I don’t know about you, but I love using the internet for inspiration – be it tasty recipes, new fashion trends or DIY projects. I have all my favourite apps on my phone, so I can browse while I’m on the go, and since earlier this month, there’s a new addition to my app list – a clever little app called Outspiration.
What is Outspiration?
Outspiration is a new mobile app from AkzoNobel, which you can download for free in the Apple App Store, and it’s all about making the most of your outside space. It’s full of useful hints and tips for those new to DIY and comes with handy features that will make your outdoor makeover that little bit easier. For example a weather forecast for your local area, how-to guides and great promotions. 
The brands behind the Outspiration app are Cuprinol for wooden surfaces, Dulux Weathershield for masonry surfaces andHammerite for metal surfaces – all of them experts in their field! With their knowledge behind me or rather on my screen, I browsed some of their great ideas, but due to a lack of time before Easter and Amy’s birthday, I decided to go for a simple little project that would put a smile on Amy’s face – a wooden sand and water table painted in Amy’s favourite colours.
We’ve been outspired
It’s not making our garden look trendy or stylish and it might not ‘outspire’ you, but it will keep Amy entertained for years to come and add a splash of colour to our otherwise rather neutral coloured garden. 
The sand and water table was reduced to £19.90, so an absolute bargain, and we only picked up some paint brushes and two small tins of Cuprinol Garden Shades in the colours Green Orchid and Coral Splash before we could get started. Cuprinol Garden Shades have a matt finish and have been specially developed to colour and protect wooden surfaces while allowing the natural texture of the woodgrain to shine through – super handy, if you don’t want to prime, paint and varnish and I really didn’t want to do all that. DIY projects are supposed to be fun, right?
Outspired and bubbling over with girl power, I assembled Amy’s sand and water table before painting it in Green Orchid and Coral Splash. The colour came out really well and I am super pleased with our little play area now that we’ve filled it with pebbles, water and some underwater plants and animals. The whole project cost us less than £50 and Amy will play with it for months and maybe years to come.
The sand and water table is really versatile and Amy will be able to create unique scenes every day using different materials such as pebbles, wood, sand or water beads. Animals, cars and figurines will allow her to act out ever changing situations and will open up endless possibilities of play and discovery. Can you see just how excited I am about having made this for her? All by myself!
How did the Outspiration app help me?
I love DIY projects and always pin them for later reference, but I never get around to actually doing them. I question my abilities, worry about running out of time or making the wrong choices. The Outspiration app however has helped me to be more confident and simply go for it. The Visualiser tool of the app showed me different colour options making it much easier to choose the perfect colour for us and snooping through the projects of other users in the Projects section really inspired me to look at ways to make our patio and garden a more attractive and inviting area and a real extension of our house. 
The weather forecast of the app let me down a tiny bit, but not even the BBC gets it right all the time, and as we still managed to finish our project in time, I guess I can live with that. Something I will definitely use for future DIY projects is the Promotions section where you can find competitions, discounts and much more. I mean, who doesn’t like a bargain?
All in all, Outspiration is a great little app for everyone who wants to become a little more creative in their garden, on their balcony or even on the façade of their house. The app is updated with new content every single month, allowing you to keep track of the latest trends, how-to features and much more.
Don’t let bad weather or your insecurities stop you, download Outspiration and give your outside space a makeover. You will feel great for achieving something that you thought you couldn’t do AND you could win a beautiful barbecue and a personalised hamper worth £100 that will help get you outdoors and begin your very own Outspiration journey. The competition runs until the 12th of May 2014.
All you have to do is download the app and enter your details in the Win section of the app.
Disclosure: This is a promotional post
Love the little table – there are going to be some amazing adventures in that space this summer!
What a fantastic result! Love the sound of the Outspiration App! 🙂
You have done an amazing makeover of the table, I love it. You are going to have great and many hours of fun with it, I bet.
the water table looks great, Amy will have many hours of fun with it…and when she;s done with it you could make a table out of it!
What a gorgeous table. Tell you what she has grown a lot since I met her. The app sound great too.
What a nifty little app! We’re in the process of improving our own back garden at the moment. It’s nothing special, just a long large lawn but we’re looking at interesting ways we can plant things to add a bit more colour. Think I might get this one!
It looks great! x
what a great idea Erin would love this as she loves playing underwater things and see’s herself as a mermaid!
Awww Carolin, that is brill!
Syd would love a water table like that! We need to find a house with a garden soon so we can get playing!
An amazing table. My boys would love it. They still make little “scenes” with their action figures and lots of rocks and weeds. I’ll be checking out that app for some new ideas of activities which might tear me away from the TV.
Ahhh it looks lovely – love the colour choices!
Oh I love this so much. You can tell how much Amy does too – she is beaming. Going to pin to my play activities board.