RAINY ROFO

Hello friends! It's been far too long since we last posted in February, but we have been keeping ourselves very occupied... A has been busy designing, traveling and working working working in cool places like Miami and Nashville while Ray has been working, taking care of her fur baby and still getting to know the area she moved to last fall, like discovering a delicious donut shop and the coolest brewery right up the street from where she lives. We love having weekend adventures and this day was filled with brunch, music, plants, beer and of course, Chick-fil-A. Also in case you're wondering, RoFo is an endearing, slang term for Ray's new town Royersford, but we're cool so we call it RoFo now.

Walked to brunch and got a nice surprise rain shower on our way back... Hotdog.

Once we dried off and decided to drive instead of take our chances with the weather, we headed to Ott's... a plant lovers dream.

They have all the plants imaginable... for real.

Yeah, that's an indoor waterfall.

We left with cacti twins! YAY!

We love plants and this place so much that we thought up a plan to host an event called "Sleeping with the plants" so that we could spend the whole night in this greenhouse. Sweet idea right? Please don't steal our idea, cause we're going to make it happen one day and we want to invite you, so stay tuned. In the meantime, go to Ott's if you're in the Bucks Co. or Philly area, it's definitely a morning or afternoon of plant-filled fun (and a test of self-control)

Make sure you're following @rayandablog on Instagram for more adventures like this one, and we'll have plenty more to come!

#plantladies4lyfe

DIY: Plywood Letterboard

You've all seen the trendy letter boards and light boards from Letterfolk and Heidi Swapp, and don't get us wrong, they're pretty awesome. I mean, they're what inspired us to create a hybrid of the two!

You'll also need some transparency sheets, sandpaper and a pair of scissors.

Step 1. Take your dowels, and measure them against your plywood board, marking the width with a pencil. 

Step 2. Cut the dowels with a handsaw or chop saw (or a very, very industrial pair of clippers). Sand the ends lightly until smooth. 

Step 3. Using some E6000 glue, glue your dowels onto the board, spacing equally depending on how many lines of text you want. 

Step 4. Paint your plywood board and dowels white (or whatever color your little hear desires) and let that dry. Do a second or third coat if you think it needs it.

Step 5. Start by cutting your transparency sheets into strips that fit in between your dowels. Then place the letters onto the strips you just cut, leaving enough space in between letters for equal spacing.

Step 6. Once you have all the letters cut out, time to play!

Now it's time to think of some snarky (or cute) quotes, and put 'em on display!

We'd love to see your own take on this DIY, so if you make it, share it! Tag your projects with #rayandablog

#sayitwithwords

THE "NOT SO FALL THEMED" PLANTER DIY

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG TO ANNOUNCE A DIY THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE PUMPKINS, LEAVES, GOURDS OR ANY OTHER FALL ELEMENTS. 

So, Ray found these great priced clay planter pots at this super cool organic and sustainable local plant shop called Greenology in Peddler's Village. Sidenote: If you live in Bucks County Pennsylvania and haven't been to Peddler's Village you need to check it out asap. Anyways, Ray felt inspired by the blank canvas these pots offered and ran to the craft store, actually drove, to buy supplies to transform these pots! We hope this DIY inspires you to get creative with the planter pots you may have laying around in your shed or garage to fill with a beautiful plant and display in your abode. Feel free to use rich, down to earth autumn colors for this DIY since Ray went for quite the opposite theme.

^  can you spot the dinosaur? 

M A T E R I A L S

+ Acrylic paint
+ DuraClear Matte Varnish
+ Foam brushes
+ Terracotta pots
+ Newspaper and wax paper

S T E P   O N E

Cover the table you're working on with newspaper. Your roommate or spouse will be thankful. Apply the first coat of acrylic pant with a foam brush to your planter pot. Allow about 15-20 minutes for each coat to dry. Watching The Office or another favorite TV show helps the time fly by!

S T E P   T W O

Allow to dry and continue to add three or four coats in between drying. Be mindful when you begin painting the top and bottom of the pot, it will stick to the newspaper. Placing the planter pot on wax paper prevents sticking!

S T E P   T H R E E

Examine the planter pot and use a smaller foam brush to touch up any blank areas that you may have missed. Add fun designs or patterns to your planter pot using a smaller or larger foam brush.

S T E P    F O U R

Once the planter pot is fully dry, use a foam brush to apply the Duraclear. Once it is dry to touch apply another layer and allow to fully dry overnight before planting, just to be safe.

S T E P   F I V E 

Planting time! Add your beautiful plant babies to your new pots and put on display in your favorite spot! A refreshing way to give your plants a personal touch.


We would love to see your DIY planter pot creations! Tag @rayandablog on Instagram to share them with us!

#keepitfresh