The “TGIF Rule” Saves Me So Much Money on Home Decor

The “TGIF Rule” Saves Me So Much Money on Home Decor

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As a professional designer, I love to transform spaces — both my own and my clients’ — but I am determined to do it without spending a fortune. It’s a learned skill: I started out with limited resources and had to get creative, and my clients don’t have sky-high budgets, either. (Before I was a professional designer and an antiques dealer, I worked in theater as a prop man and set dresser, so I have 35 years of experience in hunting for bargain-priced gems.)

Over time, I developed what has become my signature rule for creating beautiful spaces: the TGIF Rule, which stands for thrifted, gifted, invented, and found. This rule helps me skip buying things straight from retail stores and instead get more creative with my shopping. Here’s how I use the TGIF rule to create spaces that are super homey (and very affordable).

My TGIF rule started as a shorthand I used to keep myself from impulse buying during the early days of my design business. To help myself use items that were budget-friendly, I used the adage thrifted, gifted, invented, and found.

Over time, the TGIF rule evolved from a budgeting trick into a full-blown design philosophy. I realized these four categories were the building blocks of my favorite spaces — not just because they saved money, but because they helped me fill spaces with unique items that told a story.

In my work, I start every design process by taking stock of what a client already has, what can be obtained on the secondhand market, and what we can invent together — and I do the same thing in my own home (most recently, when transformed my bare patio into my own cheap slice of paradise). Here’s how I use each piece of the TGIF rule.

Thrifted: To get thrifted items, I might hunt for pieces at a local vintage shop, flea market, estate sale, or online listings.

If you’re thrifting, focus on pieces with good bones that just need some love or a fresh idea to transform them. While some thrifted items will be ready to use immediately, most are diamonds in the rough.

Gifted: “Gifted” items are things like family heirlooms or secondhand pieces from friends. Not everyone has gifted items on hand, but when possible, I like to showcase these things! For example, I pulled out a quilt a client’s grandmother made that had been tucked away in a closet so it could be put on display at the foot of their bed.

Found: To get my found items, I keep an eye out for natural or unexpected treasures like branches, stones, sea glass, driftwood, or even old bricks. And I’m always cruising swanky neighborhoods to see what the well-to-dos have put out on their curbs. It’s honestly incredible what people throw away!

What I Love About the TGIF Rule

What sets TGIF apart from most design advice I’ve learned over the years is that it’s super adaptable to any style and any project. It’s not about trends — it’s about following curiosity and experimenting with new ways to decorate. 

I’ve used the TGIF rule in my own home, I’ve used it for clients I’ve worked with, I’ve taught it to design students, and I’m even writing a book about the philosophy. No matter where you use it, TGIF gives people permission to be creative with what they have and do more with less. And personally, it keeps me inspired, and always on the lookout for the next beautiful surprise.

5 Ways To Upgrade S’mores – Including Savory S’mores!

5 Ways To Upgrade S’mores – Including Savory S’mores!

We love having friends over to our backyard fire pit, which means we eat A LOT of s’mores. It also means we have A LOT of opportunities to try unique twists on the traditional recipe. There’s nothing wrong with a tried-and-true s’more, but test-testing new ingredients and combos keeps things fun – and we’ve definitely hit on some combos that we think are even more delicious than the original! So here are 5 of our favorite “upgraded” s’more ideas for your next backyard fire pit gathering (or beach bonfire!).

5 Upgrades Smores Hacks Shown On Table With Fun Ingredients

All of these are simple to execute and still involve the fun “roasting over an open flame” part. So don’t feel like you need to do a lot of extra work or be a fancy home chef to pull them off (we definitely aren’t!).

S’more Night Firepit Supplies

Before we dive into the “recipes,” let’s cover some basics about our backyard fire pit set-up. Here are the exact items we have & love (nothing sponsored, all purchased with our own money).

