Tutorials

Make your own countertop!

March 7, 2011 By Stacy 38 Comments

Let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time my bathroom faucet broke. We bought a new one. I couldn’t replace it myself because the fittings were all rusted and too tight. Enter my not so handy hubby with big muscles. He had to remove the sink in order to get the faucet off. Problem #1: The sink was the original 70+ year old sink. It was held in there by some fancy old clips. They were so corroded that they snapped and broke. Problem #2: Those particular clips are no longer manufactured (trust me, I called everyone). We tried every clip on the market and none of them worked. So we needed to get another sink. Problem #3: The old sink was a weird size. We couldn’t find a sink that would fit the hole. I searched for 2 weeks online. Nothin’. Sooooooo, that meant we now needed a new counter top as well. Problem #4: My hubby was unemployed at the time and we had very little moola. So I did what any self respecting DIYer would do. I made my own! Total cost for a new sink, faucet, and counter top $89.00!!! No kidding.
I think I can handle that. Especially since this is a somewhat temporary fix until I can afford the real thing :)

The After:
I wish that my bathroom had better natural lighting because this does NOT do it justice. So you are all invited to my house to see it in person :)

Since the far shot doesn’t show any of the detail, here is a close up. . . (still doesn’t do it justice).

The Before:
Not terrible. But the metal around the edge and around the sink was hard to keep clean and made it a little dated.

I started with a sheet of MDF. It cost 34 dollars and some change. I only used a small amount and I have since made several other projects with the left overs! I measured the size for the counter top and used a jigsaw to cut it. You can also use a table saw.

Once it was cut I drew a hole for the sink. I used a drill to create a starting place for the jigsaw.

I didn’t worry about it being perfect because the sink is a top mount and you won’t see it.

I don’t have a router so I called a cute neighbor to see if I could use his. He is an older gentleman and he was a bit skeptical about a girl using power tools. It must be a generation thing :) I was happy to let him do it for me. He did a great job!

I painted it white. Yep. It is on my kitchen table. Don’t worry. I had it all done and cleaned up before the hubby got home :)

When raw unfinished wood, or MDF in this case, gets painted it can become rough. I used a fine grit sand paper to buff it smooth. 150 or 220 grit would work.

Now came the fun part! Faux finishing. I wanted it to be subtle. I wanted it to look like natural stone. I took the white paint I had used as the base color and poured some into clear cups. I mixed a tiny bit of black craft paint into one and a little brown craft paint into the other. The third got a bit of both.

Once I started trying to sponge I realized it would have been easier to have the paint in a bowl rather that cups. But it worked alright. I lightly sponged on the paint. I didn’t go all crazy. I figured I could add more later if I thought it wasn’t enough.

The I used an old trick my mom used to do when she was tole painting with the church ladies in the 80′s. I flicked paint with an old (washed) toothbrush. I liked the speckled look.

Then I used a small pointed paint brush to draw on some veins.

Because I wanted it as smooth as possible to resemble a real polished stone counter top, I lightly sanded it again.
I then installed it. I used liquid nails all along the top of the vanity and then just laid the counter top on. I let it dry and then it was time to seal it. Because it was white I needed to use Polycrylic. According to Minwax Polycrylic doesn’t yellow like Polyurethane can. I have never used it before because it is notorious for being streaky and it was for the first 3 0r 4 coats. But after awhile it evened out. They key is to use a FOAM brush. Don’t use a regular brush or you will have lines from the bristles. I ended up using the whole can which was 8 or 9 coats. You need to lightly sand in between each coat with a fine grit (150 or 220) sandpaper so each layer with stick to each other.

After it had dried I added the sink. By the way, we got our sink at the Habitat For Humanity Store for $15 bucks! Didn’t know they had a store? Find one and check it out! I caulked around the hole, set the sink in, and then caulked around the sink.

And there you have it! Faucet: $30 Sink: $15 MDF: $35 Polycrylic: $9

I know that this is just a temporary solution, but I really like how it turned out! I don’t think I will have a hard time living with it until I can get the real thing.

***UPDATE*** Shortly after installing this counter top one of my boys flooed the sink and we didn’t discover it until the morning. It hadn’t fully cured and so the water got to the MDF. MDF expands when wet and doesn’t flatten back out. If I were to do this again I would have used plywood or something else other than MDF.

Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials Tagged With: counter top, faux stone, foam brush, make your own counter top, paint, polycrylic, sand paper 38 Comments

Another Scrap Wood Lamp

March 3, 2011 By Stacy 44 Comments

I had some MDF (medium density fiberboard) left over from a project that I will be posting about on Monday next week so I thought I would use it to make another version of my scrap wood lamp. Instead of squares, this time I did circles!!! I love it :) My playroom/downstairs family room isn’t even done yet but it has a lamp!

And like a lot of my projects, this requires power tools. I am on a quest to get you all to use them :)
First I used a jig saw to cut out some circles that I traced using small plates and cups.

Once you cut them out they may have places you need to touch up. Put them on the ledge of whatever you are using for a work surface with the part that needs touching up hanging over the ledge. Press down with one hand to steady it and cut with the other hand.

Touch up or not, you will definitely need to sand them. Start by using a very gritty sandpaper like 60. That will shave down any bumps and shape it. Then go back over it with a fine grit sand paper (120 or 220) to smooth it out.

I used a wood boring bit to drill holes into the circles. I didn’t want them to all be centered. I wanted them to be all wonky. This is not the size I used. It is just a google image because my camera battery died right about now.

I painted the circles a tan color that matched to fabric. Valspar: Prairie Dance I believe was the name. Sometimes when you paint MDF it gets rough. Just lightly sand it with a fine grit sand paper after the first coat of paint. All the coats after will go on smooth.

Okay. Battery recharged.
The very bottom piece will NOT get a hole drilled. The second to last one will get 2 holes drilled. An extra one for the cord.

I used wood glue to attach all the circles together but it was because I was going to nail them with my brad nail gun. If you are not going to use a nail gun I would use a stronger glue like epoxy.

I threaded the cord from the $10 lamp kit through the holes.

Then I used conduit for added strength. I wish I would have done this with my first scrap wood lamp. I put the cord through it as well. This made it so I strung the circles onto the pipe (that the cord was running through). I hope that made sense. I was so excited for the fun assembly part I forgot to take pictures :)
Once all the circles were stacked up I added the rest of the lamp kit. They are so easy to put together. Easy. I promise.

P.S. Conduit is cheap and is meant for electrical! I cut mine with a hand saw but you might be able to get someone at Home Depot or Lowe’s to cut it for you in the store.

Now for the shade!
I didn’t hand paint it this time. I wanted to show how you can use fabric instead. I used the shade and cut out this shape.

I sprayed the shade with spray adhesive first and then wrapped the fabric around the shade. This took longer for me than the actually building of the lamp! I kid you not. Me and material don’t always see eye to eye. I struggled to get it to line up. But eventually I did. I glued one end down to the shade. The other end I glued a hem before gluing it down. The “hemmed” side covered the un-hemmed one.

Then I trimmed off the extra material all around the top and the bottom. Like that awkward shot? I was trying to show you how and take a picture myself. No cute assistants to help this time!

Then I used the glue gun again to glue the fabric down on the inside of the shade. I don’t have a picture of this but I glued cream ribbon on the edge of the fabric to cover up the raw edge.

And there you have it! My new lamp :)

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Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials Tagged With: circles, fabric lamp shade, lamp, scrap wood 44 Comments

Barn Wood Lamp

March 3, 2011 By Stacy 8 Comments

Here is another scrap wood lamp! I have a thing for lamps and this one was so easy. It did require power tools so I am hoping that those of you who are a little nervous to use them will see this and want to try. Power tools are so much fun! In total this took about 15 minutes to put together. I have experience so I would expect it to take a little longer if you are new to using these tools. But either way this can easily be done in a day.

I started with some old wood. The long pieces are actually old fence slats.

I measure the four long pieces and cut them all the same size with my miter saw. Then I cut the larger pieces that would become the base.

I used wood glue and my brad nail gun to construct a box out of the four long pieces. Then I nailed the smaller base piece onto the box. After it was nailed on I then nailed the larger base piece on. If I had not done it in that order, the nail would not have been long enough to go through both base pieces.

***If you don’t have access to a brad nailer, you can use small nails and a hammer. I actually think that would add to the charm and give it that extra detail :)

Then I drilled a hole in the back for the cord to go through. I bought a $10 lamp kit from Home Depot and I fed the cord through the hole, and then reached my hand in the box and pulled it out the top.

