Graduation Sign From Campaign Sign

5-DSCN5974Graduation Decor From Campaign Sign

I live on rural property just off a highway that gets a lot of traffic everyday. We get many requests for posting campaign signs. No matter the party, we will usually approve the requests as long as the opposing parties respect the property (signs) of the other. This is not a political post. Absolutely not. I do not and will not talk politics. Enough said.

1-DSCN5961This sign is one that blew down during the last campaign. It was blown to an area of our yard that wasn’t noticeable during the fall, but now that spring is kinda here, we found it. I decided to recycle it for my son’s graduation party.

My son’s school colors are blue and white. Since I had a gallon of royal blue paint, I painted one side of the sign to cover up the campaign lettering. It took two coats. It probably could have used another, but for what I am going to use it for, I think two is kinda perfect.

DSCN0892I found a Dr. Seuss quote I liked, so I cut my own stencils using my Cricut and the Jubilee cartridge. I set the size at 5 inches and used ordinary card stock. You may remember my Rustic Stenciled Signs. The stencils were made in the same way. I connected the center of letters like the “O” using thin slivers of masking tape to bridge the center of the letter with the outside.

2-DSCN5965The rustic signs used one word. This was a little different. I was making an entire quote. I cut out each word individually (two if they were short words) so that each word had a common upper border.

4-DSCN5970Did I just confuse you? I kinda confused myself, so it’s okay to say “yes”. What I mean by common upper border, is that I was able to connect the words together with the top edge even. That way the line, or sentence, would be even. I used index cards to space each word. Masking tape was used to attach everything together.

Once I had each line created, I placed them on the sign. The lines were measured, spaced and taped.

5-DSCN5974When I finished stenciling the quote I felt it was a little sparse. It needed something more, so I added a border. Please excuse the shadow from the electrical line across the sign. I didn’t notice it while I was taking the photo. Oh well…just keeping it real. ;)

Enjoy!

Sewing Table To End Table

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It’s been a while since I painted some furniture and I was starting to feel withdrawal.

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This old sewing table was the perfect project for my painting fix. I’ve had it a few years. It was a yard sale steal for $5. It still had the sewing machine inside, but it didn’t work anymore and it made the table a very heavy beast. Once removed, I was finally able to move the table without help.

Since the door on the front opened I was hoping to add a shelf, but there was another board behind the door that was just short enough for clearance over knees while sewing. It was part of the table’s support, so removing it would have had the table collapsing. I secured the door so that it couldn’t open anymore, and also the folding table top over the opening for the sewing machine.

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Sometimes my furniture redos just evolve as I go along, but lately I have been seeing a lot of beautifully painted gray furniture on other blogs. I knew that’s the color I wanted, but…I didn’t have gray paint. Frugal to the bone, I mixed my own using light blue and chocolate brown paint. I think the color turned out kinda perfect, if I do say so myself.

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I lightly sanded over the edges…

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…then I finished with a wash of watered down white paint. One of the original knobs was broken, so I added silver ones. I thought they went well with the gray paint.

I WAS FEATURED!!!

I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom
Places I’m partying this week:

Monday

creative corner blog hop Keeping It SimpleSumo's Sweet StuffMaking

Tuesday

PhotobuckethomeworkThe DIY Dreamer

Wednesday

The Fun In Functional @ Practically Functional - Wednesdays @ 8amAdorned From AboveWhite Lights on WednesdaysManic MotherFine Craft Guild{Primp}
Wow Us Wednesdays

Thursday

shabby creek cottageCatch a Glimpse ButtonPhotobucketSomewhat SimpleThe 36th AVENUEThe Taylor HousePhotobucketA Crafty SoireeBeyond The Picket FencePhotobucketThis Silly Girl's LifeDesigned Decor

Friday

The Shabby NestBlissful and DomesticHappy Hour ProjectsI'm Lovin' It at TidyMomRooted In ThymeLadies Holiday

Saturday

Too Much Time On My HandsFunky Junk's Sat Nite SpecialYour Homebased Mom

Sunday

The Girl CreativeUndertheTableandDreamingDIY Show Off

Weekend

Homespun Happenings Lovely Crafty Home

Shabby Chic Birdcage Knockoff-Tutorial

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I love looking through home decorating magazines, home interior stores and high-end department stores, but I’m realistic enough to know the closet I will get to owning any of that beautiful eye-candy is if I make it myself.

This shabby chic birdcage is my knockoff of one I found while window shopping one day. I can’t remember the name of the store, but I can remember the cage was $45. Now some of you may not think $45 is too much for a decorator birdcage, but my frugal, do-it-yourself brain said “No way!”