Solo Stove firepit area with black Adirondack Chairs

We also have a metal storage caddy (we linked a similar one since ours is 5+ years old) with basic s’mores supplies in the cabinet above our fridge. This makes it MUCH EASIER to bring everything out to the fire in one trip. Here’s what’s in ours:

  • Standard s’mores ingredients: graham crackers, chocolate bars, & marshmallows
  • Small paper plates
  • Paper napkins
  • Lighter
  • Resuable metal roasting sticks (we LOVE these – they also make a great gift)
Smores Supply Kit In Metal Tin With Ingredients Lighter Plates Napkins And Metal Roasting Sticks

Quick tip for the metal roasting sticks: They often have crispy burnt marshmallow bits left on them at the end of the night. Soak that end in water overnight to make cleaning much easier in the morning!

Five S’more Upgrades

Ok, we’ve made it to the fun part. Here are the 5 “fancy” s’mores we’ll cover today:

  1. Savory s’mores
  2. Chocolate swaps
  3. Cracker swaps
  4. Adding fruits or spreads
  5. Fluff dips

1. Savory S’mores

What if s’mores had a baby with a charcuterie board? That’s the idea here (which made the rounds on TikTok about a year ago and inspired us to give it a try). The gist is: instead of a marshmallow, you’re roasting bite-size cheeses over an open a flame. And then you swap the chocolate for something like salami, add some fancy jam, and any other savory ingredients you’d like (we LOVE hot honey on them).

Upraded Savory Smores With Cheeses Bri Crackers Proscuitto Salami and Honey

Like any meat & cheese platter, it’s fun to have a spread of options for guests to try. Just be sure to have 3 basic categories covered – cheeses, crackers, and toppings. Here are some of our favorites:

Snacking Cheeses:

Savory Crackers:

Toppings:

Upgraded Savory Smores With Rosemary Cracker Italian Herb Cheddar Proscuitto and Fig Jam

As much as we love the look of the fancy cheeses like brie, we’ve found the Babybel to be a crowd favorite!

Roasting Babybell Cheese Over Firepit Flame for Savory Smores

We’re still working on our “presentation” of savory s’mores because, unlike a fancy cheese platter, we like to keep the snack cheeses wrapped & chilled until they’re ready. We have had luck keeping them cold while they sit outside with us near the fire by freezing a layer of ice in a dispoable baking pan and then nesting another pan on top to corral our ingredients.

Bite Sized Cheese Options for Savory Smores

The absolute best part? You can have savory s’mores for dinner and then follow up with dessert s’mores later the same evening! Nobody has to be back in the kitchen preparing food while others hang outside. Zero dishes to wash. Absolutely a fun DIY dinner for everyone involved.

2. Chocolate Swaps

Upraded Smores With Chocolate Alternatives Like Andes Mints And Dark Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Things

The easiest way to mix-up your classic s’more recipe is to sub out the standard Hershey’s bar for other chocolate candies. Just like the savory s’more spread above, it’s a simple & fun way to let your kids or guests experiment. Just pick up a few bars or bags of other chocolate-based treats. Here are our favorites:

Upgraded Smores With Andes Mints and Reeses Thin Dark Peanut Butter Cup

You can use just about any snack or mini size chocolate bar (Snickers, Mr. Goodbar, etc). In our experience, the thinnner the better. But it’s all personal preference, so we suggest experimenting! Sherry and I both agree the Andes mint version is underappreciated in the s’mores world and like them better than the original Hershey’s bar.

3. Cracker Swaps

Upraded Smores With Graham Cracker Alternatives Like Cookies and Saltines

Similarly, you can also trade out your classic graham cracker base for a new twist on a s’more. Just be careful whatever you’re using it large & sturdy enough to support your other ingredients. Here are some cracker alternatives to try:

Upgraded Smores With Saltines Shortbread Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies

You might be surprised by how much these alterations can change the whole flavor of your s’more. And shockingly, the Saltine is one of our favorite swaps. That little hint of salt is *chef’s kiss*. Truly, try it with a toasty marshmallow and Andes mints instead of Hershey’s chocolate. We are awaiting our Michelin Star, it’s that good.

