Fall Potting Bench

Yesterday, I was out in the gorgeous fall air playing on my potting bench. Potting benches and autumn go together for me like ice cream and hot fudge. There's nothing better than a pumpkin or two sitting on a potting bench waiting to be carved into jack-o-lanterns for Halloween, or a basketful of just-picked juicy apples ready for making caramel apples.

My husband made this potting bench for me last year out of pallets, and it's been so handy having it close to our little vegetable garden on the side of our house.

I brushed off the dirt, made a few quick and easy decorations for a fun fall display, and added some things from the garden shed.

My felt leaf banner embroidered last year was inspired by the talented Lisa at Lil Fish Studios.

Turquoise mason jars are topped with one of my prized thrift store finds, a set of heavy zinc lids. The wood tray is also a 75¢ thrift store find that was one of my first chalk painted projects. The apple cider label was simply printed onto card stock and taped onto the side of the tray.

The leaves haven't quite turned their fall colors here in Boise yet, so I picked these pretty colored ones off some inexpensive craft store stems.

My apple sign was painted by hand onto a piece of scrap wood. It was adapted from a cute sign with printable template shared by Cristina at Remodelando la Casa. 

Remember my old faux painted milk can? It makes a perfect pumpkin perch. 

Fall mums fill an old wooden crate. 

My French Flower Pot is a galvanized bucket with a graphic from The Graphics Fairy transferred onto fabric. 

When I searched my stash yesterday, I couldn't find a large picture frame for a chalk board, but I did have an old painted artist canvas I didn't want anymore. I have to say, it made the easiest and quickest chalk board I've ever made. I literally just slapped two coats of chalkboard paint on the top and sides with an old brush, let it dry a few hours, and primed it with chalk. Works great!

   

It was so fun decorating my fall potting bench. Wouldn't it make a great spot for serving a buffet for an autumn party? I better get busy carving those pumpkins and dipping those apples into caramel!

Enjoy another great fall day!

Let's Party!

Rooted In Thyme
The Charm Of Home
From My Front Porch To Yours
Anderson & Grant
French Country Cottage
Craftberry Bush
My Repurposed Life
The Cottage Market
One More Time Events
Elizabeth & Co.
  The Inspiration Exchange

Rustic Wedding Milk Can Decor

Last month I received the following email about this old milk can I faux painted last year:

I was so thankful to find your blog post about up-cycling those old milk jugs. I was able to tackle that project this weekend. I am using these for my rustic style wedding and then afterward in my flower beds. I am sooooo thrilled with how they turned out and can't wait to see them with flowers in them. Thank you so much for your inspiration! I have attached before and after pics for you! :)

     

         Kenzie

 Here is Kenzie's before photo.

And this is Kenzie's after photo. Didn't she do a great job?

 Just about the nicest thing that can happen to me as a blogger is to receive an email like Kenzie's telling me she was inspired by my blog post to try something new. And the frosting on the cake? Pictures!

Here's the background on my original milk can project post:

I received this old milk can last year from my husband (you can read about that here) and decided to try painting it. I was aiming for a rusty crusty finish.

   And this is how it turned out.

I was really happy with it, and my milk can now sits next to my potting bench out in my garden. I was also happy to find out that a lot of other people want rusty crusty milk cans, and it's been a popular post.

I'm thrilled that Kenzie shared her idea for filling her old milk can with flowers at her rustic style wedding.  I think it will be just charming, don't you? (You can also visit Kenzie's wedding blog here where I hope she'll post more photos of her milk can on her big day.) 

 Best wishes on your upcoming nuptials, Kenzie!

 If you're interested in painting your old milk can, too, you can read about the painting products and faux painting process I used in my tutorial here.  

Old Painted Milk Can

A few months ago, I shared this old black milk can and asked your advice about what the heck to do with it. This milk can was a gift from my husband via his parents. It's about three feet tall and weighs about thirty-five pounds. It's not a baby milk can. It's the real deal from a dairy.

You see, I love old milk cans.  Love them!

But not old black and red milk cans.

I love milk cans that are rusty and decrepit and kind of beat-up,
like this one at Blissfully Content.  

I wasn't sure how to get from black and red to grey and rusty, so my milk can sat outside all spring waiting for me to get a clue. 

I finally mustered up some courage, made a plan, bought some paint, and just went for it. After all, could my milk can really come out any worse-off than it already was? 

No.

I started out by priming and spray painting the whole milk can satin nickle. 

  After it dried, I dry-brushed a little white acrylic paint on the larger surfaces, then I mixed some metallic copper and black on a plate and applied it, also with a dry brush, where rust might develop naturally. I used the rusty milk can in Blissfully Content's photo above as a guide. Finally, I sealed it all with an outdoor waterproof sealer. 

These are the products I used.

And here it is all finished.

 

Though I was a bit scared to get started, it was actually pretty fun to do, and I'm happy with how it turned out.

It's the next best thing to having a real McCoy rusty, decrepit, and beat-up milk can. 

Thanks for stopping in to see my old painted milk can.  
I hope you like old rusty decrepit beat-up yard junk art, too.

Have a great week! 

You may also like

What to do with an old milk can

I'm partying this week at these fabulous blogs. Come have some fun! 

  Nifty Thrifty Things
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Showoff 
Coastal Charm 
The Farmhouse Porch  
Elizabeth & Co. 
Savvy Southern Style 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Beyond the Picket Fence 
Stone Gable 
From My Front Porch to Yours 
French Country Cottage
My Repurposed Life
Rooted in Thyme  
The Charm of Home 
Common Ground 
At the Picket Fence
The Shabby Nest 
The Brambleberry Cottage 
The Best Of DIY Projects
 

Old Milk Can

 
My husband recently inherited this old milk can and gave it to me. Thanks hon!

It needs some work, and it's been sitting on the back deck for a couple weeks while I ponder the possibilities for restoring it.  

 All kinds of things have been running around inside my head.  I've even considered painting it (and it's little red water pump friend up there) like a psychedelic bus. 

Source

 That idea's leftover from my crazy hippie chick days. I was thinking they'd look cheerful and whimsical sitting in a corner of the back yard with my wind chimes. But mostly I thought it would be fun to paint like a kid again. 

Or I was thinking I could spray paint the milk can gray, like it probably was at one time (and like I really wish someone had left it.)

The one thing I didn't really consider was stripping the paint off because, c'mon, that would be a crazy hard job, right?

So there it sat on my deck. 

Then today, I was taking my regular daily spin around my favorite blogs and serendipitously came across this gorgeous milk can at Blissfully Content. (Don't you love it when that happens? I mean, how often do you find a milk can just sitting around?!)

Blissfully Content

Is that not gorgeous in all its rusty and rich patina'd glory? I love it!

So now I'm thinking, even though it won't look this good, maybe I should strip the paint off of my milk can. 

Do you have an opinion about what I should do, or advice about how to strip the paint from something like this? If so, I'd love to hear it. I'd hate to go to the expense of buying the chemicals and doing all that work if it won't work or is just a dumb idea.  Also, maybe this is one of those times when an antique shouldn't be restored at all, like on Antiques Roadshow when the guy says, "Well, Ma'am, this milk can would have been worth $50,000 if you had left the original black paint on it, but  in its present condition it's worth about $2.50." 

I'd love some ideas and advice. Would you strip it, paint it, decoupage book pages on it? 

 I had been thinking I'd keep it outside, but after seeing the photo above, I think it would look great inside as a table or just sittin' around. 

So, here's what I'm working with.

Any ideas, friends and followers? 

{Note: To see what I ended up doing, go here.}