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I was actually cruising the isles of the thrift stores looking for unique plates, bowls, dishes, table linens, etc., for food photography props for THIS PROJECT and ebook I’m currently working on.
However, I couldn’t help but notice that really ugly plant stands were around every corner and were to be found for a dime a dozen (pretty much).
This lonely guy particularly caught my eye.
I’ve made it a habit of destroying every bit of orange stained oak in my path, and he was begging for salvation.
Then I thought of my less-than-cheery front porch, and decided he needed to come home with me.  I knew that together, we could make our world a better place.
It was really not hard to fix at all. Â A bit of sanding and my favorite paint in the world (which we’ll discuss in the tutorial below), and this 3 legged plant stand holds my flowers with dignity.
I wanted to share this with you in hopes to inspire you to check out bargain stores, thrift stores or even your own garage to spruce up your outdoor spaces.
It tends to give me a heart attack when I see what home and garden stores try to charge for pots for our plants and yard decor.
Might you feel the same?
I actually found the crocks that my plants are in for $3 at the thrift store as well.  The backs say “flour” and “sugar”, but no one will know that unless they turn them around.
Then I pulled out last years White Washed Terracotta Pots to get them ready for some plants as well.  I don’t have much of a green thumb, but I do enjoy giving my children the jobs of watering the flowers and dead-heading them.  Hopefully 1 of the 4 will grow a love for yard work for my pure benefit 😉
I am also still enjoying the old x-table workbench my husband found in my grandfathers junk yard.  It is a true treasure to me and a reminder of my grandfathers legacy.  He loved his junk 😉
I do hope you’ve been inspired to save on your planters and yard decor and breathe new life into old things.
I’m also pleased to share with you that this post is in collaboration with my Farmhouse Friday peeps and their planter projects this month.
Be sure to click around and see what they have to offer you as far as ideas and tutorials for your planters and outdoor spaces.
If you’d like to see how I painted my plant stand, keep on reading!
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I first gave it a good sand down so my paint would have something to grip on.
Then I mixed up some of Miss Mustard Seed milk paint, in Farmhouse White. Â I’ve actually used this AMAZING paint on a couple of furniture pieces I’m prepping to show you as well. Â I was glad to have plenty left for this project and more.
The gifted Marian didn’t ask me to promote this for her, but I’ll still sing my praises of this paint to the ends of the earth.  It’s a paint with it’s own personality, and chips naturally and beautifully on everything I’ve used it on.  If it is new/bare wood, it will soak in and never be moved.  (Like seen in our DIY Headboard and I used it on top of chalk paint for this chair makeover).
Any way – I highly recommend this product and it is always a fun experience to use it on old pieces – like the plant stand.
Once my 2 coats of paint were dry I sanded and scuffed it up just a bit.
I then used Miss Mustard Seed White Wax as a top coat sealer.
And that is all there was to it.
I’d love to hear of any thrift store makeovers you’ve done lately.  I could also talk about milk paint together – if you are aching for conversation 😉
Have a lovely day!
*Linking up to these parties, HERE.
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This looks lovely, Cami. Thanks for reposting on FB. 🙂 I actually just picked up two plant ‘pots’ next to the trash bin in our complex (people aren’t *supposed* to leave things near the trash bin, but it has been to my delight, at times). One is a white enamel pot and the other is a white CA pottery pot. 🙂 Very farmhouse-y!
I love the old x-table workbench and I volunteer at a thrift store.
Perfectly cute!
It is a lovely rainy day here–I came back from swimming and fixed myself a proper breakfast. My iPad /email led me to your beautiful photos and lovely plant stand project and increased my happy feeling even more!
hey girl this looks amazing! So pretty! great job! I love Big Lots store for great prices on things. I just bought a few flower pots a few days ago for $5 a piece!
Love this! Such a pretty upcycle 🙂
Yes I would love to discuss milk paint! I’ve been on the fence about using it to paint some dining room chairs and this post pushed me to try it! Love your porch!
So cute Cami! I love how paint can do that!