No More Dormant Orchids & a Link Party

Thanks for the sweet birthday notes to Mr. Sugarplum yesterday! Our son set his alarm extra early and surprised him with decorations and breakfast....could you die?! Just when you're ready to trade them in, they pull a wildcard!

Today's project is super duper cheap and easy.

Several months ago, the sweet and talented Shay Geyer sent me a gorgeous orchid. I watered it with ice cubes every week, but eventually the blooms died off. It's still green and full, but I got tired of waiting for it to bloom again.

I decided to fudge Mother Nature until she kicked in. Two faux orchid stems (mine were $2 at Ikea), and some wire cutters are all you need.

Cut to desired height, and insert them directly in the dirt.

Then just gently bend the stems to follow the arch of the leaves.

Voila! An ever-blooming orchid! I'll still water it like usual, and just remove the faux stems if when real blooms come back.

And as long as we're faking it...remember my Elephant Air Planter? Yeah, that died. And since I'd drilled a hole in the top, I couldn't leave it bare. Enter a faux succulent from the craft store!

Five minutes and a couple of bucks later, my coffee table is in perpetual bloom! Do you mix the faux with the real? (You can read about the blue armoire makeover here, and the real houseplants I can keep alive here.)

Now it's your turn! We all love big room makeovers, and huge Before & Afters, but most of us are lucky to squeeze an hour of free time out of the weekend. So this party is all about projects we can tackle 'In About an Hour'...crafts, organizing, recipes....you name it! Link up below, and feel free to grab my little button for your post. I'll feature some of them next week.