4. Add Fresh Fruit or Spreads

Upraded Smores With Fruits and Spreads Like Strawberries Bananas Peanut Butter and Lemon Curd

One of our favorite recent discoveries is adding a hit of fresh fruit to our s’mores. It does take a smidge more prep, but regular s’mores now seem almost boring by comparison. These ingredients can be used in addition to OR in place of chocolate:

  • Strawberries, sliced thin
  • Bananas, sliced thin
  • Green applies, sliced thin
  • Peach wedges
  • Nectarine wedges
  • Pear wedges
  • Whole blackberries or raspberries
Upgraded Smores With Banana And Peanut Butter Strawberry Slices and Chocolate Hot Honey on Saltines

Another way to get that fruit flavor but with less prep is using a fruit spread or jam, which we do OFTEN! It tastes so good, and makes it really fun and customizable for your family and guests. Just spread one (or two!) of these on your base cracker first:

Be creative with your combinations of these various categories to create a truly custom s’more. For instance, a shortbread cookie + fresh strawberries + toasted marshmallow can give you an almost strawberry shortcake-like flavor.

5. Fluff Dips

Upraded Smores With Marshmallow Fluff Dips with Peaches Cookie Dough and Reeses Peanut Butter

Skip traditional marshmallow and grab a container of marshmallow fluff instead. Just put one of the base ingredients below onto your roasting stick and dip it directly into the fluff. You may need a spoon to help apply the fluff evenly. Then toast the whole thing over your flame.

Toasted Marshmallow Fluff With Whole Strawberry Over Firepit

After you’re done toasting, you can eat it off a plate with your fingers or a fork – or squish it between two crackers for a traditional sandwich-style s’more. Also consider adding a drizzle of melted chocolate or honey on top! Don’t sleep on a whole strawberry + marshmallow fluff (seen in the photo above). We recently tried them with friends and couldn’t get enough. The fluff gets this toasty crunchy char on the outside and the inside of the strawberry is warm and goey like pie.

Our Favorite Combos

I know we just threw a lot of options your way, so we’ll leave you with our top 3 combinations:

John’s Top 3 S’mores

  • Traditional s’more + sliced strawberries on graham crackers
  • Savory s’more with fig jam, proscuitto, and fontina cheese on rosemary cracker
  • Saltine + lemon curd + marshmallow (no chocolate) on shortbread cookies

Sherry’s Top 3 S’mores

  • Traditional s’more, sub Hershey’s chocolate for Andes mint on saltines
  • Savory s’more with hot honey, salami, and Babybel on saltines
  • Whole strawberry dipped in marshmallow fluff (no cracker)

Happy s’mores-ing everyone! And we solemnly vow to keep trying new s’more combinations. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Other Posts You Might Enjoy

Backyard Pool Area With Firepit And Outdoor Movie Screen

If you’d like more information about how we transformed our backyard, check out some of these posts below:

*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

6 Fun & Easy Pumpkin Decorating Ideas For Kids

6 Fun & Easy Pumpkin Decorating Ideas For Kids

Our kids are very much into the traditional Jack-O-Lantern-style pumpkin carving, often trying to make a scarier, grosser, or goofier face than last Halloween. But we still remember a time when toddler-friendly (even baby-friendly!) pumpkin “carving” was the name of the game over here. So we wanted to highlight six simple, fun, but unconventional pumpkin decorating ideas for kids that we’ve used in the past. Including a “romantic” one we made pre-kids (yes, I’ll pause while you ponder what exactly can be romantic about a pumpkin…).

Grid of 6 Non Traditional Halloween Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

We’ve included a brief description of each below, but you can also follow the link to the original posts for more photos and details about each pumpkin-carving project.

“Baby’s First” Handprint Pumpkin

Materials Needed:

  • Paper or cardstock
  • Pencil or pen (for tracing on hand)
  • Sharpie or marker (for tracing onto pumpkin)
  • Scissors
  • Pumpkin carving tools
Halloween Jack O Lantern Idea With Baby Handprint Stencil For Eyes

Our daughter was only 5 months old by the time her first Halloween rolled around, meaning there wasn’t much she could do to lend a hand in the pumpkin decorating process. But she still participated in that year’s carving by doing literally just that: lending a hand. We traced both of her little hands and used them as homemade stencils on our pumpkin. In our project, they became the eyes of our Jane-O-Lantern (Jacqueline-O-Lantern?) but that part is up to you. They could be butterfly wings, funny ears, or even just hands! Check out the full handprint pumpkin tutorial here.

