Honeysuckle in a Mason Jar

I am guest posting three places this week! :)  Busy bee!  I will keep y'all informed when they go live! 

Two things to audition for before we get started tonight:

1)  Audition for OMTWI right here on The Country Chic Cottage by Wednesday of this week.

2)  Link up over the next two weeks for a chance to win a trip to Tennessee to hang out with Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage, me, and some more fab bloggers.  Head on over to Gina's for the details.

For tonight, I realized I had not talked this year about how beautiful weeds can be...

Yes honeysuckle is usually considered a nuissance -- something to be sprayed with weed killer...

But it gorgeous and smells great! 

So I got some off of the creek bank and added it to a mason jar.

What weeds have you decorated with lately?

Posted at Get Your Craft On on Today's Creative Blog.

Posted at Take a Look Tuesday on Sugar Bee Craft Edition.

Posted at Tip Me Tuesday on Tip Junkie.

Linking to Tackle it Tuesday on 5 Minutes for Mom.

~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~

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Pottery Barn Knock Off Rustic Sign DIY Tutorial

I got a great opportunity to guest post over at Homebody Holly last week for her AMAZING Knock off Party!!  Here is my knock off in case y'all missed it....a Pottery Barn Knock Off with my farmhouse twist...

Here is the Pottery Barn version...so very beachy...and $249 to boot!

I wanted more of a farmhouse look instead so I took some items I already had.  An old coke crate without a bottom and a couple of barnwood signs I made last year. 

I took a saw and cut off the front and back of the coke crate.  I found some more barnwood pieces laying about and started laying out my plan on the deck...

I then took some Deco Art craft paints after those barnwood boards...

I use a dry brush paint technique on wood like this to give it a worn appearance without using sandpaper.  Just dab a small amount of paint on your brush and then dab most of it off.  Go back and forth on your wood in long, rapid strokes over a large area to make the paint stretch as far as possible.

I did one board in white, one in gray, and the third in a pale blue.  You cannot buy rustic goodness like this in a store...

I then took another scrap board and nailed each of my signs to it.  I nailed from the back so the nail heads were not visible on the front.

Then I just leaned mine against the house on the front porch.  This one was 100% made by me!  No hubby help with the tools!  If I can do it, you can do it!  And the grand total for my version...$0...FREE!!

I really love the rustic, farmhouse feel...

Seriously this was super easy!  You can make your beach themed if you wish.  Or come up with another theme for your rustic sign!  Maybe a garden theme with words like grow, garden, spring, etc.

The beauty of these is the more weathered they get....the better they will look!  Now that is my kind of outdoor decor!

A gorgeous rustic addition to any porch!

You are welcome at my cottage anytime!  And you will be greeted at the door by this rustic, farmhouse knock-off!

 Posted at Transformation Thursday on The Shabby Chic Cottage.

Posted at Show off your Stuff Party at Fireflies and Jellybeans.
Posted at the under $100 party on Beyond the Picket Fence.

~Thanks for stopping by!~

~Angie~

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Spring Floral Centerpiece Tutorial

Originally posted on The Scrap Shoppe..I am going to repost here for today...too much closet cleaning going on for crafting.  Should make for some WOW OH WOW before and afters though!! :)  Y'all stay tuned!    
I really needed a new centerpiece for my table for spring.  So this is what I came up with...

Ready to add some blooms to your table?  I started with a milk glass hobnail planter...cause well I heart hobnail! :)

Stuff in some styrofoam...just any you have laying around will do.

Push in some sticks out of the yard.  Now if you are counting...I have five sticks and my finished product only has 4...I abandoned the fifth stick cause I did not like it...

I needed something "mossy" to cover up my styrofoam.  Do you wanna guess what this is??  No guesses??  It is a felted wool sweater cut into squares.  You can just hot glue the center of the squares down in your styrofoam.  Gorgeous mossy green...

Now I had these fake vines...yep they are plastic!

I just wrapped them up and down my sticks...

And I wrapped til I liked the look.  I left a few stragglers to hang off the side of the pot.

