Moss and Metal Heart

Date and time: January 8th; approximately 5:45 pm. I was on my bi-weekly trip to the thrift store when I spotted a heart-shaped baking form in the kitchen section (which just happens to be one of my favorite areas for picking up items to repurpose). I already had Valentine's day on the brain from some other projects I was working on so, of course, I picked up the metal heart!
Fast forward to January 14th. I was alone and working on projects when I spied the metal heart sitting on my floor. I then remembered a bag of reindeer moss I had previously picked up at the thrift store and thought it would look really cute if the heart was covered in this moss.

I didn't want the shiny metal to show through any areas that the moss wasn't covering and I didn't have the time to work on rusting the heart. Well, honestly, I just didn't have the patience for rusting the heart. When I get my mind set on a project, I usually tear into it and this was no exception. I simply didn't want to wait overnight for rust to develop. So, instead, I painted the heart with some pale blue chalkpaint. I used American Paint Company in Beach Glass. Waiting for chalkpaint to dry isn't bad at all. It's super quick. I could handle a small wait :)

After the paint was dry, I got to hot gluing the moss onto the heart. It was a little messy but it went on well and I just kept adding a dab of glue here and there to make sure it was covering well.

Once the moss was on, I just wasn't loving all of the blue on the inside of the heart. And, since the moss was a thrift store find and I only had what I had, I couldn't add it to the inside because there simply wasn't any more...

I got to thinking about what I could do with the inside of the heart and burlap came to mind. I figured the burlap and the moss would go well together and I certainly had enough burlap hanging around! So I laid the heart on the burlap and determined how thick a piece I would need to cut. I used the edge of the burlap bag (all of the burlap I use is from coffee sacks) because I liked the seamed edge showing. Then I simply hot-clued it onto the inside of the heart. 

Then it came to me! This would be an awesome topiary! So I got out a candlestick and used the same pale blue on it that I had painted onto the heart. This was going to look sweet!

Now, you may have already noticed that this metal heart is NOT a topiary. This is where my story goes awry...

I got out a dowel and even attached it to the candlestick. But, I could not figure out for the life of me how to get that dowel securely attached to the metal heart. Part of the problem, dare I say the biggest part, was that I had already put the moss and burlap on. So drilling through the metal form was going to be pretty tricky. I knew it was going to cause some of the moss to come off and need reattaching. And I also knew that the burlap would get stuck on the drill bit and pull off, too. All my hard work would have needed to be redone. And that kinda stinks! And since there was no way around drilling a hole into the heart to make it into a topiary, I decided I'd better take a different course of action.. But I wasn't sure what it was, so I waited...

January 21st. A week later. I was really annoyed that I hadn't actually finished this project yet. And maybe even more annoyed with myself that it wasn't going to be a topiary! But I'd had a week to think about what to do with it and had an idea. I got out a cupboard door. I have a few of these left from a bundle of showroom doors I bought at an auction for a mere 50 cents a piece. This one with the beadboard is very pretty. To tie it together, I lightly painted the outside frame of the cupboard with an even paler blue. It's from the American Paint Company's Ellis Collection and it's called Treasure Box. It's a beautiful green-blue color and I love it! It's very subtle on this piece and looks so pretty!

Then I grabbed a read gingham ribbon and hung the heart onto the cupboard door, simply stapling the ribbon onto the back. 

It's no topiary, but it sure turned out nice!

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'Til next time!

Everyone loves a good party!
Check my project out along with other great inspiration, at these great blogs...

That DIY Party at DIY Showoff, Give Me the Goods Party at Rain on a Tin Roof, Monday Funday at Creatively Living, Inspiration Monday at twelveOeight, The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch, Project Inspired{d}at Cupcakes and Crinoline, Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House, The Power of Paint Party at Domestically Speaking, Fluster's Creative Muster Party at Fluster Buster, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm, Brag About It Tuesday at Bebetsy, Knick of Time Tuesday at Knick of Time Interiors, Whimsy Wednesday at Smart School House, Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond the Picket Fence, Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style, From Dream to Reality at The DIY Dreamer, Work It Wednesday at The Blissful Bee, Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life, Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life, Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Inspire Me Please Link Party at Liz Marie Blog, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, What Have You Redone at Redoux Interiors, Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, Simple and Sweet Fridays at Rooted inThyme, Be Inspired at Common Ground, Fabulously Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo, Show and Tell Friday at Romantic Home, Junkin' Joe Vintage and Thrifty Finds at The Cottage Market, Link Party Palooza at Tatertots and Jello, Tickled Pink at 504 Main, Best of the Weekend at A Little Claireification, Saturday Show and Tell at Cheerios and Lattes, Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors, A Bouquet of Talent Party at Life on Lakeshore Drive, DIY Showcase Party at Minette's Maze, Share It One More Time at One More Time Events