~how to paint a sign if you don't have a steady hand~

This is by far the easiest way to create a custom sign without having to use a skinny paintbrush, and you are allowed to have coffee while you do this project! No steady hands required!

Here is how I made this sign.

I started off with a $16 shadow box from Target.

I love the color of it and thought it would be perfect for this.

This is the exact one I used.

When you get the shadow box home, take it apart so you are just left with the frame.

Using the glass as a guide, cut a piece of mdf the same size.

The secret to the perfect lettering in this sign is these little re positionable letters from the office supply store. If you've been reading my blog a long time, you know that I use these letters for EVERYTHING.

Paint the piece of mdf {medium density fiberboard} black.

 If you want your wording to be a different color, use that color instead of black.

Let dry completely before moving on.

Decide what you want your sign to say.

I made 2, one says "our nest" and the other "home"

Before you start sticking them down you will want to lay them out and make sure the letters will fit on the piece of wood.

I measured and drew on some guidelines with a ruler and pencil just to make sure everything was centered before I put the stickers down.

Once your stickers are in place press down firmly to make sure there are no air bubbles.

Then put on 2 coats {letting each coat dry in between}

of cream colored paint on in thin layers.

Go right over the letters.

After the 2 coats are completely dry, use a sharp knife or razor blade to carefully peel off the stickers.

Pop it back into the shadow box frame and you are done.

These are so easy to make that you could make a whole stack of signs with different wording and just pop them in and out of the frame for different occasions!

xoxo

~how to make a faux wood arrow~{thrifty thursday}

While I was hard at work on the One Room Challenge, one of the things I looked into was new flooring. Although those two things called "time" and "budget" came into play, so we ended up just touching up the floor we have. 

One thing home improvement stores are offering now is free floor samples.

I think this is genius for visual people like myself.

You can bring home samples and lay them out to see what it would look like.

Here are some samples I brought home. It's a whitewashed faux wood.

Each piece measures approx. 3x6"

After sitting around for a while I decided I'd put them to use and make a faux wood arrow, and here is how you can as well!

Gather your supplies.

You will need:

Liquid nails, or another strong glue.

Blue painters tape {optional}

MDF, I had some left over from my faux snakeskin drawer liners.

A pencil and ruler. {Or tape measure}

A jigsaw.

Lay out your pieces of flooring on a piece of MDF and glue down.

Place heavy objects on top and let dry several hours to overnight.

The following day, remove your heavy objects and using a pencil and ruler sketch out your arrow shape. There are so many different arrows to choose from.

You can make a whimsical one, or a traditional one, up to you.

{If you need a pattern you can enlarge one that you print from home at a copy center, cut out, and trace around it.}

I used blue painters tape to outline where I had drawn the pencil because it was a little hard to see.

Using your jigsaw carefully cut out along your pencil/tape lines.

I left my edges raw but you could always add a contrasting color of paint for fun.

I think it turned out so cute!

This could be hung indoors or out, or just propped on a shelf.

Happy crafting!

xoxo

~a handmade mothers day gift~

This is a re post from last year, but I had so much fun making this project, that I thought I'd share again for any new followers, or for anyone who might have missed it.

To see the full post and the how-to's, click here. 

Wishing everyone a blessed Mother's Day.

xoxo

~how to make a seed packet pallet wood sign~

Today I want to show you how to make a sign from old pallet wood. Of course,
you don't have to use pallet wood, any kind will do.

Start by deciding what size you want your sign to be. I just laid a few pieces together to get a width I liked.

Then I cut them all the same length.

Turn your piece so that the roughest side is facing you. This will
be the back. Cut random pieces of scrap wood and using a nail gun or screw gun, attach
them to the pallet wood. This will hold it all together.

When it is all attached together, you are ready to make your pattern.
Find a vintage seed packet image and print it out.
Take it to your local copy center and enlarge it. You can
use the oversize printer, which I usually do, or piece it together.
When I went to enlarge mine, the oversized printer was in use, so I pieced mine
together. Either way works.

Turn your pattern over and scribble with a pencil all over the back. You
really only need to cover the part with the image.

Once that is done, place your pattern back on the wood and tape it in place.
Using a ballpoint pen, trace over the outlines of the image.

After you have completely traced over everything, you can remove the paper.
Then, using a fine brush and a variety of paints, fill in where the pencil transferred.

That's it! When it's dry, hang it in your favorite spot!

Let me know what you end up creating! I love to hear from you!
xoxo

~thrifty thursday~{& how to paint faux wood grain}

So this week I am making over a cupcake stand that was
picked up at a garage sale for a whopping $10.
This sucker is huge, and I am so sorry,
but the before was just not my cup of tea.

I'm starting with an after shot:

Ready for the before?

Are you blind? Sorry.
Ok, here is how this makeover went down. Mom calls me up and tells me she scored for me at a garage sale! You might be thinking this is a good thing.....
obviously you have not seen some of her "scores"
Luckily she knows I'm pretty handy and can make ugly things pretty.
I had this cupcake stand for 1 whole day before I made it over.
It was that bad. I guess if you like peacocks and purple with turquoise it's not bad,
but I was thinking more of a woodsy feel.

So, with the woodsy feel in mind, I headed off to my local craft store and bought a variety of "wood" scrapbooking papers.

I wanted to cover the center "tubes" in this paper.
I cut them to size on my paper cutter and glued them on with spray adhesive.
Love this stuff!

For the round "discs" or "shelves" I hand painted the faux wood look. I picked up some paints at the craft store that matched the tones in my paper, as well as some brown stain and black paint. I already had the dark wax.

First step was to spray paint each piece white, front and back.

Then I took a small foam brush and randomly added imperfect lines using
the aluminum colored paint. Be random because nothing is nature is perfect or symmetrical.

Then you want to "highlight" those areas with a bit of black and a bit of brown. I used a thinner brush.
The cheaper the brush the better, because it won't be so perfect. Use a kids paint brush that has been beat up if you have one!

It should look similar to this now:

Then you need to add some "knots" These are easy to replicate.
They kinda resemble eyeballs.

Then the real magic happens when you apply the dark wax.

The one on the top has not been waxed, the one on the bottom has.

To finish the edges off I hot glued on rope.

Here it is all done!

Kinda a long process drawn out here, but really, it's very simple. I think it could be used for a variety of things, not just cupcakes!

Also, my friend Emily is doing a giveaway on her blog with one of my favorite candles! Go check it out here!

xoxo