Dog-Sitting, Peat Pots, and Berry Baskets

Yes, it's been awhile since I last posted. 

Here's what I've been up to this time. 

Dog-sitting this little imp.

Maisie

Creating Spring/Easter treasures for my Etsy shop.

Last Spring I produced a few of these chicken wire nest baskets.

I love the design, but I thought it would be fun to create them in a different color. 

Moss green makes me happy. 

And rather than stay with German glass glitter for the eggs, 

I opted for Bronze mica flakes from Meyer Imports.

A great bold, yet sophisticated effect.

And more feathers is always a good idea.

I also decided to make twigs by wrapping thin wire, 

bending it into shape, then painting it. 

Real twigs are so fragile and I didn't want
to worry about them breaking.

The final touch was creating a bow using this luscious wired 

French Ribbon in an antique Moss green.

My other creations involved playing with vintage
wooden berry hallocks.

I bought them a while back, but hadn't come up
with a good design yet.

Finally figured it out. All I needed to do was
craft handles by twisting rustic wire.

Just for fun, I thought I'd give them some age,
using the rusty vinegar method.

Some of them turned out darker than I wanted,
so I decided to paint them 

with sheer coats of mossy green. 

Finally, I accented them with thick crepe paper bows and 

Spanish moss, which I hand-dyed for just the right tints.

Up next?
My rustic creations using old-fashioned milk bottle caps!

Join Me on Instagram
@MagiaMiaEtsy

Linking To:

Rustic Elegant Nest Baskets with Peat Pots & Chicken Wire

As promised, I finally finished my rustic peat pot creation. 

I kept vacillating about the final touches, but I think I'm satisfied now...:) 

I really do enjoy working with these peat pots, and appreciate the fact that these are sooo much cheaper than paper mache. I do believe I need to stock up on these, to have them at my disposal for Halloween treat baskets and Christmas décor/ornaments!

I think I'll take a break from creating with these, since I've got so many painting projects waiting to be completed, but I can't promised I won't have another design epiphany......

Soooo, Before:

After:

You didn't think I'd get through Spring without incorporating my little chicken wire, did you?

I reinforced the bottom with a chipboard disc, then dry-brushed these in a muted ivory tone & light crème.

I wrapped each one in aged chicken wire, crimping the edges over the top and bottom, so there'd be no sharp points sticking out.

I took some nice malleable 20ga annealed wire, twisted 2 layers together for the handle, then attached the handle through side holes in the pot.

I tied a little frayed piece of linen to the handle side, to give it a soft feathery touch. (I didn't have any feathers handy, so made do with the linen.)

To anchor all the inside elements, I inserted a half sphere of styrofoam till it was snug.

The first thing I inserted were the silver German glass glitter eggs. Aren't they gorgeous? This took a little more effort than just glue and glitter I'm afraid. I found some wonderfully small foam eggs at the Dollar store, but they had bright pastel glitter on them already. Since I'm not satisfied with glitter if it's not glass glitter, I soaked these in soapy water, then rubbed off their glitter. I wrapped a piece of stiff wire with floral wrap, then hot-glued it into the egg. I painted the eggs with metallic silver/champagne craft paint, and once dry, I glued on the German glass glitter. I sealed them with clear varnish to prevent further tarnish. 

Once the eggs were dry, I hot-glued their wire into the styrofoam base, then the twigs, and finally, tucked in the Spanish moss to the desired fullness. 

Although I could've stopped there, I felt the peat pot side looked a little empty. After finally deciding on the obvious word, I wanted to do something unique with it. I cut tiny pieces of aged wood, cutting the ends to mimic old rustic signs, then sanded all the tiny crevices to prevent slivers. I then used my wood-burning tool to write the letters. 

Finally, I attached jewelry wire and chain to each nest sign, and secured the chain into the peat pot styrofoam with a piece of wire. All done! 

I've had the wood-burning tool for years, and just now finally used it. I love how the signs turned out. I may have to incorporate this idea with my Putz house designs....:)

These chicken wire peat pots make great little rustic gifts.....What to do next? Decisions, decisions.......

Come join me on Instagram, 

@MagiaMiaEtsy

TTFN, Maria

Linking To:

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:

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!

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