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I tucked that inspiration away in my mind and while looking for something else in the barn, I came across a similar shaped birdcage. It was perfect. It had come from the Dollar Store, but it was green and decorated with wire vine and metal ivy leaves that I didn’t like.

I wanted my cage to resemble the one I had seen, so the vine and leaves had to go. That process was surprisingly easy to accomplish. I just tugged tham off. The parts that were stuck came off with the help of wire cutters. Easy Peasy! I immediately loved the difference that made.

I then sprayed the entire cage (inside and out) with a light layer of white spray paint. This was mainly to get into all the corners and the peak of the inside of the cage. I wasn’t trying for full coverage. I just wanted a jumping off point for the layers that would follow.

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The cage at the store had cool decorative embellishments on it, so I got out my bag of brass doohickeys.

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I simply wired them to the cage using craft wire.

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Using an old paintbrush I pounced and dabbed flat off white acrylic paint over the whole cage (inside and out).

After that dried, I repeated it with a coat of flat white acrylic paint.

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I was loving it, but it just didn’t look shabby enough yet, so I got out the sandpaper. I sanded everything.

Ta-da!

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Check it out! If you look closely (inside the cage) you can see one of the nests from yesterday’s tutorial.

Enjoy!

 

For 2013 I am embracing the phrase “You never know if you don’t ask.”…So, if you enjoyed this post and this blog, would you consider following this blog?

 

Thank you!

Places I’m partying this week:

Monday

creative corner blog hop Keeping It SimpleSumo's Sweet StuffMaking

Tuesday

PhotobuckethomeworkThe DIY Dreamer

Wednesday

The Fun In Functional @ Practically Functional - Wednesdays @ 8amAdorned From AboveWhite Lights on WednesdaysManic MotherFine Craft GuildPhotobucket{Primp}

Thursday

shabby creek cottageCatch a Glimpse ButtonPhotobucketSomewhat SimpleThe 36th AVENUEThe Taylor HousePhotobucketA Crafty SoireeBeyond The Picket Fence

Friday

The Shabby NestBlissful and DomesticHappy Hour ProjectsI'm Lovin' It at TidyMomRooted In Thyme

Saturday

Too Much Time On My HandsFunky Junk's Sat Nite SpecialYour Homebased Mom

Sunday

The Girl CreativeUndertheTableandDreamingDIY Show Off

Weekend

Homespun Happenings Lovely Crafty Home

 

 

Wow Us Wednesdays

Valentine’s Day Party

tessacotton

Whimsical Ranch Sign and Valentine Tutorials

Just had to share my newest tutorials on FaveCrafts.

Ranch Rules 6

Whimsical Western Wall Hanging

 

What do you do with an old cupboard door? Make a fun “Ranch Rules” sign to keep your little (and big) cowpokes in line.

I also made word stencils using my Cricut Expression for this project.

Prim Valentines 7

Valentine’s Day Bowl Fillers

 

This little prim craft will add a lighthearted touch to your Valentine’s Day decor.

Enjoy!

 

Sorority Craft Show

I’ve been getting ready for the Sorority Craft Show in Arkansas City, Kansas tomorrow. It’s located in the Ag building (affectionately known as the pig palace), and is open from 10:00am – 3:00pm.

As usual, if a treasure wasn’t nailed down (and sometimes even when it was) I glued, painted or stitched it into a restyled treasure. The following are a few of my new projects I crafted for this show.

Timber Snowmen

I just love these frosty guys. I’m not sure why, but they remind me of little cowboy snowmen. Must be the log shaped bodies.

Reindeer Bed Springs

I try to come up with a new bed spring craft every year. This seems to be the year of the reindeer. In this picture they weren’t attached to the springs yet, but they have since been completed.

Star Santa Pillows

Another one of those projects that had my sewing machine beeping like a bomb.

Polka Dot Rocking Horse

Just a little peek at a restyled wooden rocking horse. I’ll have more on this transformation in a later post.

A bowl of glittered bulb ornaments. I never, never throw anything away.

Chenille Bedspread Candy Canes

Tobacco Can Snowmen

More Mini Rag Wrapped Candy Canes

These were made from the wire tent stakes I had mentioned before.

Shutter Snowmen


These chairs are just a sneaky peak at a project I will be posting about soon.

Most people would probably have tossed these old relics, but I am glad I didn’t. Can’t wait to show you what they became.

If you are in my neck of the woods tomorrow, come visit me at the show.