MVP: Most Valuable Project

Or most highly anticipated project or something.

So you all know how much I love succulents, I mean, just head over to my Pinterest wedding or living boards, succulents pretty much populate them entirely.

That's just a small taste. I looooove succulents. I started out with a few aloe plants, that I almost killed initially, and from there found a humble little pot of succulents hiding in a corner at Home Depot of all places and started growing succulents. Now, I'm still not great at taking great care of them (part of this is not my fault as the weather here is not succulent weather) but I still manage to keep them alive or bring them back to life periodically.

I've had my first batch of succulents for a long long time... let me look through my archives right quick...

That took a long time to find! This post was from December 2010!

Sheesh! Anyway, so unfortunately, of these originals, only the top one still has living offspring, as well as one not pictured here.


Then, after the wedding, I attempted to plant succulents from my bouquet:

Of course it's that sweet green and purple right-smack-dab-in-the-middle succulent, which I found out later is quite rare (echeveria nodulosa), and one more that was in the bouquet which you can't see here. I didn't have high hopes, because the florist had to use glue to adhere it to the bouquet, I cut off as much as I could and planted... and they're positively thriving! Of course I forgot to take a picture, but they're doing really well, doubled in size, awesome.

THEN, I went to California and saw succulents growing willy-nilly all over the place, unchecked. I'm not proud of this, but I took a few cuttings from plants that WERE NOT on anyone's front lawn; this wasn't difficult because they grew everywhere. I took some from the beach and I found one that had broken off its parent plant, etc...

I took them home and planted them just a few days ago... and I'm crossing my fingers. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of them, but I will be back with that later.

Anyway, where am I going with all this?!?! My new, most anticipated project(s) once we move into the new house:

TA DA!!! Gorgeous no?! I probably won't do wreath per se just because you have to have the right climate to have succulents outside year round. The important part of this project is the concept, which I will elaborate on. But first, the source of the above image, a website where you can buy this wreath already made... for a 'scant' $100. No thanks, plus, how many times do we have to bring attention to my control freak tendencies?! How could I possibly buy something stuffed with succulents in which I had no control over which succulents were stuffed into it?! I couldn't! That's how!

Thankfully, DIY is not a new concept, duh. And someone already figured out and published online several tutorials on succulent-stuffed things. I posted the pallet above, that's courtesy of Design*Sponge, and then I found this:

From Prudent Baby. I highly recommend this tutorial anyway, it's very thorough and has lots of pretty pictures. It introduced me to how this concept works, Spaghnum:

Looks gross, right? It's a fantastic moss that holds moisture really really well and also provides a great porous structure that's ideal for succulents to grow their roots. This website also taught me that succulents take root and grow better if you let your cuttings dry for a few days till the bottom gets a little scab. This probably explains why the succulents from my bouquet are growing so well; I didn't get a chance to take them from the bouquet and replant them until a few days after the wedding.

ANYway, so I'm super super psyched about doing this project, either with a pallet or a wreath, I have some great succulents from CA now to add, plus I found this awesome website that sells every type of succulent I'd have ever thought of:

These are just a few of my favorite things!! From GoSucculent. Best of all, they offer a 100 cuttings box for $50. I don't know if I need 100, but you can't beat the price, since if I just bought the above plants individually, it would cost about $100 (yeah, $100, for 20 plants... plus I don't even wanna' think about the shipping... plus that's 20 pots... just, I don't need all that).

So how 'bout the rest? Get wire frames from Amazon or Topiary Art Works:

Get spaghnum moss from Amazon or Topiary Art Works:

I have no idea how much I'll need yet, I'll keep you posted on that. I will be sure to let everyone in on the progress. I am so super excited about this project. I done my research! The only problem might end up being going a little crazy; why stop with a wreath? Why not do a shadow box filled with succulents for the bathroom? And a wall hanging in the living room? And a succulent centerpiece for the dining room table?? Window boxes to brighten up the kitchen??? And I've got a great bay window now so the seat will need to be decorated! EEeee!!

I'm sad we still have a month till move-in, but hey, we're half way there! So I'll be back with pictures of my new succulents from CA.

Until then, anyone with other cool DIY ideas for decorating my new house, I'd be happy to entertain and post about any new ideas. Just know that I subscribe to Design*Sponge and How About Orange; I'd be happy to hear about any other great DIY blogs that you guys follow too!