Flower Fountain Planter

Isn’t she a beauty?

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

This flowering fountain is my favorite planter so far and after looking back, I’ve done a lot of planters over the years…and we joke that I have the complete opposite of a green thumb. Pffft. The DIYShowOff vault is filled with proof (below) that I’m not THAT terrible a gardener. Right? Right.

Okay, onto this year’s planter project….she’s so pretty! A mix of something old, living breathing beauty and a new topper. 

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

When we bought this old neglected house just about exactly ten years ago, we found pieces of an old fountain in the tall overgrown grass. Or maybe it was weeds or what might have been a garden at one time…but it was like finding buried treasure! And for 10 years, I’ve wanted to do something with ‘her’ but she sort of just sat discarded in that same overgrown area (and that little fenced in mess, well that’s a project for another time) or up against a hidden area of the house as a last priority. Forgotten. 

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

I bet this rusty, chippy fountain was stunning back in her heyday with her beautiful curves. I imagine she had a bubbling personality with lots of feathered friends. 

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

This year, Russ hefted those cast iron pieces out from hiding and cleaned them up and a plan was hatched. He drilled holes into the basin bottoms and sprayed the interior basin areas with a rubber/latex coating. 

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

Then he assembled it, using a cyclone fence pipe to anchor and secure it into place. 

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoffWhat a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

We filled the basins with potting soil, plants and flowers. 

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoffWhat a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoffWhat a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

Looking good, old girl! It’s worn and old and the top wasn’t quite what it used to be (not sure what it looked like back in it’s prime, but I love that we didn’t spray paint it solid. 

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

Then I remembered that I had a decorative artichoke-type accent. It’s resin and perhaps a temporary topper but it’s secured with a blog of concrete (still wet in photos but dried to a lighter shade…still, imperfectly perfect although I may give it a little white-washing) and I AM IN LOVE! Isn’t she beautiful? Isn’t she lovely?

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

How old do you think she is? I’d guess at least 50-60. The imperfections of age give this girl some history. Just imagine the stories she could tell of homeowners past.

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

She looks like a beautiful tiered cake with luscious flowering/fruit decorations to me!

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

Those laugh lines and wrinkles. She’s just as striking today as she once was. At least to a lover of worn and vintage treasures like me. What do you think?

What a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoffWhat a treasure! Check out this beautiful cast iron flower fountain in all of her chippy glory! @diyshowoff

Like creative planters? Me too! Check out these past DIYShowOff projects:

chandelier planter

DIYShowOff chandelier planter

pallet herb garden

free standing pallet herb garden

tire planter

tire flower planter decor How to make a tire flower planter @DIYShowOff

patio umbrella (bundt cake pan) planter

patio umbrella table planter/centerpiece (repurposed bundt pan) @diyshowoff

 

tea cup succulents

tea cup succulent planters at diyshowoff.com

stenciled flower pots

stacked ombre flower pots tutorial

sisal rope planters

DIY sisal rope wrapped terra cotta planters tutorial at diyshowoff.com

house number flower pots

house number flower pots

creative planter ideas @diyshowoff 

Summer Cookout Planning: Raspberry Lime {essential oil infused} Popsicles

 

summer cookout raspberry lime essential oil infused popsicle recipe

SUMMERRRRRRRR! It’s my most favorite season of the year! WOOO HOOOO! Break out the sandals and sunglasses and crank up the Kenny Chesney playlist. SUMMER is almost here! For me, Memorial Day is my unofficial official start to summer so let’s start kick off the count down with inspiration for planning your summer cookout with Young Living essential oils. Just so happens, your oily blog friends have organized a fun Summer CookOut event with a blog hop & Facebook party!diyshowoff raspberry lime popsicle recipesummer cookout with young living essential oils

*I’ve included affiliate links where indicated. 

So, my husband is the one who does the cooking around here. I can’t wait to pas along the recipes. (Not that I can’t cook! He just really enjoys it, so who am I to argue? It’s all yours, babe!) Anyway, here is a recipe that ANYONE can do. No cooking or baking skills required! 

raspberry lime Vitality popsicles

Raspberry Lime {essential oil infused} Popsicles Recipe

Plan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoff

So, your cook out is a blast! Everyone’s hot and ready to take a break from the bean bag toss, shooting the breeze, horseshoes, splashing in the pool, tumbling on the trampoline and freeze tag. Let’s skip the high sugar content/color dye frozen treats and serve up a batch of super cool Raspberry Lime {essential oil infused of course} Popsicles instead! 

