From chair back to welcome plaque

I'm tweaking things around my blog so don't mind me if things look different every time you visit. :)

My house is weirdly situated and it's always a fun game when you're expecting a package to see where the UPS guy figured was a good place to leave it. See exhibit A - the door problem. Can you figure out where you're supposed to go?

Calliope wants to know why I'm standing there taking photos instead of giving her a tuna or something.

If you guessed this way:

You guessed correctly! You didn't guess that did you? No one ever does. So I set out to make it easier on the poor unsuspecting folk who come to the house.

First I actually put some plants in the planter boxes. What a novel idea! I wanted something that would fill out and have some flowers, be hardy and also be free. So I raided the herb garden where oregano sprouts have been coming up all sorts of places they aren't supposed to and I relocated them here. Now it not only looks pretty but smells nice too!

My next idea was the chair back. Once upon a time this was a dining room chair at my friend's house and when they got a new set because the old one was falling apart this one chair came to my house and live at my house. The cane seat was broken and a basket of plants sat there instead. This chair has been sitting in plants and dirt in the weather year round for...years. I can't even remember how long. It eventually just disintegrated and the only thing salvageable was the top of the backing. It has a fun shape and...well...I never throw anything away.

I spray painted it about six times with a can of gloss black that I bought on accident (I did not want gloss). This wood was so parched it took a lot of paint.

When it was well saturated by the gloss paint I gave it to good coats of blackboard paint - only the second time I've got to use it!

Then I grabbed my garden jute to make a tie because there is no way this thing would survive me drilling holes in it.



What you get is a customizable sign!

I need to work on my alignment, but you get the idea. And in case this is the sort of thing that makes you crazy, I have since fixed it so it is perfectly aligned between the jute loops. Your eye can stop twitching now.

Under it I put a rusted iron pot thingy and I located an old terra cotta pot in the shed and filled it with more rogue herbs (the rock in the bottom is so the klutzy dog doesn't tip it over).

Looks a bit more inviting, hmm? And I already had all the supplies!

Let's look at the before:


And after:

Hopefully this takes care of the "where's the package been left" game or the "which door are people knocking on?" game. :)

Linking to:

Reinvented

The Shabby Chic Cottage