no surprise that I decided to use one of the Charlie Brown branches to make a jewelry holder. 

Here’s a peek:

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I have a dozen cabinet doors leftover from the old kitchen before our remodel, and I couldn’t bring myself to take them to the salvage yard just yet.  I’m glad I waited, because after I gave it some thought, I came up with a few ideas for repurposing them.  The first idea was to transform two of them into memo boards for my office.

Here’s the Before and After:

I think great fabric makes stylish wall art.  These two memo boards also add practicality, and a place for displaying inspirational images or mementos.  Here they are (unadorned) on my office wall. 

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It’s my belief that ordinary objects can transform into something quite glamorous with some thoughtful accessories.  So why not give your flowers a bit of glitz as well?  Your blooms work hard to give you a show, so give them the gift of their own jewelry.  Glass marble jewelry, that is. 

This is one of the easiest and most rewarding DIY projects I’ve ever done. 

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I had an old wooden frame that was in good condition, but the glass had broken years ago, and I wasn’t crazy about the gold finish.  Rather than replacing the glass, I used it to make a jewelry holder.  

Sneaky Peek:

You savvy bloggers have seen these before I am sure, put together with an old frame and some screen or chicken wire.  I have seen them in boutiques for jewelry display, and also happened to notice the one below at the Antique Fair last month.  I was inspired to make one of my own, but I wanted it to be backed by pretty fabric. 

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If you’ve ever wondered what to do with your old paint cans, I have a solution for you.  Turn them into planters !

I had a bare patch of fence in my rear yard that was in need of attention. 

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I was working on just a few more little projects today before I photograph my kitchen for the big reveal.  I had to change the tone of the wood frame for some artwork above the pantry, and my inexpensive corkboard where I keep a rotating photo gallery.  I also wanted to add a little artwork to a plain white pitcher I purchased at Target to coordinate with some other decorative items.  

Change Your (Wood) Tone with Craft Paint:

Did you know that semi opaque $2 acrylic craft paint acts just like stain on raw natural wood?  True.  I have never shied away from using wood stain (see this project and this project), but rather than get the stinky walnut tone Minwax stain out of my garage, I opted for simple craft paint. 

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Every once in awhile I get a wild hair.  I was daydreaming about milk glass and how much I really like the effect of chalky painted color inside of a glass vase. 

Then it hit me:  why not painted candles?  I remembered I had some leftover paint specially designed for glass from this project, and some extra glass jars just collecting dust, and I saw some microwaveable candle wax at the craft store, so then my brain started spinning totally out of control. 

Here’s what I came up with:  custom painted glass candles personalized with my own design.  A great gift for Mother’s Day ! 

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Many of you readers may have picked up on the fact that, amidst all of my other projects, I am in the process of redoing my five year old daughter’s room. My little Isabelle can best be described as a cross between Snow White and Bindi the Jungle Girl. She is lover of all critters, and I swear she speaks their language. (Every day, I get some request like, “Mama, can I please have a meerkat for a pet?” CG: “Not today, dear.”)

I wanted a vintage French inspired room, she wanted a jungle habitat. So we settled on something in the middle: a garden. (Well actually, a jardin).

A Few Disclaimers:

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