Goodbye Hideous Cinder Block...

...Hellooooo adorable planter! 

There's nothing quite as satisfying as taking something that was once an embarrassing eyesore (i.e. this ugly cinder block)

and turning it into something fun and useful! (Not to mention colorful!)

Now that I'm spending more time outside, I've been contemplating ways to add more texture and variety to my backyard. We have several of these cinder blocks that are left over from the previous tenants... actually it's really unclear why they're here at all, but they are and they're heavy so we're stuck with them. 

Today I finally figured out the best way to deal with these big ugly bad boys--spray paint! 

Knowing that these concrete blocks are porous, I bought a good spray-on primer and covered four of the six sides (top, left and right sides and front). Since their backs are right up against our fence, no need to waste precious paint on that side! 

Then, I chose the spot where I wanted the color line to be (a little more than slightly off-center), and using painter's tape and some butcher paper, went about creating the diving line and covering half of the block so it wouldn't get any unwanted color on it.

Next--just spray, dry and repeat! I made sure to use painters tape and carefully cover all of the parts that weren't supposed to get sprayed (i.e. cover all the blue before spraying on the gold).

Also, because the gold paint is actually not an outdoor paint, I used a sealant to make sure it wouldn't flake or peel. 

Then I filled the holes with top soil and added my plants. I'm pretty tickled with the result too! Next I am definitely going to do an all-gold one, and I'm dying to get my hands on some neon pink paint (our fence is bright kelly green so it'll be super preppy but definitely perfect).