Tutorial Tuesday: DIY Succulent Painted Pots

Hello and happy Tuesday!  I have been meaning to get to this project forever and am really happy I finally tackled it!  With this crazy heat & drought we have had in California, I have been looking for a way to add a little greenery to our townhome without having to use up more water.

On top of that, with my energetic son, my almost-two-year-old daughter, and another little one on the way (wait, did I mention that?) we don't have much time or brain power to worry about keeping plant life alive, which is why hopping on the succulent train seemed like an excellent idea.

I am already completely in love with these little beauties-even more so now that they sit in these hand-painted pots!  So check out the tutorial below to see how simple this project is!:

DIY SUCCULENT PAINTED POTS

SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED:

~ Succulent varieties (about $3.50 a piece at your local nursery and they have the BEST names!)
~ Small terra cotta pots
~ Paint in assorted colors (I used gold, turquoise, & white)
~ Painter's tape
~ Paint brushes
~ Clear coat paint

DIRECTIONS:

1.) Paint the outside of your terra cotta pots in your desired hue (I did 3 coats!), as well as the inner few inches up until where you will pot the plant.  Allow the paint to dry.

2.) With you painter's tape, section off geometric patterns onto the outside of your pot.  You can add triangles, stripes, or whatever type of shape your heart desires.  I didn't measure mine, I just taped along until I liked the look of things:)

3.) Paint the taped-off shapes on the outside of your pots in assorted, contrasting colors, it took me about 3-4 coats, and allow them to dry.

4.) For my hexagon planter, I cut out shapes from printed card-stock....

I decided to go ahead and make you another printable, just to keep things simple, and you can print it up for free right here: HEXAGON PRINTABLE from Juneberry Lane

4.) (cont'd) ...after I cut out the card stock shapes, I taped them onto the outside of the pot.

5.) With my painter's tape, I taped off each of the hexagon shapes, removing my card stock guideline and then painting the different shapes one at a time until I had the amount of hexagons I wanted.

6.) If you need to repot your succulents (that is, if your storebought plants don't come in the size to slip right inside the terra cotta plants), just make sure to use a potting soil blend made for cactus & succulent plants.

7.) Add a few tablespoons of soil to the bottom of your pots and then transfer those beauties into your painted vases.

And you have a bright pop of color to liven up a windowsill or countertop and some lovely, very low-maintenance plants to make you smile as you head into fall!

Easy, fun, & frugal too!  I can't wait to head back to the nursery with the kids this weekend and let them pick out their own mini-version of succulent plants & mini pots to paint themselves!  

DIY: Shelf/Screen Door Bracket Mail & Receipt Holder/Sorter

If you are anything like me, you have been on the hunt for a place to keep all of that mail that is endlessly streaming into your house everyday - not to mention the receipts that end up crumpled up in my wallet, on the counters, and in my husband's pants pockets!

This pretty little thing is just the thing I was going for to add a pop of color to my kitchen and to keep what was becoming our wildly out-of-control mail corner into a place of beauty:)  Now later on this week I am going to share with you a super simple tutorial & template on how to make little receipt folders out of decorative paper, but in the meantime, I was so excited about my project that I had to share!

Take a look.....

DIY Shelving Bracket Mail Sorter

Supplies You Will Need:

~ 4 Decorative Shelf/Screen door Brackets (I got my beauties for $15 for a set of 4 right here: Decorative Brackets
~ Piece of wood (I took an envelope to my home goods store to measure the dimensions)
~ Wood glue
~ Paint
~ Paintbrushes
~ Clear, acrylic coat paint
~ Mini frames (these are from Michaels for $1.50 each in the bins upfront)

Directions:

1.) Apply a thin strip of glue along the base of your decorative shelf bracket (this is actually a little too generous and the glue expands and you will have to wipe the excess with a wet towel:)  Attach it to one end of the board, flush against the back & sides.  I held mine in place for about 1-2 minutes.

2.) Repeat the above step on the other side of the board.

3.) Divide the length of your board into thirds (for example, mine measured 2 feet across, which is 24 inches).  Mark a pencil dot at 1/3 of the way across and 2/3 of the way.  (My 24 inch board got a dot at 8 inches and 16 inches).

4.) Glue the remaining two shelf brackets down on the center of the pencil marks, flush against the back of the baseboard.  Allow the glue to dry.

5.) Paint your board & shelf brackets in a color that matches your room decor:)

6.) So after a little consideration, I decided to make you a printable, in case you want to avoid painting the inside of your frames and using a paint pen to write in your sorter categories-I did!  You can find your free printable RIGHT HERE.  Or you can go ahead and paint the inside of the frame and write with a paint pen the categories for inside the mini frames.

7.) I used the paper inside the frame as a guide to cut out my printables, then placed them inside the frames and glued them to the front of the mail sorter.

8.) And that's all there is to it!  A gorgeous handmade creation to keep all of those pesky envelopes & receipts in proper order!

Mine looks like such a little stunner in our new yellow kitchen!  Pop on back soon to see the receipts all filed nicely in the new DIY decorative paper folders:)

DIY Dishwasher Magnet...it's the little things:)

I know, I know, it sure has been awhile!  But I have been so busy with my shop and party styling that I am just now getting back to this lovely little site of mine.  I have so many fun things planned for the future of Juneberry Lane and I promise we will get there one little bit at a time.  But for now I will be popping in whenever I can to bring you all sorts of party, craft, & design inspiration and as many DIY tutorials as possible.

So let's jump back into the swing of things with the easiest tutorial ever-a small magnet for the dishwasher to let family & friends know whether or not the dishes inside are clean or dirty; after all, you know I like making the most mundane gadgets in the house as pretty as possible...

DIY DISHWASHER MAGNETS

SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED:
~ Mini Ornate Frame ($1.50 at Michael's)
~ Chalkboard paint (or whatever color you like:)
~ Paint brush
~ Adhesive backed, heavy duty magnet (save $ by using the magnet off the back of a refrigerator shopping list pad that you find at the dollar store!)
~ Paint pen

1.) Paint the inside cardboard of the frame with chalkboard paint (or whatever color your heart desires!)

2.) Measure down to the very middle of your painted cardboard and make a mark on either side.

3.) Using a book or ruler, draw a line straight across the middle of the painted chalkboard with your paint pen.

4.) Allow to dry:)

5.) On the top side of the painted cardboard, just above the line, write "Clean" with your paint pen.

6.) Once dry, flip the cardboard over and write "Dirty" on the other side of the line.

7.) Attach your adhesive magnet to the back side.

And there you go, once you train your family to flip the magnet whenever they start or unload the dishwasher (as if anyone does it but you;) no one ever has to ask "Are these dishes clean or dirty?" in your house again:)  See you soon...