Remember when we House Crashed Katie from Bower Power? We brought her a set of botanicals from our shop as a thank-you, and she sent us a few pages torn from an old Hooker Book she’d found at Goodwill—an antique collection of fruit and botanical illustrations. It was such a thoughtful trade, and now that we finally turned those pages into a small project, we wanted to share the result.
We already have plenty of framed art, so we started brainstorming different ways to use the prints. My love of white ceramics inspired the idea: a few white cups would look fresh with small fruit illustrations on the front. I pulled two ceramic containers from the cabinet and grabbed a third that held ivy on our bedroom windowsill. Here’s how they looked before “Project Produce.”
Next, we examined the Hooker Book pages Katie had gifted us and carefully cut out smaller fruit illustrations to fit the cups.
I found some Mod Podge in my craft drawer and used a small paintbrush to adhere each fruit cutout to a ceramic cup. For a stronger, long-lasting finish, coat the back of the paper before applying it to the surface and then brush a thin layer over the top once it’s positioned. That seals the image and makes it look like an original decal.
The little cups turned out to be wonderfully versatile. They work as planters, pencil holders, eyeglass corals, or vases for small stems. We lined them up on the windowsill and loved how cheerful they looked together.
In the end they lived on my desk, holding pencils and glasses where I reach for them while I work. The ivy keeps things green and brings a little extra clean air to my workspace. Total project cost: $0.00.
We also had larger botanical prints left over, so we decoupaged two of them onto small dessert plates. Those plates can be hung on the wall or propped on floating shelves in the dining room for a playful, food-themed display. Here are the plates before Mod Podge—it’s amazing what new life an old Goodwill book can get.
Have you tried any botanical DIYs recently? Found any treasures at Goodwill or repurposed objects at home into something new? We’d love to hear about your projects and discoveries.