Colorful Herb Garden

I was so happy to be outside and “playing” in the dirt this past weekend! I forgot how much I missed doing yard work since we sold our house. I needed a new herb garden since we “killed” ours when we moved.  Here is a link to the post that I did last year on my herb garden. I loved it and got a lot of use out of it but I wanted to do something different this year. Since we have such a big back porch, I decided to plant the herbs in separate pots rather than one big one.

 (Please ignore the moving sticking on our table! I always find those months later!! :))

Here is what you will need:

6- 6” Terra cotta pots

Primer

Sponge Brush

Spray paint (your choice of color(s))

Clear Gloss spray paint

Assorted Herbs

Potting Soil

This is an easy and inexpensive project. I bought inexpensive 6” terra cotta pots at Wal-Mart for less than $2 a piece. I also picked up some spray paint in Ivy Leaf and Blue Ocean Breeze (Krylon brand) at just under $4 a can. I also recommend getting the clear gloss spray paint because it will help to protect your colored spray paint and give it a good gloss, this was also under $4 a can. Now you can buy already painted pots but they can get pretty pricey and I always have a hard time finding the right color. The primer I already had so that was helpful and thrifty! Herb plants and potting soil are fairly inexpensive and if you factor in how much it will save you in your grocery bill this is well worth it in my opinion.

Okay now to the fun part, PAINTING!!! First paint your pots with your primer, you can but spray primer but I already had primer leftover from my table project. I used Zinsser Bulls Eye primer and a cheap foam brush. The pots do soak up a lot of the primer but this makes you use less of your spray paint to fully coat them. I did one coat on the pots and let them fully dry.

Once they were dry I began spray painting them, 3 in the Ivy Green (a lime green) and 3 in the Blue Ocean Breeze (a light aqua). I picked these colors because they go well with my outdoor décor, the hammock and chair covers.

Let them dry for a least an hour and then spray a second coat. Be sure to spray at a good distance so that you don’t get drip marks. Let them dry for another hour and then spray them with a good coat of the clear gloss spray paint to seal it all in. Ta-da, pretty colored pots on the cheap!! Plus now you have extra spray paint for future projects, we all know I have a ton of future projects!! :)  

Once the clear gloss top coat has dried you can begin planting your herbs. I planted basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, cilantro and rosemary.  Place a little potting soil in the bottom of each pot, enough to cover the bottom and give a little height to your herb. Move each herb out of the plastic pot and place it in its individual new pot. Fill each pot with potting soil, be sure to cover all sides and smooth the top out. Don’t forget to add your name tag from each herb to its corresponding pot so you don’t mix any up. I may make cuter little signs later but I haven’t found quite what I am looking for yet.

I placed my pots on our outdoor patio table for now but I am convincing my hubby to build a cute shelf unit for me. I have the design in my head I just need to put it on paper. 

Happy Planting!!

I Like Big Books... Tote Bag

I love this new tote bag I made!!!! I recently bought a Silhouette Cameo, seriously this is the most awesome crafting machine!!! It an cut paper, vinyl, heat transfer and much more. Plus instead of paying $80 a cartridge for a few designs you buy each design individually for .99 cents. So much more practical! OK, back to my tote bag.

I have seen these cute bags all over Pinterest with the saying "I like Big Books and I cannot lie." I think it is so fun and very 90's.

All you need is an inexpensive plain tote bag from a craft store and some heat transfer material. I wrote out my saying in the Silhouette studio software with the Wide Latin font, right aligned. I made the Big Books part a little bit bigger and all caps so it stood out. Load your machine with the heat transfer paper with the glossy side down. When using the heat transfer material make sure you reverse the image before you send it to the Silhouette Cameo. Once the material has been cut by the Cameo, you can remove the clear backing and place on your tote bag right side up. Have your iron on the highest setting and use a sheet or pillowcase in between your iron and the material. Iron over the design a few times until it is sticking in all corners. Peel back the clear part and your done! Now I have an awesome book tote, that represents me!!

Linking up to:

 Johnny In a Dress

Scissors & Spatulas

Homemade Gift Exchange June 2012

I recently participated in an online Handmade Gift Exchange hosted by Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous! It was a lot of fun.

  You make a handmade gift for a person you 'draw' and someone else makes a gift for you. Your person could be anywhere, it is like crafty pen pals! You can ask questions anonymously to get a feel for what they may like. I got Madison and she liked the owl trend and told me some of her favorite colors too. I decided to make an owl necklace.

It came out really cute and she said she loved it. In return I received a cute apron from Susan. She asked if I collect anything and the only thing I really collect is aprons. Here is a picture of my lovely handmade gift.

Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous hosts this twice a year and I plan on doing this again in November for the next one. If you are interested you can sign up for a reminder e-mail here.