Finger Painted Stencil Pumpkins

Materials Needed:

  • Painters tape
  • Sharpie or marker
  • Craft knife
  • Finger paints
Kid Friendly Pumpkin Decorating Idea With Finger Painting Over Painters Tape Stencil

The following year, we used a slightly more hands-on approach to involve our daughter in the pumpkin decorating process. She was already into finger-painting on paper, so we just adapted the activity to a new surface. Before unleashing the paint, however, we used painter’s tape, a marker, and a small craft knife to apply some designs to each pumpkin so that once the paint had dried, we could reveal some distinct designs or patterns on each pumpkin. And in retrospect, had we used faux pumpkins we could’ve kept these to break out again the following year. See the full finger-painted pumpkin project here.

Puffy Painted “Studded” Pumpkins

Materials Needed:

  • Puffy paint
  • Craft or latex paint (even leftover house paint works)
Halloween Pumpkin Painting Idea With Puffy Paint Texture Dots

This is a craft we completed pre-children, but it would still be a great one to get young kids involved in. Simply use puffy paint to add a design, texture, or pattern to the outside of your pumpkin. We chose to do rows of dots on ours – making stripes, chevrons, and a monogram (we were very into monogrammed pumpkins at the time, apparently) – but you could do the same with solid lines of puffy paint. Once it has dried, paint the entire pumpkin with a solid color to create a sophisticated, textured look. See the full puffy painted pumpkin step-by-step here.

Tissue Paper Mod Podge Pumpkins

Materials Needed:

  • Colorful tissue paper
  • Mod podge
  • Scissors
  • Paint brushes
Kid-Friendly Pumpkin Decorating With Mod Podge And Tissue Paper Dots

We decided to repurpose some leftover tissue paper for this project. We cut three colors of tissue paper into circles, some big and some small. Then we (the adults) coated the pumpkin in a thin layer of Mod Podge to make it sticky enough that our daughter (who was 2 at the time) could place the tissue paper dots wherever she liked. Once she was done, we coated the whole thing again to “seal” the paper to the pumpkin. This project has so many possibilities – colors, shapes, patterns, etc – and if your child is old enough, they can partake in the cutting of the tissue paper! See the full tissue paper pumpkin tutorial here.

Gothic Panty Hose Pumpkins

Materials:

  • Black fishnet panty hose
  • Scissors
Spooky Halloween Pumpkin Idea With Black Panty Hose Pulled Over White Faux Pumpkin

This is a weird one, but it stick with me. It’s also ridiculously fast! We stumbled upon some black fishnet pantyhose on clearance at the store, and thought it would be fun to try for a Halloween craft – especially since lace-looking pumpkins were all the rage that year. All we did was shove the pumpkin in one leg, stretching the design over the surface and revealing the pattern. Then we cut off the excess and they naturally shrunk tightly around the top and bottom of the pumpkin. Obviously, these are best to dislpay indoors – and we think they look especially great on white pumpkins. See the complete pantyhose pumpkin project here.

Homemade Stencil Monogram Pumpkin

Materials Needed:

  • Computer
  • Printer
  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Marker
  • Pumpkin carving tools
Homemade Monogram Stencil For Romantic Pumpkin Carving Idea

Like I said, we apparently were very into monograms back in the day? But this particular project shows how you can easily make your own homemade stencil. We just printed out a design, covered the backside of the paper in pencil, pressed it against our pumpkin, and traced over our design with pressure. This transferred the design lightly onto the pumpkin’s surface, which we then carved as usual. This technique can be used with any homemade or DIY pattern – we even used it for a more intricate design in the post! Click here for the full monogram pumpkin stencil tutorial.

So there you have it! Maybe I’ll share these with our (now much older) kids this year to see if they spark any new pumpkin decorating ideas of their own. Either way, I’m sure we also have some zany hand-carved Jack-O-Lanterns in our future again!

Wild Blooms to Winding Paths: Charming Cottage Garden Ideas

Wild Blooms to Winding Paths: Charming Cottage Garden Ideas

Beautiful, charming, whimsical: a cottage garden offers it all. Originating from rural England, this gardening style features a blend of flowers, herbs, and vegetables in small, informal plots around their cottages.

What sets them apart from traditional gardens? They aren’t as tied to symmetry or structure, but more free-flowing in design with dense plantings that feel romantic, wild, and intentional.

Cottage gardens celebrate the art and beauty of gardening with a more relaxed approach.

