Magic Wand Called Decoupage

"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."

A simple quote that I keep interpreting in a thousand ways while adhering to it each day. On most of the days putting some life in supposedly lifeless things is the surest way to "make a life" to me!

So here is a saga of another such attempt, like in my previous blog, to reincarnate the typical boring plastic planters and make them come alive.

I took three of these small sized planters, which had come with some plants from the nursery [Figure 1]. Since the plants were already repotted into bigger and better things, these were simply waiting to be discarded, till their destiny took a sudden twist!

 Figure 1

I decided to try my hands at Decoupage this time. For those of you who do not know, it is essentially sticking pieces of paper or cloth on the object and layering it with several coats of glue.

I looked around for some bright options and found this perfect piece of clothing - a bed sheet lying unused since ages! It had distinct flowers in pink and light blue, and I started off by cutting out these flowers neatly, from the sheet [Figure 2]. 

 Figure 2

The "makeover" task began by giving a base colour to the pots. I painted them white so that the original pretty colour of the flowers is not sabotaged. But then the persistent need to "add colour to life" took over and I gave a bright yellow base coat to the third planter.

The next step was to stick these cutout pieces of cloth (the flowers here), overlapping cleverly, over the planters, layering each piece with glue. I took one portion of Fevicol and mixed an equal amount of water to it and mixed it well. This is the desi version of Mod Podge which is otherwise used for decoupage, in few countries around the world. Mod Podge is now available in India too but you actually can achieve the same through our desi variant. Remember to let each layer dry out before applying the second coat of glue. A final coat of sealant, in form of lacquer or varnish, gives it the sheen that you see in the picture [Figure 3], and the protection that you will see in the years to come.

 Figure 3

Honestly, the end result had me really happy. They had already acquired so much life in them. But I had started off with the goal of seeing them "full of life" so you can guess what the next step had to be - yes growing plants in them! 

I had this beautiful collection of cactuses (cacti to the Latin lovers) which had flowers going perfectly well with the colours I had chosen for the planters. So I had no hesitation in pairing them together [ Figure 4]. You can see for yourself how beautiful they looked together [Figure 5]!

 Figure 4

  Figure 5

Aah, I was spoilt for choices, to set these beauties in! The about-to-be-discarded planters had turned into objects of Cinderella's fairy tale, in less than an hour, and the beauty of it being - they wouldn't be turning into pumpkins at the stroke of midnight! For now, they find their place under a painting of women folks from the same desert land where these cacti hail from!  And boy, aren't they at home - blooming away to glory! [Figure 6]

 

Figure 6

©Fursatnama 

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KindergarDen

I was home for few days and it being against my nature to just laze around, I decided to go back to indulging in what i find most exhilarating - revamping, an area, a corner of the house, a plant or just a pot!

Being an internet savvy person, it made sense to look for some ideas on the net. Predictably, i ended up on Pinterest, which has no dearth of inspiration. What caught my eye was this colourful picture [Figure 1] saved from boredart.com :

 Figure1

Being an avid fan of container gardening and a lover of terracotta, did not let me look any further. I knew what I had to do in my fursat ke do pal! So here is a detailed version of what followed next.

I had a stack of old, unused, terracotta pots lying in the store, collected on different pretexts - mostly religious ceremonies. I chose five of them, ensuring variation in shape and size. This is how they looked before I got on job. [Figure 2]

Figure 2

I decided to go for some bright colours- yellow and orange (aah you know how we Indians have this fondness for tadak-bhadak!) but purposely avoided green and red as it would then become very stereotypical! I chose the 2 shades of blue instead and stuck to brown for the fifth pot. I used fabric paint. Before painting, it helps to soak the pots in a water else it dries up the paint the moment it is applied upon. Once done, the pots had had a "makeover" in the truest sense! [Figure 3]

Figure 3

These pots were ready to enhance the beauty of any surrounding they were put in. They could be used on your study table to hold your pens and stationary items, on your dresser to stack your brushes and lotions or on the kitchen shelves as spoon n ladle holders! But my passion being making pots and growing plants in them, this is exactly what I did next. I planted them, ensuring different foliage and colour of plants for the five pots, and let them soak in a little sun till they found their roots in the new place. [Figure 4]

Figure 4

The plants were essentially low-maintenance ones which needed just a hint of sunlight to put their chlorophyll to use. So I could now move them to anywhere in the house and add some colour to the surroundings. I had this perfect place for them in my mind - a teakwood console table lying in the corner of a room, by the window! It being brownish red only made matters worse for me. Its solid presence always reminded me of that strict headmaster sitting in a corner of the hall, who had nothing interesting about him but his presence alone was enough to restrict others from smiling. So it was time to cheer "him" up! I tried putting just two of the "students" to this arduous task first. [Figure 5]

Figure 5

They did manage to bring some colour to "his" expressionless state but I realised it made them a little nervous. So to empower them enough I decided to let the whole "class" pounce upon "him" and the result is for you to see! [Figure 6].

Figure 6

Needless to say, it is one of the happiest corners of my home now. The mundane "school" is now a bubbly and cheerful kindergarten or rather I should say kindergarDen! :)

©Fursatnama 


PS: Please don't forget to give your feedback through your comments. It will help me in many ways. If you like it do share and follow. :)