terra cotta pot mushrooms

my favorite seasonal decor is the kind that happens

when i'm just playing around with things in my studio - and an idea hits me.

i love using things in ways OTHER than how they were intended to be used,

both indoors and out.

these terra cotta pot mushrooms are one of the easiest things i've made,

and they are a perfect spring accent for your home AND garden spaces.

continue reading for an insanely easy tutorial to make your own versions!

upcycled garden 'bee cups'

this project may not fall within my usual 'seasonal home decor' category,

but it certainly fits my 'use what you have' philosophy!

have you heard of 'bee cups'?

created to provide a safe fresh water source for garden pollinators,

they're a hot item among naturalists and gardeners here in the West...

with our drought conditions, access to water is important to every living thing.

i've seen several versions of 'bee cups' for sale,

and one day as i was taking care of a task at home, a very simple item

(that was about to be trash) caught my eye - and this project is the result!

continue reading to see what i used (if you haven't figured it out yet!)...

junky bloomz!

'reduce reuse recycle' is the leitmotif of my design & decor approach...

i'd much rather use what i already have on hand here at home

than 'buy more, store more, discard more'.

by using what i have, i'm challenging my own creativity

and making my life easier by not having to wrangle more storage bins! 

as i was cleaning out a cabinet in my studio recently,

i stacked miscellaneous items on my worktable and floor.

as i turned to grab something to put it back in the cabinet,

i saw that some of the elements stacked together created a 'flower' of sorts...

and deb was off on a creative adventure!

(yes, i KNOW it's actually procrastination but just go with me here, ok?!!!)

continue reading to see how many different flowers i created with 'junk'!

garden light mushrooms

this month i have shared a bunch of ideas for creating and decorating with mushrooms.
this last one is kinda' sneaked into the blog lineup...
perfect for your yard OR indoors, these mushrooms lamps
are whimsical ways to repurpose household items
while you light up your summer evenings.

continue reading to see what inspired them and my easy tutorial...

my FAVE spring decor projects

even though we're currently enveloped by abnormally cold weather here
and it feels a bit like winter is never going to end,
it's time to start the spring season decorating!

looking back, i'm honestly surprised by
how many ways i've refreshed my homes at springtime over the years...
 some of those projects have been successful in more than one home

as i re-create them in new versions + colorways.

over the past ten years of blogging here at homeward found decor,

i've shared hundreds of my original diy home decor projects

in 743 published posts since i launched this blog in August 2012.

if you've been reading my blog for the past decade, THANK YOU FRIENDS!

if you're a newer visitor, i hope you enjoy discovering some of my past creations

as i share a look back... 

continue reading for some of my FAVE past spring decor projects!

happy May Day flowers

May Day is just a few days away,

and i'm ready to add some happy spring vibes with some small flower baskets.

first created back in 2013, i'm sharing them again this spring,

and i think you'll LOVE how easy my tutorial is.

and you might just laugh when you see what they are made of!

continue reading for my easy tutorial...

sunny garden plant markers

this 'sunny' summer project is the third in a series...
designed to bring a fun, colorful vibe to my garden this season
and hopefully to inspire you to try something similar in your home!

every gardener loves to ID the plants they grow,
and this cute plant marker project is an easy way to use stuff around the house
to make an artful impact in the yard!

continue reading to see what i used and how easily these are made...

sunny yard art

welcome to part two of my 3-post sunny garden art series!

today i'm sharing the fun sunshine 'sculptures' that i created outta' old metal...

things.

i honestly don't know what they are. i found them at a junk shop.

they were galvie, so i bought 'em and brought 'em home.

then i never used them. 

until i imagined them alongside the sunshine 'wreath' from my last post! 

continue reading to see the start to finish details...

not to mention a COMPLETE RE-DO of these with a Disney theme!!!

sunshine door decor

talk about sun salutations!

i was staring at some junk that was sitting in the garage the other day,
decided it looked a bit like something from a place i love,

and came up with another way to make a sunny project

that's perfect on your front door, wall, or even garden fence!

this is an easy one to make,

using only a few pieces of metal junk, paint, a wreath hanger, and some zip ties...