Typically, you’ll see plants spilling over borders, reaching trellises and pathways that flow through a sea of colorful blooming florals.

This style is not about perfection – it’s all about letting the space feel abundant and flowy.

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Photo by  @clark.cottage.gardens

The key features of a cottage garden include:

  • A beautiful mix of florals and plants like annuals, perennials, herbs, and vegetables
  • Climbing plants for vertical appeal, like clematis and wisteria
  • The use of natural materials like gravel and wood
  • Pollinator-friendly plants to attract bees, butterflies, and birds

The beauty of cottage gardens is that they can work in a variety of spaces, whether you have a large sprawling backyard or a small urban plot. They are also perfect for gardeners who love diversity and beauty, and who don’t mind a little disarray.

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Why Choose a Garden Cottage?

If you’re a dreamy, non-traditional garden lover, the winding paths and overflow of a cottage garden are probably perfect for you. With this type of garden, you can embrace your wild and free side as you opt for growing a large variety of flowers, herbs, and vegetables.

Another plus? You get to turn your garden into the perfect escape. Whether you’re starting from scratch or sprucing up a corner of your yard, cottage gardens offer a space to let your garden fantasies run wild. All you need is the right mix of plants, materials, and some design magic to get started.

Designing Your Cottage Garden

Cottage gardens typically shy away from being really structured – this is where your plants and imagination can run free. Start planning for a layered look, where you allow plants to spill over borders.

Here are some key elements to consider:

1. Layout & Pathways

  • Gravel, brick, or mulch can be used to create charming winding paths
  • Arches, trellises, and picket fences are great for defining spaces and supporting climbing plants
  • Bird baths, benches, or vintage flowerpots add beautiful points of interest

2. Soil & Mulch

  • Test your soil first to understand what your garden needs
  • Improve soil quality by utilizing organic matter like compost, leaf mold, or bark
  • Organic mulch or wood chips can help retain moisture (and suppress annoying weeds)

3. Vertical Interest

  • Climbers like wisteria, sweet peas, and clematis add a beautiful touch to trellises and archways
  • Get “just a little” structured – for instance, using garden cloches or obelisks adds and supports height without looking too exact.

Cottage Garden Plants and More

Cottage gardens are all about displaying a unique and rich variety of plants. So instead of sticking to one type or style, this is where you can let several of your favorites shine from different colors, heights, to textures. Diversifying plant species can actually help your plants grow, attract pollinators, and keep pests and disease in check.

Here are a few of our top recommendations:

Annuals

Annuals complete their life cycle in one growing season, meaning they sprout, bloom, and die all within a year. Since they flower pretty often, they can offer vibrancy and color to your garden.

Why add them? To fill gaps and enhance seasonal variety.

We think you’ll love: Sweet peas, zinnias, cosmos, nasturtiums, marigolds

Perennials

Perennials return year after year, often growing stronger and fuller with time. Some perennials live a couple of years, while others can have a lifespan lasting decades. We consider these the backbone of a cottage garden, giving it structure and consistency.

Why add them? They’re low-maintenance and long-lasting.

We think you’ll love: Peonies, daisies, lavender, foxgloves, coneflowers

Herbs

Herbs are easy to grow, beautiful, fragrant, and add a different texture to your garden. Many herbs are also pollinator-friendly and repel pests. Herbs can be used in a variety of ways, like cooking, teas, or natural remedies.

Why add them? They smell great and are often drought-tolerant.

We think you’ll love: Rosemary, thyme, sage, mint, chives

Vegetables

Use your garden cottage to create your own abundance. Vegetables bring a functional element to your garden (visually and as a food source) – also, many vegetables like tomatoes and beans can be trained to climb.

Why add them? Fresh food (need we say more?).

We think you’ll love: Lettuce, kale, tomatoes, pole beans, squash

By combining these plant types, your charming cottage garden will not only look beautiful but will also be resilient and bountiful. Plant diversity helps prevent pests, attracts helpful insects, and gives your garden everything it needs to thrive throughout the changing seasons.

Pollinators and Birds

Cottage gardens are perfect for attracting pollinator insects. To get them buzzing their way into your garden, be sure to add nectar-rich plants like lavender and coneflowers. The goal is to create a safe environment for these helpful friends to thrive, so be sure to avoid using pesticides.