Here it is with the lamp kit put together. The lamp kit is CAKE to assemble. Once I made my scrap wood lamp and realized just how easy it was I knew there would be many more lamps in my future :)

I didn’t attach the top piece until it was put together. It got glued and nailed as well.

To make the top I used a leftover piece from the long boards. I used a wood boring bit to drill a hole for the lamp parts to fit in.

Here it is with the top on.

The metal shade was out in my garage. It was left over from an old lamp that has long since bit the dust. I am glad now that I saved the shade since the rusty look goes so well with the old wood.

Filed Under: Decorating, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials Tagged With: barn, barn wood lamp, lamp, metal lamp shade, scrap wood, wood 8 Comments

Yellow Glazed Table

February 15, 2011 By Stacy 41 Comments

I found the coolest table online. I only paid $15.00 for it!!! The minute I saw the molding detail I knew it would look fabulous glazed. The term glazed is one I just started using. For eons I called it “antiquing”. I have been glazing furniture for almost 11 years. (You know. . . cause I started doing it when I was 10, right?) Yikes. I just realized that saying that dated me :) Anyway, whatever you call it, it is awesome.

Check out the before. Can you say dated?

I started out my priming it. It only took one can of spray primer. I didn’t want to bother with painting the inside so I covered it up.

Priming is necessary when there is a shiny finish. The primer sticks to the shiny surface and then the paint can stick to the primer. Kinda tricky eh? If you don’t want to prime then you need to lightly sand it down with a fine grit sand paper (150 or 220).

I always use foam brushes. I don’t like the lines that you get when you use a bristle brush. When you go to paint it, remember that thin coats are much better than thick coats of paint. Thick coats get all gloppy and look messy in the end. Be patient and take the extra time to do several thin coats. The first coat of paint should look terrible and streaky. You should see the primer through it( like the picture below) Let it completely dry before adding another layer. This table took 4 thin coats of paint.

Here is the door with all four coats of paint. Now, you will notice that in the pictures from here on out the yellow looks different in many of the pictures. Yellow is a tricky color to photograph ( at least it is for me) because in different lights it looks so different. In the warm afternoon sun it looks richer and in the evening light it looks lighter. And since I have 4 kids I have to work on things whenever I get a chance which is never at the same time of day. When you scroll down and see the doors with one glazed and one not glazed THAT is the closest to the actual color.

Now you can obviously skip this next step if you want to but I thought I would share how I did the diamond pattern on the top. I measure the table and figured out how many and what size would fit the best. Then I measured and marked the lines with a pencil. I taped it. The way it works out is that you paint every other one and then go back when they dry and re-tape for the other half.

When ever I paint lines or something like that I always go over the tape with the base color. That way if there are any places that the paint seeps through, it is the same paint as underneath and you can’t tell. It seals the tape making the lines nice and crisp.

Then paint the darker color over it. Make sure you paint in the same direction that you painted the whole top. You will be able to tell if your brush strokes are in a different direction especially if you glaze.

Now it is time to glaze. I either add a water based stain (Walnut) or dark brown craft paint. You can also ask the people at the store when you buy the glaze to tint it for you. I love to use brown but you can also use black.

Here is one door glazed and one door without the glaze. You certainly don’t need to glaze your furniture. I think it looks nice without as well. I just happen to have a little addiction when it comes to antiquing things :)

I also changed out the hardware. The knobs were the most dated thing about it! I like the new simple ones much better.

I will try to get a better picture of the table. It deserves to be shown off properly. This was taken in my driveway in the evening when I was loosing daylight fast. I have completely fallen for this table. And you want to know something sad? I have absolutely NO room in my house for it. I don’t know what I am going to do! I might have to find it a good home.

Filed Under: Furniture, Painting, Tutorials Tagged With: diamond pattern, glazed, painted table, painters tape, side table, table, yellow, yellow side table 41 Comments

Shabby Chic Cream Side Table

February 15, 2011 By Stacy 31 Comments

I love things that look old and worn and furniture is no exception. I got this table online for $15.00. I loved the classic lines. It had some water damage and scratches on the top. This before picture actually makes it look better than it really looked.

The places that had water damaged were raised. I needed to sand down the top so it would be smooth.

The next thing I did was prime it. I decided to try Kilz Odorless primer in a spray can. I did NOT like it. It was a weird consistency and it spit out the primer instead of it coming out nice and smooth. I recommend sticking with the original formula in either the can or spray.

