Garden Chair Tutorial and a Trash to Treasure for flat shaped cans!

"It's raining, it's pouring, the Old Man is Snoring..." we're currently under a severe weather watch here, but I'm not too sure why. It was really raining hard earlier, with lightening, big thunder-boomers and hail but right now it's pretty calm outside. Most of the day turned out to be pretty nice, though, and I was able to put together another plant/garden chair and work on a few other things. Here's the old ladderback chair I started with: My hubby rescued it from curbside trash one day and brought it home to me. Yes, I do know he's a Keeper. ;-) The wood was really, really dry so I primed it to prevent the wood from drinking the "real" paint. I used Krylon's Cherry Red gloss spray paint for the final color. The color was pretty true to what it was supposed to be, but it took most of the can to cover the white primer. (Will you be as glad as my hubby when I kick this red stage I'm in???) The second coat didn't bubble and I have to admit that impressed me. Next, I stapled a piece of burlap to the seat area to hold the flower pot. You'll want to cut a piece larger and longer than the seat area so you can turn the ends under a couple times (like you would if hemming a skirt). This helps prevent it from tearing and raveling; if you've ever worked with burlap, you know it's one of the most ravel-ly fabrics out there. If that's not a word, it is now. Ravelly. There, it's been typed twice so it's now official. (New rule from the Sherster Dictionary) The reason for the longer cut? This gives you extra fabric to fold over to make a single pleat on each side. The pleats will make a little "pocket" for you to better position your pot. I decided to hot glue bits of moss around the side to cover the staples. You could use buttons, glass pebbles, etc. if you want. It all works well. I mixed some raffia in with the moss and placed it around a pot in which I planted Lily of the Valley. This particular chair was made for a covered porch. It's important to decide where the chair is going to be before you add a plant. Plants like Lily of the Valley and Hosta will fry in the sun. Final touches - I decided to add a little birdhouse and bird to the back of the chair, stuck a couple silk blooms in with the greenery and this is the result: I've made several of these and love, love them! The white one I made last year to put under our Dogwood tree sat outside all winter long and still looks great, hosta and all. I peeked at the one I gave my neighbor and it, too, stood up through the weather.

The following idea is one that was inspired by a particular post on Heather Bullard's Present Past Collection blog. (What a great blog, by the way! If you haven't already visited it, give yourself a treat and visit!) I have a bunch of old tobacco tins. When I say a bunch, I mean a bunch. See what I mean? Anyway, I ended up painting a couple of mine, punched a hole in each side to run a ribbon through (and fastened it by threading the ribbon through a button and knotting it), adding a little something-something to decorate the front and -- well, here, look for yourself.

These pictures are horrible, by the way. The end result is really cute. You can hang these over a doorknob, drawer knob, coat rack peg - you get the idea. They'd look really cute over a garden gate, too, wouldn't they? And now I'm thinking that you can decorate the can but leave the flowers out of the opening. Instead, insert some recipe cards or note cards and a pen. They'd come in handy hanging from your fridge for those instances where you can never find paper for a quick note ~ or ~ placed on your front porch door so unexpected visitors can leave you a greeting when you're out. Thanks for the idea, Heather! Don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for my July Giftaway! And I promise to finish the upholstery tutorial this week!