Fence Board Sign

While changing around the functions of our living room and bonus room a couple of months ago, we took our flat screen TV off the wall downstairs and set it on the console table upstairs. This left us with the big, ugly, black bracket still smack in the middle of the wall downstairs.

Lovely, no?

Instead of taking it down like any normal person would do, I decided I'd rather just cover it up. So I pulled out a few scrap fence boards and a length of 1x2 that I had in the garage and started cutting, sanding, and screwing them together to make a big sign.



I added a few upholstery tacks just for some interest.

A couple of eye screws and some heavy duty wire on the back...

... and I've got a nice little hanger for my new sign.



The wood got beaten a little with a hammer and other tools to dent the boards, then I primed and painted it with Heirloom White and sanded it to distress the paint.

There are so many options for how you could paint your sign and what it could say. Some ideas I considered were:
~ an inspirational quote or word
~ a scripture
~ a line of a song
~ my family's last name and our anniversary date

Once I decided on what the sign would say, I printed out the words (backwards!) in the size I wanted, then arranged the words and fixed them in place with painter's tape.

(As you can see, I ended up changing my mind about the font I wanted.) Using the method outlined in this tutorial, I transferred the letters from my printed paper onto the wood.

I've learned after doing this a few times that the best results are achieved when you've painted your surface with regular old craft acrylic paint. House paint with any kind of sheen and even spray paint tend to repel the ink, so your finished words are very, very light. Because I'd used spray paint on the sign, my transferred letters were visible but too light to read well, so I had to go back over my lettering with some watered down acrylic paint to make them readable, but not too bold.

And here it is in its place of honor.
The finishing touch was to wipe some brown glaze onto the edges and along the seams where the boards meet, just to make it look more worn and aged.


Talk about an easy, inexpensive way to add some personal, unique and high-impact art to a wall.

Even though this project was experimental, I'm actually pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Bye-bye, ugly black bracket thing.

Before and After: Child's Rocking Chair

After leaving you hanging with those sneaky peeks the other day, I figured I'd better get something finished to show you right away.

This little rocker has been collecting dust in my garage for months. It was one of the first things I purchased when yard sale season began in the spring.


I knew the people who sold it to me, so I was hopeful that they'd be able to find the missing arm and get it to me so I could make this chair whole again. But I figured that even if it never turned up, I could just pull off the other one, fill the holes, and just have an armless rocker.

This turned out to be a bad idea. The missing arm never turned up, and the back became very unsteady without the support the arms provided, so removing them all together was no longer an option. I looked at Home Depot for something that might work instead, like a staircase baluster, but didn't like what I found.

So, on to Plan C: Make two new arms. I bought a dowel that was the same thickness as the original arm, as well as a smaller dowel that would fit into the hole in the back uprights. I also picked up a spade bit (pictured below) that was the same size as my smaller dowel.

Then I just sort of winged it. I started by cutting the big dowel to the correct lengths for the new arms, then drilled holes where a hole exist in the original arm.

Then I drilled another hole into the end of each new arm for the smaller dowel to fit into.

I cut the small dowels to size...

...which then fitted into the back uprights and the holes I made in the dowel ends.

I sanded the new arms so that the front end was nice and rounded and made the back ends somewhat tapered, then pulled out the trusty Gorilla Glue to assemble everything.

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased that it worked! Since this was an experiment, I wasn't entirely sure that it would work. Because, let's be honest, not all experiments end well. But thank goodness this time it did because I had no Plan D. Obviously these new arms aren't nearly as cute as the old turned ones, but now the rocker is sturdy and whole again.

The friend that I was working on this for requested the rocker be painted (I went with my favorite, Heirloom White) and get a light distressing.

Since the thickness of the dowel that I used for the arms matches the thickness of the legs on the rocker, they actually look like they belong.

Distressing a piece that is bound to get some natural distress from a child's use is a good idea. It saves you the anxiety that inevitably comes with that first ding or scratch to a perfect paint job.

I'm so glad this little rocker has gotten a new life and a new home. Hopefully it lasts for a long, long time yet.

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

I know I promised some before and afters this week, but I'm afraid I don't have any.

I know.

I'm lame.

But after a week of working and with nothing to show for it, I realized that it's because I've been working on so many things at once that none of them have actually gotten DONE! There are at least half a dozen projects around here in various states of incompleteness.

Since I've already broken my promise about showing you some finished pieces, I'm going to be extra mean and show you some peeks at what I've been working on.







Now I'm a liar and a tease. :)

Yard sale junk

I've been able to hit some yard sales and thrift stores recently and wanted to share some of my junk- I mean treasures with you.

Found this little guy at the Bargain Center. And I do mean little. On the bottom it says that it was "Handmade by Virg 1988". Cool, huh?


This puppy cost me a buck at a neighbor's yard sale last weekend. Not sure what it's for, but it's cute! (Sorry about the distracting crap in the background.)

This has a hinged section so you can insert a tea light and hang it by the ring. I just love this star shape.

These kind of baskets seem to be everywhere. They remind me of what you'd use when you pick apples or strawberries. Remember the baby shower gift that I gave my friend? It was packaged in one of these.

Couldn't resist this BIG, chunky basket. It would be perfect for keeping spare blankets nearby in the living room or for catching stuff that needs to be taken upstairs.

This magazine holder is dying for a treatment like the rack in this post.

Somebody put a lot of work into stripping the white paint off of this blonde wood nightstand, staining two of the drawers and the trim around the bottom, then giving up on it. $5 score for me!

How could I resist this beautiful little vintage desk/chair combo? It's in SUCH great shape and only cost me $5!! My daughter has already claimed this as hers. :)



These old fruit boxes are weathered, rickety and super worn.

LOVE THEM!

It's obvious that this chair was used outside. Hopefully I can sturdy it up and give it new life.

This chair had a mate, but I only bought one of them. I was kicking myself later because it was only $4, but it's pretty nasty and is going to take some work. I already have a vision for this and it's going to be fabulous!

I'll give you a peek at my inspiration:

I'm thinking this cute little table would look even cuter with some red paint and black glaze like I used on Rachel's table. What do you think?
Once again, my garage is filling with thrifted furniture and yard sale items that need refurbishing. That always gives me the motivation I need to get out there and get crackin'!!

So there will definitely be some "before and after" posts coming next week. Be sure to check back!

Oh and hey-

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

No go.

First of all, thank you to everyone who weighed in with your opinions on the blog comments of the previous post, and on Facebook. The unanimous vote was to add the pleats to the shoulder, which I did.

I started with this...

...then turned it into this. But the fact of the matter is that I just don't like it.

And it's not that I don't like the pleats going all the way up, I just don't like the pleats, period. On the mannequin it looks kinda cute, but on me it's just weird. I just don't see me ever, ever wearing this.

One reason I'm even showing you the end product is because I wanted you to know that I did indeed finish it, but those pleats will be coming off. I think I'll attempt a ruffle with some different fabric. That was what I tried first, but the turquoise fabric was too stiff to ruffle nicely.

The main reason I'm showing you my big fat failure is to show that things don't always go right, and that's okay. This was definitely a learning project, and unfortunately it didn't lead to a result that pleased me. But, again, THAT'S OKAY! Now I know, and I'll try something else. Things like this happen to me often- I just don't always blog about it! :)