*** as a matter of fact, it's SO EASY that i just RE-DID this project
with a *bit* more of the original inspiration included! ***

continue reading for details on the original project AND the changes i just made...

yes, you can make a bird nest!

bird nests seem to me to be a sign of springtime...

over the years, i've been lucky enough to have found a few real ones, 
incorporating them into my home decor in spring. and fall. and on my Christmas trees!

i've also made quite a few - 
from elaborate to simple, from small seasonal versions sold via an enchanting online boutique
to an enormous one made for a client to hold a precious gold-embellished ostrich egg,
making them always connects me to nature.

this year i've made one with the slightest hits of gray and yellow elements
unearthed in my bins and boxes of saved materials,
and i thought i'd share the easy process of making them with you.

if you're sitting there thinking 'whaaaaa? MAKE a bird nest?!', continue reading!

ping pong paddle painted cacti

i sometimes see something online that inspires me, 
and i take the idea a bit further...

add or subtract or just let it jump-start my imagination,

and end up creating my own new version of something.

i thought i'd share this view of a past project with you today...
it was inspired by someone else's project, i took it further with my own idea,
and i shared the BACK side of it last fall.
(to be honest, i like this side the best!)

continue reading to see all of the prickly details of my faux cacti!

repurposed wood crate entry decor

decorating with succulents and cacti is a hot design trend right now...
these easy-care, high-impact plants are making appearances 
in mod boho bedrooms and rustic farmhouse dining rooms,
as well as on back decks & front porches everywhere.

last summer, i was inspired by a very creative display idea at a store, 
so i re-created a budget version of it in our front entry, using succulents.
i never shared this project in a blog post, so it's time to make up for that.
(plus, it ties in beautifully to a whole new series of posts i'm prepping for August!)

continue reading for the details

diy galvanized birdbath

while songbirds love to come and splash in our backyard salvaged galvanized bucket fountain,

i noticed that the tiny wrens and hummingbirds who visit us don't go near it.

perhaps the bubbling water frightens them, or the buckets are too deep for their use...

it seemed to me that a birdbath was called for.

i went looking around the yard and garage to see what we had that i could use to build one,

and found two items that combined perfectly for this project.

continue reading to see how to make a simple and easy birdbath for your garden!

tiki garden markers

in March, we worked on the raised herb garden in the backyard,
ordering plants online from our local nursery - who offered curbside no-contact pickup of our order
during our state's 'Shelter at Home' quarantine.
social distance gardening - who knew??!

the garden needed some plant markers,

so i came up with a way to utilize an item that we have a plethora of around here.
and that worked great - for awhile.
but with the recent infusion of tiki decor in our yard,
those original plant markers just didn't fit anymore. so i gave them a makeover!

continue reading to see their old and utterly ridiculous (and FUN!) new look!

salvaged junk potting bench

spring and summer bring out my green thumb,

and having a potting bench to plant, replant, and putter around on is a necessity.

me being me, though, i'm not about to spend money on one!

i'd rather create something that is 'one of a kind' that no one else has,

re-using the junk and salvaged stuff that's already around the house...

so when i spied an unused plywood table extension in the garage, 

my mind saw it as a component of a potting bench for our backyard.

so last year, i got to work on it - and because i wasn't blogging then, i never shared it here.

with gardens on everyone's mind right now, i thought it was time to remedy that!

continue reading to see what ELSE i dragged out there to build this useful diy piece...

painting books... again!

this post wasn't planned and i am not on a book-painting bender.
(just in case you are concerned about where my creativity is taking me these days!)
but when the muse strikes, i try to comply...

i'm sending this book to my little sister (it's ok, she doesn't read my blog ;) )

and while the content of the book is encouraging, uplifting, and faith-building,

i didn't like the look of the dust jacket cover. so i took it off.

the plain white cover and dark burgundy binding weren't pretty, either.
not the mood i was going for.

