Bohemian Kate

DIY Hand Painted Ikat Pots

It's been a long time since I've done a DIY project on this blog, so I'm excited to post this!  I can't take full credit for this DIY.  I was inspired by the Color Block Terra Cotta DIY on A Beautiful Mess (one of my favorite blogs).  The post was done by Rubyellen of My Cakies, a super cute photo blog.  I've always had terra cotta pots lying around the house and loved the idea of painting them after seeing the post.  So I decided to put my own spin on it.  Ever since I painted my Ikat Jewelry Box, I've wanted to do something else in the Ikat design, so I thought this was the perfect fit!  I'm really, really happy with the way it turned out...

Supplies:

• Terra cotta pot
• Paint (I used acrylic)
• Paint brush
• Cup of water
• Paper towels and paper plate
• Instant drying lacquer spray (if pots will be outside)

Directions:

• If you're wanting to do light colors like I did, you will need to give the pot a base coat in white.  It took three coats for mine.  Do not mix a lot of water with the white paint for the base coat because that dilutes it.  You want it to go on pretty thick so that the terra cotta doesn't show through.
• After the base coat has dried, it's time to paint your design.  This is where you can get creative.  I LOVE the look of the ikat design, that's my thing.  It's pretty easy to do and consists of different layers of colors, letting each layer dry in between.  However, if you're not really into painting, feel free to try your own designs and see what you come up with...
• If you're planning on keeping the pots inside, then wasn't that easy?  After the paint is dry, just place your plant in the pot and enjoy!
• I really wanted to be able to keep mine outside, so I went to the local hardware store and found this instant drying lacquer spray that will protect the paint from rain and such.  After the paint has dried on the pot, take it somewhere outside to spray the pots with the lacquer.  I also put some plastic on the inside of the pot, so that the spray doesn't get in there and seep into the soil.  Spray the entire outside of the pot and the top.  Let it sit overnight to make sure that it's completely dry before you put the plant in. 
• I was pretty paranoid about the spray seeping into the soil so I placed some new plastic inside the pot to make a small barrier between the pot and the soil.  Then I put in my succulents and they were good to go.

This past weekend I went to the nursery and picked out the pretty succulents you see above.  Succulents are some of my favorite plants.  Since I'm not the greatest at gardening, they are also ideal for me because they don't take much water (yay!) and thrive in a dry climate like San Diego.

So that's it!  I think this is a great summer project.  I really had fun painting the pots and would like to do more :)

I can't tell you how glad I am that it's Friday.  I'm having my bridal shower tomorrow!  My mom and two aunts are coming down so I'm really excited to see them.  I'm actually having two bridal showers if you can believe it!  Athan's side of the family is really large so we're having the Greek one tomorrow!  Then on Sunday, I'm doing hot yoga with my darling friend La and she says the class is going to kick my butt...I'm so ready, time to get in shape for summer and the wedding.

What are your plans this weekend?

xoxo...Kate

My Life In Instagram

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend...mine was pretty low key which was nice.  Today is Athan's birthday, but we celebrated it yesterday with a mellow day at home filled with good food, relaxing and our favorite t.v. shows.  I made us some quesadillas with poblano peppers and had New York cheese cake for dessert with vanilla bean gelato...so, sooo good.  We watched Mad Men (such a sad episode) and the last episode of Game of Thrones.  I'm totally going through Game of Thrones withdrawal and I think I might read the books.  Never thought I'd be into a fantasy show like that, but then again I never thought I'd watched a zombie show (thanks Walking Dead) and yet, I'm obsessed with both!  Yup, total nerd, I know! 

I just wanted to share some Instagram photos I've been taking over the past couple of weeks...super random, yet they capture a look into my life.  Up above is my summer colors collage including my summer shoes and a new pretty scarf.  The beach was perfect last weekend and lastly, I love to lounge around the house in my bright fuchsia robe.  Yes, this is my life.

I love using Instagram for taking photos of food.  It's great for me to look back to see what I made.  What I find is that I make the same dishes over and over again.  So it's motivation for me to try something new.  I use our food processor A LOT to make fruit sorbets, ice creams and mousses.  I eat them pretty much every day.  I also like to post sneak peeks into my future posts on Instagram.  This week (hopefully!) I will be posting three new ice creams which taste so good!  I can't wait to share them.  Honestly, I'm kind of bummed that I've only been posting about two to three times a week.  I wish it was more!  I've been insanely busy and my posts take a lot of time (it's only me doing them) so that's why there hasn't been many.  I think after the wedding though, my life will get a lot calmer...which means more time to do posts!

Here's some more food pics.  Some homemade ice cream, ingredients for huevos rancheros (one of my all time favorite meals) and my favorite comfort food, grilled cheese.  I know this sounds strange, but I actually like my grilled cheese with wasabi tuna or smoked trout, kind of like a tuna melt.  Some of you probably think that's gross, but man, it tastes so good!

Lately I've become obsessed with looking for handmade and unique jewelry on Etsy.  I bought the arrow necklace and the earrings I'm wearing from Violet Bella.  Love Laura's shop, she has the cutest things on there.  It was really hard to decide what to get!  I wanted to take a photo of myself to share what the earrings look like, but honestly, I get really shy taking photos of myself.  I wish I had the confidence that the girls on A Beautiful Mess have when it comes to taking photos.  I get nervous though and don't know how to pose.  It's silly really...but sometimes I feel like I'm the only blogger who doesn't post photos of herself frequently.  Please tell me some of you are in the same boat!  Another issue to is time...it takes a lot of time to do that.  This is something that I would like to work on though.  If any of you have any tips, please let me know.  I could use them! 

Anyhoo, Athan and I went out for some Belgian beer on Saturday night.  That stuff is strong, let me tell ya!

Lastly, is little Ollie!  Athan's brother's dog, the cutest thing ever.  He came over this weekend and was following me all around.  It was nice having a little buddy, I can't wait until we can have our own furry friend someday.  I've been working on a project this weekend and hopefully...it will be up in a couple days.  Still a few final touches.  Oh, and my Preserve toothbrush!  Such a cool idea, you can mail them your old toothbrush for them to recycle.  All of their toothbrushes are recycled from old yogurt cups, I think.  Anyway, love that idea.  They sell them at Trader Joe's.

K, kids!  I've got to go wind down now, it's been a long day.  I think there's a new episode of Girls to watch so I'm stoked...good night :)

xoxo...Kate

A Lovely Day

I just wanted to do a quick post and update.  Athan and I went to the local nursery today and picked out some succulents for our porch.  We live in a condo so we don't have a backyard, but I really want to make our porch look pretty for the summer (since right now it looks pretty awful).  The nursery had an amazing selection of plants so it was hard to choose, but I got a couple of gorgeous succulents.  I'll be doing a DIY project in the next couple of days inspired by one of my favorite blogs so stay tuned for that.  Hint...it involves my day at the nursery.  Alright ya'll, have to head out!  Have some more birthday celebrating to do ;) 

xoxo...Kate