Container gardening is just my speed. It’s enough commitment to get my hands dirty and enjoy the fruits of my labor, but not so much that midway through the summer I’ve thrown in the towel on my very thirsty little plants and have nothing to show for the high expectations I set back in the spring. (And trust me. I’ve been there…more times than I care to admit.)
And this year, with the help of my Sihouette CAMEO, my garden is not only thriving, but looks super cute, too. Don’t worry. You can certainly create these adorable garden markers without the CAMEO. If you have questions as to how the directions might change or where you can find substitute supplies, just leave me a note in the comments and I’ll be sure to get back to you as quickly as possible!
And for those of you with a CAMEO, pay special attention to “the bonus”, where I go over in detail how to use the CAMEO’s trace feature. If you’re not familiar with what it does, you can trace any shape, graphic, etc. that you open in the Silhouette software, and then cut it out. (I use it to cut out my logo…a little trick I learned to make my own custom shaped business cards!)
Enjoy,
Nikki, In Stitches
Materials:
- Wooden spoons (found in the unfinished wood section of the craft store!)
- White paint and paintbrush
- Mod Podge
- Scrapbook papers (small 6″ x 6″ scraps will work fine)
- Silhouette CAMEO black adhesive backed vinyl and transfer paper
- Silhouette CAMEO and related supplies (i.e. cutting mat, Silhouette Studio software, etc.)
*NOTE: If you don’t have a Silhouette CAMEO, alphabet stickers will work just fine to label your spoons!
Directions:
1. Paint spoons and let dry completely. (You bet I’m using my “what to do with your old phone book” trick!)
2. While one of your spoons is still wet with paint, “stamp” it on a piece of scrap paper. Cut this shape out and use it as a template to trace and cut out the scrapbook paper you will Mod Podge to the inside of your spoon.
BONUS! Here’s a quick tutorial for using the CAMEO’s trace feature! If you don’t have a CAMEO, skip down to #3!
- Trace the oval “stamp” you just made with your freshly painted spoon, and scan it into your computer as a JPEG.
- Open this file in the Silhouette Studio software. (You may need to resize the image. For me, it’s simply a matter of resizing the box around the traced shape to 8.5″ x 11″….a standard paper size.)
- Open the Trace window.
- Click ‘Select Trace Area’.
- Draw a box around the oval. (The selected area will appear bright yellow!)
- Click ‘Trace Outer Edge.’
- Drag the oval to the side and your traced shape is left behind!
- Delete your original drawn shape!
A few notes before you move on:
- I cut two shapes to a page. Just copy your traced shape (Select the shape. Click ‘Edit’. Click ‘Copy’.) and paste its duplicate (Click Edit. Click Paste.).
- I also used 6″ x 6″ pieces of scrap paper. To change your paper size, open the Page Tools Window. Change the width and height of your paper to the desired size. (You may have to move your ovals around to make sure they fit on the page!) Then send to the CAMEO and cut!
3. Use the Silhouette CAMEO to cut out the names of the plants in your container garden on Silhouette’s adhesive backed vinyl. (I made sure my words measured approximately 1″ x 2″, but you may have to adjust the size depending on the size of your spoon.) Using Silhouette’s transfer paper, transfer the names of the veggies, fruits, and herbs to the inside of your spoon. (NOTE: Need some tips for getting this done simply and easily? Check out my video “transferring adhesive backed vinyl letters with Silhouette transfer paper” tutorial here!) Give your spoons one last coat of Mod Podge.
Very cute idea for garden markers! Will have to give it a try for next year. I just started to container garden this year. If it is successful than I plan to do a few more containers next year.
Thanks, DeDe!
I love the container garden because I can move the pots around. If something needs more or less sun, it’s easy just to rearrange the pots to adjust the sunlight they receive!
Will Mod Podge stand up to rain and weather?
Jay,
Mine have held up great, and I didn’t even use “outdoor” Mod Podge. If you’re worried, try that instead!
I will say, the color of my paper faded some from being in the sun. Looking back, I would have use darker colored papers, so that now, late into the summer, they had a bit more color left in them!
very good idea!
What a cute and funky idea for garden markers!
This is a very cute idea. The spoons make wonderful plant markers. TFS the info about the cameo and how to trace the images.
Thanks, Everyone!!
So happy you like the garden markers!
LOTS of great CAMEO posts coming soon for Halloween….stay tuned!
I love the spoon markers. Collector of stuff (not a hoarder), darn I recently gave away that HUGE box of wooden spoons as I had run out of idea. That won’t happen again. Thanks for the inspiration.
My pleasure, Joan!
It always happens that way, right?
As soon as you throw something away, you get a fabulous idea as to how you should have used it!
XOXO
Ah! I just made a project and the trace function would have been AWESOME to use. Thanks for the tutorial. I will definitely be using it next time 🙂
My pleasure, Karolyn!
Let me know if you need any help using it!
My seedlings are about two inches now and in another week, I’ll need to replant, so this is SUPER cute and adorable! What I like most is if I change my taste in decor from cafe bistro to polka dot chic, I can just get a new set of paper and re-podge the spoons! CANNOT WAIT TO DO THIS PROJECT!!! I may use small wooden spoons (sold at the local dollar store) for my kitchen ones and make some of the big ones for the herbs I’m giving away!
Love that idea, Janille!
PS…I wish I could say my seedlings were doing that well! 🙁
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