Upgrades.

One of the things I talked about in my ebook was making use of what you have or what is available to you when making gifts. Lots of things come to us in different ways and it is easy to overlook great supplies we might have that have awesome potential!

This is something that is easy to come by... old pots. In this case I found half a dozen on the side of the road. But maybe you have some in the shed or see some in garage sales or at the op shop. Keep watching out!

Over the weekend I did some potting up with my road side finds.

First I should show you how they were.

They are all quite large pots. And they were grubby and one came with a free red back spider! (nice bonus)

There were also three smaller pots all the same. I thought with those I could paint them with blackboard paint and fill them with herbs. Then write the names of the herbs on the front in chalk paint. This would make a good gift as a set.

Pots are really useful. Depending on size and shape though they could be a utensil holder, hold bathroom supplies or used for indoor or outdoor plants. Even a little Christmas tree! 

I just gave them all a good wash and dry then painted them with what I had in the shed which was a plat white paint. The first planter with the flowers I was wishing I had some floral transfers but I had none left. So I bought a packet of lovely paper serviettes and carefully cut out roses. These were two ply so I gently separated the layers and glued them onto my pot. I used a clear craft varnish to cover them and did several coats. This was really similar in effect to transfers. And I only used three serviettes so I have most of the pack left for other projects. Talk about cheap and easy. If you have children cutting out projects are great for them! I slightly overlapped the flowers and worked my way around the pot...

The next one I used a transfer which I did have left from a project. Normally I get transfers from Arwen Moore Design studio who you will find online and on Etsy.

The largest pot I left alone (except for painting) as it had interesting texture and scrolls...

As I had everything except the serviettes the three pots came to under ten dollars. And it was fun! 
Plus I have three more small pots to play with.

So this is a practical example of what I said in my e book.... use what you have or come across. The serviettes as transfers has me realising I can use these from now on to decorate the tops of my jar lids. They are really pretty and you can get so many designs. I found these in our newsagent but I have seen floral serviettes in gift stores as well. The thing is you are getting hundreds of flower "transfers" for under $10.

It is lovely here today. So mild and sunny. A perfect day really.

Have a wonderful week. There is heaps to do. I feel it gets busy leading up to Christmas and even shopping takes more time as there are just more people even in the supermarket.

Look around and see what you could give a makeover for some free home wares or gifts! xxx