DIY Gold-leaf Agate Bookends

I think I get bogged down trying to do blog posts that cover the grand scale renovation projects and thats why it takes ages for me to publish them.  I'm always editing them down trying to be sleeker, less-wordy, more sophisticated, to generate some idealized version of myself to put out there.  Well news flash: thats not how I am, in real life I'm verbose, project oriented, and tenacious about the little details.  ANYWAY here I made you this thing. 

DIY Gold-leaf Agate Bookends.

Its exactly what it sounds like.  I've always been a collector of pebbles, shells, and curios, so when I saw Agate slice bookends showing up a few years ago I knew I wanted a pair.  I prowled my favorite thrift stores back in Maryland until this lovely natural pair popped up for only a few dollars!

They needed a little more glam to lift them from ordinary to extraordinary so gold it was.

I forgot to take a photo before I started the project..blogger fail, but basically the outside edges were just plain stone.  First I taped off the cut sides with quality blue painters tape, you don't want to risk edge bleeds here.

I went for quality metallic gold spray paint from Rust-oleum, I've had mixed results attempting to give a metallic finish to smooth items in the past, (plastic or stainless steel) but on a rough surface like rock it works quite well.

Let the paint dry, I recommend two thin coats, then peal the tape off of the cut edges and you're all set!

My assistant..

-Nikki

Building a Terrarium - DIY

I love plants, I think every room can be improved by some living color, but I killed the first few plants I ever had.  Basically I over-loved them with too much water, bad planting, and not looking into the basic requirements for their survival.   

One of my worst plant murders was the planting of succulents in a "cutesy" terrarium, this is a popular look right now, but it goes against the natural environment these plants thrive in.  Succulents and cacti prefer low-humidity, more arid conditions, to be deeply watered in the growing season, but left alone when dormant, the opposite of a terrarium.

So after finding a large glass jar with cork lid I started looking for moisture loving, medium light plants.

I used white stones on the bottom and then a clean dust sheet to keep the soil from falling through.

I added a layer of perlite, and a little soil, then pulled out all the tiny plants I'd picked out.  This is the moment I realized that the mini orchid was still way to big, I returned it.  I added soil and figured out the plant arrangement. 

Pretty! 

Once the plants are arranged give it a good watering, this will also help clean the dirt from the sides and leaves.  I let mine sit for a day then popped the cork in.  Ideally these plants will thrive and the only time I'll need to open the jar would be to prune if things get too big.

Finished!

I love terrariums for the rare occasions when I can cheat and open the lid,  the smell inside takes me strait to a lush rain-forest.  Since this was a thrifted jar and tiny plants the whole project cost less than $15.

- Nicole

Frugal Decorating DIY: Recovering chair seats.

When looking for secondhand furniture try to keep an open mind, don't be distracted by the color or finish of a piece, those things are easy to change.
In this case we found these MCM chairs for free on Gumtree, they were kinda gross and wobbly but now they are clean and waxed with fresh seat covers.  Here is my little tutorial on how to give a fresh new look to some beat up old chairs for under £5.