Decision making confusion

Those who know me well know that I have a difficult time making a decision.

It can take me days, weeks, months or 

even longer to make a decision and commit to something.

It doesn't matter if it's about something trivial or important, 

I just have a hard time deciding on things.

Internet, blogs and Pinterest have made it worse.

Currently, my front door, both inside and out, is painted black 

as is the interior side of the back door.

My front door has been black for almost 10 years.

The interior side of the doors were painted black about 2 years ago.

Painting the outside of the front door black was an easy decision and only took me a day.

Deciding to paint the interior side of both doors took months.

Lately, I've been thinking about a change.

I narrowed it down to two simple choices: 

leaving them black or painting them a true red.

Red doors look so interesting to me

and really seem to brighten a place up.

Kelly Green Interiors

Design Sponge

Sarah Richardson

Homestead Revival

Houzz

Then, I saw these!  Blue doors!

They look so fresh and clean and bright too.

dress design decor

link

Cottage and Vine

Made by Girl

Tiek Built Homes

Now I'm thinking maybe blue...but still I like the red.

Then, I saw this!  Black!  Just like I have now.

It looks so vintage and just plain cool and I like the contrast.

Aubrey Road

Now, I'm confused.  Red? Blue? Black?

I like them all.

remember this? an embarrassing confession

Do you remember when I posted about my updated front porch?

I did something crazy on a whim but it sort of worked out for me.

I have no idea what possessed me to do this.

I'm a little embarrassed to share it but since it worked, oh well.

Once I purchased my new pillows and set up everything on the porch, 

I really wanted some red flowers for the watering can.

I have some real geraniums but with temps already near 100 degrees around here,

I didn't want to plant something that would need water everyday.

So, yeah, I used fake flowers...but that's not really such a crazy thing to do.

These are the fake flowers I had on hand.  They are almost neon green.

Almost neon green didn't go with my patriotic red, white and blue porch.

Oh yes I did.  

Don't pay any attention to the fact that it's for plastic.

It was just the red I had laying around.

Yes, folks, I spraypainted my fake flowers.

Honestly, I think they look better than I thought.

What do you think?

After I got my hair-brained idea, I did an internet search and

found I'm not the first to do this.  Now they tell me.

There were actually a couple of tutorials and tips on spraypainting faux flowers.  

Some professional floral arranging people

did some amazing spraypainting of fake flowers that were really pretty.

Who knew? 

Who would want to know?

I guess I did.

So I'm sharing with you.

Painting clay pots for spring

Here is an easy project that is pretty quick to do and fun to do with kids.  

I love terracotta pots but not the orangy color.  

These pots are easy to paint so here's how I makeover mine so they look a bit aged.

You will need terracotta pots, whatever style and size you want. Watch the sales at Hobby Lobby and you can get the small ones for cents and the larger ones for a dollar or two.  I used small ones in a couple of different sizes.  You will also need craft paint in whatever colors you choose.  I used red, a couple of shades of green and creamy white. You may also need brown if you decide to age them.  I also use crackle medium.  Grab a paintbrush, a paper plate and some paper towels and you're ready to go.

I couldn't find the exact color of green I wanted so I used two shades and dabbed my brush into both.  

I didn't want to mix them perfectly.

First, I painted the saucers and pots white, leaving the tops bare.

Then, I painted the tops in the colors I chose.  

I decided to paint the saucers for the green pots green as well.

These do not need to be painted perfectly.  Imperfections give it character 

so just slap the paint on.  One good coat should do it.

After the paint dries (which is really quick), brush on the crackle medium.

Just follow the directions on the bottle.  Here you can see the one on the left has crackle medium applied

and the one on the right does not.

After you let the crackle medium dry according to directions, mix a little brown paint with water.

You want it to be very watery which will make it easier to add in layers until you get the effect you want.  Brush it on and wipe it off.  As it all dries, you will begin to see the cracks in the paint.  I've also done this with stain instead of brown paint.

Here are pots that are freshly painted with out aging.

Here are the little pots that have cracked and aged.

With the green pots, after I painted them and added the crackle medium, I then painted white all over them.  The white cracked and allowed the green to show through.  Then, I added the watery brown over all of it and wiped off.  I wiped (maybe scrubbed a bit) so some of the white would flake off leaving a lot of green showing through.

So, what could you do with these cute little things?  Of course, you can plant little flowers or plants in them and set them where ever you want little plants (windowsills, a chair, bookshelves, kitchen, etc.) You can use them to hold utensils, paint brushes, pens/pencils, etc.  You can put some soft filler in them and use them to hold eggs for Easter.  

OR

you can make "Dirt Pudding" and make individual servings in the little pots.  

These would be cute at a party or sitting next to each plate.  I've done this before using little individual pots and let guests take the pots home.  Kids love this and often don't want to eat them so they can take them home and show their family.  They make great treats for teachers and school staff as well.  

You can also share them with neighbors.

foodista

Dirt Pudding Recipe

(this will make enough for a regular size large pot or many small pots)

1 bag of Oreos

1 box (large size) instant vanilla pudding

1 small box of cream cheese

milk

1 large container of Cool Whip

Crush Oreos.  You can use a blender, food processor or put them in a heavy duty baggy (like a freezer baggy that zips close) and let your kids beat it up or step on it.  It works and it's fun.

Mix the vanilla pudding and 2 cups of cold milk.  Add the cream cheese to the pudding and mix well with an electric mixer.  Add Cool Whip to the pudding mixture and blend well by hand or with an electric mixer on low.

To assemble in a large pot, layer it all starting with a small layer of crushed Oreos on the bottom, half of the pudding mixture, another small layer of Oreos, the remaining half of the pudding and top with the rest of the crushed Oreos. If assembling small pots, use proportionate amounts.

Tips:  The pots have a hole in the bottom.  For large pots, put a layer of foil on the bottom of the pot and place one uncrushed Oreo on top of the foil but over the hole.  For small pots, just line the bottom with some foil.  

To make it look like a real pot, add an artificial flower or greenery to the pot. 

 Add gummy worms, clean sea shells or clean rocks.  

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or down on the bottom right of my page.