Colorful Spring Baskets from Peat Pots with Crepe Paper, Glitter, & Dresden

Seems that right now my brain is stuck in
seed starter pot mode,
obviously due to the unusually Spring-like weather
here in the PNW. 

Not to mention that Easter is just around the corner!

You've already seen the fun I've had with the little pulp pots from the Dollar store, Here & Here. Now, finally, I've finished my original creations using peat pots.

A very great departure from my woodsy,
rustic basket creations, 

here are 3 very glammed up peat pot baskets.......

Before:

After:

Oh, the things you can do with crepe paper, Dresden trim, and German glass glitter.

I did so many things to these peat pots, and if it wasn't for the texture of them, you'd never know what they started as.
Before doing anything, I cut the rims off the tops.

Crepe paper double ruffles.
I brushed alcohol ink on the edges of the ruffles
to give them more flowery charm.
One detail not shown: I've since finished the inside
bottom edge of the crepe ruffle with
coordinating seam binding.

Wire handles wrapped in crepe paper, then 3mm tinsel stems wound around them.
I tinted the tinsel stems with alcohol ink
to coordinate with the basket colors.

I painted each peat pot with chalk paint, then added wide stripes of German glass glitter.

The final touch, that really makes a statement, is metallic Dresden trim applied around the top edge
and base of each pot.

Since I haven't found the exact colors I want for Dresden, I hand-tint it with alcohol inks. For the Aqua and Green baskets, I used Seafoam green trim for both, making one more greenish blue and the other more Chartreuse.

This size has room for a 5 oz plastic cup,
so would be darling to display flowers;
a great use after the Easter candy in grass are gone.

I will be listing these in my Etsy shop later today.

Up next.....very rustic peat pot baskets with elegant eggs!

Linking To:

Mercantile & Apothecary Shelf Treasures

Now that I'm on Instagram,

I'm using it primarily as Show & Tell

for my treasure-hunting finds,

but 2 of those items this week merit a blog post.

Be-Still-My-Vintage-Heart #1

Fabulous mercantile pricing rubber stamps. 

Each number is 1-1/4" high! 

There are also fractions, $, lb., "for", "each", !, comma & period. 

The only thing missing is a cent sign. 

With these are also letters in the same size,
w/ 7 letters missing. 

Check out these beautiful fonts!

These truly speak to the mercantile proprietress in me.
I'm not ready to let go of these beauties just yet.

Be-Still-My-Vintage-Heart #2

So much potential in this piece.

It stands 35" tall and 19" wide.

The front to back depth is 3".

The top shelf definitely had bottles or narrow jars, as you can see by the dirt. But what were they used for? The clearance between each ledge is much higher 

than your typical spice rack. 

Some 8 oz French Squares would look fabulous 

filled with herbs, as would apothecary bottles.

The cool thing is that the brass ball finials unscrew, so you could easily add ribbon/twine spools to it too! 

Designing & chalk-painting this will be very rewarding. 

 I'll have to wait till after I transform it 

to decide whether or not to sell it....;)

Come join me on Instagram!

Forest Fairy Tea Cup from Seed Starter Pots



After creating my Woodland Fairy Baskets from the seed starter pots, 

you should have known I wouldn't stop there. 

Rustic, nature-inspired creations really grab ahold of me, 

and don't let go until I've OD'd on them.

So, as a reminder.....

Before: 

After:

The Woodland Fairy needs a teacup!

I did everything the same as the basket, with all the same materials. The only difference is where I put the handle.

I may be compelled to make more. They're just too much fun. I think they're getting me warmed up for forest fairy-inspired putz house creations.

This tea cup is now listed in my Etsy shop.

Come join me on Instagram!

Linking To:

Woodland Fairy Baskets from Seed Starter Pots

While the East coast is dealing with record-breaking snow, we here in the PNW are confused as to what season it is. It looks and feels like Spring in my neighborhood, so naturally it's affecting my Muse.

I've had some unused peat pots waiting for me to craft with for a very long time. After seeing a lot of peat pot creations being pinned lately, I became inspired to put my own spin on them. While working on my project, another idea popped into my head. To make good use of my time, I started creating the new epiphany while the paint was drying on the first idea.

This second project actually involves the smaller seed starter pots, which aren't made of peat, but pulp like egg cartons. The texture of them transported my imagination into the forest.

So here is what I came up with......

Before:

After:

I'm calling this a Woodland Fairy basket.

Look at what you can do with the texture of little seed starter pots from the Dollar store! Doesn't it remind you of tree bark?

You're looking at crepe paper ruffles, Chartreuse Reindeer moss, wire, floral tape, raffia, and paint.

This project satisfies my need to use my glue gun....::)

I glued a thin circle of chipboard to the bottom of the pot. Then I had fun with the glue gun, drawing “roots” from the pot to the edge of the circle.

I painted a brown base, then I dry-brushed a leafy green over the texture, followed by Chartreuse. Before painting it, I sealed it inside and out with wood glue for durability, since these are meant to eventually break down with moisture. It doesn't have to be wood glue, as you could use varnish, Mod Podge, or white glue.)

I wanted the crepe paper to look more natural and leafy, so I hand-dyed it using alcohol inks. The crepe color was a very dull olive, so I jazzed it up using Teal and Yellow inks. To help the colors bleed into eachother, I brushed on rubbing alcohol. I folded the strip so it would be a double ruffle, then hot-glued it to the inside rim of the pot.

The handle is wire wrapped in brown floral tape. I wanted some vine-like texture, but instead of using hot glue, I wound raffia around the wrapped wire. I didn't want the raffia in its flat state, so I soaked it in water to soften it, then twisted it tight like twine, then winding it around the handle. After securing the ends with hot glue, I sealed the whole handle with Mod Podge. After it dried, I painted it the same as the pot,
with brown first, then dry-brushed
green and chartreuse on the raffia only.

Finally, I added teeny tiny pieces of Reindeer moss to the rim of the pot, keeping it a little random and imperfect.

For a filler, I've added delicate sisal grass, which I hand-dyed with alcohol ink, though you could just as easily use any dye, since sisal is natural.

Just for a hint of bling, I coated a little foam egg with Citrine German glass glitter.

I will be listing these in my Etsy shop shortly. Tomorrow I will hopefully finish the peat pot creations that sparked this epiphany......:) 

Come join me on Instagram!

Linking To:

Revisiting the Coffee-Loving Literary Bird

Since one of my egg pictures seems to be getting 

pinned a lot lately, 

I thought it was due for a re-post of my craft project, 

for those with Spring on the brain.....

With every thing I've crafted using vintage dictionary pages, from the Steampunk tree, to the Christmas stars, and the Candy Canes, I guess there's just no point in stopping there. Seems that any surface that's glue-able should have equal opportunity for the ephemera treatment.

I realize that book page eggs is very much a Been-There-Done-That concept, but that didn't stop me. It wouldn't be such a ubiquitous crafting project if it wasn't so easy, fun, and aesthetically-pleasing. About the only way to vary the design is the direction of the word strips, and how you display the eggs. 

So I chose to glue the sentences lengthwise, and I displayed the eggs in an old rusty coffee can with excelsior. Charming, right?

I made these using plastic eggs, and used wood glue because I like that it doesn't dry clear, giving the old paper more patina. I also prefer using these very old, browned pages because A) they are already a divine old color, and B) they tear into strips easily, making the edges soft & rustic, rather than cutting crisp edges with scissors. 

And what's more rustic than farm-fresh eggs?

Come Join me on Instagram!