Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

Thursday, December 6, 2012

diy pallet sign

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i am an etsy addict.  there.  i admitted it.  so when i was redoing my bedroom, i naturally began scavenging on etsy for some wall décor.  i came across the most gorgeous pallet sign i’d ever seen.  but it was $145.  yikes.  i am a tightwad thru & thru and that just didn’t work for me.  so, naturally, i set out to make my own.  and it took me three months.  not the actual work, but life, coupled with screwing it up the first time, just made it take for-ev-er.  in fact, when i texted leshia, “pallet sign’s done!”  her reply was “about time!!” J  she loves me.  really.

here’s the scoop on the diy pallet sign:

materials:

*pallet
*some apparatus to bust it up (we found a sawzall worked best and just sawed thru the nails)
*nails
*wood glue
*spray paint
*stencil
*pen/pencil
*paint for words
*sandpaper (optional)

after you’ve busted your pallet up, decide on how big you want your sign.  i wanted mine pretty big, so i left the longest boards alone and just lined up seven of them.  it turned out to be roughly 2ftx3ft.  i flipped the boards over to the side that i didn’t want to be the face of the sign, and used some scrap pallet wood to attach them together.  i would suggest first using wood glue on each board, letting it dry, and then tacking the boards in with the finishing nails.  if your nails are longer, you can drive them thru the front and just cover them with duct tape if that stick out the back, so not to scratch your wall.




after the pallet sign is assembled (it’s really not hard), the painting begins.  i found several cans of rustoleum’s american accents in whitewash at a hardware store in town that’s going out of business.  it was a great deal, and it was the perfect color for my sign.  i painted just a coat or two to give it a little color and then began to stencil. 

*here is where the three month issue comes in*



















if you’ve read any of our other diy posts, you know that leshia and i rarely complete a project that we don’t screw up somewhere along the way.  while i admire and aspire to be more like the blogging women who can do a diy project perfectly the first time with their eyes closed, that is just not our reality at this stage in the game.  i guess we’ve learned some valuable lessons that way?  i mean we can hope.  so i got these 6” stencils from lowe’s.  i did a rough measure of my letters for the phrase “you have my whole heart for my whole life.”  it was a tight squeeze, but i thought i had it.  wrong.  i managed to get “you have my” on the first line and it looked pretty darn good.  i even remember calling leshia and saying “i can’t believe i haven’t screwed this up yet!  it is looking so good.”  pride cometh before the fall, right?  wellll, “whole heart” was up next, and i got to, oh, about “whole hea” when i realized that it was either going to say “whole hear” or “whole heat” or something weird and definitely not what i’d envisioned.  so i got mad.  naturally.  i put the sign away and didn’t work on it for a while.  but i’m kind of glad i didn’t, because i planned out my final attempt very carefully and am so happy with how it turned out. 

when i finally got the gumption to try again, i started by sanding the words that i had painted on as much as i could, and then applied lots more coats of the same color.  because the wood isn’t treated, it soaks that paint up like crazy.  so once it was sufficiently covered, i started stenciling.   


 i printed out my letters off of microsoft word and cut them out, taped them on, and stenciled in pen.  i didn’t mind  using a pen because i knew i was using black paint.  but if you’re not all wild and crazy like me, you might want to go with pencil.  in hindsight the whole pen thing really wasn’t the greatest idea.  once i got the words stenciled on, i set out painting. 





 i just used black craft paint and only one coat because i liked how it looked a little distressed.  if the words were darker, i would definitely sand it, and i still may.  but for now, i love it.  i think this is one of my favorite projects i’ve done so far.  i’m pretty much obsessed with it.  so, my charge to you: plan your stenciling.  you will be better for it.  best of luck! J


 
 
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Posted by Katie @ Southern Chic Love at 8:46 AM 64 comments
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Monday, November 26, 2012

knock-off: pottery barn skull plaque

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deer heads & antlers.  they are everywhere right now in home decor.  have you noticed? 

(source)

i ran across this faux skull plaque at pottery barn and had to have one.  instead of buying it i figured i could recreate my own.  all i needed was a plaque and skull.

luckily my family deer hunts so i have plenty of antlers and skulls lying around.  i used a piece of scrap pine that i had and cut out the plaque shape, routered the edges, and stained it.  the skull that i wanted to use was old.  the antlers were faded and the skull was yellow.  i used the same stain that i used on the plaque to stain the antlers to make them darker.  then i used some white paint for the skull.


i cut out a scrap piece of pine to fit inside of the skull and glued it so i would have a way of attaching it to the plaque.  once it was dry i predrilled holes on the back of the plaque and screwed the skull to place.  since i already had the wood, skull, and paint the only cost i had in this project was the stain.  not bad, huh?  :)

i hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving and have a great week!

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Posted by Leshia at 1:18 PM 23 comments
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Monday, November 12, 2012

diy yarn wreath

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i haven't blogged in a whole week and i feel like it's been forever! the sickness invaded our house and left us with bronchitis and head colds and you name it.  thank god for doctors and mommies and naptime!  anyway, i can't take credit for this project.  a couple weeks ago when i was dressing up my monogram that went in our bedroom, my friend christina was here and she had seen a yarn wreath that she really liked.  she picked out the colors for her house and to suit her taste, but of course you could always change that up. :)  i think i may do one for my back door with a natural twine or something like that. 
 
so first get your wreath form.  you can use a styrofoam form, a straw form, or a pool noodle.  noodles are hard to find this time of year, but always the cheap option!
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
tie your yarn around and just start wrapping.  if you use multiple colors, decide how wide you want the sections and when you reach that point, tie the yarn tight to secure it and cut.  we tried hot glue and it works, but it's messier and harder to hide. 
 
how cute is that?! we made some rosettes for it and glued those on.  to make rosettes, cut your felt in squares about the size of the palm of your hand.  start on one corner and cut the square into a spiral.  then when you roll it, it will turn into a cute little rosette! 
 
 
here are a few pictures of my friend christina and me.  she is such an amazing person and i'm so blessed to have her in my life!
 
 

 
 
hope you all have had a fabulous veteran's day!  thank you to all the current and former service men and women who give us our freedom, and god bless america!
 
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Posted by Katie @ Southern Chic Love at 2:37 PM 41 comments
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

upcycled tray & chance to be featured!

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this summer i picked up this tray at a yard sale for $1.  if i'd thought to take a before picture, you'd notice that the tray was orginally mauve, circa 1990.  don't dwell on the decor of the 90's too long...the mauve, jade, peach....it will ruin your day.  anyway, a little white spray paint turned my tray gone-bad to something new and full of possibilities.


i found these little glass tiles pictured above at lowe's.  they come in sheets so the work is much less time consuming and tedious.  works for me!  i thought these colors would look great in my bedroom.  if you missed the post about it, check it out here.  the tiles are clear, chrome and shades of blue with some random neutrals thrown in there.  i found some adhesive that was a grout mix and it was already combined.  that took lots of work out!  i just applied the mix to the tray, laid the tiles down, and then applied the mix to the tops of the tiles to seal them.  i spread the mix on top with a grout tool to make sure to get it in all the nooks and crannies, and then i wiped it clean with a damp sponge.  i gotta say, this has been one of the easiest projects i've done to have such a dramatic difference in the end.  i love how it looks on my dresser! 

what are your favorite simple projects that pack a big punch?  leave us a comment below with a link to your blog post about your transformation or creation for a chance to be featured next week! 


 
 
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Posted by Leshia at 10:57 AM 52 comments
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