I found 2 fabulous fiberglass urns at Target a few years ago and I'm pretty sure they still sell this exact urn, you can see it in my banner above along with the faux fern (I do not do well with live plants in my house) I placed in it.  Yep, that is the real deal, and it sits happily on my credenza with a twin adjacent to my fireplace.  I just love the substantial size and the green it brings to my room.

Mine rang up for under $20-$29 each, and I have been unable to find very many options for less.  The bright side is that they typically exude a traditional styling and will be a classic element in your home that does not follow a trend.  In other words, money well spent.

Purchasing a live fern of a variety suited to indoor life and temperatures is always going to be the most elegant, budget friendly and beneficial option, but for those of you who can't make that commitment, don't worry there is another option for you (the one I chose). 

Below are a few Urn options for reasonable prices (the first one is my actual urn from Target, I also have the larger size).  I included a few different styles and shapes, but kept them all under $40 and most around $20.  Click on the images to take you to their place of purchase.

Here is an online option for a fern at a very reasonable price (this can get expensive if you aren't careful) hovering around the $10 mark: (I purchased mine at Walmart and removed it from the pot, so that it would fit in one of my urns, for the other I just placed the pot directly inside the urn, since one of my urns is slightly bigger).  Also check your local dollar store for fern stems that you can bunch together and insert in floral foam (also from dollar store) as well as your Target, WalMart, Home Goods, Ross, and craft store options for arrangements you can disassemble.

{Images from: americrental.com and floralhomedecor.net}

Not only were they fabulously affordable at the price of $1 for several on a stick, they turned out to be covered in a rounded plastic iridescent miniature beads rather than a sugar-like substance so they were more sturdy in the world of 'covered with stuff' items.  I am much less worried about the coating rubbing off. 

I removed them from their floral wire and added them to my apothecary jar that already had some peat moss.  I think they are a fabulous color and look wonderful in contrast with the peat moss.  I couldn't me more pleased with my springtime sugared egg vase fill! 

Here's the deal:  I found a recipe online for weathering newly applied shingles and wondered if the simple instructions would translate into weathering furniture or accessories as well.  The tricky part of this is that the process of weathering by definition actually means that you are degrading the integrity of your piece whatever that may be.  Now if this is an accessory, not really a big deal.  If it's furniture, then more of a big deal, but I wondered if some good matte finish sealant wouldn't help after the process was complete.  If this is a project you did yourself for relatively little funding...then by all means weathering is ideal and a wonderful way to add character to your home.

So before I give you this recipe, I want you to understand I have not perfected it yet.  There are a couple of specific factors involved which need adjusting and until it is sunny again outside, I won't know which.  If you have a wood remnant or scrap lying around and want to experiment, definitely do and keep me posted, I am anxious to get this right!  After all, the only ingredient required is Baking Soda, and if it works that is much cheaper than wood stain or a paint technique (which is generally difficult to do for a novice painter) and most people already have this at home.

Here are the instructions I followed: Weathering Wood Shingles

The only thing I did differently was that I used my garden watering can, since I have no idea where my sprayer is and even if I found it, who knows what I used it for last time.. I do have a lot of 'experiments' in my life, hahah.  I also cut the recipe in half since I was only trying this out on a small object.  Now if you peruse the instructions you will see that it suggests you begin early morning, which I did and that it needs to be sunny, which it was.  However it also suggests that it should either be hot or warm.  Now in my eyes, that leaves a very wide gap of temperatures in question.  If the directions are from a person living on the East Coast, those warm/hot temps are very different than they are for those on the West Coast. 

So I gave it a go on a sunny day and left it in the sun.  Maybe it wasn't warm enough, that is entirely possible since it is not even spring here yet.  Maybe it needs a higher concentration of Baking Soda (this is my thought) and a bit more heat (my other thought).

It is difficult to tell from the pictures, but something definitely happened, what you can't see is that what definitely happened also included some major drying of the wood (acceptable and expected) so again, if you are going to experiment be careful and if you are unsure, let me continue my experiments for you.  I don't mind ruining stuff in my experimentation.

As soon as it is sunny again I will try this with more Baking Soda.  If it still doesn't work then we know it very well maybe the level of heat.  That will be my next attempt but I will have to wait a month or so for that if the Baking Soda increase doesn't do the trick.

Before:

After:

I have big plans for this little CD holder when I am finished with the finish!  Clue: it has nothing whatsoever to do with CD's...stay tuned!

So, I have given my 'piece of wood' a nice coating, and now I wait.  I will check back in this afternoon to tell you if it worked.  Fingers crossed...

I have started reading this blog called Losing our Shirts, Keeping the Farm, most likely due to my obsession with all things farm life and the desire to raise chickens and have milk cows...yes I said it, I am dying to have cows, however, I live in a suburb.  Sigh!  So this means I generally live vicariously in the Chicken Coops of others (totally jealous of Heather Bullard who just got baby chicks)...

Anyhoo, back on point...Nancy at Losing our Shirts just wrote about this company called The Dinner Garden and I jumped at that chance to share this company with all of you as well.  They are a charitable organization that acts to "End Hunger through Gardening".  They accept donations, so if you are able...you should.  The main reason for my writing about them though, pertains to the fact that they provide free seeds, gardening supplies, and  gardening advice to all people in the United States, and that my friends is definitely me! 

I find myself cringing at the cost of fresh vegetables and spices at the store, as I am sure many of you do as well.  I don't want to have to sacrifice good products to maintain a relatively healthy diet.  Growing my own garden is definitely the most frugal Garden Party of all.  I submitted my info on their site, and will eagerly await my precious seeds arrival in the mail.  I suggest that if you are interested in having your own vegetable garden or you have a concern for nationwide hunger...that you visit this site and do your part. 

{Images from: thedinnergarden.org}