How to Turn Hardware Aprons into Stenciled Flower Pockets
Inexpensive hardware aprons are stenciled and coffee stained, then hung and filled with flowers. You'll love how easy these unique flower pockets are to make!
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One of my dreams is to visit the French countryside and shop the markets! I
visited Paris as a teenager (on a teenager's teeny budget) but I long to go
back and do it right this time! I would buy fresh flowers, and hunt for
vintage goodies to stuff my suitcase with!
While I'm waiting for my European adventure to begin, it's fun to bring some
of that French countryside feeling to my home with easy decorations and
Ooh la la! these flower pockets are fun and so easy to make! Best of
all, it cost me less than $5 to make both of them!
If you're wanting to add more European farmhouse style to your home, keep
reading for links to some of my favorite affordable projects!
Make it your own
Of course, you can add your own creative style to a hardware apron to make
your flower pockets look exactly the way you envision! I love sharing ideas to
inspire you, and motivate you to take one of my crafts in your own direction!
Inspired by a friend
These stenciled flower pockets are made from inexpensive canvas hardware
aprons that I found online at
Walmart. You guys, they were less than $1.50 each!! Now you might be
wondering how on earth I even thought to repurpose a canvas apron as a flower
pocket. Well, that is where the beauty of the creative community comes in! I
was inspired by my friend Cindy over at
County Road 407. A couple months ago she shared a
garden-themed cubby
sitting on an old pine dresser, and she used an antique hardware store apron
with some greenery tucked in to hang from the dresser.
I was so charmed by this idea and wanted to recreate the look in my own style.
I chose to DIY my hardware aprons with French stencils and gave one of them a
grungy coffee stain to make it look old and tattered
(as if I'd pulled it out of a bin at a French market, you know one of those
bins where everything is ancient!).
If you've been following me for awhile, you'll know that I like to share the step by step HOW TO so you can literally see how I make something, which makes it easier for you to recreate it at home! It's kind of my trademark, and you'll find the steps below to create your own decorated hardware apron flower pocket.
If you'd rather just purchase an antique hardware apron to use as a flower
pocket, you can check these ones out.
SHOP ANTIQUE APRONS
How to Turn Hardware Aprons into Stenciled Flower Pockets
The supplies list is short for this DIY craft idea, and you may already have
some of the supplies at home.
Supplies:
- canvas half apron HERE or HERE
- stencil (I used a stencil I made on my Silhouette, as well as THIS French patisserie stencil)
- acrylic paint
- small stencil brush
- coffee stain (optional - see below for details)
Step 1: Create stencils
If you own a Silhouette or Cricut machine, it's easy to make your own
stencils. You can design them to say whatever you want, and can customize the
size to fit your project perfectly. I created a 12x12 sheet of French-inspired
stencils, including an old date surrounded by a wreath, lavender stems and a
measure. I used an English to French translator on Google to come up with some
sayings that seem like they would be appropriate for a hardware apron flower
pocket:
- Atelier Ru de Marche means Market Street Workshop
- l'outillage artisanat means craft tools
- outils de jardin fleurs means flower garden tools
If you don't have any way to make your own stencils, you can use simple alphabet stencils or find ones that have the look and feel that you want for your flower pockets. Search Amazon for inexpensive stencils for your project.
My second apron is a mix of DIY stencils and a store bought one with French
words.
Step 2: Iron
My aprons were very wrinkled straight out of the package, so I took a few minutes to iron them smooth. That way the stencils will be easier to apply.Step 3: Paint Stencil
You'll need very little paint for your stencils. Here are my tips to prevent
bleed through and get the best results:
- Tape stencil to fabric so it doesn't move (painter's tape is perfect for this).
- Add a dab of paint to a bowl or piece of cardboard.
- Dab brush in paint and then pounce to remove some of the paint (you can always add more if needed).
- Always pounce paint onto project, don't brush.
- Start from outside the stencil and work in.
By following my tips above, your stenciled design will be nice and crisp, with
no bleeding edges.
If you're not planning to coffee stain the canvas apron, then your flower
pocket is finished! Hang it with the long ties to a dresser and add some
flowers. I hung this pocket from my recently found
curbside dresser I painted to look vintage. I'm using this dresser to store faux garlands and florals, so this flower
pocket is right at home!
Step 4: Coffee stain apron (optional)
This step is for those of you who love to decorate with vintage, primitive,
dare I say 'grungy' looking items! The beauty of using this stain is
that you know the apron is not really dirty, it just looks it, LOL! The coffee
stain has vanilla and cinnamon added, and smells really good! The recipe comes
from
Tracey at My Sweet Home Living
and she calls it Coffee Grunge. Tracey suggests using inexpensive items from
the dollar store to make your grunge (save the expensive stuff for baking!).
Coffee stain recipe
In a jar, mix up the following:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup instant coffee
- 2 Tablespoons vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon.
Give the mix a shake. Then use a foam brush to paint the coffee stain wherever
you want a grungy look. I started just in the corners, but then decided to
coffee stain the entire front of the second apron flower pocket, along with
the ties.
I stained right over the stencil, which was dry. And to add a little bit of
extra grunge, I sprinkled some instant coffee granules on the wet stain,
mainly in the corners. This left some rusty looking speckles that really make
this hardware apron look like an antique!
Ideas for a hardware apron flower pocket
I'm sharing a couple different looks for you here, to give you some ideas for
how to use these flower pockets in your home!
First up, I hung the apron from a drawer of my
white cottage dresser. This dresser is one of my favorite pieces, I just love the look! Notice
that the knobs are too close together to tie the pocket to, so I tucked the
ties into the corners of a drawer, and closed it. The closed drawer provides a
snug fit and keeps the hardware apron in place. I tucked in a few roses, as
well as a mason jar filled with dried rose buds.
For another look, I took the flower pocket upstairs to my studio and tied it
onto the chicken wire in my
blue painted cabinet. Obviously you don't want to put anything too heavy in the apron, but some
flowers and a jar of my
chippy white mini spindles
makes a charming addition.
For funsies, here's a picture of both French stenciled flower pocket hardware
aprons, so you can see the color variation ❤❤ I'm excited to style these for
Fall with some small pumpkins and greenery! Oh, and maybe one of my
primitive farmhouse sunflowers!
Pin to Save
More Ways to Add European Farmhouse Style:
bringing beauty to the ordinary,
Just adorable. They would be an adorable gift. Where are the peonies from? Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, I appreciate your visit! The flowers are from Hobby Lobby.
DeleteHow fun to find those inexpensive aprons and be able to turn them into exactly what YOU want! The coffee staining takes it over the top. I love it! I'm very excited to have inspired you too. Especially because I think you are probably the craftiest person I know. It's all so cute. pinned
ReplyDeleteAww thanks Cindy! And thanks for the great idea!!
DeleteCindy this turned out SO great! I love the extra touch of "rust" and the stencils are beautiful:) pinning! Tanya @ twelveoeightblog.com
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Tanya, it was fun to grunge these up! And they smell amazing 😉
DeleteGreat tutorial! I never thought of turning hardware aprons into stenciled flower pockets before. Such a creative and practical idea. Can't wait to try it out myself! Thanks for sharing this awesome DIY project. 🌸👩🔧 #DIY #CraftingFun
ReplyDelete