{TUTORIAL} DIY "EAT" Sign

What do you do when you want a 5 foot wide EAT sign made of wood?  You could grab a beverage of choice, sink into your favorite chair, and do some online shopping ... or .... search your scrap wood stash and make it yourself!

This was so easy and actually, the hardest part was deciding which font to use for the letters.    

Supplies I used:

• 5' x  12" pine board (I learned that a 12" board is actually 11-1/2"!!!)
• Contact paper
• White paint pen for outlining
• Sherwin Williams Dover White paint for letters (from my cabinet/trim touch up jar)
• 220 grit sandpaper
• (3) 1" disposable paint brushes (because I don't like to clean them)
• Small artist's brush
• Minwax Ebony Stain
• Silhouette Cameo or scissors

There are many ways to use stencils and for this project I adhered the design (the letters and stripes) on the board and traced around them with a paint pen.  It made it really easy to visualize precisely how they would look on the board. 

To get started, I lightly sanded the board on all sides except the back - just enough to remove any splinters - and wiped the board with a slightly dampened paper towel.   Then applied the stain (2 coats) and let dry overnight.

Next, I determined the height of my letters and selected a font (Times New Roman).  Each letter is 9" tall.  The three stripes on each end of the sign are 1-1/2" wide each - two are 7" long and the middle stripe is 9" long.

I cut the letters and stripes out of contact paper with my Silhouette, removed the paper backing and positioned them on the board, using a tape measure to ensure they were evenly aligned the same distance from the top and bottom.  (Got caught up in the process and didn't take a pic of this step.)

There was a 1" space between the letters and the bottom of the board, and a 2" space between the bottom stripe and the bottom of the board and the stripes are spaced 1-1/2" apart. If you don't have a Silhouette cutter, you can trace your design on the contact paper and cut out by hand with scissors. 

When I was pleased with the alignment of the letters and stripes, I traced around each using the white paint pen.  After about 5 minutes, I removed the contact paper and was left with the outline of each letter and stripe on my stained board.

Using a 1" paint brush and a small artist's brush, I filled in each letter and stripe using the white paint.  I let the first coat of white paint dry for 4 hours and applied a second coat. 

The next day, I distressed the lettering by dipping my paint brush in the dark stain and wiping on a paper towel, leaving just a bit of stain on the brush.  With light strokes, I brushed over the white letters and stripes in the direction of the wood grain (horizontally on the board) until I was happy with the look.

"We" then placed two sawtooth hangers on the back of the sign and it's now comfortably at home above our dining room windows.  I wanted it to almost entirely fill the space above the windows and it does just that. 

This was a no spend project as I had all the supplies on hand.  Love it when I can reuse and repurpose existing items. 

I encourage you to give it a try!  If you mess up or don't like what you've done, just flip the board over, use the back side, and start over again.  If you make one, would love to hear how it turned out!

Thank you to Weekend Craft , From Evija With Love, and Oh My Heartsie Girl for graciously featuring this post!

Sharing with:

Natasha in Oz * Imparting Grace * French Country Cottage * Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 

The Crafted Sparrow * Today's Creative Life * The Painted Drawer

TaterTots & Jello * The Shabby Nest * Funky Junk Interiors

A Vision to Remember * Snippets of Inspiration * I Heart Naptime 

Thoughts from Alice * My Flagstaff Home * Making it in the Mountains

It's Overflowing * Nifty Thrifty Things * Between Naps on the Porch

Create With Joy * Lou Lou Girls * A Stroll Thru Life 

Ducks 'n a Row * My Fabuless Life * Oh My Heartsie Girl 

Pieced Pastimes * Farmgirl Unleashed * Bless'er House

Refresh Living * Dwellings - The Heart of Your Home * Sew Can Do 

Too Much Time on My Hands * Weekend Craft

 Little Red Brick House * The Dedicated House * Cedar Hill Farmhouse * Dwellings - The Heart of Your Home * Sand & Sisal * A Delightsome Life * Rooted in Thyme * Life With Lorelai * Dear Creatives * Must Love Home * Savvy Southern Style * My Fruitful Home * The Blissful Bee * Up to Date Interiors * Dimples and Tangles

Goodwill Hunting #1

When I get a chance to visit the nearest Goodwill Thrift Store, an hour from home, it's a fun experience because you never know what you'll find. 

With thrift store décor it helps to look beyond the layer of dust and the current color of the item.  They can be repainted or stained to fit your particular style. 

Most recently several items left the store with me - surprising - as I don't always find something I like each visit:

An Anthropologie white antler wall hook, a Target candlestick, two old metal lidded boxes (one shown), and a fleur-de-lis wall plaque.  Love all of them - and, less than $20 total!

The metal lidded boxes will get a fresh coat of paint and be put to work helping to organize craft supplies.  Another project!!!

Do you have much success shopping in thrift stores?  What has been your best find?

 

Coming Clean

Recipes for homemade laundry products have been all over blogland for years, but I thought I'd share my favorites for powdered detergent and liquid fabric softener.

The following powdered detergent ingredients can be found at any grocery store, Walmart or Target, and are often displayed side-by-side on the store shelf.

 

 

Half a 5# container OxiClean

1 box Washing Soda (55 oz.)

