It’s no secret that repurposing has been playing a big part in my home redecorating journey. But there are three really easy ones that I have just loved and want to share. It’s important to note that I have been focusing on bringing in costal textures and more delicate things that were banned during the toddler years. So bring on the soothing glass, bright and delicate plants and interesting textures. (Some of which were used as play swords in a past life by two toddlers… )
So it all starts with: An old vase and greenery from Ikea, a mason jar, a decorative glass bowl from our wedding and decorative rocks.
And transforms into three eye catching pieces with very little effort and money.
The things I purchased were: Sea glass spray paint, succulents, cactus soil, matte white paint, rope from Lowe’s and decorative sea glass on clearance at Target.
The sea glass jar is self-explanatory but here are some tips for the other two. Let’s start with the succulent terrarium. I loved this project because I was able to get creative with the types of plants I was chasing. I spent a long time walking back and forth at Lowe’s to pick out the succulents that screamed “underwater plants!”. In the end I am so happy with how my seaweed looking succulents turned out.
Switching gears, it’s important to read up on how to properly plant a terrarium especially when you don’t have a drainage spot, like in this project. But the basics are:
- Make sure you put 2 inches of small rocks or pebbles at the bottom to allow the water to drain.
- Use a cactus/succulent soil that doesn’t retain moisture.
- Do not overwater
I’ve seen a few sites like this one (https://www.marthastewart.com/270756/succulents-terrariums) that recommends several hours of direct sunlight. But I don’t necessarily find that to be totally needed. Mine wasn’t very happy inside but has done wonderfully on our covered patio table.
Make sure when you do put your plants in that you use a light mist or low flow of water and get it just wet not soaked. And then only water it whenever it is dry. (I made the mistake of overwatering a couple times and a few of them started to rot).
If you are choosing to paint your vessel like I did I would HIGHLY suggest the sea glass spray paint from Krylon. It comes in a few different colors and has such as cool texture. And best of all you can make it as transparent as you want. The more layers you put on the more opaque it becomes. I wanted a really bright teal color so I did 3 coats.
Make sure you paint your vessel many days before you plan to put the plants in so it has time to fully dry. I also washed my vessel well before I planted.
Lastly, to the beach-i-fied vase. My original inspiration was from a woman on Pinterest who repurposed a lamp in a similar way using rope. http://vintagelaceandvinyl.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/before-after-nautical-lamp.html?m=1
But that is where the similarities ended. I had a black Ikea vase so I spray painted it with my go-to spray paint (Rustoleum paint+primer) and let it dry. Then I painted over that with a matte white acrylic paint that gave the vase a nice texture that reminded me of weathered boat docks. After all of that was dry I got out my trusty hot glue gun and got to work!
The rope was super cheap, .27 cents a foot. I ended up picking out a weathered looking rope at first but then later saw a smoother rope. Unfortunately the nice older gentleman was already working to straighten out and cut the mess of rope so I didn’t want to ask him to change.
My husband says he would have prefered a smoother rope so to compromise I didn’t go all the way up like I had planned. And I am happy with how it turned out. But I personally think taking the rope all the way up with a smoother textured rope could be super cute too! It’s your call. 😉
I chose to secure my rope at the bottom of the vase with hot glue and duct tape. And then glued the rope down every other loop, and again at the top. I looked for some tall enough sea grass but couldn’t find any that fit in the vase. So luckily I had the decorative greens from Ikea already.
So there you have it, some repurposing inspiration that won’t break the bank!
Happy Creating!