Firewood Log Succulent Planter

I made this out of a fire wood log from the building supply!

The natural wood and the greens of the succulents are a perfect match, and it couldn't have been easier.

I am always on the lookout for unusual planters for my gardens.

This stack of birch fire wood at the local Lowe's caught my eye and I bought two.

A few hours labor with a chisel, a hammer and even a hatchet gave me a log

with a planting hole in the middle.

I screwed a plastic plate to the bottom as a water catcher then filled the 

hole up with gravel on bottom and succulent planter mix on top.

Then I shopped my garden succulents for just the right mix of plants to put

in this rustic planter. It is NOT ordinary,

and I love it!

I added a few stones and gravel to the top then took about a thousand photos.

This project makes me smile and smile. 

I stapled landscape felt to the bottom of the log 

and then screwed on a plastic charger plate from Dollar Tree.

As you can see, it turned out extremely well!

Time to make the second one!

DIY a Fake Stone Planter from Styrofoam Box

          

This is a repost of a popular project which has been requested over on 

Facebook's Garden Art Junk group.

 

Here's what I do with those holiday ham styrofoam boxes 

I don't want to pitch into the landfill.

RECYCLE!

I make "stone" planters for my succulent pots!

Here's how....

and please note, this is best done OUTSIDE.

This part is messy!

Using a serrated steak knife, I cut the top edge down to make the box the size I wanted.

Then I scored all the sides with a wire brush.

I made stone shape grooves with a butter knife. You can cut as deep 

or as shallow as you wish to get the look you like.

Next, I brushed a some grey, white and black acrylic craft

 paint over the whole box.

Very sparingly, spray black spray paint at some of your stone joints. 

The paint will melt the foam and give it some very rocky texture. 

Don't over do it, you can always add more texture.

 Go slow and look at the results from all angles.

Now with a brush or a paint rag or a sponge of what have you,

 start layering on acrylic craft paint in rock and moss colors.

 I used black, charcoal grey, brown, several greens and even a bit of dark blue.

I do not plant my succulents directly in the styrofoam box. 

I keep them in their own pots so I can change them out as I wish.

 But I have to say, the sedum in this fake stone box look wonderful!

No Spray Paint for this Chair Planter

I wanted to make this worn out dining room chair into a garden chair planter, but I knew it needed some help. I thought maybe I would spray paint it bright blue since I'm nuts about that color, but I did NOT want to sand all the nooks and crannies and curvy bits on this chair. What to do? Dry brushing to the rescue!



Here's a shot of the original chair. Curvy and sweet but the peeling varnish makes it unsuitable for a smooth coat of spray paint. So I sanded it just a little to knock the loose flakes off and loaded up my brush with exterior white paint then blotted most of the paint out of it. When it was almost dry I started painting the chair.....




Sweet! Look how it made this old chair look shabby chic and country style and downright vintage. LOVE it!


Here she is (funny that now she's painted she's a female. Whassup with that?)

;O)

I popped the cushion off with a screw driver and now have a perfect receptacle for a planter.


Ooh aah. The lime green trailers and the vinca and the mint and the blue glass balls are perfect together. Even my little gnomey guy is smiling.


And here's another angle. I love how this chair turned out with the wash of white paint! Much less work than sanding and spray painting, and as it weathers in the coming seasons it will just look more shabby and chic. I call that a win win!

Aaand....it goes with my drybrushed kiwi crate table and my whitewashed ladder with the drybrushed baskets. Is nothing safe from my new favorite painting technique?

I'll be linking up to White Wednesday in my sidebar. Come check it out, it is always loads of fun with lots of beautiful ideas using white.