so i decided to send my sister flowers... painted flowers... painted ON the book! 

continue reading for more of this creative MAYkeover... 

pillows in bloom!

over the many years that i've been decorating 'on the cheap',

i've sewn, hot glued, and simply tied on a LOT of pillow covers.

 recently, some old photos reminded me that i have also embellished pillow covers.

it's a lovely way to bring flowers into your home even if spring hasn't arrived yet!

so i grabbed some of the old photos, and quickly pulled together an embellished pillow

so i can share this fun idea with you...

continue reading to see more of this plus two more bloomin' projects!

upcycled wine bottle plant markers

i finished planting our backyard 'Victory Garden' on Sunday afternoon.
then realized i wanted some plant markers...
after half an hour of poking around in the garage workbench and shelves,
to find something interesting to make about a dozen markers out of,
i came up empty handed.

the muses, they are kind, though!
as i walked back into the house, my Mom was standing at our wine bar popping a cork
and held up the bottle as she asked 'is it time for wine?'...
and little bells started ringing in my head.

why not use wine bottles to make plant markers? WINE not, indeed!!!

continue reading to see how ridiculously easy this is - and how fun they look!

the art of nesting

'nesting' is kind of the mood of the moment, isn't it?
as part of our newly-required 'social distancing' practices, 
we're all spending more time at home right now.
the organizing & purging that we began with gusto in January 
has become a flurry of cleaning & disinfecting in March.

confession: i am not a person who loves cleaning. i DO it, of course, 
but my main motivation has always been that i clean the house so i can decorate the house.
 restyling. refreshing. we sometimes call this 'nesting'.
mama's about to have babies do this. newlyweds do this. 
and sometimes, angry/frustrated people do this. 
(deb raises her hand).
yeah, i'm one o' THOSE people. i clean like a banshee when i am mad or feel out of control. 
the physical activity - and the loud music i play as i engage in it - really can help re-set my mood.
plus it accomplishes something good (a clean house), so it isn't wasted energy.

i think this applies when we are a bit scared and uncertain, too...
cleaning, conquering clutter, completing a project, expressing some creativity
are positive things we can do with the pent-up energy that threatens to overwhelm us.
in times of stress (like we're all experiencing right now), it can be helpful
to set ourselves to the task of gaining some control over a part of our lives, like our homes.

and yes, that includes crafting and creating and decorating -
all facets of 'the art of nesting'.
these pursuits can re-set our mindset and give us a respite in the midst of chaos.
it can help us engage our brains in a positive thought pattern -
and if you have littles at home, you can teach them how to focus on what is possible
rather than on limitations.

in light of that, i've been puttering around the house as i clean,
and decided to update & refresh a few projects from the past.

since my whole 'thing' here at homewardFOUND is 'use what you already have'
i looked around at my stash and found a way to freshen up an original project
that i created over a decade ago. it needed a facelift. and so did i!
the creative process made me smile (the best kind of facelift) as i was working on this,
and now the finished product makes our home smile with its presence...
a good reminder that old can be made new, new approaches can be taken,
new things can be accomplished. at any time.

i think NOW is a good time to put those principles into practice, don't you?

 continue reading for a colorful re-furb and a link to my nest-making tutorial...

fois gras? no - faux grass!

as a decorator / designer, my BIG thing is using things differently.
differently than everyone else, for sure - but also differently than they were ever intended to be used.
i love to let my imagination run wild and come up with 'alternative uses' for just about everything!

when Mom and i designed our backyard landscaping in 2016, we chose faux grass / artificial turf
because of the easy maintenance, long lifespan, and no need for watering.
after the expert installation, we had a lot of scraps left, so i kept them.
i knew that i would come up with ways to use those scraps - and i did!

you've seen our faux grass in some photos of our backyard here on the blog...

 

under the salvaged bucket fountain    .     as a heat shield for roses AND to hide the A/C unit

recently, i used some of the smallest scraps to enhance our spring decor INSIDE the house...
continue reading to see the details!