1 box Baking Soda (4#)

2 bars Fels-Naptha or Zote bar soap (grated)

Optional: 1 box Borax 

Pour all ingredients slowly into a large container - a clean, dry 5 gallon bucket is the perfect size.  Mix thoroughly. 

It makes a LOT of laundry powder. We use 2 small scoops per load and store it in our laundry room in a 2-gallon lidded glass jar. 

 

 

 

Observations:

Have made it with and without Borax and didn't see a difference in the way it cleans. Tried both Fels-Naptha and Zote bar soaps and, personally, I like the scent of the Fels-Naptha the best - smells really fresh and clean!


HOMEMADE FABRIC SOFTENER

 

For homemade fabric softener, add 1 bottle of Suave hair conditioner (scent of your choice - I use Waterfall scent) to a large container and fill with water. Any container will work well - above is a 5 quart container with a spiggot for easy pouring. But, large, empty fabric softener or laundry detergent containers work great also. Goes a looooong way and so inexpensive - only the cost of the conditioner which is around $2.

 

If you try either of these, would love to hear how you like them!

 

Sharing with:

The Dedicated House * Imparting Grace * The Painted Drawer * The Shabby Nest * Chic on a Shoestring * Thoughts from Alice * The Crafted Sparrow * Between Naps on the Porch

{TUTORIAL} Colorfully Contained

Today's project was to create a mixed arrangement in a large plant container that I had on hand.   I am not a Master Gardener and my thumbs aren't even a shade of green ... I guess you could call me a "persistent gardener wannabe."   My planting experiments don't always work out well, but I keep trying.

To add a bit of summer color to the corner of our back porch, we took a trip to Lowes and bought these (not including the bucket of bricks!):

Purple Fountain Grass for height in the very center of the arrangement:

Pentas (white), Marigolds and Vincas to surround the fountain grass with color:

Lastly, Sweet Potato Vine and Purple Queen Purpurina to cascade and trail over the sides of the container:

First I placed several bricks at the bottom of the container, to prevent the soil from washing out of the container when watered.  Large stones would work much better, but I didn't have any and used what I had handy. 

Then I filled the container with Sta Green potting soil, leaving about 6 inches unfilled - this container used almost a full 2.48 cf bag.

I set the plants in place, after rearranging several times.  Then, filled around and between the plants with the remaining potting soil, pressing down firmly.  Last step (other than cleaning up all the soil I spilled on the porch!) was to water.

The plants are all suited for Full Sun and the corner of the porch gets full morning and full evening sun (not midday), so technically they get full sun, right?  Fingers are crossed!

Please pretend you don't notice that our lawn needs to be mowed - with all the rain we've had recently, it's still too wet to mow.  :)

 

 

 Thank you to My Flagstaff Home for graciously featuring this post!

Sharing with:

A Stroll Thru Life * Farmgirl Unleashed * Pieced Pastimes

My Flagstaff Home * It's Overflowing * The Shabby Nest

Chic on a Shoestring * Snippets of Inspiration * The Crafted Sparrow 

The Painted Drawer * Must Love Home * I Heart Naptime 

A Vision to Remember * Nifty Thrifty Things * Thoughts from Alice * A Delightsome Life

 Little Red Brick House * Between Naps on the Porch * Sew Can Do * Create with Joy * Mad in Crafts * Bless'er House * Rooted in Thyme * Dear Creatives * Live Laugh Rowe

Assigned Seating

Why have plain barstools when you can have numbered ones? 

Used my Silhouette Cameo to cut a stencil out of clear contact paper (inexpensive alternative to stencil material).  I put contact paper (do not remove backing) on the cutting mat and let the Silhouette do all the work.  Used the Silhouette hook tool to remove the negative spaces of the stencil.    

Applied the stencil to the barstool, pressing firmly.  A gift card makes a handy tool to do this.  Using a stencil sponge, I lightly applied paint.  After leaving in place for 5 minutes, I then carefully removed the stencil.  A clear coat of sealer could be applied, although I didn't. 

For a less permanent option, you can also use colored vinyl rather than stenciling, but I didn't think of that before painting.  :)

Hubby and I have lots more free time now that we don't have to guess which barstool is ours!  LOL

Thank you to Must Love Home, Pieced Pastimes, Snippets of Inspiration, Domesblissity, and The Dedicated House for graciously featuring this post!

Sharing with:

Bragworthy Thursday

   Little Red Brick House  *   Natasha in Oz * The Dedicated House * A Stroll Thru Life * Imparting Grace * French Country Cottage *

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating * The Crafted Sparrow * Today's Creative Life *

The Painted Drawer * TaterTots & Jello * The Shabby Nest * I Heart Naptime *

Thoughts from Alice * Making it in the Mountains * Nifty Thrifty Things *

Between Naps on the Porch * My Fabuless Life * Snippets of Inspiration * Must Love Home * Funky Junk Interiors * Pieced Pastimes * A Vision to Remember * Bless'er House *

Refresh Living * Lou Lou Girls * My Flagstaff Home * Oh My Heartsie Girl *A Delightsome Life * Sew Can Do * Cozy Little House * Create with Joy * Cedar Hill Farmhouse * Dear Creatives

 * Sand & Sisal * Rooted in Thyme * Create with Joy * Savvy Southern Style * Domesblissity * Stone Cottage Adventures * Ivy and Elephants