Succulent Bench

I wanted to paint this ugly ol' bench for ages. Or, since we moved into our house, anyway. We're not quite sure what the piece's story is, other than that it is was a memorial bench. We think, though, that it belonged to the original owners of the house, because the previous owners used it for the same thing we did -- a garage catch-all. (Our home only had two prior owners.)

Mr. M finally agreed to help me fix it up, as a birthday gift. In all seriousness, it made me kind of sad that no one seemed to care about this memorial piece, and I like to think that by giving new life to it, in a way, I'm paying homage to whomever it was dedicated to. I know. I'm a sap. I've watched too many Nicholas Sparks movies. 

Anywho. Here's the bench, still in our garage, right after Mr. M removed the memorial plaque. I'm a romantic, but keeping it felt a little creepy:

Oh haiiiiiii, random crap we need to organize.

I knew I wanted to paint the bench robin's egg blue, a bright sunshiney yellow, or stop sign red, but I didn't actually make my final decision until we were staring about a zillion cans of spray paint in the face. I'm pretty partial to blues, so two cans of Valspar's Glossy Premium Enamel, in Exotic Sea, found their way into our cart. 

Maile drove us to the succulents, outside:

Succulents were selected. This is riveting stuff, yes? I bet you want to see the finished product ...

K. Here it is:

It took Mr. M two full cans of spray paint to cover the bench well; it took about two hours to fully dry. (Also, those little dots you might see aren't paint bubbles, just water. It is very important to Mr. M that I share this with you.) We stuck this pretty baby right smack-dab in the middle of our front porch, which, theoretically, is perfect for succulents, as it gets fab morning sun, and is shady for the rest of the day.

I already had the terra cotta pot. The lovely blue pots were a gift from my parents for my birthday last year. The wooden, and basket, planters were pre-planted, and I got them for half price! Score! The small, red dish is actually a Voluspa candle tin ... Mr. M drilled a drainage hole in the bottom for me, et voila! A beautiful succulent dish. The yellow tin is a Campbell's Perfect Tea tin. My dear dad orders this stuff direct from Ireland, and is sweet enough to send us a container from time to time. Again, I just cleaned it, and had Mr. M drill a hole in the bottom.

Two Jack Daniel's aged whiskey barrels (also half price -- Happy Birthday to me) came home with us, too, but I have something special planned for them. Another day. Another DIY to share with you!

Don't forget: The Jordan Diane Designs giveaway closes tonight; make sure you enter!

And somehow, some way, this new little blog project reached 50 followers yesterday morning. From the bottom of my heart ... Thank you, friends!