Industrial Milk Can turned Side Table

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Roeshel

I’ve had old industrial milk can laying around, collecting dust (cobwebs too) just waiting for a fun DIY and repurposing it for a fun side table to add some charm to the patio seemed like just the right idea.

Materials I used:

found industrial milk can
black paint + primer in one
FrogTape® MultiSurface
round wicker-like tray (also found…thrift store, I think)

What I did:

I like the distressed/dinged up paint finish but it needed a little pizazz. I gave it a good cleaning, then using FrogTape, I added some bold stripes.

A spider crawled out of that hole too! Yikes! Once that was taken care of, using my thumbnail, I burnished the edges of the FrogTape to ensure crisp clean stripes.

I applied two coats of black paint. Paint. Dry. Paint.

Right after I applied the second coat, while the paint was still wet, I carefully removed the FrogTape then let the paint dry.

Secure a tray using whatever method you find best (glue and clamps, screws, etc.), (a round wooden table top or an old clock would be cool too) and ta-da! A fun side table for our patio:

I added in some coordinating accent pillows and I have a fun new look to a usually neutral area. The old industrial milk can is a great conversation starter too.

LOVE IT! Have you added any fun elements to your outdoor areas this summer?

*I received compensation to complete this project for using FrogTape® products. All opinions, projects and ideas are based on my own experience.

Feeding Flowers

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Roeshel

How does your garden grow? It’s nearly August and it feels like summer has finally arrived. Hot days! I normally wouldn’t want to answer questions about my flowers this time of year. But this year is very different! Remember the gorgeous flowers I planted in the pallet garden in the spring (here)? I’m proud to say that they’re still producing blooms and happiness on the patio! I began with using my Miracle-Gro Liquafeeder to fertilize my flower gardens.

Did you know that feeding your flowers all summer long will provide more, bigger and longer lasting blooms as well as help plants thrive throughout the heat of the hot summer months? I didn’t. It’s not something I’ve ever done. Perhaps the reason for my past flower-fails. Now you know too!

Just add the Miracle-Gro Liquafeeder to an outdoor spigot. Attach the hose. Pop in the Liquafeed, push the bottle upright, turn the dial to “feed” and you’re ready to go!

I’ve been giving my lovely flowers a yummy treat of Bloom Booster via the Miracle-Gro Liquafeeder every 7-14 days.

The flowers in the pallet garden as well as several flower pots, window boxes and container gardens are ALL bursting with blooms! One I even thought…”oh, no flowers, that plant’s done, but at least the greenery is still all healthy” only to wake up a day or two later to another “bloom explosion”! No doubt the “Bloom Booster” works! If you can water your flowers, you can feed them too! Easy peasy!

And where you simply see green above? There are so many buds just waiting to bloom! Want a few more months of pretty blooms from your summer flowers? Now you know what to do too. Good luck!

If it waters, now it feeds with Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® Universal Feeder. It’s a great tool to help you reach your gardening goals by providing the essential nutrients your plants need to thrive all season long.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro. The opinions and text are all mine.

Flower Pallet Garden

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Roeshel

This year I wanted to give my pallet garden a new look. It’s the third year we’ve been using it and it’s still in great shape. The Project Garden campaign was the perfect opportunity for a little assistance. Since we entertain outdoors often in the summer months, I really wanted to add color and pretty blooms to our patio area rather than herbs this time around.

Miracle-Gro’s® latest product innovation, Liquafeed® Universal Feeder, makes feeding as easy as watering.

We simply installed the Liquafeed® Universal to our outdoor spigot, then screwed on our hose. Then just pop in a bottle of MiracleGro feed.

Down position when not in use. Up when feeding.

There’s also a handy water/feed switch so the Liquafeed® Universal can remain in place.

We planted the flowers then soaked the soil with using the Liquafeed® Universal attached to the hose on the mist or shower setting, the same as when I’m watering.

I water my flowers every evening then flip the switch to feed every other week for bigger, more beautiful plants. Feed every 7-14 days with Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food or Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster Flower Food to help plants grow bigger and more beautiful versus unfed plants.

Flowers can be quite the investment and a risky one if your track record isn’t so great with plants, like mine. I want to make sure these beauties thrive all season long!

Oh my goodness! Gorgeous!

Spilling out like flower gardens on a European balcony but it’s really just a vertical pallet garden in western PA. 😉

I am in love with these bright colored impatiens and happy begonias! Stunning, right?