I don’t have a picture of it all painted without it sanded down. But I am sure you can use your imagination :)

I used a fine grit sandpaper to distress the table. Either a 150 or 220 grit would work. You are trying to speed up the aging process so think about how it would have naturally been worn down. A flat surface like a table would have worn corners, edges, and legs.

I love this table! I am not sure where I am going to put it :) My house is wall to wall furniture already! I might have to find it a good home.

Filed Under: Furniture, Painting, Tutorials Tagged With: cream side table, paint, primer, shabby chic, side table, spray paint, spray primer 31 Comments

Faux Mantel explained

January 28, 2011 By Stacy 11 Comments

Aside from the homemade decorations my kids make, I haven’t ever decorated for Valentines Day. When I was growing up my mom decorated for EVERY holiday. And I mean every one. I loved it! There was nothing more fun that to go in the attic and pull out the boxes for the new holiday. It was like opening a present. I have felt guilty every year that I don’t dot this. So this year I decided to start. I know my faux mantel isn’t much, but I plan on adding more each year.
I promised a while back to share why and how I made this. This was my post for Roberts Crafts and I am posting it here in case you didn’t see it there and so it can be in my archives.

I went to Roberts to pick up some supplies. I ended up with styrofoam balls, a terra cotta pot, a vase, craft paint ( including glitter paint), wood letters, and a big bag of wooden hearts. Things I already had from previous visits were: a bag of moss, wood frame, red paper.

I painted the wood letters red.

Then I painted some of the hearts hot pink, some light pink, some red, and most of them grey. I painted them grey because the glitter paint is really clear with glitter in it. The bare wood will show through unless you paint it. There were plenty of hearts in the bag. My kids sat at the table with me and painted some for fun. P.S. I used my 40% off coupon to buy the bag of hearts :)

Then I put them in the vase. I like this simple one but you could use and container or bowl.

For the rose topiary, I put one of the styrofoam balls onto a skewer so I could paint the whole thing without getting it on my hands. Then I put it in the pot sticking up so it could dry.

For the flowers I made paper rosettes. I know there are probably a million and one tutorials out there on how to make these, but here is mine.

Cut out a small circle. Then cut it like this.

Start rolling it up.

The round tab in the middle that becomes the end as you roll is what you need to put hot glue on. I found since I was working with card stock paper, that it was necessary to put a little in the hole as well.

I flipped it over and used a pencil to push all the layers into the glue. This step may not be necessary with regular paper.

And there you have it!

Once they were made I started gluing them onto the ball.

I have a little secret. A confession I guess. The back half of the topiary is bald. No roses. I got so bloody sick of making the darn things! I don’t know how you ladies make entire wreaths out of these bad boys. Granted it was cardstock and not fabric, but geez. Not my favorite project. I like power tools better :)

I painted the pot gray as well and then applied 2 coats of the glitter paint. I wanted it to be really shimmery!
I had forgot to but some green floral foam so I improvised and used another styrofoam ball. I used a little hot glue to help hold it in place.

I could have painted the skewer brown and used it as the stick, but I chose to go in the backyard and get a real stick. Either way works. I also added some moss to hide the styrofoam ball in the pot. I bought my bag of moss at Roberts as well.

I forgot to take a before picture of this frame. It was just an unfinished craft frame that I painted white. The print inside the frame can be found on my blog for free. You can get yours HERE. I used the biggest heart from the bag to go by the frame.

And there you have it! A very inexpensive way to decorate for Valentines Day!

Filed Under: Tutorials 11 Comments

Chandelier Tutorial

January 19, 2011 By Stacy 33 Comments

As promised, here is the tutorial for the chandelier I made to go with my new ceiling. It was very simple!

In the classifieds online I found an old brass light fixture. I was not in love with the brass but the shape was perfect! It was $15.00. I totally think I over paid. I probably could have found a better deal but I was in a hurry. . . because I am impatient. Plus I wanted to be able to have the chandelier done when I revealed the ceiling.

I took it outside and hung it from a tree so I could paint it. I might be crazy, but now I totally want a chandelier for my tree!

Krylon is my FAVORITE brand of spray paint. And I got this kind because it says metal AND “no sanding or priming”. Gotta love that!

