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Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week, but better yet I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

I have a fun little multi-purpose project for you today. I’m going to show you how to make this adorable little picket fence planter basket. You can use it as a planter. You can use it as a fun home décor item or you can fill it with glass beads or rocks and use it as a pencil caddy! Don’t you love versatility?

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Best of all, the materials are inexpensive. The fence border section was under $5! And you can use leftover paint if you want. Or you can try out Valspar’s new emerald color. I’ve been seeing that color pop up all over the design world. (Lowe’s provided me with a gift card to give that new Valspar paint color a whirl.) Read more

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When Lowe’s challenged me to give an outdoor spot a mini-makeover, I knew exactly where to turn my attention.

Our small paver patio is where we sit on warm spring days to eat lunch, take a break or sip wine after dark. The winter months wreak havoc on the furniture and the pillows I neglected to bring inside.

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Cleaning the furniture was as easy as a quick sponging with a Mr. Clean magic eraser.

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Then I hosed them down and was done in less than 10 minutes. The pillows weren’t as easily cleaned. I tried to wash them, but they were still a little dingy. So, I headed to Lowe’s to look for new ones.

As I entered Lowe’s with my complimentary gift card in hand, I found myself wandering down the curtain aisle again. (Do you gravitate to this aisle too? With all those colors, patterns, and textures it’s hard for me to stay focused on my shopping list.) Read more

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Being a Lowe’s Creative Ideas blogger is one of my favorite jobs as a DIY blogger. I love walking the aisles of Lowe’s, with my provided gift card in hand, dreaming of finding mundane objects to transform into amazingly beautiful objects. For example, what do you get when you cross an ice bucket with a stove pipe connector?

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Plumb Crazy over these Christmas Ornaments

You must think I have plumbing on the brain. After all our leaks, I’ve spent some time in the plumbing aisle. While there I came across these three things:

They are beautiful, don’t you think?! Can’t you see them hanging from your Christmas tree or on your door? What? No?

Okey dokey, come along I’ll break it down for you, this is going to be fun.

 Star Decoration

Materials:

Instructions:

Lay out the hooks in a star formation.

Wrap two ends with the hemp string to attach them to each other.

Continue attaching all the hooks together. Be sure to weave down and around the elbows for better hold.

Shape the hooks until they are in a perfect star shape.

Cut a length of utility wire and wrap it around the star shape. Add curly q’s, bends and spirals…

…thread beads and jingle bells periodically.

Cut more wire and continue to decorate the star with beads and curled wire.

Finish off by adding a loop to the top of the star to act as a hanger.

Thread a ribbon through the loop and hang it on your door,

a window or another prominent spot.

 

Hoop Ornaments

Materials:

Instructions:

Measure the diameter of your hose clamp (at its most open setting while it is still attached.) Set your compass to half the diameter and draw a circle onto the foam board. Cut out the foam board with the x-acto knife.

Widen your compass and draw a wider circle onto a piece of fabric. Cut out a piece of fabric and center it over the foam board circle. Lay the hose clamp over the foam and fabric.

Tighten the hose clamp with the screwdriver until it is snug enough to hold the fabric, but not tight enough to crush the foam board.

Decorate your circle with stickers, buttons, trim, ribbon, or whatever, you’re the creator!

You could also use scrapbook paper instead of fabric. The star and joy ornament decorations were created with the Silhouette CAMEO.

Hot glue the excess fabric to the back (or fray it to look like a mini-embroidery hoop. Glue ribbon or trim around the hose clamp.

Create a loop at the top for hanging the ornament.

My little guy insisted that we need to make an ornament for Santa 😉

These ornaments are so fun and easy. Be creative and let the kids have fun with this project. I can see a little handprint on the center of one for a keepsake ornament. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Brass Snowflake Star

Materials:

Instructions:

Lay out the pipe straps in a star shape.

Thread hemp string through the holes on two straps. Knot the end of the string.

Continue until you have completed the star snowflake form.

You will need to finagle the star form until it looks good to you.

Tie a string through one of the star points. Add beads and tie a loop to hang your ornament.

What do you think? Am I plumb crazy or are these truly adorable ornaments I made from plumbing parts?

Disclosure: I have partnered with Lowe’s as a Lowe’s Creative Influencer. I was provided with a Lowe’s gift card to complete my project. The tutorial, photos and opinions expressed in this post are my own. I was not told what to write. #LowesCreator

I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.

I have painted almost every room in our home now. Make that almost every room in two homes! You could say that over the years I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade and have acquired quite a few painting tools. But, only a handful are my tried and true gear that get pulled out for every painting job.

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

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