Plan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoff 

Here is what I did…

Plan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoff

Blend: I blended both parts listed below INDIVIDUALLY in my Magic Bullet blender.

RASPBERRY PUREÉ

1 c. frozen raspberries // 2 tbs. water // splash of sweetener to taste (I used agave syrup)

LIME eo infused YOGURT

 1 c. organic vanilla yogurt // 10 drops give or take Young Living Lime Vitality essential oil // optional: tsp. lime juice

Assemble: I used silicone popsicle molds but you could use stainless steel OR paper dixie cups

Add a few fresh raspberries,

essential oil popsicle recipe

fill mold 3/4 way with lime/yogurt mixture, top off with raspberry puree. Don’t forget to insert the wooden popsicle sticks / handles.

Freeze: I froze mine for about 24 hours (made the day before, frozen overnight and eaten the next afternoon) then removed them from the silicone molds. A double recipe shown below in the freezer. Recipe above makes 4 pops.

Plan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoff

Decorate: Garnish with fresh raspberries and lime slices…it’s perfect to have them on hand for your essential oil infused ice water! 

Plan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoffPlan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoff Plan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoff

Wouldn’t it be fun carrying out a tray of these at your next summer cookout? Or how about that summer time Essential Oils 101 or fun make & take this summer? You’ll be the COOLEST hostess ever! 

Plan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoffPlan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoff

Ps. Lime is my most favorite Vitality essential oil! Lime IS summer ZING! I add it to my ice water, my Ningxia Red and Zyng and how about a mojito?! Oh yea! Then there’s garden fresh tomatoes and homemade salsa. And don’t forget the margarita popcorn too!

margarita popcorn recipe

I know it sounds like a strange combo but oh my goodness! It’s so good! 

Plan Your Summer Cookout: Raspberry Lime essential oil infused Popsicles recipe @diyshowoffraspberry lime frozen yogurt

MORE ideas & recipes:  Okay, onto the SUMMER COOKOUT SERIES! Let’s see what our favorite oily bloggers have whipped up! Then don’t forget to stop and hang out with us ‘virtually’ at the SUMMER COOKOUT FACEBOOK EVENT tonight at 9 p.m. EST.

summer cookout essential oil recipes

Visit these sweet blog friends and their amazing recipes & ideas:

Key Lime Thumbprint Cookies at UnSkinny Boppy

Sparkling Lavender Lemonade at One Project Closer

Cowboy Caviar with Lime Oil Dressing at Making Lemonade Blog

Fruit Kabobs with Citrus Dip at One Project Closer

Raspberry Lime Popsicles at DIY Show Off 

BLT Salad with Creamy Lemon Chive Dressing at Weeknight Dish

Tuscan Pasta Salad at Shaken Together

Orange Smoothie at Here Comes the Sun

Grilled Chicken with Citrus + Ginger Marinade at The Turquoise Home

Citronella Candles at Practically Functional

Speaking of cooling off this summer, check out this DIY Cooling Mist too!

Keep calm & cool off! DIY cooling spray @diyshowoff 

DIYShowOff welcome bundle: Friends, lime, essential oils and sunshine! YOU NEED them!  Get the Premium Starter Kit (11 essential oils + diffuser +  samples and more) HERE and I’ll personally send you the DIYShowOff welcome bundle which includes my favorite educational material, a SECOND DIFFUSER while supplies last. *US friends only. 

essential oils @diyshowoff

 

 

Claim by ordering the Premium Starter Kit using enroller/sponsor #1836762! 

 

Backyard Wedding Ideas

One of my best friends is getting married this summer! Celeste and I have been friends since 7th grade. We won’t discuss how many years ago that was! haha! Her wedding will be small, no more than 45 guests on August 20th. Our gazebo is the perfect spot for a for a small intimate wedding ceremony. 