I sprayed several thin coats. If you try to do thick coats of paint it will run and you will have drips everywhere.

Since it was pretty cold I brought it in and hung it inside to dry. I then started on the beads/jewels. I bought a ton of options knowing I probably wouldn’t use them all. But since I didn’t have a certain design in mind I wanted to make sure I had plenty to choose from.

I ended up only using the mardi gras necklaces and one pack of the tear drop shaped beads.

Here is how I wired the beads that hang from the center of the chandelier.

I made a round part for the last pearl on the string to fit through. The the twisted part got wrapped around the string just above the last pearl. I cut off any extra wire.

Click on this picture to see what I mean.

Then I cut a wire that was long enough to go around the center of light. I attached these jewels to that wire and wrapped it around the center of the light.

Some of the necklaces were cut into 6 equal strips. I used wire the attach the first pearl to the bottom of the “arm” and then I wired the last pearl to the top of the “arm”.

I wired 2 necklaces together so it would be long enough to drape . They got draped across the skinny part of the arms. Each time the arm and the necklace touched I used wire to hold it in place.

Once everything was wired into place I took it outside again to spray paint. I wanted it to be all white. I forgot to take a picture of it before I painted the jewels. It looked alright except you could see the wire. Now it blends right in!

In total, with the paint, wire, and beads ( I returned what I didn’t use) it cost just over $11.00. Add that to the $15.00 of the light itself and you get one cheap chandelier! Not too shabby.

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Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Projects, Tutorials 33 Comments

Stenciled Ceiling

January 17, 2011 By Stacy 168 Comments

I have been so excited to share this project with you!!! I loved my bedroom before but now I LOVE love it :)

I stenciled a damask pattern on the entire ceiling!!! Why should walls have all the fun???

I wanted to show you a bunch of the after shots first but if you keep going you will see the before and a tutorial on how I did it. I was loosing daylight fast when I took these pictures. I was in a big FAT hurry and I didn’t really pay attention to the setting on my camera or the angle of the shots. I wish they were a tiny bit more clear. My paisley pillow that I hand painted is hard to see. You can get a better look at that HERE.
And more bedroom pictures HERE.

I also made a chandelier. I just couldn’t put that ugly ceiling fan back up after the ceiling got a gorgeous makeover! I will have a tutorial showing how I made it on Wednesday.

Okay, here is the before. I know you all know what a white ceiling looks like, but I needed a before so that the after would be more dramatic :) So here you go.

BEFORE

AFTER

Cutting Edge Stencilssent me a stencil of my choice to review. They also sent me a foam roller. I have stenciled a fair share in the past so I thought I was pretty familiar with stencils. I was pleasantly surprised to see that theirs was extra thick. And the stencil was really large which helps when you are painting a big area.

Because I was doing my ceiling and I had gravity working against me, I used a spray adhesive on the back of the stencil along with painters tape.

I started in the corner above my door so that if I messed up, no one would really notice when they looked in my room. The 2 things you need to remember are a) don’t overload your roller with paint! b)don’t push too hard. Both of these things will cause the paint to bleed under the stencil. If you are nervous, practice on cardboard or a garage wall. I found that I had to roll in all directions to get paint into the nooks and crannies. The first one I did 2 coats of paint. It was nice and even but I decided I like the look of one coat of paint better. It looked like fabric.

I know you are lovin’ the shower cap. I was totally channelling my inner lunch lady. I knew when I saved the free shower cap from my last hotel stay I could use it for something. Not a speck of paint in my hair!

The stencils have these points ( shown by arrows). When you go to paint the next row, you line up the stencil to these points and it keeps everything straight. Pretty genius if you ask me.

Okay, now for the low down. Was this project easy? Yes. Was this project time consuming? Yes. I have four kids so that equals about 49 million interruptions. Because I was doing this on the ceiling I couldn’t just peel it off then move it in place and immediately start on the next one. I had to wait for the paint to dry on the stencil (5-10 minutes) before I could place it again. Why? Because I had to press on the stencil to get it to stick to the ceiling. Not fun when it is all wet. But it wasn’t too big of a deal. I would stick it up, paint it, take it down, and then go do something else for a bit. Change the laundry to the dryer, unload the dishwasher, play Go Fish with my 3 year old (you get the idea). Then I would run down and do another one. So in total, it took four days.

