Run Like a Girl! {DIY Art}

It's Day 4 of  my 31 Days of DIY Art for Your Home series! I'm having fun, are you? If you've missed any, you can see Day 1 here and Day 2 here and Day 3 here. 

Today's art is a sign that a friend of mine asked me to make for her. She had seen the idea somewhere and wanted to have a sign that says "Run Like a Girl" with knobs to hang her medals from her runs. My friend ordered the vinyl for the quote from someone on Etsy and found the knobs at Walmart.com.

My friend knew she wanted the sign to match the size of the memo board above it, so I had specific measurements to work with. I also had my husband's help, and that turned out to be a big advantage!

I bought a 1 X 12 board from Lowe's and Gary cut it to the right length. I sanded the board by hand being especially attentive to the edges. (And then we moved from Ohio to Nebraska and the whole thing got put off while we unpacked for a few weeks. Good thing my friend is patient!) I used a small bottle of "magenta" paint from the art department at Walmart and gave the board a couple coats of paint. Next time I would buy spraypaint in a gloss finish because the paint dried rather flat. It just wasn't bright and exciting, so I used a spray-on poly to give it some shine. Learn from my mistakes and go with the glossy spraypaint, because the poly just wouldn't dry uniformly shiny! Gary ended up taking it to work where they were finishing window and door trim that day and he gave it a couple good coats of lacquer. It's wonderfully, perfectly shiny now!

Those extra dots are shadows from the knobs. Oops!

The next step was to apply the vinyl which was easy--just measure, peel the sticky side off, place the quote, rub it carefully with a credit card, then peel off the backing at an angle. I then measured for the knobs, spacing them equally. Again, my friend requested 11 knobs and that they were staggered like this. You could make a wider sign and just have one row, or only do 5 or 6 knobs if you don't have as many medals to hang. It's totally up to you!

I was super nervous to drill holes for the knobs, so I asked Gary to do it. I know I could have, and if it hadn't been for a friend, I wouldn't have been so nervous! I just wanted it to be perfect, which is exactly how it turned out, thanks to Gary! 

I added a hanger to the back with a couple of tiny nails, then wrapped it in bubble wrap and sent it to my friend. Everyone is thrilled with how it turned out!

So this isn't a step-by-step or illustrated guide, it's just a friendly reminder that you are creative, that you can dream up and make whatever it is you want to make. If you see a sign that inspires you but you can't afford it or you want it a different size or color, make it! It's possible! Boards from Lowe's or Home Depot are really affordable, and most times they'll cut it to your size for a very small price (if any). Spray paint is available at the same place you buy the board, or at Walmart or any number of craft stores (Michael's, JoAnn, Hobby Lobby). Those stores also sell pretty knobs like my friend found for her sign. You could also try Ebay if you're doing quite a few of them. As far as the quote goes, you can be like my friend and order it from a seller on Etsy. I have a Cricut machine and lots of people have Silhouettes, so you could use a font you have or ask a crafty friend if they'll let you cut with their machine if you supply the vinyl. You could use a stencil, or if you have amazing handwriting, just paint it on! The sky and your imagination are the limit!

Make something this week!

What I'm Loving Lately

I've missed doing Instagram recaps on Fridays. We didn't have internet for, like, ever, then I was just too busy. Now, in between posting for my 31 Days series, I'd love to share a few of my fondest memories for the month of September. But for some reason, my power cord that connects my phone to my computer won't download anything! I don't know why, and I'm sure there are other ways, but I haven't figured anything out yet. Bummer.

I thought though, for the sake of random blog posts to look back on and remember this time in our lives, I'd share a few things with you that I'm loving lately. So, in no particular order, here they are!

1. These guys.

Seriously, have you ever seen more complete joy? It rained a lot one night this week, so I had the boys wear their rain boots on our walk. Puddle splashing led to this. I meant extra laundry and a muddy back patio, but they were so happy!

2. This recipe.

More correctly, the recipe is for the alfredo sauce. It's cauliflower alfredo. As in there's no cheese or milk in it, making it not only almost no calories, it's also vegan and so so yummy! I mean, it's not the real thing, but our tastebuds are completely happy with it. I'm sure there are lots of recipes out there, but I've been using this one by Veggie On a Penny. Try it!

3. This video.



Oh man, I've gotten so many laughs from this. All I can say is #guilty! #everyoneelseisdoingit #inowusethehandmotiontoannoymyhusband #idontevenhaveatwitteraccount

4. This stuff.

I know, it's not good for me, and honestly I only get one or two a week, but an iced coffee with vanilla and half 'n half is my crack. I instantly go to my happy place. I love vanilla lattes too, but the iced coffee is a little cheaper. It does have to be Starbucks though, for the full effect. #guiltypleasure

5. Doing this.

 Yes, I joined a church choir! We're singing this weekend. I didn't realize how much I was missing it!

6. This place.

That's our homeschool classroom! We're still not officially registered, nor do we have any real curriculum, but it feels good to be creative and structured and have lessons and see them learning! They won't let me skip a day either. I'm so glad to be able to be my boys' teacher!

