My second attempt with April Rose

My Foam head planter April rose was a hit with me last year. I really loved this project and I have learned a couple of things about using foam heads as planters along the way. 

Making foam head planters is fun and easy... This as I stated is the second year that I've used this planter and she has weathered last years.. Rain, heat, ice and snow... Yes snow...we did get some last year.. enough to make a few southern kids excited enough to go sit in it and make snowmen..

             Here's a young teen below, she was so excited I guess she forgot what a coat was. Snow no longer excites this Northern girl with Southern roots... I grew up in the stuff and don't care to see any more of it Ever! Not a slight dusting... Not even in a picture.

Anywho....April rose survived all of that and was fine until my neighbors across the hall who were moving knocked her over onto the sidewalk. A couple of months later I noticed that her face began to peel..

 

So she was due for a re-touch. I noticed after I retouched her... her features had faded. I was dumbfounded and mortified I had not the slightest idea as to how I should fix her..


Maybe, I thought to myself..... I should just paint a face on her, but that thought scarred me...

What if she doesn't look right?  adding a face would change her character and move her away from the stone like appeal that I was trying to achieve.

So in paint shop on my computer I superimposed  how I thought she may look with a painted face.. Not comfortable with this decision or the look... I posted this question to my hometalk bloggers and several of them voted... NOT to PAINT! a few others said to just give her a little shading to bring her features back out.

 I chose to shade her just a little around her nose and eyebrows with a darker grey Acrylic paint that I applied with a brush... I think I like the results... I can't wait for the plants to talk hold and cascade down the sides of her head.. I'll update as she progresses.

                        So here's what I learned .....Foam head planters can last for sometime...

 I learned that from the original creator Jessica Cramer at hometlk.com and the fact that I have her a second year..(2) They will last through all sorts of weather as long as you apply protective coating....

(3) The painting will peel if they are scrapped or knocked over. 

(4) If you re-paint a foam face.. Keep in mind that the features will fade. You maybe able to fix it...if not.. It will probably be better to start over with a new head.

(5) One can be really creative with this project...You can add all sorts of plants.. real and fake alike...
Paint faces on.. or leave it as is... Try it I bet you'll like it! and I bet you'll come up with some fabulous planter ideas.                  
                                                  Do share! I'd love to see what you create!