Nature Hanger

I've been working on this little clay nature hanger for a couple of weeks, as I have the time. And yesterday, I finished it! I started off by collecting beautiful leaves from around our yard and pressing them into air dry clay (forgot to take pics sorry!) that I rolled out with a rolling pin and cut to size. I was sure to add small holes at the top and bottom for string. I decided to have some that are the actual shape of the leaf and others that are circles and ovals, just for some variety.

After the clay had spent about 5 days drying (doesn't need that long, but that's when I had spare time again!) I painted them in the colours that I wanted (gold, chocolate and caramel) and then let them dry.

I added gold and bronze leaf to the leaf prints as well, for added interest and well ... just because I'm a bit addicted to leafing actually!

I then went about threading the clay pieces together just with normal raw string, making sure that the string went through behind the clay piece, not on the front of it. 

I strung the pieces in odd numbers and then hung three strands of them off of a branch that I just picked up from out in the yard!

All that was left to do was to hang it up and enjoy!! I really like it and I think it turned out beautifully!

What have you been creating this week?! 

Have a great weekend!

Fun Word Art!

Today's been a great day, with my creative juices flowing, I've created some 'word art' pieces to sell at my market stall Juniper Tree - Cards and Candles.

 

It's very popular at the moment to decorate your home with words; quotes, sayings, verses, poems etc. I think it can add a nice personal touch to a home.

 

My Hubbie had some left over pieces of pine board that he used recently to make a gorgeous shabby chic bookshelf, and seeing as he didn't need the off cuts, I snavelled them up quick smart to create some art!

 

 

I'm very happy with the end results of these pieces of word art ...

 

The first one I created is 'Let your light shine'.

 

 

I love the turquoise chevron pattern.

 

The second one is 'I love you'. I created this one with buttons as well, I think the end result is very cute!

 

 

Lastly, I made a smaller piece with 'You are my sunshine' painted in it, then sanded off a bit for a rustic look.

 

I think it ended up being very happy and fun!

 

 

I'm very happy with all three of them!

 

Not bad for a days work ... not that it was stressful in the slightest!

 

 

What have you been creating lately? Is there anything you've seen that has given you inspiration?

 

I hope you find some time each week to create something you love!

 

Budget Decorating - Beautiful Little Succulent Planters

I absolutely love op-shopping! The thrill of the hunt to find that 'perfect piece' at just the right price is fantastic! It's become over the last two years my most favourite way to decorate my home, and I think of home decorating as another form of my creative expression.

While I was op-shopping the other day, I found a bargain! I was looking for some planters for some beautiful little succulent cuttings a lovely friend gave me. I was wanting something unique and unusual to plant them in. After looking through a couple of shops with nothing jumping out at me, I went to the community shop and found three vintage pyrex (I think) bowls in red, green and yellow. Perfect! They were $1.50 each! 

I came home and dug up some soil from the garden, picked out some of the whitest stones that we have along the front garden and got to work with my four kids planting up these pretty little plants. Do you want to see them?!

Here they are ... (can you tell that I really really love them?!)

I have lined these along the servery of my kitchen where they can be enjoyed daily. This is the first time I've had indoor plants in any house that we've lived in. It's so good trying new things to make a house a home! I just hope I can keep them alive!

So what do you think? Do you enjoy decorating your home on a budget too?