Looking for summer entertaining ideas? Check out the #michaelsmakers summer party challenge @diyshowoff

Michaels’ Makers June Challenge: Summer Party.  A backyard wedding is the perfect fit for the June challenge. I got a big head start with ideas by browsing the aisles at Michaels. Celeste’s wedding colors are turquoise and purple and I’m having so much fun adding pops of color to our lush landscape. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

It’s always a challenge for me to decorate for someone else, infusing THEIR style rather than my own. Since this is Celeste’s special day, I wanted to add decorative touches that reflect her style. Here are a few ideas from my ‘dress rehearsal’ over the weekend. But I have plenty of time to tweak, add, take away and work on creating a setting for making happy memories. There will be a white tent for shade and chairs for comfort…well as comfy as folding chairs can be; hors d’oeuvres and bubbles too and more planters, flowers and landscape work as we get into summer. In the meantime, here’s my starting point and a few ideas for hosting a small outdoor wedding ceremony. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

Decorations:

• Aqua/turquoise painted flower pots (or tire planter and chandelier planter in my case) filled with purple flowers. I do this every summer anyway so coordinating my flowers and planters with her wedding colors works well. Last year I did reds, yellows and oranges. This year it’s all about shades of purple in aqua and turquoise planters and pots. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

• Decorative Letter Accent: I LOVE these circle wooden letters. I painted a “J” in her wedding colors (aged with a trans-tint dye technique). I wasn’t able to capture how colorful this truly is in real life in a photo. But it’s a pretty personalized gift that doubles as a decorative accent. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

• Michaels’ has SO many fun party decorations to choose from. Paper lanterns, paper fans, tissue paper honeycomb ornaments and poufs. I love the colors! I displayed them in the grape arbor/gazebo for this blog post but they’ll decorate a white tent with outdoor lights on the big day. Take a look at the outdoor lighting options Michaels’ provides too: pretty string lights, flameless candles, and my favorite solar options!

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

• Banner: Check out the wedding aisle at Michaels’ for adorable “Mr. & Mrs.” and other wedding banners. Mine is a DIY “LOVE” banner at the top of a curved gazebo frame … perfect for a photo opportunity. I’m going to layer it with a lavender and light aqua rag banner behind the l-o-v-e letters, around the top of the gazebo.

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakerspretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

• Silk flowers around the grape arbor will add some color and romance to the greenery.

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakerspretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

Chalkboard signs: So many to choose from. I love this framed chalkboard easel for instructing guests to take their “thank you gift”. One near the road to direct guests. One with their names and wedding date. I like having chalkboards on hand for labeling, designating areas, instructions, etc. for guests at parties. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

Party Favors: Michaels’ is the place to go for wedding favors. The best selection of little containers (glass jars with flip top lids or corks, heart shaped tins, cute cardboard boxes) for candy or in our case, lavender bath salts. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakerspretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

Lavender Bath Salt recipe: Mix 1/4 cup of epsom salt with 3-5 drops of lavender essential oil into a mason jar. Shake and pour into glass container, top with a “thank you” sticker (included with the glass containers), embellish with coordinating decorative tape and ribbon. 

Since it’s an outdoor ceremony in August, I’m also going to create some hand held paper fans for guests by printing the bride & groom’s names, wedding date, a poem or bible verse onto card stock or scrapbook paper, cutting out a pretty and functional shape then glueing to a large wooden popsicle stick. 

Flowers: Silk flowers are budget-friendly and long lasting. If not for the bride’s bouquet, a great option for the “bouquet toss” at the reception, decor or a pretty accent to a table. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

Unity Candle: Michaels’ has a section designated to a stunning collection of unity candles or create your own set from the candle aisle with a pillar and two tapered candle sticks. Crystal holders and a beautiful charger complete the look. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

Refreshments: An August outdoor afternoon wedding ceremony calls for serving ice water and a few refreshments. A special occasion calls for glass. I love these mini glass jugs and coordinating straws. Any suggestions for finger foods? Dinner and reception are at another location later in the afternoon. 

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakerspretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

Are you hosting a summer party? Entertaining guests? There’s so much to celebrate during this time of year! End of school parties, graduation, Father’s Day, Independence Day, birthdays, backyard BBQs and more.

pretty backyard wedding ideas for celebrating your special day outdoors @diyshowoff #michaelsmakers

For more summer party ideas: From paper crafts, party goods and baking supplies to new outdoor lighting, glass and floral, Michaels is your DIY destination for all of your summer celebrations.

Looking for summer entertaining ideas? Check out the #michaelsmakers summer party challenge @diyshowoff

Be sure to check out all of the other Michaels Makers DIY summer party ideas on the Michaels blog.

Visit these talented blog friends starting at 11 p.m. CST for more summer party inspiration:

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