For birds, try adding a shallow bird bath so they can clean, swim, and gather. Water features create an inviting space for feathered friends and add to the overall ambiance. In addition, consider adding nesting boxes tucked among climbing roses or ivy-covered trellises to give them a cozy home when visiting.

Styling Tips and Tricks

Styling your cottage garden is all about letting your blooms run wild. Natural materials, flowing plants, and a little free-spiritness will go a long way.

  • Use natural materials like wood, stone, and terracotta
  • Let plants do their thing – specifically, allowing them to spill over paths freely.
  • Add whimsy with vintage garden tools or painted signs

Low-Maintenance Tips

There are a few ways you can make maintaining your cottage garden an easeful experience, like choosing resilient plants and maintaining soil with natural solutions.

  • Drought-tolerant plants are great for reducing watering (and saving money)
  • Group plants! Arrange them by soil moisture levels and sunlight needs
  • Compost is your friend – use compost and organic soil to feed plants naturally
  • Use dense planting and mulch to keep the weeds away

Cut Flowers for Celebrations

Whether you’re celebrating a birthday or a major holiday, your cottage garden will save you a trip to the local florist. Just head right to your yard and pick out your favorite florals to create your unique arrangement. Also, as you learn more about your plants’ growing patterns, you’ll know which flowers are in season for special celebrations.

With a little planning, you can have blooms throughout the growing season for DIY bouquets (or starting a local flower delivery).

It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, a cottage garden is all about creating a space that brings you joy. So don’t worry about being perfect! With the right plants, layout, and a touch of free flowy creativity, your cottage garden can become the perfect sanctury for wildlife, and you.

Ready to grab your gloves? Let’s get planting!

More gardening inspiration we think you’ll love!

What Is Keiki Paste? And How To Use It On Your Plants

What Is Keiki Paste? And How To Use It On Your Plants

We got lots of questions about the “miracle” cloning paste we showed on Instagram recently. What is it? What does it do? And why the heck is it called “keiki“? Short answer: keiki paste is an easy-to-apply growth hormone for your houseplants that can help fill out bare spots on pothos, orchids, and more. It’s a smart solution for any plant parent, but we’ll tell you what it can and can’t do, so your expectations match the result that you’re likely to get. This is not a sponsored post, by the way.

Container Of Crazy Keiki Cloning Paste By Southside Plants

We first learned of keiki paste from a plant-obsessed neighbor a few months ago. We were skeptical at first – can it really “wake up” a dormant node on our plants? – but now we’re quick to sing its praises. Here’s why…

What Does Keiki Paste Do?

Keiki Cloning Paste is a plant growth hormone that can stimulate new leaf growth on your houseplants. It’s great for filling bare areas on plants like pothos, orhcids, and even fiddle leaf figs. For example, we used it to help regrow parts of this leafless vine on our bathroom plant shelf.

Before And After Side by Side of Pothos Vine Treated With Keiki Paste

Keiki paste is different than rooting hormone, which is used to prompt root growth on plant cuttings during propagation. Instead, keiki paste is applied to above-ground nodes to help produce new leaves or branches.

What’s In Keiki Paste?

Keiki pastes typically consist of a sticky medium (like lanolin) that contains plant nutrients & hormones. The exact hormone formula for each paste is proprietary, but most include a synthetic cytokinin called 6-benzylaminopurine, or 6-BAP. Cytokinins promote cell division in plants, and 6-BAP is one of the most widely used synthetic versions. Again, this is distinct from rooting hormones that used auxins, not cytokinins.

View inside small glass container of Crazy Keiki Cloning Paste

Lanolin is a natural substance that comes from sheep’s wool. You may know it as a Vaseline-like substance used as a moisturizer for your skin. In keiki paste, it serves as a waterproof “glue” that keeps the hormones in place against the plant node. It’s quite sticky, so be sure to clean it off your skin so you don’t accidentally get it in your eyes or mouth.

How To Apply Keiki Paste?

Two things we love most about keiki cloning pastes is that (1) they are easy to use and (2) a little goes a long way. You can apply it following 3 simple steps:

  1. Score The Node
  2. Apply The Paste
  3. Water & Wait

Video Tutorial

Here is a brief video (60 seconds!) that shows how we applied keiki paste to another pothos plant in our house. There is also a written tutorial with photos below if you prefer.

