Pages

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Nautical Theme Chalk Board


Hello. Today I tackled two projects, one I will share with you tomorrow and one for today. I have always wanted to try my hand at chalkboard art, but I wasn't very confident. So I pinned and pinned in the hopes of one day completing my own. {sigh}.



I bought this sign over a year ago, I wish I had taken pics of the before. It originated from a seafood restaurant, and had a green chalkboard color with a colorful menu. The original writing was done in permanent marker, so trying to remove it was futile. I decided to paint the new one black. Note: For some reason I'm not a fan of green chalkboards. Then after it was all dried and finished, my dream was to hang it in our front sitting room. At least I thought it was....until it was hung. Not sure why, but it just didn't jive in there. So, we took it down and it has sat in our spare bedroom for a year.

**EDIT** I feel so silly, my husband and I were chatting about the sign and had a minor disagreement about the original art work from the restaurant. He flipped the sign and low and behold. See, the darn thing is so heavy, when I lift it, I stand on the front side. I didn't even check the back. I feel so silly. I totally forgot that both sides were painted. Good news is now you get a before picture!


Inspiration hit me yesterday. Not sure what gave me the umph to start such a massive first time chalkboard project, but I went full tilt today. I started reviewing my Pinterest board for ideas. I knew I wanted something with our name or initial and the year we were married. The Nautical design jumped off my board grabbed me by the barnacles and dragged me to Michael's to get my supplies. Literally, true story. Maybe not quite, but I thought it would look great at our cabin. So, off to Michael's to get my supplies. After much debate in the isle I went with the Bitro Chalk Marker and pack of good ol' fashion chalk. Here's a picture of the Bistro marker.


You can also find it on Amazon here. I used the ol 'fashion chalk to draw out my grid and the chalk marker to do all the writing. This worked well. Actually, it worked fabulously! I used the tutorial by Kristen @ ella claire inspired to plan out the drawing. Check out her tutorial on how to blow up your image. Super easy!


After I figured out my ratio to size, I set to work. I did try using the ol' fashioned chalk at first to do the lettering, but it didn't look as good as the marker. My fear at first was that my marker would wipe off, but it did quite easily. After I conquered that fear, it was smooth sailing.


Looks pretty good in my books. For a first timer. Next we, as in my daughter and I, set to work erasing the lines.


Looks a little bare.


Much better.


Seems a little fitting, with my husband working 5 hours away and commuting on weekends. Maybe hit a little soft spot for me.


Hope I've inspired you to try your own. I promise, it's not as hard as it looks.



Thanks for stopping in. Enjoy the last of your week.


Party Time!!!

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Restoration Hardware DIY Hutch

Hello. I have a Restoration Hardware DIY to share with you today.


This hutch came to me from a neighbour, it was a wedding gift from her mother. So precious. My neighbour is doing this insane reno in their house, and she is getting a new office. Since she runs a fabulous little business, she wanted a matching office. Sounds right to me. Here's the hutches humble beginnings.


Now, this was a tricky piece. We had decided on making the back of the hutch Dark Walnut. The wood panelling was not real wood, but kinda like a sticker. So, typical stain wouldn't work. I love using gel stain by Minwax. It covers anything and really changes the tone of any surface. Check out their site, for a ton of info and inspiration. I started by taping off the panel board section, and laid down my first coat of gel stain. The key to using this product is dry time. Depending on the surface, anywhere from 1-3 days. Make sure it is nice a dry before adding the next coat. It took me 4 coats to cover up the yellow pine. Next I mixed up some Miss Mustard Seed Milk paint in Linen, with bonding agent (no chipping). Again, I found the yellow hard to cover, it took me 4 coats to get a solid coverage. Now hindsight, I think I was mixing the paint a little too thin. When using lighter colors, be sure to mix a bit thicker.


I love everything about this piece. The curvature on the top, right down to the flower embellishment. The hardware was picked by my neighbor. A great splurge on the hutch!

Don't forget to link up any of your projects at my chic-by-you-wednesday-linky-party! Hope to see you there.


Chic By You Wednesday Linky Party #8

Hello. Hope your having a great week. I can't complain in my neck of the woods. Weather is warm and the sun is shining. I think it's time I start these parties back up. I love seeing everyone's projects and creations. Since I don't have any features, as it's been awhile. I'm going to start with some of my most popular posts.

This first piece was one of my starting out projects. First time using Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. You can check out the post here.


This is another popular piece. There is something about red that everyone loves. Check out the how-to here.


 I love turning old headboards into chalkboards, Find out how to make your own here.


 Lastly, this piece is a recent one, but took quite a few features. You can check out the making here.


Lets get this party started.

 A few things
1. Please link up only your original posts.
2. Please back link to this page or use my button in the post. I will only feature posts that link back.
3. Visit other links and leave a comment. Lets pay it forward. Karma!
4. Follow me, to catch the party every week.

Most importantly, have fun sharing with each other.



Tuesday, May 26, 2015

I Found My Green Thumb

Happy Tuesday! Hope the weather has been warm in your neck of the woods. We've been treated with warn temps and I was able to plant my flowers. The rule of thumb in Alberta is after May long. Fingers crossed I'm OK. I have also been working on various paint projects, which I will share later this week. Until them, enjoy some of my lovely flowers.

Hello Lilly. This was a steal at Costco. I was fortunate to have a lady that knew a thing or two about Lilly's, helping me pick the right one. Bloom my little baby.


