Look For Less: Industrial Hanging Planter

The Look For Less Design Challenge is back with vengeance! Everyone has some pretty awesome projects that are sure to spruce up your space so please be sure to visit each of these ladies!  Also, I've got a bit of a sneak peak and links at the bottom of the post too :)

For this challenge I've known I wanted to try something outside. I love our yard and have written about it multiple times but there was always this one spot that I just couldn't figure out how to make it pretty.  Our house is old which means old siding, and old molding. The age is really showing next to our back door. There is just a bit of a junky spot. So I decided to search the wonderful google machine to find some inspiration that could help me beautify this tattered spot.

Of course West Elm has some amazing things. I've pinned a ton of planters I wanted to try but as soon as I saw this Galvanized Industrial Hanging Planter I fell in love  but not with the $49 price tag. So I  started brain storming ways I could get this look for less.

Basically all I needed was PVC pipe, some spray paint, rope, and pretty flowers. Heres a quick materials list with the prices.

1 5ft section of 4 in PVC pipe     $9

4 4 inch end caps                       $5

1 spool of rope                          $6

Silver Spray paint                      $6

This means for about $26 I made TWO planters! 

Now to get two planters I bought a large enough piece of PVC to cut in half both ways (hot dog and hamburger style). So first off I cut the board in to 2 1/2 ft sections. 

Then I guestimated how much I needed to cut off to leave room for the plants. I would recommend getting a larger diameter piece of PVC, but for the small flowers I was planning to use this was just fine :) I marked a straight line down either side of the board and slowly cut with my jig saw. 

Then I chose my largest drill bit, and drilled two holes on either end for my rope. 

Now comes the part where you kinda just play around. I sprayed each of my pieces of PVC with the silver spray paint, then I dry brushed some white craft paint on and smudged it around a good bit so it wasn't "too" noticeable. I couldn't figure out what to use to get the dark spots and then I remembered I had some ebony wood stain. So I splotched some one and wiped it around too. You can see in the third picture that the top has the stain and the bottom doesn't. 

WAH LA! Thats pretty close to the real deal I think.

 Then all that was left to do was attach the rope. And in this case it was SUPER easy! Just measure out your rope length for your specific spot, pull the rope through and under the PVC. I used shower curtain rings as the hooks and simply tied them together and done!

I just LOVE these planters. I mean they aren't perfect but for $26 for 2 I think they do exactly what I needed! They add some texture and allow new space for beautiful new plants. By adding these small planters I created a whole new atmosphere on our porch and I'm in love with it!

Now be sure to check out all of these lovely ladies and their Look for Less projects! 

Life On Virginia Street:              No Sew Pottery Barn Inspired Ribbon Curtains
Life Love Larson:                      DIY Succulent 
Like A Saturday:                        Anthropologie Inspired Dessert Stand
Absolutely Arkansas:                  Anthropologie Inspired Mirrored Tray 
Home Coming:                           DIY Towel Rail 

THESE ARE AWESOME so please go look :) 

Spring Parties

Ya know what I've been missing the most in life recently? 

Parties. Get togethers. BBQs. Fire pits.

Oh, tis the season. FINALLY! 

I've slowly been working on getting our yard ready for any spontaneous party, and we are almost there! 

It took me ages to find out door furniture. And really I didn't find anything that fit my budget and my style soooo Reed and I made some :) I painted this spool for a table, we made some super awesome whimsical chairs. And I've even stocked up on lots of glass ware

I think my favorite part about summer parties is that they can look amazing with minimal effort. I mean I'm pretty in love with this super simple lunch we had a few weeks ago. Picked a few fresh flowers, used my fabulous new Monogrammed Mason Jars from Personal Creations. They fit perfectly in with my glass pitcher and everyday china.  You can make any get together feel like a "party" by using real glasses and china instead of that fine plastic goodness. Obviously, I use paper and plastic at times, but when i want that extra oomph I pull out my pretties :)

I also leave white lights up all year round, that way when the sun goes down the party doesn't have to end! Just keep on filling up those mason jars and enjoy the twinkly lights :)

And Personal Creations has so much awesome-ness on their website that would be PERFECT for any out door party. What are some tricks y'all use to make your get togethers extra special during the spring and summer?

PS! don't forget about the Spring Giveaway going on until Aril 14th! There are some totally awesome goodies that could help spruce up your spring. GIVEAWAY