Easy DIY Succulent Garden: My Weekend Project

Happy Monday Lush Scouts!

Back to work today, sadly, but I have a good feeling about this week. I'm not sure if it the was the excellent weekend with the boyf that put me in this frame of mind, the great projects I worked on yesterday afternoon, the 3-day weekend coming up, or just something the universe is trying to tell me. Regardless, I'm pretty happy about it.

Sadly I killed the beautiful azalea that my boyfriend bought me to cheer me in my darker back-pain days. I'm not sure what went wrong, as I followed all of the instructions exactly. In any case, since the tree was a lost cause, I decided to use the pot to make a little succulent garden. 

When I visited Home Depot to pick out plants, however, I ended up with far more than I needed for that pot! I just couldn't say no to all of these little guys! Luckily, I had just finished a candle in a large glass jar, and I was able to get the remnants of wax out to make it into a sweet pot. 

As the trick with succulents (besides letting them be kind of standoffish and not over-loving them) is good drainage, I took a trip to Joann Fabrics and to some home decor stones. I filled the bottom of the jar with the larger stones, and then added a few smaller stones on top of that. Since this pot doesn't have a drainage hole, this step is critical. For the other pot with 2 large drainage holes, I sitll added a thin layers of the small rocks along the bottom.

It ended up being a bizarrely dirty process! I had to vacuum twice and shamefully threw plants across the room more than one time. I am sorry plants! Please forgive me!

But the gist of the technique is that I just smooshed the plants in. I had to cut some dirt off to make them fit, but I tried to be gentle with the roots and I hope that I haven't damaged them (besides, they've already been thrown across the room, I'm sure a little smooshing didn't even phase them.)

They turned out pretty lovely. I tried to make a nice mixture of colour and texture, but unfortunately Home Depot didn't have any of the lovely blue and purpley ones or other colours that I saw in my inspirational photos. Alas, the green still looks nice and I think the little gardens really add to my desktop greenery (lavender to the left and basil to the right).

I feel that you can never have too many indoor plants. Especially when living in the city. They purify the air and provide a tranquil green place, both of which help keep my mind clear. For now, they also fill the dog-shaped void in my heart. I'll keep you updated on their progress/survival.

What did you get up to this weekend Lush Scouts? Do you feel as good about the upcoming week as I do? Let me know in the comments below.

Squalor and smoke's not your style,

Cait

Friday's Awesome Five

Donut you know I'm in love with donuts? Today's five is a testament to a love that will last through the ages: Gu + donuts (hey coffee, you're alright too).

1. Everyone knows that the best way to have a beach bod is to put your body on a beach. Next time my beach bod hits the waves, it'll be atop this larger-than-life donut. From Urban Outfitters

2. It may be too late to give this to your lover for v-day, but there's no wrong time to tell your sweety you love them. Say it with donuts! From MudsplashStudios on Etsy

3. You'll never love a donut so much as when it's handcrafted by your favorite Lush Scout--YOU! I made a big ol' batch of love-infused donuts for v-day (I totally made the ones in this picture! I'm amazing!), and I'll share the recipe with you this week. Yay!!

4. In the mood for an ah-dorable little project? Make balloons to remind you of your favorite treat, then throw a party and invite all your fellow donut lovers! BYOSprinkles? From Studio DIY

5. And last, if you find yourself wandering around Pike Place Market with your sweetheart, as I often do, treat them to some tiny sweets! Daily Dozen Donut Co. is right in the market, and anyone who's a sucker for mini stuff (everyone) would love a bite size pastry while they're seeing the Seattle sights. Here's their Yelp page

Thought I was a donut, tried to glaze me,
gu

Earning A Patch In: Papercutting

What have I been doing while I've been away from you all this time Scouts? Well I decided to take up papercutting, of course! 

I stocked up on knives and cutting mats and cardstock during black Friday (holler at Joann's deal$$$), and looked at some online tutes. I dumbed down this tutorial to my cave-woman level equipment and finally completed my first piece. It's a little something to send my little niece for her birthday. I hope to eventually improve to more intricate work, like Rob Ryan and Suzy Taylor, but as they say: PRACTICE!

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Step 1: The puzzle of figuring out exactly what to cut and what to leave and where to connect it all. Black permanent marker for cuts, white for keeps.

Step 2: Start cutting. Don't fuck it up.

Step 3: Gaze upon the beauty of your creation. 

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The process reminds me a lot of linocutting, which I always enjoyed, but minus the actual linoleum and ink and supplies! I love how organic and yet structured this particular media is, as exemplified by the gorgeous paper cuts and other products based on the designs of Emily Brown at BirdMafia. 

I adore these simple Valentines and greetings from the Bird Mafia site! (Click photos to be taken directly to those items on etsy.) I can definitely see myself sending little paper-cut 'howdy's in the mail. So keep an eye out to see what else I cook up!

don't you lay those hallelujahs on those babies anymore,

cait

Friday's Awesome Five

Salut Lush Scouts! I have a roundup of my faves from this week, and there are some really great things, if I do say so myself, so read on!


1. I had a great birthday this year! My parents sent me a package of cool things (including a neat bulletin magnet board my mom hand crafted), Gu got me a couple vinyls, my niece made me a card and sent me a picture of a rainbow unicorn, I went to a concert with Gu and some rad dudes, Gu brought me a donut cake (yes, those are giant donuts sculpted in the shape of a hamburger and fries, and yes, it did have real bacon on it), and she also accompanied me to Von Trapp's to drink Austrian beer and eat Käsespätzle!

