Making Over On A Budget!

Hi Folks! Do you remember this fountain??? Earlier in the summer it was on my front porch with sparkling glass stones inside and water trickling over the pineapple and off the little points beneath it.

Well, before long, the pump died (it was about 4 years old, so it was time!), and before I knew it had died, mosquitoes made a breeding ground out of the bit of water left inside. As you can also see, some of the outer covering was peeling off too, so, I emptied it, washed it, and left it to dry while I decided what to do with it.

I talked it over with my hubby, and we agreed that we could better afford a can of spray paint for about $5 than we could a new pump for, oh, maybe $20. In it's new life, it would be a birdbath! So I went on a shopping mission to find just the right paint.

I finally found it! Fusion paint (for plastics) in a 'brown hammered metallic' tone. But that poor fountain sat there, in the yard where I left it for, oh, about three weeks - yikes~!! But the other day inspiration struck, so I grabbed the can of paint and a scrub brush, and went outside. I scrubbed the loose paint and dirt off the outside, wiped it down well, and began to paint.

May I just say that I love it so much more in it's new life!!! Here, take a look for yourself!

The color isn't brown at all, but more of a light, silvery~goldy bronze. And it does have, when looking at it up close, a nice little hammered look to it. Right now I have it in the cleome jungle, but I'm not sure I'll leave it there for long.

Don't you just love it! The color is perfect amidst all the green, pink, purple, whites and yellows in the garden. And it was taken from kind of ugly to absolutely lovely with one can of paint.

And not even a whole can of paint! I had enough left over to paint this French flower bucket I bought at Restoration Hardware on clearance years ago >>>

AND, this planter that I bought at a yard sale a while back for $1, and it's new! (Love those deals!) >>>


Of course I couldn't stop at one can of paint - I had to pull out another can - this time periwinkle blue! Do you see that old plant stand??? The one that is now periwinkle??? I bought that at a yard sale, oh, probably 8-10 years ago and it was an ugly over-painted gold. I used it in the dining room at our old place. When we moved here, almost 6 years ago, it went into the garage, and that's where it's stayed. Now it has a new home here on the front porch.

I think it looks pretty good, what do you think? The periwinkle pops with the yellow walls, pink and white flowers and green foliage.

And I re-positioned all the potted plants on and around it - without the fountain this time. I just love that pop of color!

I also cleaned off the old TV tray, put on a new-old chicken feed sack cloth and set it up where we can play our new hobby - chess - out on the front porch.

I put an old wood step-stool behind it and put the magazines and citronella candle there. Mosquitoes just LOVE me, so I have to have something to ward them off!

So that was my makeover day, and the whole thing cost me about $10 - 11, just for the two cans of spray paint. You don't have to have a lot of money to make things nice! Just use a little creativity and a couple of cans of spray paint, and you've got a re-do!

Don't forget about my giveaway! Go back to this post and leave a comment and I'll add your name to the pot!

Have a great day, folks!!! Blessings, Becky

Front Porch Flowers - Update

The potted flowers on the front porch are coming happily along!

And the addition of glass stones to the fountain add a bit of sparkle in the sunshine!

And the trickle of water, the singing of birds, and the gentle tinkle of the wind chimes overhead . . .

makes for a wonderful place to relax!

I hope you find a quiet place to relax for a few minutes today! Blessings, Becky

Sunday Morning and Porch Progress

Hello Friends! I just wanted to update you on what I got done yesterday - which wasn't much - and share a few pictures with you. First, a couple of my favorite bloomers that are so pretty right now - bearded iris! The first one is peach, and so pretty! It was laying on the ground, so the stem grew crooked, and although I staked it up, it still looks kind of weird, but the bloom is still gorgeous!

See those water droplets all over it - we had some serious rain yesterday afternoon and last night. And in the next picture, take a look at the little tiny pool of water in it's throat - a perfect teardrop shape!

And this iris is probably one of my favorites - I don't know it's name, but I call it 'The Royal One' because of the burgundy bottom and golden top. The colors didn't come out that great here, but it's still just beautiful!

Here's a peek at my favorite spot in our house right now! I moved the white wicker rockers from the back porch to the front, washed the cushion covers (they are real feather pillows, covered with quilted covers that I got a couple of years ago at Homegoods), and decorated the little table.

I didn't get a bit of housework done yesterday when it was raining, because that wicker chair just kept calling my name! I spent quite a bit of time there reading and watching the birds and squirrels going about their business throughout the afternoon.

The table is just an old wooden TV tray, covered with a much older chicken feed sack that I've used for years as a picnic tablecloth. As you can see I have several of my favorite things! My binoculars and 'Birds of Georgia' book, and a pottery pitcher and small sugar bowl. The pitcher will hold cut flowers periodically, but right now it holds matches for the conveniently placed citronella candle, and the sugar bowl catches the burned matches. There's also a cute birdhouse and one of my latest treasures . . . . . . . . don't you just love the old post box??? I bought it at an antique store's yard sale for $10 a few weeks ago. I've put balled up papers in the bottom, and rolled up a few magazines for front porch reading material. The original label is still on the post box, and it was originally from Sweden. Someone apparently added the french horn decal later. It makes a great magazine holder!

I got several pots filled with flowers for the front porch yesterday before the rains started, but if you'll notice the blue pot inside the white basket, I was filling the basket with moss when the downpour started! I'm going to finish that today, and hopefully get a few more things potted before the rains start again tonight.

We've had the pineapple fountain for a few years now, but it was always on the back porch, and I didn't even start it last year. When I cleaned it before placing it on the front porch yesterday I had to get the dirt dauber's nest out of the center of the pineapple! It was kind of noisy at first, but once I got that cleaned out and fresh water inside, it is running like new, and the only sound is the trickling water - blissful!

I've got a few more pots to fill, and it seems I'll have to go get some more annuals to fill them with as I only have a few more left. The plants in those pots you see are pink and white geraniums, pale apple blossom pink and deeper pink double impatiens, asparagus fern, bacopa and caladiums. Can you see a theme there? I really lean to pinks, blues, purples and whites, but there are splashes of yellow, orange and red throughout the garden.

For the flower bucket, I placed a small flower pot upside down in the bottom, surrounded it with pea gravel, then topped it with a 1 gallon pot with the double impatiens. I'm trying to create a cascade of flowers and greenery around the fountain. It's not finished, but I'm definitely making progress!

Well, I guess I'd best get outside and do something, because we're supposed to have more rain and severe storms this evening. Tomorrow we have two doctors appointments for my dad, so it will probably be Tuesday before I get back with you. Have a great week! Becky