Rustic Plant Pots

Hello all!  I hope you are all doing okay, and staying safe and well.

It's time for a new challenge over at A Vintage Journey, and our wonderful host Astrid is looking for Rustic Charm.

You'll find all the challenge details over at A Vintage Journey, along with a wealth of rustic inspiration from some of the Creative Guides.  But before you go, let me show you my rustic plant pots.

Sometimes simplicity is all I want.  Despite my usual layers of mixed media complexity, the things I like to have around me tend towards the minimal, the simple, the rustic.

These altered pots make me so happy -particularly now they each have a plant of their own in (which you'll see at the end of the post).

I'll quickly show you some process photos and then share some pictures of the the finished pots in place.  Here they are in their original state.  As I said over at A Vintage Journey... cheap, shiny plastic.

First step was an undercoat of DecoArt Chalky Finish paint in Primitive (a nice stony colour).  I applied it with a natural sponge so you're already getting some nice texture to replace that plasticky sheen.

Next I used the same sponge to add the DecoArt Crackle Medium (formulated for the Chalky Finish paints) in various thicknesses and left that to dry overnight. 

Over that went a layer of mostly Everlasting (White) Chalky Finish, with a little of the Primitive mixed in at times, and once that had done its crackle magic I had this delicious aged, weathered finish.

The label stamps are from a giant set by Iron Orchid Designs.  They're not cheap, but I'm thinking that these stamps can be used to alter all sorts of things from pots to jars to boxes and more to make some really saleable items, so I'm definitely thinking of them as an investment.

I considered stamping direct, but in the end took the safe option of stamping onto tissue paper and glueing it down with some matte medium.  Already happy!

Time for a bit of garden distressing now... and we're back to the natural sponge to apply three shades of PaperArtsy Fresco Finish green, building from Hey Pesto to Lawn to Winter Green.

Over time, I'm sure they'll gather some more earthy colour quite naturally, so I didn't bother adding that myself!

I already love how they look amongst the terracotta and white (earthy, dirty white!) pots which are housing our flourishing herb and vegetable plants.

Each of the labels is different, of course, and with my undying love of different vintage fonts and historical detailing, I'm so pleased I splashed out on these stamps.

I already have plans for some of the endless glass jars I've been hoarding!

The two larger pots are about 5 inches tall and across, and the smaller ones are about 3.5 inches.

Even where I managed to glue the tissue paper on completely crookedly, I still like the imperfection... This one would go in the "Seconds" section in the pottery shop (where I would happily buy it at a reduced price!).

I love the weathered crackle, which I think gives them a really good stony look.

And those mossy greens work beautifully against the real greens of the surrounding plants.

Now they have plants in, they make me even happier!  Some of these are only temporary... the tomato seedlings will have to move into bigger pots quite soon.  I'll just have to get some more seeds going, won't I?!

I'm really happy with the rustic simplicity of these.  I have a feeling some more plastic pots might be meeting a similar fate pretty soon.  It's very satisfying to do.

Do hop over to A Vintage Journey to see the Rustic Charm created by my fellow Creative Guides.  We hope you'll be inspired to join us somewhere down the road this month with some charming rustic creations of your own.  In the meantime, thank you so much for stopping by today.  Stay safe, stay well, and I'll see you again soon.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Leonardo da Vinci

Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Albert Einstein

I would like to share these at the Bleeding Art Challenge where the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes all the time
The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge would like you to Make Your Own Background - the weathered crackle is a simple background, but it's the right one to showcase these stamps I think
At the More Mixed Media Challenge the theme is Anything Goes + Optional Purple - I'm not taking up the option yet, but I will try to later in the month
There's another Anything Mixed Media Goes opportunity at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog

Perching on a branch...

Hello everyone, and welcome.  I seem to have the bit between my teeth with springtime makes... and with a new Artistic Outpost set to play with, there'll be no stopping me now!


This tag uses the wonderful Birds of a Feather set (I blame the brilliant Tracy Evans and her beautiful makes with these stamps for me giving in to my "need" for them!) as well as some fir branch offcuts I picked up on a recent outing to some beautiful woodland gardens.


I was inspired by these amazing creations by Rachel Dein of the Tactile Studio, which some of you may have seen on my Pinterest boards... but while hers are created as plaster casts of natural elements (probably more long-lasting), I've got the real thing under mine!












I started by gluing the fir fronds onto the tag with lots of multi medium, adding a good coating over the top too, and then covering the whole thing with thick gesso.














I dabbed on the gesso, creating a textured look over the whole surface of the tag, and also making it easier to get right down into the textures of the fir. 










Next step was to add some shading with Pan Pastels and, before I knew it, I'd returned the fronds to green...  














Didn't really mean to, but there we go!

The bird is stamped in Potting Soil archival...















... and I added some of the Gothic font text in Olive around the edges (Gothic book print - another reason I was besotted with this stamp set!).










With the words "feathers" and "perches" involved, the Emily Dickinson quote from the Quote & Quotables set was an obvious addition, but I'm afraid I had to cut off her name in order for it to fit on the snippet of rusty mesh I had in my offcuts box.










The little wooden hearts are by Studio Calico, and I think the tiny buttons came from the UHK Gallery.  No rhyme or reason to them really, they just felt like the right thing.













Lots of crinkly seam binding to top it off, with a touch of Walnut Stain and Gathered Twigs Distress Ink... 









... as well as a little touch of inking around the edges, and another springtime tag takes its place in the world.

I fear it may be a rather ephemeral creation - I've no idea at what rate the fir branches will rot, or indeed whether they will or not.  So enjoy it while it's here... a pretty good motto for more than just this tag, wouldn't you say?!

Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.
Somerset Maugham



I'd like to enter this into the Textured Backgrounds theme over at the Stampotique Designers Challenge, where I was thrilled to be honoured as a favourite pick for my monochromatic shreds and patches last week.

And at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge they're playing Tag It, so I'd like to drop it in there too.