How to create a Succulent Wall

Countless summer hours have been focused on our yard ~  dreaming, envisioning, and creating outdoor art.

We chose the left back wall, near the patio dining table, where hundreds of meals, mid-morning snacks, and barbeques are celebrated.  A simple reminder to bring creativity to the outdoors, and stir simplistic beauty.

Allow me to introduce a labor of love, our succulent wall:

Months in the making, this vertical succulent frame hints at artistic outdoor design!

To create a succulent wall, we first collected an assortment of succulence, varying colors and sizes. I'm in awe of how many of these drought-resistant plants exist, my favorite being the reddish green beauties resembling rosebuds!

Breaking them apart, and allowing them to "callous", they sat for weeks before joining one another in their dirt frame.

 

We sprayed a traditional frame Antique White, encouraging the future "weathering" outdoor elements and time will bring. Any size frame can be used for this project.

 

Bryan built a shadow box, about 4 inches deep, and added a redwood backing.

  

A mesh wire was reinforced to keep the soil in.

Our sun-loving boys enjoy helping us with outdoor projects, especially those involving dirt.

Here, they added soil to the framed box, while we leveled it flat to the mesh wire.

Once the succulent plants had "calloused" and were ready for planting, we positioned them in the wire mesh holes, allowing space between them for future growth.

3 weeks our succulent wall sat, long enough for the plants to root...

And then came the day, for it to join the outdoor art wall!

Taking center stage between hung wine crates and wire baskets, the succulent wall adds the perfect touch of nature.

I simply love how it turned out!

 What outdoor projects have you been working on?

Handmade Fabric Coasters

Handmade Fabric Coasters~ my new-found creative outlet!!!

They are the perfect housewarming, appreciation, Just-Because-You-Are-Super-Great gift! Plus, the sky's the limit for patterned possibilities. You can't go wrong with this easy-to-make personalized must-have!

I'm starting to sound like an infomercial, so allow me to share how I made the darned things, and you'll see for yourself :)

With boys in tow, we made two stops {Home Depot and JoAnn's} in under an hour, and returned home, stuffed to the brim with goldfish {the world's best distraction snack} and coaster-making supplies.

You'll need:

Mod Podge
A small brush {completely forget that in my errands, but thankfully found one in my hubby's tool box ~ thanks hon!}
Basic white tiles {they cost a whoppin' $.17 each at Home Depot}
Fun patterned fabric or paper
Spray Adhesive
Small felt circles with adhesive backs
Scissors
Newspaper {or you can murder a Trader Joe's bag like I did!}

Step-by-step:

I counted four tiles per recipient, and cut out fabric {you can use paper too, but I loved these summery fabrics} a little smaller than the tile itself {the goal is to have a small white tile border around the fabric or paper}.

Then I laid the tiles on the poor Trader's bags.

I used my backyard, patio table to work so that the fumes wouldn't get me high, or, so lil' fingers wouldn't grab 'em :)

I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to each tile {in order for it to stick}, then put the fabric on top, smoothing it with my hand, to get rid of any bubbles or creases.

Then, I brushed a reasonable amount of Mod Podge on top of the fabric, this time using the brush to push out stubborn bubbles or creases.

Then I poured myself a margarita and waited 20 minutes.

 I wish!

In reality I wiped down the kitchen and unloaded the dishwasher.

After 20 minutes, I reapplied a second coat of the Mod Podge glue, and while  I waited...

I poured myself another margarita, this time with a frilly umbrella bobbing on the ice.

Then a third coat of Mod Podge and waited for the tiles to completely dry.

At this point, I laid down on the couch for my daily afternoon nap. Adele wafted through the open windows, and the smell of fresh baked bread escaped our oven.

Right!

Once the tiles were dry, I woke refreshed from my nap, snacked on a small tub of bon-bons and then sprayed each tile with the Spray Adhesive. 

Once the tiles were completely dry, I stuck the small adhesive felt circles to the bottom of the tile ~ 

one in each corner to prevent scratching.

Then...

Bam! Fabric coasters were ready to be packaged...

Wrote a cute tag, and tied the coasters with ruffly ribbon. 

These specific coasters were for my sister-in-laws on Mother's/Auntie's Day.

 And there you have it~ 

Handmade Fabric Coasters to rest your favorite drink on!

Cheers!