Create art with Leyland latches.
The frame: from a Salvation Army Charity Shop. The glass was chipped and the picture water-stained. The price? Only a couple of bucks; so cheap I had to round the amount up to avoid feeling guilty.
I removed the glass, the picture and the backing. The acrylic paint colour was either Resolution or Endeavour Blue.
I think that choosing the same colour for the frame and the pots worked for this display. You'll have your own preferences. Will you go for complementary or contrasting colours?
The pots: 16cm diameter 'vasi', from the local hardware shop. But you need to do more than just paint the outside. They should be sealed inside to stop water soaking through the clay and getting under the paint you've put on the outside. If this happens, you get blisters and bubbles. I know. I've made that mistake.
Here's what you do. Seal the inside before you paint the outside. You can either buy some 'terracotta pot sealer' or simply water down any acrylic (water based) paint; about one part paint to 2 or 3 or 4 parts water. Slosh it on the inside, including the sides of the drainage hole. DONE!
If you slosh it on the outside it also seals and undercoats the surface, making it easier to brush on the top coat.
The plants: Ponytail palms. Beaucarnia recurvata. They survive with intermittent watering, and, like succulents, are excellent for people who are away from home for days at a time, or have the kind of memory that forgets to water plants regularly.
The frame: from a Salvation Army Charity Shop. The glass was chipped and the picture water-stained. The price? Only a couple of bucks; so cheap I had to round the amount up to avoid feeling guilty.
I removed the glass, the picture and the backing. The acrylic paint colour was either Resolution or Endeavour Blue.
I think that choosing the same colour for the frame and the pots worked for this display. You'll have your own preferences. Will you go for complementary or contrasting colours?
The pots: 16cm diameter 'vasi', from the local hardware shop. But you need to do more than just paint the outside. They should be sealed inside to stop water soaking through the clay and getting under the paint you've put on the outside. If this happens, you get blisters and bubbles. I know. I've made that mistake.
Here's what you do. Seal the inside before you paint the outside. You can either buy some 'terracotta pot sealer' or simply water down any acrylic (water based) paint; about one part paint to 2 or 3 or 4 parts water. Slosh it on the inside, including the sides of the drainage hole. DONE!
If you slosh it on the outside it also seals and undercoats the surface, making it easier to brush on the top coat.
The plants: Ponytail palms. Beaucarnia recurvata. They survive with intermittent watering, and, like succulents, are excellent for people who are away from home for days at a time, or have the kind of memory that forgets to water plants regularly.
