Our Gilded Abode

{TUTORIAL} DIY Interchangeable Book Page Wreath

I'm still crazy about book-related décor and crafts, even though they've been around for years. I like them all ... wrapped candles, gift wrap/embellishments, rolled pages in a cloche, you name it ... they're all wonderful! My book page obsession is only rivaled by my love of burlap and using numbers and letters in décor. We all have our weaknesses, right?!?

A favorite project was this book page wreath with interchangeable centers. It's wonderful to have one wreath that can be customized for each holiday or occasion - and it's a plus to not have multiple wreaths to store. One wreath does it all!

Supplies for wreath:

Cardboard

Book pages (10 pages, mine were 7-1/2" x 5")

Hot glue gun

Stapler

Scissors

Velcro dots (not shown below)

Supplies for decorative centers:

White glue

Valspar Satin Fired Earth paint or Americana Acrylic craft paint in Bittersweet Chocolate

Scissors

4" cardboard drink coasters (8 pack from party supplies section at Dollar Tree)

Small paint brush

Tan colored copy paper

Velcro dots (not shown below)

Let's get started!

To begin, cut a 9" circle from the cardboard. This will be the base of the wreath. Punch a small hole through the cardboard to provide a hole for hanging.

Using a cardboard coaster, trace coaster at very center of wreath form. Draw circles out from the center circle, spacing approximately 1" apart. These circular lines will serve as a guide for book page placement later.

Cut book pages into 6 evenly sized pieces by folding book page in half and then in thirds. .

Fold each small piece in half but do not crease the folded end. It should form a loop. Staple the open end of the loop.

Using hot glue gun and starting on the outside edge of the wreath form, glue the folded loops of book pages on the wreath form with sides touching.

Repeat this process offsetting each row but leave the center circle unfilled - this space is reserved for the decorative centers. When completed your wreath base will look like this:

Place a piece of Velcro in the center (not shown above) and that completes the base of the wreath.

Now, let's make the decorative centers!

The coasters I purchased had a shiny scroll design on one side and plain cardboard on the other. I painted both sides and tried two paints that I had on hand - Valspar Fired Earth and Craft paint in Bittersweet Chocolate. Both worked equally well.

For the center designs (Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, etc.) I created them in Microsoft Publisher. You can use Word or any program that works well for you. Print (I used tan copy paper) and cut out.

Using the small paint brush or better yet ... your fingers! ... glue the design to one side of the coaster using white glue. Let dry. On other side of coaster, place a piece of Velcro.

For those times between special occasions, I display a monogram center. It's been fun to create different designs and layouts.

You now have a wreath with multiple decorative centers that can be changed out for each holiday or special occasion. No extra clutter or storage dilemmas. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you make one, I would love to hear how you like it. Enjoy!

Thank you to Create with Joy, Sew Can Do, Cozy Little House and Stone Cottage Adventures for graciously featuring this post!

Sharing with:

Patina Paradise

Little Red Brick House * My Flagstaff Home * DIYShowOff * Sew Can Do * Mad In Crafts

Oh My Heartsie Girl * Create With Joy * Lou Lou Girls * Stone Gable

A Stroll Thru Life * Ducks 'n a Row * Curly Crafty Mom * Burlap and Babies

The DIY Mommy * Dwelling in Happiness * Sew Much Crafting

Making it in the Mitten * The Dempster Logbook * The Southern Couture

A Peek Into My Paradise * Simply Wright * Cherishing a Sweet Life

Living Intentionally * Tailfish Blog * CouponinDiva * From Evija with Love

The FABulous Journey * Growing Up In The 70s *

The Dedicated House @ Make It Pretty Monday

The Dedicated House @ Before & After Wednesday

Imparting Grace * A Vision to Remember * The Shabby Nest

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

The Painted Drawer * Must Love Home * Funky Junk Interiors

I Heart Naptime * Pieced Pastimes * Thoughts from Alice

Nifty Thrifty Things * Between Naps on the Porch * Refresh Living * Too Much Time on My Hands

Weekend Craft * The Dedicated House * Cozy Little House * Making It In The Mountains * Mad in Crafts * Dwellings - The Heart of Your Home * Sand & Sisal * Live Laugh Rowe * Bless'er House * Life With Lorelai * Dear Creatives * Stone Gable * Domesblissity * Stone Cottage Adventures

{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. :)