Now for the tissue paper flowers I just cut two squares of golden yellow tissue paper...

Put them together like so....

Gather the center together with your hand.

And apparently I have a hard time taking pics of this step cause I tried many times! :)  But just squeeze the bottom really tight and twist some to hold.

Then just arrange your blooms on your twigs and glue!  Easy as can be!

Love those yellow blooms for spring!  And the green "moss" really makes them pop!

Rustic with a touch of elegance!

Posted at Get Your Craft On on Today's Creative Blog.

Posted at Take a Look Tuesday on Sugar Bee Craft Edition.

Posted at Tip Me Tuesday on Tip Junkie.

Linking to Tackle it Tuesday on 5 Minutes for Mom.

~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~

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Garden Barnwood Sign

How many of you knew I would have to have some barnwood goodness in my little herb garden from yesterday?  Oh yes a barnwood sign to help my herbs grow...

This one was unbelievably easy.  I started with a piece of authentic barnwood.

I had some "poster board" letters in my desk drawer.  They are basically post it notes in the shape of letters.  I peeled off the letters I wanted and arranged them on the barnwood.

I then used a pale aqua blue and a VERY VERY dry brush.  I mean dab a little tiny bit of paint on your brush and dab most of it off before attacking your board.  Cover as much area as possible with that dry brush.  Stroke back and forth many, many times to get it all out and cover a large area.

The dry brush technique will make your new paint look old and worn.  The cracks and imperfections of the wood will still show through.

Rustic, farmhouse goodness in 10 mintues...literally 10 minutes...

Hunt up some barnwood today! 

The perfect addition to my painted pots!  A touch of rustic in with all of those happy spring colors!

Posted at Show and Tell on Blue Cricket Design.

Posted at Whatever Goes Wednesday on Someday Crafts.
Posted at What I Whipped Up Wednesday on Sugar and Dots.
Posted at Good Life Wednesdays on A Beach Cottage.
Posted at the Sunday Showcase on Under the Table and Dreaming. 

~Thanks for stopping by!~

~Angie~

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DIY Back Porch Container Herb Garden

I tend to stay to safe colors for my home decor.  But outside...it is anything I want!!  So I painted my pots for my container herb garden last weekend...

Blue and pink chevron...yellow with white stripes...a bright and cheerful place to grow some goodies!

Some of my herbs volunteered from last year...gotta love that!  Growing herbs from seed is super easy and very rewarding!  You can actually try those recipes on the food network without spending a fortune on fresh herbs!

I spray painted the pots first and then used craft paints for my decoration.  I am not entirely sure how well the craft paint will hold up...but heck I like things chippy anyway! :)

Okay the reality is that I forget what I plant.  Plus I have no clue what most of these herbs are supposed to look like.  It was a train wreck one year!  So I also made little garden markers.  It is just a popsicle stick and a metal disc.  I punched holes in both with my crop-a-dile and tied em together with jute.  I wrote the names on them with a Sharpie. 

It took all of 5 minutes.  Waaaay quicker than googling pictures after they grow...trust me on this...

While I was out there I monogrammed this milk can.  I just freehanded it.  I guess I could have went with a wild color on it too...but I must draw the line somewhere...

Go ahead and giggle...cause I had no clue that milk can lid was crooked until I went to post this...it is too late now... My pots are sitting on a rustic bench.  Keeps nosy dogs out of them...if you have nosy dogs you know what I mean...

Stay tuned tomorrow....I have another addition to this little garden. 
Go get your herb seeds today and start your own little garden!  You will be thanking me in a few weeks!!  If you already have one, what is your favorite herb to grow??  I wanna know cause it may be one I have not planted yet!!

Posted at Get Your Craft On on Today's Creative Blog.

Posted at Take a Look Tuesday on Sugar Bee Craft Edition.

Posted at Tip Me Tuesday on Tip Junkie.

Linking to Tackle it Tuesday on 5 Minutes for Mom.
Linking to the Spray Paint Party at Thrify Decor Chick.

~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~

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