NOTE: You can also watch this video on YouTube.

Step 1: Score The Node

First, make a small cut at the node where you want to grow a new leaf. Nodes are the bumps along your vine or stem where a leaf or branch used to be. The cut doesn’t need to be deep, so a toothpick or table knife should do the trick.

Scoring Pothos Plant Node With Kitchen Knife Before Applying Keiki Paste

If your node is covered by a thin shealth (called a bract) you may need to peel this off first. This won’t hurt the plant. You’re just trying to help the hormone penetrate into the node more easily.

Step 2: Apply the Paste

Use a toothpick or cotton swab to dab a small dot of keiki paste onto the node. A little bit goes a long way – think half of the size of a pea. Too much keiki paste can stress the plant.

Applying Small Dab of Keiki Paste With Toothpick to Pothos Node

Step 3: Water & Wait

That’s it! Now your job is just to be patient and care for your plant as usual. This means making sure it is receiving enough water and light to support growth. Results may begin showing in 1-3 weeks, but can take longer depending on growing conditions and health of the plant.

What Does “Keiki” Mean?

Keiki is pronounced “KAY-kee” (kinda like reiki, if you’re familiar) and is the Hawaiian word for “child” or “little one.” In the plant world, keiki refers to new sprouts on an orchid plant, specfically those produced asexually (aka, not from a seed). Since these types of pastes were originally developed for orchids, they earned the name keiki paste – even though they can be used on many other plant varities.

What Plants Can I Use It On?

Keiki paste was created for orchids, but it can be used on just about any plant with above-ground nodes. So far we have tried it on many of our pothos plants, but you can use it on a wide range of other plants such as:

  • Vining plants like philodendrons & hoyas
  • Flowering plants like orchids & begonias
  • Succulents like donkey tails & string of pearls
  • Small trees like fiddle leaf figs & rubber trees

Look for plants with nodes where leaves, branches, or aerial roots grow (not zz plants or snake plants). It won’t hurt to experiment with different plants, as long as you don’t apply it to too many nodes at once and don’t over-apply the paste.

Why Isn’t My Keiki Paste Working?

We’ve been wowed by keiki paste again & again, but results are NOT guaranteed. So what gives? Here are some tips to keep in mind:

  • Keiki paste works best on healthy plants. It won’t solve underlying health issues like insufficient light, lacking nutriets, or over/underwatering. So if your plant is struggling, make sure you address those before turning to keiki paste.
  • Only treat a few nodes at a time. We’ve gotten the best results applying keiki paste to just 1 or 2 nodes at a time. On occasion we’ve gotten overzealous (like when taking pictures for this post!) and simultaneously treated 6 or 7 nodes on the same vine. This likely overstressed the plant and compromised our results. We only saw growth on 2 or 3 nodes anyway, so be patient and don’t overdo it.
After Photo of Pothos Plant With New Growth From Keiki Paste
  • Consider other fixes too. If you’re unhappy with a bare spot or leggy vine, it may be better to prune it than try to rescue it. Remember, most cuttings can be propagated and replanted in the same pot to help give it a full look. With vining plants like pothos, you can also coil the vine into your pot, pin the nodes right below the soil (bobby pins work great for that), and it should root over time.

These caveats aren’t meant to dissuede you from trying keiki paste. It’s just good to know its limits and the conditions you’ll need to get the best results.

Where to Purchase Keiki Paste

We got our Crazy Keiki Cloning Paste online from Southside Plants (a very cute sister-owned company), but several brands and website sell their own versions. It may feel shocking to pay upwards of $20 to $25 for such a small jar, but keep in mind that a little goes A LONG WAY. Remember, you’re only putting half of a pea sized dab on each node. So this should last us a long time!

Contents of Keiki Paste Container With Paste Toothpick and Insturctions

Keiki paste should be stored in a cool, dark place away from sunlight – which is one reason we like that Southside’s version comes in an opaque storage tube, complete with application sticks.

More Plant Guides

Collage of House Plant Care Guides

If you’re looking for more information on some of our favorite plants, check out some of these posts below:

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