Holiday plates with vinyl lettering

I'm on a roll, woohoo! This is another project inspired by a pin on Pinterest. I found the original idea here : http://pinterest.com/pin/55591376619891512/ - from Better Homes and Gardens. They used 3 plate hooks/holders to spell out the word "JOY" with 3 white plates and red lettering. That is what I orignally wanted to do, and had planned on doing, until I realized that the plate holder that I had sitting waiting to be hung on the wall only had 2 spots, not 3.. I had to regroup. I hate to admit that it took me a lot longer than I would have liked.... I was trying to think of all the words that would go together for Christmas. Comfort and Joy would have been good too... I settled on Peace and Joy. At that point I cut them out with my Cricut in the last piece of my lovely red vinyl that I have rarely used. I'm so pleased with how they turned out. Okay... to be nitpicky, I should have recentered the JOY, it's a bit high on the plate, but oh well.... it was the perfect touch for my empty wall. I'm trying very hard to not just pin things on Pinterest, but actually attempt to make some of them. For right now, I'm doing alright I think. I do copy and save images to my computer so I can place them in a Word document in smaller pictures and print them out for my idea binder. I can't always get to a computer to look at something I've pinned, and it's easier to show someone else that way... I'm rambling... anyhow.. I found a set of 5 white plates at Goodwill for $4.99, I didn't think that was too bad of a deal, and I had the vinyl already. You can do this without a Cricut- and I plan on buying some Contact paper too- cheaper and cuts the same as vinyl too :) Try it out, it's easy and a lot of fun!

I think my picture is a little off kilter- didn't realize that until I posted it... sorry about that...

"Lets Be Jolly" sign- I made something I saw on Pinterest!

I've been on Pinterest for a few months now, and every day I find more things I want to make. Here is where I found this idea :http://pinterest.com/pin/94646029638585698/- to give credit to the owner of this idea. I found this scrap of wood in a lot in front of our house, and believe me, it was scrappy- wet, dirt clumps on it and all. I took it in and let it dry off, sanded a bit, then painted.

I used a buttery yellow for my base coat, and when it was dry, used my Cricut to make vinyl stencils. I painted over them with my red paint, and when it was almost dry, I peeled off the letters with my little Cricut pick-type tool..

To my delight, some of the paint came off with the vinyl. Normally I would be unhappy about this, and try and clean it up with some paint- but since I wanted this to look slightly distressed, it worked out great- and I didn't even have to try! (Always a plus :) ) I finished it up with sanding slightly around the edges and adding a wire hanger. I'm really happy with it, and it added the finishing touches to the decorations in our downstairs bathroom. I love the pop of the red. That, and you can't go wrong with the word "Jolly". It makes me smile every time.