I even got to partake in the sharing of a boot of Radler! (I have been informed by my uncle that I have betrayed my German ancestors by drinking without the toe up. My bad!)

Which brings me to my next point...


2. While living in Austria, I discovered the most refreshing beverage on the planet: Radler. It is a beer based, mixed 50/50 with soda, drink that comes in a variety of flavors from lemon to lime to grapefruit to berry and in Austria you can even get an Almdudler mix (if you know where to look). It comes in bottles, it comes in cans, it comes branded, and it comes generic. Similar to the British 'Shandy,' but better, I'm always shocked that it hasn't caught on in America. There is nothing like carrying your groceries from the store to the streetcar, to your apartment, and up several flights of stairs, just knowing there is an ice cold Radler to cheer you when you get to the top.

3. On an unrelated note, I recently ran across Fashion to Figure on Pinterest and I'm a big big fan! It's affordable, on-trend clothes for me! There are already many things in my cart to purchase. I've been wanting a galaxy dress for a while and I really like the colour and the style (especially the sleeves) of the one below. I'm just kind of in love with the striped illusion dress, and that skirt is so so so intriguing. The skirt is sheer, but there are boyshorts inside of it. It's just so crazy! Also interesting fact, the founders are the great grandsons of the Lane Bryant and the store is named after something she said in Glamour: You should never ask women to conform their figures to fashion, but rather bring fashion to the figure.

4. I made Gu this little craft project quite a while ago. It's a canvas with raised letters, all painted the same colour. I was making frames for my niece and nephew to keep pictures of themself with their brand new baby brother and had leftovers so I made one for Gu. It took us all of 6 seconds to decide that it should say 'LESS MOPE MORE DOPE' because that's her favorite slogan after 'Life's A Beach'.  I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with mine, but I think I've finally decided and I'll maybe do a quick little DIY when I get around to making mine this weekend.

5. I am considering putting myself on the market for a rug to brighten up the floor of my room/protect my carpet and thus far I'm finding a few things that draw my eye over at Urban Outfitters. I really like the split rugs that they are offering. I like the idea of getting two prints for the price of one. I'm also always a sucker for bright bright florals. I really like the half polka-dot/half floral rug pictured below and I've included a bonus, because I just really like that mat!

She Moves In Mysterious Ways,

Cait!

A Labor of Love: How to DIY a Crappy Vintage Tee into an AWESOME Tank Top

I don't know if you've heard the news Lush Scouts, but I may be a little bit obsessed with Paul Simon.

Because of this, I've long been in the market for a Paul Simon shirt, but nothing meets my many requirements (the right print, the right colour, the right price). But my hours spent trolling ebay have not been for naught! After finishing my nightstand I was in need of a project and this shirt miraculously appeared on my radar!

The first thing that caught my eye was the price! Less than 10 dollars.

Second, I am a girl who is fond of RIT dye, so I can appreciate the blank canvas of a white shirt.

The most important thing I noticed was this massive stain across the upper shoulder!

As someone with the utmost reverence for Paul Simon memorabilia, I could tell it hadn't been treated with the respect that it deserved.

So I adopted the shirt as my new pet project.

The first step was much much bleaching. I used a toothbrush to specifically scrub the stains with bleach. This both worked really well and totally backfired. The stains disappeared, but the part that I had scrubbed was much brighter than the rest of the shirt! So the whole thing got a bath in some extremely diluted bleach. 

At this point I decided that lavender was the correct colour for the shirt. I gave it a bath in a little bit of purple dye and then a quick dip in some navy in order to get the colour I wanted. 

The colour is even lighted now after a good washing-machine wash and a couple of wears. It is very nice. 

The other important step I needed to take was to make it a tank top. Pro-tip for ladies with big tatas: cutting the sleeves off of a slightly-too-tight teeshirt and sewing back up the sides a little will make the shirt fit better than it had with the sleeves. I don't know why this works, but it always always does. It also allows you to stretch the shoulders out and make it a little longer.

So that is what happened next and now this shirt is my child. It goes to parties and work with me. It even went to the beach. Just another labor of love in honor of Paul Simon, and now treated with all the love and adoration it deserves.

Still Crazy After All These Years

Cait

A Wee Project: DIY Nightstand

Howdy Lushies,

I just thought I'd show you a wee project (that just took a couple months out of pure spite) that I finished a few weeks ago.

I found this heinous filing cabinet-y thing covered in cobwebs and abandoned in the hallway. It was maroon metal on most surfaces, some wood, and a piece of thick cardboard for the back.

I left it in the hallway for a couple of weeks, but at that point I decided it was fair game. I rapidly discovered why it had been abandoned as I dragged it pathetically into my apartment. This thing is solidly constructed of particle-board and metal and man is it heavy!

I took the back off, pulled out approximately one zillion staples, and wiped away the cobwebs, and after several weeks of modpodging and sanding and remodpodging, I finally had a night stand that only cost a few bucks (and a lot of patience.)

And the moment I finished this project, after significant procrastination, I've moved through several projects since (coming soooon!).

Nothing Compares To You,

Cait