Showing posts with label brick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brick. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Spring Gardening Fun!

If you are an avid gardener or someone who loves to collect cute succulents, then
Ben Franklin is definitely THE place to be right now!
We just got in a bunch of cute little plants and succulents that are great for
 Spring décor and require no watering at all. (Haha!)  They are so fun to look at, that
with all the different varieties we have, the selection isn't always the easiest. 
At the Pearl City store, we've dedicated a small area to our
Spring Gardening collection!
 
  
The area gives a real Gardener's Shed and home with stacks of terracotta pots
and hanging macramé planters.  It really feels like there are live plants growing everywhere; out of drawers, pots and even on the doors (We tied some air plants onto them!).
All these little details adds to the magic of the space!
You will find crates and pots overflowing with colorful succulents
along with a few chic pieces of vintage décor like distressed wooden doors
and glass floaters.  Natural textures like wood, stone, terracotta and rope all
make a great backdrop for the plants, which are the real stars here. 
 
 
These little beauties can be put together to make a beautiful bouquet,
flower arrangement or an eye-catching wreath perfect for Spring and Summer.
Here, we matched succulents in soft green and blue hues to create a refreshing
focal point on a natural grapevine wreath.  For a little extra something,
a copper strand of twinkling firefly lights were wound around it.  
 
The copper wire gives it that "industrial chic" look.
 
Another special feature that was added was
the Faux Brick Wall.  The warm colored brick texture is what created a more rustic atmosphere. It was also very simple to create!  All you needed to do was blend the right colors and
use a brick sponge that you can find at any convenience store to stamp the pattern. 
First, we used painter's tape to create a clean border.  Then, we painted the
pillar black to act as a dark grout against the arm-colored bricks.
 
 
 
We mixed rich terracotta reds and deep browns with an antique off-white and mossy green.
On a piece of palette paper, which is a convenient disposable palette, we blended all the colors.
No measurements or ratios! Just mix up the colors, press your damp sponge into the paint and then stamp it onto the wall. It's always best start a row with the brick "breaking the margin" so to say.
 
 
If you look at the finished pillar, what makes it look realistic is that the bricks don't follow a perfect grid pattern.  Each row starts and ends with maybe half a brick or so.  It's like laying down real bricks!  After the bricks are dry, we rounded off the corners of the bricks using some black mixed with antique white. This helped add more depth and dimension to the bricks so that they actually looked like they were sort of jutting out of the wall!
 
 
 
 If you are ever able to stop by our stores, peruse the Spring section!
We hope that you will find inspiration and think of some great ideas
for decorating your home this season!
 
Erika @ PC


Monday, October 24, 2011

Crankin' Out Crafts Episode 16: Cherry Blossom Block


Welcome to a brand new week of Crankin’ Out Crafts. This week we want you to get ready for a block party – a glass block party. That’s right; we’re decorating those great containers that look like building supplies for igloos.

JFlo gets us started off with Episode 16 – Cherry Blossom Block.


  
In this episode, JFlo is back again with more alcohol, except this time she’s using alcohol inks to make a beautiful cherry blossom design on a glass block. 

The supply list for this project is not long, but it’s not exactly short either:

Glass block
Tim Holtz’s alcohol ink applicator
Applicator felt cut into flower shapes
Alcohol inks (your color choice)
Scribbles (JFlo uses the “Golden Brown” color in the video)

Join us on Wednesday for a glass block decoration that will really “etch” itself into your memory.

*Don't forget to check out Puna's post earlier today on how to make the Deco Mesh Wreath!