We Are Family- Make your own Photo Display

Part two of " I did it!!" This is another project that I started many months ago, and just finished now. The reaaallllly sad part is that it took me that long to figure out the lettering for it. I knew what I wanted it to say, and I tried different fonts with the Cricut, and it just wasn't working for me. I was determined to finish it this weekend. I ended up using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge, and just doing it like this, nothing fancy. I created this by cutting a piece of 1 x 4 x 6 down to a length that would work for my 4 small picture frames that I purchased on clearance. The frames were originally an orangey stained color, but fortunately, real wood- so I just sanded by hand. That took a while, but I'm glad that I did- that would really bug me to have an orange color come through when I was distressing later. I was then able to paint all the wood with a base coat of dark brown, and then a top coat of a vintage white/cream. When it was all dry, I just sanded around the edges a bit until I was happy with the look. ( I tend to be a "less is more" kind of gal with distressing) I attached the frames with eye screws. I nailed a hanger in the back of the main board, and it is hung by that for the support. I attached some ribbon to the back and nailed it higher up the wall to give the impression that it was being hung by the ribbon. I wonder if it would be too much to add little ribbon "ties" where the eye screws are... that look could go either way, couldn't it? Hmmmm.... Anyhow, it's not perfect, but I'm happy for putting something together like this, I've never tried doing that before. You could do this with any piece of wood and frames, could be super cute, I recommend trying it!

Count Your Blessings Wood Decor- Craft Warehouse project

I did it! I finally finished this after having it sitting for months half done. I bought this at Craft Warehouse- for a steal- $5! Their project idea was for a chore chart, but I wanted to go with this instead. I numbered the frames and will place pictures of my children and of my husband and I together in one- counting my blessings :) I painted the base color brown, let it dry, then used Americana brand Weathered Wood Crackling Medium. My top coat was a nice off white/cream color. I sanded a little bit around the edges, not too much though. I think I will at some point change out the twine with some nice dark brown ribbon and add a ribbon hanger. I think I will like it better that way. I used my Cricut to cut out lettering and the numbers. I love the song with "count your blessings" . "Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done." Amen.

Fun with a 2 x 4- Fall Wood Blocks

I've been itching to make some Fall blocks for a while now, and finally painted some of my 2x4x4 blocks in Fall-ish colors to make it happen. I sat brainstorming words or phrases that emboddied the Fall feeling to me (took a while...don't you hate it when you know that they're right there but can't think of words when you actually want them?) The first set I painted with a base coat of dark brown, then after it dried, painted a nice dark orangey color - I actually didn't have the right color in my paint stash, so I combined a couple of colors.. who knew that neon orange with a brick red would create this pretty dark pumpkinny color? The second set, I painted with various colors that reminded me of the leaves turning color this time of year. I was able to use supplies that I already have, always a plus! I then sanded away to distress the blocks, for once I'm actually pleased with how it turned out. And I didn't even CRACKLE anything, quite rare.. though they would be pretty crackled instead. As an aside, I used my Cricut (the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge- using a combination of the Tall Ball, Roly Poly, and regular font to change the look up)

Comments and Suggestions box

This is just one of those random posts about something kind of crafty that I did. No big thing, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. This started as a plain white box with a lid- one that you'd put a gift in and wrap up. I was asked to "prettify" it for our MOPS group- (if you want info. on MOPS- here's my plug again : check out www.mops.org ) I cut a hole in the middle of the lid- trying to get it centered was tricky- it's not completely in the middle, but "gut genug"- good enough! I glued paper to the front, then wrapped the edges around, working carefully to make it neat. I only had one piece of paper for the bottom, and I knew that if I had the paper all the way to the top, it would get mangled when we put the top back on over and over. My solution: I traced the sides out, then used my corner edge rounder to make a scalloped edge, and glued it as high as the bottom of the lid when placed on the box. It actually worked pretty well. I used a sponge ink pad to shade the white part of the box that would show when the lid was taken off, so it didn't stand out. Last part was cutting the letters out of Cricut vinyl- using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. I added a few token flowers just to add some dimension and then placed small colored rhinestones along the sides. (Main reason for this is that I didn't have any ribbon that matched right at home, grr... but I think it's nice enough.) Consider it "prettified".