Dock Love

I have become addicted to pinning crafts on Pinterest. I don't know where I think I will find the time, patience, or skill to complete even a small percentage of these crafts, but I find myself pinning and pinning as though eventually I will miraculously transform into Martha Stewart (looking at my recipe pin board it appears I also intend to become Julia Child but that is an entirely different issue; how am I supposed to loose the extra baby weight with pictures of homemade snickers cheesecake taunting me?).

Anyways I've set a goal for myself to complete one craft or diy project per month...If I can't do that, no more pinning...sure.

This is the project we did for month one.

I had been seeing this "love" sign floating around Pinterest in various forms:

I believe this blog post by House*Tweaking to be the original (at least as far as I can tell)...

Some of the other versions were just as beautiful like this one that is made from a wood pallet by Young and Crafty:

(The tutorial for this one can be accessed here)

I just really love the shabby-chicness of these boards... I love the idea of using it for a headboard, I can picture it in a guest bedroom.

Here's what we did:

My husband and some friends recently repaired the dock in front of the house we rent.  From what I understand, the dock went up sometime in the 1960's. It had been damaged by the storms a few years back and was falling apart.

The weathered boards they removed reminded me of the images above that I had pinned a few weeks earlier. (Pinterest makes me look at "trash" in a whole new light, I am a few steps away from becoming a dumpster diver). We saved some planks and gave it a go (after they sat for a few months of course). We didn't follow any of the tutorials closely since we were working with different material.

1) Scrubbed the boards with soapy water and removed all the nails
2) Sanded the boards with electric sander, just enough to smooth out splintery edges, we still wanted the wood to have some character
3) Painted the boards. Has anyone else used these "painting pyramids?" Brice spotted them at the check out line of Home Depot. They are great for painting both sides of the boards,
4)Screwed the boards together. Note: You need to use wood screws. We first tried regular screws we had laying around. Fail!
5) Sketched "love" in pencil
6) Painted "love", sanded to achieve "weathered look", and glazed. I used this glazing technique from All Things Thrifty and was really happy with the results. It really helped pull out all the "nooks and crannies" in the wood.

Here is the final Product:

We are happy with how it turned out and love that we will have a piece of our family's first home as a keepsake. Not bad for an old dock. Hopefully next months project goes as well.

Nursery Art

Fabric Decoupage Wall Hangings

My fake cousin Michael recently (truth be told it was seven months ago)welcomed a baby girl. After getting the nursery colors  and theme from his sister, "Kate the Great" (6 months ago), I bought the supplies (4 months ago) and got started (3 weeks ago). Now the finished product has been sitting on my dresser, awaiting shipment (for the past two weeks). NEW GOAL: stop procrastinating (I'll get started on that next week). 

Anyways...

I made these similarly to how I made these wall hangings for my sweet Silas:

When I made these I had never used Mod Podge, so I sprayed them with a sealer to finish them. Now that I have tried Mod Podge I plan to take them down and reseal them; the finish with Mod Podge is so much cleaner and polished (We'll see when I actually get to this...hopefully before he outgrows them.)

Tutorial:

1. Decide on design and sketch...

I labeled the sketch with the colors I intended to use; quicker than coloring and helped me when making my list of fabrics to buy. 

2. Gather Supplies...

Supplies: Iron, Scissors, Fabric Glue, Embellishments (Buttons, ribbons...) Fabric  (I use fabric quarters from the quilting section, probably not the cheapest way to go, but I like the selection and that I didn't have to wait in line for cutting), Mod Podge, foam brush, canvas( I used two 8X12, stretched), iron, heavy spray starch).

3. Starch Fabric...

Starching is a must for making these wall hangings (see update below). It makes the fabric cut like paper; important for detailed shapes. This cool site has starching instructions and a recipe for a diy homemade starch. I haven't made homemade starch yet, but I intend to when the can I have runs out... could be a while, my version of ironing usually involves tossing wrinkled clothes in the dryer.

Update: Instead of Starching fabric, you can use fabric mod podge on it, and let it dry before cutting it...makes it ever stiffer than the spray starch. Here's a   great blog I found after completing this project. Oh the wonders of Mod Podge...how did I get by for so long with out it?

4. Lay and Glue Mod Podge background.

The nursery colors were sage greens, dusty pinks and chocolate browns. I created a background with three sage greens; the first is for the sky, the second for shrubs, and the third for grass in the foreground. I was unhappy with the glue line that showed through the second and third layers in these pictures, but after finishing the project and sealing with Mod Podge it was unnoticeable.

Update: Next time I will use Mod Podge to replace all gluing in this project. I LOVE that stuff.

If you are making a multi canvas piece, repeat step 4 on all canvases. Lay the  canvases next to one another to ensure that the background lines up. 

5. Cut and glue Mod Podge your design...

I used chalk to draw my design on the reverse sides of the fabric. It was unnoticeable and easy to remove if I made a mistake. 

6. Add Embellishments

I used buttons for the deer eyes and flower shaped buttons for the trees.

7. Seal with Mod Podge...

I should have used this amazing blog dedicated to the wonders of Mod Podge before completing this project. I love how my piece turned out but I could have saved myself a lot of headaches by reading through this first. 

8. Ta Da... 

This is the finished product, minus the frame. In the framed piece with the frogs pictured at the beginning of this post, I my dad had the canvases framed at Michael's. The cost was upward of $300. It looks beautiful, but is not affordable. When I frame this piece I (probably with the help of my lovely assistant husband) intend to follow this helpful video and frame them myself... we'll see how that goes... and when it actually happens.

These make great baby shower gifts. Give it a try! (or commission me to make one for you.)