Live, Laugh, Photograph Guest Post

So there is this girl named Laura.
I SWEAR she will be the next Martha Stewart.
I mean this girl is the jack of all trades.
You name it, she can do it!
Craft.
SEW.
Cook.
Design.
Decorate.
Style.
PHOTOGRAPH.
Be a Wife and Momma.
OH and she's a hair stylist.
WOW!

I am so honored to call her my friend.
 I adore this girl!
 And guess what?
She's guest posting for you all today!

 Ready? Here's Laura...
.......

Hello Lee La La friends!

My name is Laura and I'm so excited to be here today guest posting for Lindsay! {Although, if I had it my way, I'd be on that plane to Hawaii with her and basking in the sun and taking in the sweet salty breeze of the ocean! *wink wink*}
 I am the author of live.laugh.photograph where I talk about my passions for being a mommy, photography, crafting, decorating, scrapbooking, tutorials, fashion, life stories and everything in-between.

Today I'm going to show you my simple bird bath tutorial!

You might even have some of the supplies on hand. So let's get to it shall we?
The supplies you will need are:
1 terra cotta planter {mine is I believe 8" diameter}
1 terra cotta saucer {mine is 12" diameter}
waterproof caulk
primer spray paint
flat white spray paint {or any color you choose}
sandpaper/sand block

Remove all the stickers and wipe the planter and saucer down with a rag.
We need to attach the planter and saucer together and make sure it is sealed well to prevent any mold/mildew from growing in the nooks and cranies! You could use any caulk you have lying around but I would recommend it being waterproof! Mine is a waterproof silicone that dries and is ready to paint in 3 hours.
So, take your caulk and on the bottom side of the planter, put a nice thick layer of caulk all over!

Now take your saucer and face it right side down and put the planter right side up on top of it. Make sure it's centered so it won't tip over! Now you have the wrong sides facing each other.

I didn't take a picture of this step because I'm spacey like that!. But, the little hole in the bottom of the planter also needs to be filled with caulk. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be pretty! You won't see it anyway ;)

Now we are going to take a rag and wipe off the excess caulk around the edges to make it nice and pretty.
Let it sit and dry according to the manufacturers directions.

Once the caulk has dried it's time to paint! I love to paint!
True story....One time I was at the store and texted a friend of mine and said "Guess what I am buying right now?" And her response was "ummm, spray paint?" No, it wasn't spray paint. It was a sewing machine! See, I told you I love painting!
Ok I'm getting off track, sorry! So take your primer and spray paint the heck out of your bird bath! Make sure the coats are nice and even with not drippy spots!

It should look like this. {You can also see how I caulked the little hole in this picture}

Let it dry completely. I love Krylon because it dries in 10 minutes. And I'm a results NOW kind of girl!

This is the paint I used. I had it on hand and it worked perfectly! Give it a couple coats until you are satisfied.

Now, you could be finished at this point. All you would need to do is rinse it well and then fill'er up!
But, I have this compulsion to distress and antique everything! And that's just what I did. Take the sandpaper or sanding block and give it a good sanding on the edges and wherever it would see the most wear.

Almost there! Give it a really good rinse to make sure there is no dust particles left over.

And now you have a simple DIY bird bath to set in your garden, yard, or wherever floats your boat!

And just in case you are wondering what those little stones are in the bath, they are to attract smaller birds so they can still bathe and not feel like they are drowning! I spray painted those too and then wrote on them with white nail polish.

This bird bath doesn't just attract birds. We have a ton of squirrels who use it, as well as this cute little neighborhood cat!

So there you have it! Simple and cheap with a little bit of paint mixed in. Just how I like it!
Thanks so much to everyone for reading this tutorial! If you want more awesome tutorials, stop by my blog and take a look around!
A very special thanks to Lindsay for allowing me to ramble on guest post on her blog!!

xoxo