Having been married to a teacher for 14 years, I have seen my share of less-than-useful teacher gifts. They are sweet, well-meant, and sometimes very useful (like restaurant gift cards.) But…really, how many coffee mugs do two people need? (Especially when neither is a coffee drinker!)
When my husband came home this week with his end-of-year gifts, I was pleasantly surprised to see a flower in the mix. It came in a small gift-wrapped container, and fit perfectly on our kitchen pub table. Nice, until…the next morning there was petal-filled cat vomit in the foyer. What IS the attraction for felines to eat things that simply make them sick? Ok, this thing is going outside! But…how and where? Planting a single flower in the landscaping seemed odd, and we had no pots small enough to work either.
Aha! Time to repurpose one of those old gifts collecting dust in the cabinet. I sifted through the shelves of coffee mugs, passing over the cute snowflakes, the oversized one that I love using for hot chocolate, and several others. On the top shelf was just what I needed! An extra-tall Christmas mug decorated with snowmen that I found more gaudy than endearing. Perfect.
With my sister’s help, and a few crafty supplies I had on hand, we made the transformation.
First, two coats of pretty blue paint. Bye-bye Frosty!
Once dry, I sprayed it with sealant. Then, we added a touch of flair from the mish-mash of floral pieces I have left over from previous projects. This included a flower that I painted yellow, to help it really ‘pop’ on the blue.
I dropped a few rocks in the bottom, to add some heft against the winds on our patio. Then, the final touch – insert flower!
My new coffee pot!
nennpen.com 
Awesome! Love it.