Today I'm sharing a reboot of one of my most popular posts, my DIY Wedding Centerpiece. It was the reason I started my blog and one of my favourite projects from my wedding. The photos on the original posts aren't the best quality (it was posted pre-instagram and before I knew anything about photography). I will keep this post short because the details of this DIY Tall Wedding Centerpiece are available on the original post. This wedding centerpiece is not only elegant but it's cheap (as in affordable not kitschy).


I found most of the supplies at the dollar store but if you are unable to find them at the dollar store here are some links to the supplies online (some are not the exact ones used in the photos below but they will do the trick):

Okay so full disclosure, I stole a bunch of grass from my neighbour the other day (not the bad kind of grass - although it's totally legal in Canada now) it was pampas grass used in landscaping. My neighbour put out a whole bunch of grass clippings to the curb and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful they were. I asked my neighbour if I could grab a bunch and they didn't mind. In today's project I'm sharing how I transformed those clippings into painted pampas grass decor for my home!


When I got married 7 years ago I had this idea to make my own centerpieces out of babies breath, everyone thought I was crazy but they looked beautiful. I've recently noticed a decor trend using landscape grasses.  I can only imagine what my family would say if I decided to use grass from the side of the road for my wedding centerpieces. I can't help but love it though, it looks incredible. I decided to make some painted pampas grass decor for my home.

Krylon Canada partnered with me on this project, it is my third DIY with Krylon highlighting their Tiffany Pratt Collections, you may have caught my paint dipped foyer basket from the Spring or my DIY Outdoor Chandelier from the Summer. This time we're highlighting the incredible colours in the Fall Collection.


I loved the pampas grass as is and I have seen it used oh natural but I kinda wanted a monochromatic look for an arrangement in my home. I decided to pull out my Krylon spray paint in Matte Surf. I tested out the spray paint on the pampas grass and I was pleasantly surprised. The feathery ends stayed feathery and the paint was just enough to keep the fluff from falling off the stems.








I love the way this one turns out! Now my only problem is getting up the courage to ask my neighbour for some more pampas grass.

Plus, Check out how I decorated with pampas grass for the holidays!


If you have a spray painting project in the works be sure to post a pic of your final project to Instagram and tag #mykrylondiy and myself @harlowandthistle . I look forward to checking them out!

Wedding centerpieces have always inspired me and I would get married again (to the same guy) if that meant I could make more centerpieces. Actually one of the first things pinned from my blog was my DIY Wedding Centerpiece so naturally I was super excited when the Modern Handmade Home blogger series partnered up with FloraCraft to create some easy DIY flower arrangements. I decided to make this pretty DIY Floral Chandelier because I thought it would make a lovely hanging centerpiece for a wedding, shower or patio party and it's super easy to arrange.


Here are the things I used to make this DIY Floral Chandelier:

1. FloraCraft Wet Foam Blocks
2. FloraCraft Spanish Moss
3. FloraCraft Floral Tape
4. Floral Craft Floral Pins
5. Hanging Planters from the dollar store (x4)
6. A bouquet of flowers 

First I prepared my wet foam. I filled up a large bowl with water and then placed the foam on top. There is a common misconception that you have to hold down the foam in the water for it to absorb but this creates bubbles in the foam and makes it less effective. FloraCraft recommends placing the foam on top of the water and letting it absorb naturally (it usually takes two or three minutes). Then you can take it out of the water and slice it with a knife like butter.


Next I wired my two planters together to create a metal ball (I left the top open so I could build the arrangement inside). For my arrangement I used about a quarter of the wet foam. I put some Spanish moss under it so it wouldn't split on the metal and used floral tape to secure it inside the metal ball.


Then I used the floral pins to adhere the Spanish moss to the wet foam.


I then cut and inserted my flowers into the wet foam until I got the look I was going for. I closed up the metal sphere and inserted a few more long stem greens through the holes.



I love the way these DIY floral chandeliers turned out and I could see them being used as a unique hanging centerpiece at any wedding, shower or patio party.






Be sure to checkout more easy flower arrangement ideas from the other bloggers in the Modern Handmade Home series:


- Thalita from The Learner Observer made a gorgeous arrangement.

- Lindi from Love Create Celebrate decorated her table with smaller flower arrangements.

- Gemma from The Sweetest Digs made some lovely tea party floral arrangements.

- Colleen from Lemon Thistle created a beautiful free form arrangement suitable for any occasion.

Have you always wanted to host a bohemian party with low tables and tons of pillows but have never been sure how to make it happen? Well let me share my story with you... here is my DIY bohemian Party tutorial.


A few weeks ago, my fellow blogger friend Kate (Emmetts ABC's) and I launched Collective Influence Co, an association for Canadian bloggers and influencers. We wanted the launch party to have a unique feel and to really wow our guests (especially because most of them were bloggers who love to take pictures of pretty things). Kate found this great unused office space we were able to use for the event. With the exception of a few chairs the space was empty which presented us with a challenge - furniture. We knew we needed seating because we were planning to have some speeches and networking activities. The idea of low tables popped into my head and the indoor bohemian theme grew from there.  I've always loved the style of a bohemian party but I had never seen it indoors before but after some brainstorming we came up with a plan to make this DIY Bohemian Party happen. We reached out to Ikea and they were thrilled with the idea and offered to provide a few rentals for the evening.


Putting together a DIY Bohemian party was fairly easy. For the tables we used desk tops from Ikea and rested them on diaper boxes wrapped in black paper. We added some table runners, rugs, string lights and obviously all the pillows we could carry (Ikea is a great place to score an insane amount of pillows because they always have plenty in stock at really low prices).





A DIY bohemian party is a great party theme for any occasion whether a birthday, shower or sweet 16. Indoor or outdoors these low tables and decorations are sure to wow your guests.

In the end our Launch Party was a hit (even in the midst of a snow storm). Thank you to our wonderful sponsor Ikea for helping us make this happen!

When my eldest son was learning how to talk he would make the typical baby goo sounds. This one day he made some unusual noises that sounded like "bak-pak-nn-ah-ri-ka", my husband and I laughed and proudly said our son's first words were "Back-pack in Africa". So this little DIY Wanderlust Globe is in honour of my little adventurer to-be. Go where ever the wind takes you little man.

How to hand-paint a wanderlust globe:
If you caught my favourite finds the other day you may have guessed that I would make the hand-painted Anthropologie globe because the other items (other than the earrings) were too difficult to make in such a short amount of time. I've been seeing these wanderlust globes being used as wedding guestbooks and I love the idea. My DIY Anthropologie Inspired Wanderlust Globe is a bit smaller but the instructions would work for a larger globe guestbook as well.


Here are the things you'll need: A globe from the dollar store, some black, teal and gold acrylic paint (or a gold paint marker), gold Krylon spray paint (and possibly some primer if you want to make it more durable).

I removed the globe from the axis and spray painted the axis gold.



To hand-paint the globe I started by painting all the water black. Note, if I were making a wanderlust globe wedding guest book I would probably prime it first to make it more durable.


Then I painted all the land teal. If you paint your own don't stress too much if the globe isn't geographically accurate - it's for show not for education. I did a few coats of each colour for good coverage.


I hand painted the names of the continents and oceans in gold. Note, this would have been easier with a gold paint marker. Then I sprayed the entire thing with a clear sealer.


I love the way this little wanderlust globe looks on my bookshelf however when I makeover my son's room it will have a new home.