Author Archives: Two Purple Couches

Create the look of Faux Zinc Planters in 4 Easy Steps!

Create the Look of Zinc Planters in 4 Easy Steps

Create the look of Faux Zinc Planters in 4 Easy Steps!

This article was originally published in the July 2015 Issue of VRAI Magazine.

Ever since I moved out of my parents’ house, I’ve been working on cultivating a green thumb. I grew up watching my dad’s gardens thrive—from banks of carefully-tended rose bushes to vegetable beds full of juicy tomatoes—and each spring I look forward to getting my hands back in the dirt.

One of my favorite ways to garden is container gardening, which came in very handy when my husband and I lived in a 3rd floor condo unit for a few years after getting married. I love the versatility of container gardening, and I also love the DIY opportunities that come along with it. Because let’s face it, fancy planters are expensive! But with a few bottles of paint and affordable terra cotta pots, you can DIY your containers any way you like!

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Making Time for Creativity with The Creative Retreat Workbook via www.twopurplecouches.com

Making Time for Creativity

Making Time for Creativity with The Creative Retreat Workbook via www.twopurplecouches.com

I’ve been noticing lately that I often feel like I never have enough time. (I know I can’t be alone in this feeling, right?) Not enough time for housework (but meh, who really cares about that?), not enough time to try out the new recipes I’ve bookmarked, and certainly not enough time to tackle my ever-growing list of crafts and creative projects. This made me take a good hard look at my time and how I spend it. And here’s what I’ve uncovered: the issue isn’t that I don’t have time, because everyone has 24 hours in their day; it’s how I budget those 24 hours.

So when I received a note from my friend Jennie Moraitis about her new e-book The Creative Retreat Workbook: A Simple Guide to Planning Retreats to Recharge, Reassess and Create, it punched me right in the gut, in a good way. Or maybe better said, it was a total “lightbulb” moment for me. I realized that I wasn’t I wasn’t budgeting my time to nurture my creativity.

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DIY Decorative Dipped Letters

Make your own decorative dipped letters with glitter and paint! via www.twopurplecouches.com

I often find inspiration while wandering. Which means that sometimes I buy craft supplies because they strike me as something that could be awesome. I don’t have have particular project or vision in mind, but I know that I can do something with it at some point in the future.

Such was the situation in Michaels a few weeks ago. I’d passed by these sets of cork letters on several shopping trips, always stopping to pick up the packages and try to imagine what I might do with them. But I’d always left without them—until this particular trip when most of the store was on sale for 60% – 70% off, including these sets of letters. Waiting sometimes pays off, my friends.

After I got home, I realized that these would be perfect for making some decorative dipped letters. While they’re a bit small for single monograms, glued together they become cute little inspirational words and phrases.

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