I also planted some trailing Begonia's. Can't wait for the planters to fill in. I'll post pictures in a few weeks. They look a little sad and sparse right now. 








I have a planter of trailing Fuchsia's. These will look gorgeous in the summer. I have a perfect spot on my deck at the lake.


These next few are perennials from my back yard. I love flowers that bloom every year for free! I have to confess, I planted none of these. They all came with the house,when we bought it.






Do you plant flowers? First year for me. Wish me luck!




The best part about my flowers, they get to move with us too! Sorry new home owners :)




Party Time!!

Thursday, May 21, 2015

6 Easy Industrial Decor DIY Ideas


Happy Friday. I'm off to visit hubby in Saskatoon. With packing and all, I ran out of time to paint. So, I decided to go with my 6 Easy Industrial Decor ideas. We have unofficially decided to decorate our new home in mid century modern with industrial flare. Here are a few of the decor items I am looking to create.

1. Industrial Shelving

Check out these easy instructions here. Can you believe this is made from wood planks and Ikea shelving?? CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!!!


2. Industrial Pendant Light

Drop in on Lauren from blesserhouse, her super easy Pendant light will change any room into industrial chic in no time flat.

3. Restoration Hardware Knock Off Coffee Table

No industrial living room would be perfect with out a Restoration Hardware table. Tricia at simplicityinthesouth makes this table with a few easy steps. I love how she makes it easy.

4. DIY Marquee Light

This was one of the easiest Marquee DIY's I could find. Thank you Megan at happylooksgoodonyou. I'm thinking an "M" for McCaffrey or "J&T" for mine and hubby's initials. xoxo

5. DIY Wood Pallet Clock

I've looked high and low for the simplest wall clock DIY. Look no further. Liz Marie from lizmarieblog has created this gorgeous clock. I love it! I don't want a functional one, I think the ticking would bother me.


6. DIY Truss Desk

No Industrial room would be complete without a truss desk. The girls at shanty-2-chic offer free plans to build this desk. That's where all my blogging magic would occur. 


That's it! Hope you found as much inspiration in these items as I did. Check out each of these amazing posts to create your own industrial room. Can't wait to share mine!


Party Time!!


All Arrows Point In The Right Direction

Wowza, is it Thursday already? I have been working on this piece since Tuesday. I'm so excited to share this with you.




I love the end result. Thanks for the inspiration ferpie and fray. You have to check this gal out, her work is amazing!

This is what I started out with.


Not too bad. The veneer was badly damaged, and silly me peeled some off. Well once you start, you have to commit. How hard could this be? Very!!! I tried prying the veneer off, but it was glued on tight. So I went to my find all (google), and searched the zillion ways. Seriously, there are so many ways to remove veneer. Next I tried a wet towel on top for 3 hours. No beans. Back to my search results. Next was wet towel and iron. So what I did was: 

1. Lay wet towel down on top of drawer. 


2. Soak towel more. I had a handy water bottle with me. Probably filled it 2x.



3. Place iron on area and let sit for 30 seconds. 



4. Use putty knife to pry back and peel off. I did about 2 inch strips at a time.


And 1.5 hours later, one drawer complete. Totally not kidding.



The next drawer had a few more stubborn spots, and was a bit more damaged. I sanded both drawers down after and putty filled all scrapes and gauges. Gave one more sanding, then on to paper. I ordered herringbone arrows in blue green, by @emilysanford from Spoonflower. Love her water color designs. (I'll do a how-to soon, for applying paper)



Like my home made deer head sign? Check out my sign post here.


I really capture the green of @MissMustardSeeds Kitchen Scale paint. I love the way it chipped off in all the right places.


Hope you enjoyed this piece! Thanks for stopping in.


Party Time!

staceyembracingchange
northernnesting
frenchcountrycottage
nancherrow
aglimpseinsideblog
myrepurposedlife
thepinjunkie
shabbynest
missmustardseed
chiconashoestringdecorating
thededicatedhouse
rootedinthyme
findingsilverpennies
lifeonlakeshoredrive

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Can't Wait for Lake Time

Wow. I have been receiving a lot of requests for my signs. I love making these. Quick, easy and detailed. A bit of a break from furniture every day. Here is a previous post on how I stencil. I like this method, seems to work for me :)



I'm ready to switch to lake time...


Here's a shot with both signs. Check out my Anchor post is here.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous Tuesday!


Party Time!!

Monday, May 11, 2015

Ahoy Matey, Drop the Anchor

Hello, happy Monday. Weather is beautiful outside here. Time to paint a sign on my deck.



Since it's lake time, I thought an anchor would be fitting.


Looks perfect on my newest red dresser. Check out here to see this Red Beauty.


I had some boards kicking around at home, so I measured and cut them up. Stained them in Dark Walnut by Minwax, and fastened the boards together. I used my stencil method with carbon paper, which you can see here. Next I just filled in the lines with Crafters Acrylic Paint. Super easy project.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous Day!



Party Time!!
linda-coastalcharm
domestically-speaking
astrollthrulife
stonegableblog
cupcakesandcrinoline
kathewithane
kammyskorner
vmg206
cedarhillfarmhouse
gingersnapcrafts
savvysouthernstyle
thehappyhousie
thededicatedhouse
theessenceofhome
northernnesting
commonground-do
staceyembracingchange