7. This show.

It's a BBC Scotland production called "Monarch of the Glen" which ended in 2008 or so. I think there are 7 seasons and I just finished Season 6. It's set in Scotland, of course, and tells the story of a laird and his estate. It's funny, touching, and just so real! I feel like several of the characters are my personal friends. #sadiknow

Ok, that's all I have time for now. Hopefully I'll figure out how to download my pictures from my phone again soon. What are some of your favorite things lately?

Family Rules Sign {DIY Art}

Family Rules signs and subway art abound on the internet. This idea is somewhat modified, but it is another example of working with what you have to create a look.

This sign was made using what I had: an old cork board, spray paint and letter stickers. First I spray painted the whole board white. Then I carefully spelled out the "rules" which is my translation of the 10 Commandments simplified, using stickers. I then spray painted everything black. After waiting a day for the paint to dry, I peeled off the stickers. There is some underspray, but I can live with that.

In our current house, this sign is a little bit hidden up on top of the computer cabinet in our living room. Can you find it?

It's a little more obvious in person, and it's a great reminder.



In our last home, the sign was more prominently hung above my sewing corner in our dining room.

In the house before that, it moved around a couple times, but finally found a home in collage wall in the hall.

This is Day 3 of my 31 Days of Art for Your Home series!

Have you made any art lately?

Photo Canvasses {DIY Art}

It's Day 2 of the 31-Day challenge! My topic of choice is Easy, DIY Art for Your Home!

In my most recent living room tour, I showed you this series of canvasses I have had in my home for about 10 years--that's right, they were something I brought with me to this marriage! I still love them and find they work best grouped together.

To make these canvasses, I chose five of my favorite pictures I took on a trip to Europe in 2003. I printed these shots at home in 8 X 10 and stuck them down on freshly-painted canvasses. The wet paint acted like glue, holding the photo in place. It didn't wrinkle the photo either, as it was on heavy photo paper.

Next, I painted a border around the prints, then put stickers under the pictures to label where the shot was taken. Black paint on the outside edge frames the canvasses.

I got the canvases on sale at Michael's and the paint was a friend's leftovers after she painted her living room, so the whole project was pretty inexpensive for the impact.

Minus the trip to Europe, of course.

I hope you're enjoying this series! 

Jonathan's Room, Revisited

One good thing about moving frequently is that you get to a place where you just unpack a room's (or person's) belongings in the new place and it looks pretty familiar.

Such is the case with Jonathan's room in this house. Other than trying out a million configurations to make his furniture fit comfortably, this room is virtually the same as his last room.

This room will double as the guest room in this house like it did at the last house, and it's another case of using what we have. I like Jonathan's room, I love the furniture and the bright blue is one of his favorite colors, but if I were to design a room just for him, this wouldn't be it. I'm sure most of us living in reality face situations like that quite often!

The quilt on this antique double bed is from the Better Homes & Gardens collection at Walmart. I refinished the bed about 5 years ago and it just so happens to be the most comfortable bed in the house!

I keep the extra sheets and blankets for this bed in the top half of the dresser and Jonathan's clothes in the bottom half. The dresser and vanity are something I refinished--rescued, I like to call it, as they were freebies destined for the dump! I love how they turned out, but they've gotten more dings and scratches than I like to see from our recent moves.

I changed a few things on the top of the dresser. Now his CD player is safe from little brothers! Jonathan loves to listen to Bible stories during his quiet time every day, and sometimes during play time too.

The vanity is virtually empty for now. I used my sewing table in our classroom for my desk things, and just stacked the rest of my scrapbook supplies in the closet. Future organizational project!

I think this desk, as it's being used for a 6-year-old boy, looks funny crammed in the corner, but there was no where else for it to go.

Between the closet (not pictured) and the door to the hall is a small wall where I put this display.

Under it is a small white bookshelf with a few of Jonathan's trinkets mingled with my book collection and some old children's books.

On top is a special parking lot for emergency response vehicles. Jonathan loves these, especially because most have sirens!

Jonathan's room at this house is right beside the classroom and right down the hall from the living room and kitchen. The boys all play in there a lot, as the Lego bin lives under the bed!

On this day, they were just getting started--see only a few Legos scattered around? You should see the amazing cars, planes, helicopters,  houses, prisons, and castles these boys make!

I love to look down the hall and see all three boys playing together, usually quite nicely.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Easy Monogram {DIY Art}

Welcome to my 3rd Annual 31-Day Series! This is the first day of this year's series, called DIY Art for Your Home! Did I mention it's easy and affordable art too?

In our living room tour I posted earlier this week, you were able to see several different art pieces I've created for our home. One of my favorites is a monogram painted on a piece of barn board. 

This rustic piece of wood was found in our barn, but if you don't have access to weathered wood, you could use new wood and weather it yourself using steel wool and vinegar, or staining the wood after you beat it up with a hammer and other things. 

Using leftover, watered-down white trim paint, I free-handed a rough G, the initial for our last name. I look at it now and cringe that it's not perfectly centered or shaped quite right at the bottom, but imperfection is the name of the game here!

Now this weathered, rustic monogram sign is a great memento in our home. What can you find in your garage or backyard, down an alley or in someone's trash that you can add a monogram to and call art?

I'm participating in the popular 31-Days series!