Pinterest - Inspiration Overload

Don't get me wrong; I love Pinterest.  So many creative things, so much inspiration, so much information, such an efficient way to waste spend hours.  Problem: it's too easy to just keep pinning and not actually DO anything but drool over all the cool stuff everyone else is doing.

I have a new strategy for Pinterest -  Just Do It.   I'm trying to do one project a week from my boards.  If this doesn't work, I'll have to haul in the big guns - the thrift store strategy - can't buy one if you aren't willing to get rid of one.  That would mean  no more pinning unless there is some movement on the doing.   I'm trying to avoid that drastic approach!

So, when I saw this pin, I knew I had my Just Do It project:

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Check out this blog for all kinds of great garden inspiration

 

 

I love terra cotta pots and the saucers - oy, do I have a thing for the saucers!   A quick project that doesn't require new supplies ?  Sweet!!

 

I hauled out all my pots and saucers and just started stacking them until I got an arrangement that I liked. 

 

 

 

I'm really glad I didn't throw away the top of my broken terra cotta pumpkin - it makes the perfect topper to my tower.  The bottom circular pot has a big chip, but it's hidden in the foliage.  Another benefit to this project - some of those old chipped up pots get a second life.



 

 

I found a few tiny pots at a yard sale to top off this one.

 

Aren't these fun?

Yard Sale Treasures

 

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Yippee! It's yard sale season !   The Captain is a good sport, getting up early, making to-go coffee, and being driver and hauler of treasures.  In my experience yard sales  follow the rule of extremes - either lots of great stuff at reasonable prices or yucky, tacky stuff wildly overpriced.  My rule is to "shop up" - find great neighborhoods and usually they are selling  great stuff to make room for even better stuff.   We make a morning of it and usually end up at the farmer's market where The Captain gets rewarded for his patience with some breakfast treat.

 

We hit a couple of great sales this weekend.  As soon as we drove up to the first house and I saw some great architectural elements in the gardens, I started hyperventilating.   It was a sale of possibilities - broken bits of old furniture, pieces of architectural elements, gears, wheels and rust - lots of lovely old rust.

 

Here are my treasures and their new incarnations:

 The swirly cast iron pieces are now part of the deck décor:

 

 

This sweet chair back, complete with lots of detail and old chippy green paint looks at home in one of the gardens.

 

 

 

 



Not really sure where this chair will live, but it's in great shape, was only $10, and has potential - a new seat cushion, maybe even a new color and it will be a star.

 

 



 

I love Bennington Pottery.  We used to live dangerously  close to their factory store.  Of course I could not resist this gorgeous greeny-blue set - and only $1.00.  I'm enjoying my morning cup of joe in the hand-painted china mug from Germany.  It was  pricey - $3.00 !

 

 

And pretty sure you can't have too many ocean-inspired dishes:

 

 

But, the piece de resistance - a terra cotta cloche pot. I've been scouring online for one, inspired by some I saw in gardens we visited in Scotland:

 

 

Turns out they aren't that easy to find, and most are considered "vintage", which we all know is code for  "we can charge even more for these".   I'm at the yard sale where I got the garden goodies and while digging through old terra cotta pots,  look what I found:

 

 

Did you hear me squealing?   Holy moly, what a little beauty and clearly the find of the day - maybe even the year.  Oh, and it was $5.00 - I'm a lucky ducky for sure.

 

 

I have it settled into a spot that I can see from my rocking chair, so I can gaze on it every morning, drink my coffee, and marvel at my good fortune!  It's so sweet I almost don't notice  that the garden could use some weeding.