IF I had been doing a wall like a normal person, it would have been MUCH faster. And IF I didn’t have any children at home to interrupt it would have been much, much faster.

Overall it was TOTALLY worth it! I have no idea how I lived with a white ceiling before. And I have plans to use this same stencil upstairs in my hall. I am thinking cream and chocolate brown. . .

On Wednesday I will show you how I made this chandelier!!!

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Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Projects, Tutorials 168 Comments

How to build a simple side table

December 31, 2010 By Stacy 36 Comments

I love making furniture! The smell of the wood when you cut it, the hum of power tools, and then seeing the end result is AWESOME! I think everyone should build something at least once. If I can sew then you can build :) Here is a table I made for my etsy store. I have a bunch more to make and then I am going to be making upholstered ottomans.Well, here’s the tutorial!

I bought a board that measured 18″ by 36″. I measured then drew a line down the middle so I would have 2 table tops measuring 18″ by 18″. You obviously only need one, but since I was planning on making a bunch I needed more. I used a jig saw to cut the wood.

Then I used 1″x4″ boards for the front, sides, and back. I wanted there to be a 1 inch lip or overhang so I measured and cut 2 boards 16 inches long. That is one inch taken off for each side.

I used my miter saw to cut the rest of the boards.

Then, since 2 of the boards will go inside the other two boards to form a box, you need to minus the width of 2 boards together. In this case, 1 1/2 inches. So the second 2 boards I cut were 14 1/2 inches.

Do you see how 2 of the 1x4s fit inside the other two? That is why 2 needed to be shorter.

Add a little wood glue and then use a brad nail gun.

The next step is to determine how high you want your table. I wanted mine 2 feet tall. I cut some 2″x2″s for the legs. Add some wood glue and then nail them into the corners of your box. It is very important to make sure it is flat before nailing on the legs. If the legs are not flush with the top of the box then your table top will not lay flat on your base AND your table will wobble.

Your base is almost done :) You just need to add some 1″x1″ to help hold the top on. Measure in between the legs and then cut your 1×1 that size.

Add some glue and nail. Do this all the way around the base – all four sides.

Then add glue to the top of the base, flip it over onto the table top, and nail through the 1×1. This will attach the top to the base.

You will need to fill the nail holes with putty. Pick one that is sandable so you can sand it smooth when it dries. I HIGHLY recommend Elmers stainable, paintable and sandable wood putty. Not only do I sand where I added putty, but I sand the hole thing. Especially the edges and corners. I try to round them a little. Use a fine grit sand paper or you will end up with lines (scratch marks) in your wood.

I painted mine and then (this is optional) sanded it to give it that shabby chi look. I love that! You can see it a little in the close up shots. It looks better in person, but you get the idea :)

You could use it as a bedside table, in a kid’s room, next to a sofa, as a plant stand, or pretty much anywhere!

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Filed Under: Furniture, Painting, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials 36 Comments

Pine Tree Topiary Tutorial

December 18, 2010 By Stacy 4 Comments

I love topiaries! I knew I needed to make some for Christmas this year. These pine tree trees are easy to make and you will save money too :)

Here is what you will need:
drill, 1/16″ drill bit, plaster of paris, 4″ pots, burlap, sticks, glue, and fake pine branches.

The first thing you need to do is tape up the hole in the bottom of your pot. This way the plaster won’t get out.

Mix up the plaster directly in the post according to the directions on the package. Then put the sticks on the pots and let them sit for several hours until they have completely set up. I got my sticks in the backyard. I trimmed them off of one of my pine trees. Any stick would do. I cut them to be three different heights.

Drill holes in the top of each stick. The a few more at 45 degree angles just below the top of the stick.

I stripped the plastic off of the fake pine branches to expose the wire. Then I bent the wire in half until it snapped in half. If you have trouble breaking the wire you can use wire snips.

I put some glue on the hole before sticking the wire in it. Any glue would work.

Here they are all glued! Just play around with the location of the branches until it looks like what you want. The holes are small enough that if you choose not to use that hole, you can’t see it. No one will know :)

I used burlap but really you can use whatever fabric you want. Or, you don’t have to use any at all. You could add pebbles or moss to the pots to cover up the plaster.
Set the pot on the fabric and then bring all the side up around the stem. Since burlap frays so easily, I just pulled me of the strings and used those to tie the fabric. You could also use ribbon or jute.