Get tips for making your own vertical pallet garden tutorial HERE.

Do you have a green thumb? Any helpful tips for maintaining beautiful plants? My new favorite flowers are impatiens. How about you?

FAQ’s about the LiquaFeed Universal

More information about the LiquaFeed Universal Starter Kit

*If it waters, now it feeds with Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® Universal Feeder. It’s a great tool to help you reach your gardening goals by providing the essential nutrients your plants need to thrive all season long.

*Miracle-Gro® sponsored this blog post. The opinions and text are all mine.

Decorating Outdoor Living Spaces

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Roeshel

Summer is my favorite season of all – warm weather, long days and relaxing outdoors. We enjoy our patio, gazebo/grape arbor and barn patio area more than being indoors this time of the year. And I love decorating our outdoor living spaces just as much as I love decorating indoors.

Pops of color: Because I love to change things up every year, I find that keeping larger furniture pieces neutral works best since we tend to use them for 10 years or more at a time and to decorate with colorful accents.

Planting flowers breathes life and color into outdoor living areas. This year it’s shades of yellows, oranges, pinks and reds.

Colorful accent pillows are an invitation to get comfy and kick back with a frosty glass of lemonade. I like lots of pillows to soften things up.

Decorative accents:

Fun planters add a whimsical touch. (pallet, chandelier, tire)…

I recently spray painted a colander to add balance to the planters displayed in our magnolia tree …

Repurposed items add interest. (bird feeder, bundt pan, birdie garland)…

Furniture placement:

I love creating different cozy conversational areas like under the grape arbor for catching up with friends on this little bistro set…

swinging with the baby…

or positioning our canopied porch swing into a daybed position for curling up with a good book or a sweet pup…

al fresco dining near the kitchen door and grill…

areas to encourage conversation…

The flowers in my pallet garden have sprouted but aren’t visible yet.

For entertaining, we set up a buffet on the harvest table at our barn area with outdoor games in the yard near by. We add rental tables and chairs in the shade for large gatherings, a smaller comfortable area for more intimate parties. I haven’t tackled de-winterizing yet, but here’s now it usually looks all cleaned up…

To celebrate the start of summer we have an AWESOME Sensational Summer Outdoor Spaces Cash Giveaway for you! Enter to win $300 PayPal CASH!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit more outdoor spaces/outdoor living inspiration from these talented blog friends:

Setting for Four

Sand and Sisal

Domestically Speaking

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Cupcakes and Crinoline

Town and Country Living

And a link party too! Share your summer related blog posts, browse the links for more inspiration!
OH! And you’re going to need this for your outdoor living areas too! Chemical-free DIY outdoor spray. I just whipped up a batch for my mosquito-magnet hubby and love that I can use it on the dog too!

Patio Umbrella Table Planter/Centerpiece

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Roeshel

Love accessorizing the patio with flowers? me too! This repurposed bundt/coffee cake pan works perfectly for the center of our patio table.

Materials:

bundt cake pan (be sure the center hole can accommodate your umbrella). I used this coffee cake pan (affiliate link).
RustOleum spray paint
FrogTape
flowers, plants or succulents and potting soil

The tutorial is pretty self explanatory: I simply gave the outside a coat of spray paint, taped off and painted some stripes for a fun look. I also poked holes into the bottom of the pan to allow for drainage. Then simply added some flowers.

Line the planter up with the hole in the table, insert umbrella through the center of the bundt pan.

Since our patio is right off the kitchen, we spend a lot of time dining, entertaining or just relaxing outside when the weather cooperates. How about you?

Outdoor Bistro Set Before and After

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Roeshel

With summer right around the corner, it’s time to spruce up outdoor seating areas. The oil rubbed bronze of this bistro set matched everything nicely but it’s just so brown and tired.

Before:

Originally it was a $15 yard sale score, ivory and rusty.

Wayyyyy before…

Here it is better staged in our grape arbor/gazebo recycled brick patio/pathway reveal, but it gets lost…

Here’s what I did:

Remove the glass top. A little sanding of the rusty spots, a good wipe down (Yes! That’s Young Living Thieves household cleaner)…

and one can of Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2X in navy (don’t forget your mask)!, a day of dry time….

…then re-insert glass, top with a couple of homemade cushions and I’m loving the new pop of color.

After:

Much happier, isn’t it? Do you have some tired old boring outdoor furniture ready for a re-freshening?

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Category Archives: Patio Accents