Today is brought to you by the letter 'V'

I haven't 'done' Valentine's Day for many years; however, I am attending training with 15 really wonderful women and I decided that I wanted to make them a special Valentine's Day gift.  I have a greenhouse full of overgrown aloe vera plants that need new homes so I decided that each lady will receive a newly potted plant.  I couldn't pot them up in just any old container...no, my mind is much more creative than that. With the help of my son, Andy, I fancied up terra cotta pots with chalkboard paint, liquid chalk, stamps, and chalk ink pads to create a unique gift for each person. 
I love this paint...it's acrylic and cleans up with soap and water
Pot plus foam brush plus chalkboard paint equals...fun!
Andy applies the first coat of paint (it takes a minimum of 2 and then a 24 hour cure time).





Waiting for decorations
Overview of all materials used
Potting soil

 Terracotta pot, foam brush, and chalkboard paint

Regular chalk (my grandchildren's sidewalk chalk) and liquid chalk (chalkink.com)

Something to plant in (makes things neater)

First one decorated

Ready to plant...added a barrier to stop soil from falling out. I use my old fabric softener sheets.

Added the soil

Separating baby aloes from the mother plant

This looks like a good candidate!

Newly potted aloe

Things do get a little messy

5 down...12 to go!
UPDATE:  The aloe pots were a great hit!  I even got orders for more plants.  I will get my greenhouse cleaned out yet!  We even got to use one of the plants when a client had a bad reaction to getting her eyebrows waxed.  Nothing was soothing it so I broke off a stem and put aloe on it.  It cooled right down!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CC3C #3

Image
Here I am again with the third project in this challenge using a faux tea rose. We are not posting instructions on the techniques of the challenge in order to insure that people who want to learn buy Tim Holtz' fabulous book from where we get all our inspiration! I skipped #2 because it used a product that I did not own and I have vowed to not purchase any more art supplies until I make a good dent in those that I already own.  However, this week's challenge is sponsored by Inspiration Emporium .  If I win the $50 gift certificate, I can buy enough new products to ensure I never have to skip a challenge again! On to the Challenge! Products used: Distress Ink pads in forest moss and frayed burlap, Distress Paints in bundled sage and picket fence, Ranger's Archival Ink in Jet Black, Ranger's Inkssentials Glossy Accents, My stash: 6X6 chipboard panel, hand-dyed paper, sage ribbon, quote stamp. Painted chipboard with Bundled Sage distress paint, went over with p
Read more

Altered Clogs using Stencils with Texture Paste

Image
I suffer from neuropathy and often have a difficult time walking.  I'm always looking for shoes that are comfortable and also supply enough support.  I had a pair of clogs that I wore when I was going through Esthetics training...the typical 'nurses' shoe.  I know the saying goes that we can wear white after Memorial Day, but trust me...no one should wear white clogs unless the occasion warrants it. Today's picture tutorial shows how I altered my training clogs into a stylish pair of gardening clogs. The original shoes are very white and made of some type of poly material.  Ranger's Distress Paints are permanent once they are dry so I decided that would be the way to go to paint my shoes. I decided to go with three shades that would bring a woodsy, natural look.  I started with Walnut Stain Distress Paint.  It took a couple of coats to get the desired coverage. I used  Forest Moss as my  second color and Bundled Sage around the band at
Read more

CC3C #7 Painted Industrial

Image
OK...so you may have noticed that the previous post said CC3C #4 and this one is #7.  Where did #5 and #6 go?  Remember how I said that I was not going to purchase any additional supplies this year? Well, if I don't have everything I need to complete a challenge, then I skip it and hope I can participate in the next one. So, Hurrah! I had everything I needed to complete this wonderful Painted Industrial challenge and I really love this technique.  In fact, I thought my soon-to-be 11 year old grandson would love it, too so my project is his birthday card.  He reads incessantly (and NOBODY is complaining about that!) so I thought he would enjoy a tag bookmark that matched the card. I hope you enjoy this project. If you would like more information on the techniques we are working through, purchase Tim Holtz' latest book, Compendium of Curiosities III...he will even sign it for you if you buy though this link ! Each odd-numbered challenge is sponsored by Inspiration Emporium
Read more