Better late than never! Christmas sign tutorial

This is a late post, but somewhere in the middle of Christmas preparations I forgot to sit down and post this simple gift idea.  My husband's extended family has always gotten together on Christmas and exchanged homemade gifts.  This year we drew one of his Aunt's and a cousins names out of the bowl.  I had planned on making these amazing signs from Dittle Dattle which I LOVE!!!

I tried several times, but I just didn't like my handwriting.  I wonder if other people hate their handwriting?  My handwriting is not that bad, but I see ALL the imperfections and tend to write larger as I move down a paragraph.....  Moving on ;)  Isn't Carrie's Thankful sign above just SWEET?!?!  I still plan on making one for me with all the wonderful things in my life listed for all to see!


Well, back to my Christmas gifts.  I finally decided that I was going to use the computer or I would never get these projects done.  I printed my list of words that made me think of Christmas on a plain sheet of paper.  Then I wadded and wrinkled the paper so it would soften and accept more dye later.

This next step can be done before or after you wad the paper.  Take a straight edge and tear off extra paper to create a torn soft edge that will soak up the dye.

I found a package of black Rit dye in a drawer and mixed a tablespoon or two with water in a bread pan.  I placed it in the bottom of the sink because....well....I tend to make a mes.  I dipped the paper in the water for a few seconds and gently wrung the water out. The paper will dry several shades lighter so don't worry if you think it's too dark.

This step is tricky, because you now need to gently unwad the wet paper without tearing it up too much.  Lets just say I had to do this step several times.  Once your paper is flat lay it on a paper towel to absorb the extra water and let it air dry or if you are impatient like me gently use a blow dryer.

I used postal wrapping paper to be a backer for the dyed paper.  I could have used a grocery bag, but the crease in the bag was going to show in the frame so I opted to spend a little extra since these were gifts.

I centered the dyed paper on the postal paper I cut to the size of the opening and glued them together.

After cleaning the glass I put the frame back together and went upstairs to get my Cricut.  I cut out the word Christmas in vinyl and placed it in the center of my frame using the words behind as a guide.

This is the final product, now I need to make one for myself to put on the piano since these will be leaving my house soon!

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I've been featured!!

WoooHoooo!!!!  I've been featured for the first time and I am sooo stinking excited!!!  Hannah over at Young and Crafty feature my desk and chair on her blog!  Thanks, Hannah!!!

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Bookpage wreath tutorial

Today we are decorating our tree and are making ALL of the ornaments!!  I'm not sure where our tub of ornaments is located and I decided for once we could go back to basics and make decorating the tree truly special.  My girls are still going crazy making new ornaments and I'm enjoying every minute.

One thing we are putting on our tree are small bookpage wreaths and cones made out of old unwanted books.  These are SUPER simple and can be decorated in soooo many ways.

First, tear a page out of your book and decide how big you want your cones to be in the end.  If you want small cones just cut your paper in half or even quarters for tiny cones.  Then just take your cone like I have below and twist it into your desired shape and then glue or hot glue the edge.

Once your cones are made you can use any shape of thick cardboard as a backer for your wreath.  I cut a 3 inch circle out of poster board and put a dot in the center of the circle for my mini wreaths.  This is the time to glue a ribbon hanger between your backer and the cones to make everything seamless!

I then started placing cones on the circle at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock and then fill in so everything stays fairly even.  After you have your first layer you can glue on another layer of smaller cones or decorate it however you want!!

Here is the finished product 

I used the back cover of the book for my rectangle wreath's base instead of cutting one out of poster board.

Thanks for stopping by and if you would like one of the mini wreaths below go  HERE for details on how to win one!!!!  I can't wait to giveaway one of my mini bookpage wreaths!!

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Square book page wreath

I am addicted to book page wreaths!!!  They are so pretty and look great in my old house!!  My husband is a book pack rat and I rocked his boat when he came home to torn up books.  Most of the books I used weren't even ours, but garage sale leftovers from my sister.....hope she didn't want any of them!  He has an issue with throwing ANY book away, but after looking all the books up on Amazon he said it he was ok with me using them as long as I stayed away from his old sci fi books.....what a geek!  It's not that he's a jerk about getting rid of books, he just can't stand the thought of putting one in the trash can...even if it's an outdated manual!!  Love him!!!

This is my favorite one so far!!  It's a large square and I made five paper roses to add a pop of color.  It looks so much prettier in person!!

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Distressed frame/dry erase board

Distressed dry erase board - $20.00

This large frame can be used as a dry erase board, but the back is removable so you can change the fabric or use it as a frame.  Inside dimensions are approximately 13 1/2 x 16 inches.

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Potential :)

This weekend Troy and I went to an auction and brought home a few unloved pieces of furniture.  They had been stored in a barn and were FILTHY, but I see potential!!!

This cute little table is sturdy and only had a few places that needed repaired, but I think it will look good with a cream distressed bottom and a solid black tabletop. 

This poor chair was the most unloved of them all.  It had caked on dirt, but with a little sanding it is ready for paint.  My only problem is what COLOR!!! 

I bought this lonely foot board because it's finish is in great shape and it has great details.  I'm thinking about adding hooks to the bottom panel for a coat rack and maybe chalkboard paint in the big center panel for writing notes while on the way out the door.

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Such a beautiful Fall day!!!

I'm getting a lot done on this beautiful Fall day!!! My kids have gone walnut picking with their grandma and I am elbow deep in an ottoman I bought yesterday. She's got a lot of dings, but with some paint and beautiful fabric she will be a looker soon ;)

A work in progress!!

 I couldn't sit around any longer today knowing that there was a piece of furniture out there waiting for me to come to the rescue.  I have been itching to make a mess and I decided to load my girls up in the van and go flea marketing!  My daughter, Audrey (7), was excited until she realized we were not going to Wal Mart and instead were going to the flea stores as she calls them.  After four flea markets and a ton of whining I finally found what I was looking for, a cute little wooden coffee table!  It was sturdy and only had one original coat of varnish, which is an awesome find!!!  You always want to avoid refinishing furniture that has layers upon layers of paint.  In the end you are a tired, sticky, gross mess after using the chemical stripper and the furniture piece will still need sanded.  There are always exceptions to the rule though.....if it's awesome under all that paint then you just have to go for it!

Here she is in all her chipped up glory!!

I sanded for about an hour, but wasn't too picky since I'm going to give the table a distressed finish.

I then applied a coat of Kilz primer with a brush.

I'm going to let this dry over night and tackle it again in the morning.



It has taken me a few days to finish this little table because I just couldn't decide if I wanted it to be ultra glossy white or distressed.  After painting and repainting it a few times I finally settled on distressed because it has several gouges and blemishes.  The distressed finish made the imperfections look good ;)

When distressing furniture with several colors underneath the piece always looks HORRIBLE until you put on the final coat!!  Don't lose heart and abandon the project!  I applied a layer of yellow over the green in some areas, but forgot to take a picture while at it's worst!

After a good sanding and a layer of bright white spray paint I sanded this little thing like crazy to show all those layers of paint.  When it was exactly how I wanted it I brushed all the dust away and gave the entire table a good coat of clear to give it a nice shine :)

I used my Cricut to cut the "Love" out of removable vinyl and made this project complete!!

I truly love this table!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget about my GIVEAWAY I posted about HERE!!!!  I can't wait to giveaway one of my mini bookpage wreaths!!

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