Anthropologie Knock-Off Rustic Wall Hook

Who loves Anthropologie? And who loves a great knock-off craft? I have been having

fun challenging myself to make a few Anthro-inspired projects lately. Did you see my

side table makeover? or potted succulents?

I love rustic style, and was drawn to this cool "Forest Found Hook" by Anthropologie,

and for $30, not too bad...but, I thought about materials I already had at home, like pallet

wood and a metal hook. Oh, and coffee (I'll get to that part later.)

 And thought about how I could make this for...free!

Let me show you how I did it:

You will need: 

metal household hook, pallet plank or other salvage wood, shiny black spray paint, scrap of mat board, 

coffee or wood stain, paint brush, exacto knife, framing nails (4), Dremel or jigsaw, drill.

First, cut your pallet plank in half (I used a Dremel with the cutting attachment, but I 

think a jigsaw would have been more efficient and made a cleaner cut because 

I ended up having to sand the top with an electric sander).

Then, apply your wood stain. I tried an all-natural, ultra cheap coffee stain for the first time!

Basically, brew some coffee, have a few sips if you want, and let it cool. 

Then brush onto wood and allow to dry.

I applied a few coats of coffee and allowed to dry until it was as dark as I wanted it to be.

My 3 year old even got in on the fun and helped me out with the final coat. 

While I was waiting for the coats of stain to dry (I did 3) I spray painted a metal hook

with black spray paint for a faux cast iron look.

 Then, I cut a piece of mat board into a rectangle for the backing.

And after I spray painted it with two coats, I was surprised by how much it looked

 like cast iron and not paper at all. Pretty sneaky...

I drilled 4 holes onto the edges of the backing rectangle after it was dry and nailed it

to the wood with tiny framing nails.

Then, I drilled two holes where the hook would go along with the screws.

I attached a rope loop with a staple gun to the back so I could hang it to my wall and

I was done!

Not to bad, eh? And, like I said, it cost me nothing to make because I

 already had all the materials at home. 

I have loved sharing these ideas with all of you and am determined

to live with style on a budget. 

Next, I really need to get a jigsaw so I can cut up some more stuff!

Until next time,

Linking up with these parties and this party.

Milk Jug Vellum

So, my last post showed you how I repurposed milk jug plastic into pretty garland.

 And I promised, the milk jug fun wasn't over-it has only just begun!

Here's another use for all that translucent plastic-introducing "milk jug vellum". 

That's right. Vellum-the pretty see-through paper you see on wedding

 invitations and cards that you can now make yourself. 

And feel good about being a little more "green".

Check out this short video to see how I did it! 

So, if you watched my video, you'll have an idea of what to do:

Here are the materials I used:

card stock or index cards

blank paper card

scissors

small paper cutter

yarn

rectangles of milk jug plastic

Dremel or hole punch

opaque marker

yarn needle

glue gun

First, I cut out rectangles out of my washed and dried milk jug.

(I wasn't worried about them being perfect at this point because I knew

my paper cutter would do the trick with smoothly cutting the edges).

Here I am cutting the straight lines to form a plastic rectangle.

Then, I cut a heart out of a pink index card.

In the video above, you will see the that I used my 

Dremel to drill small holes along the edge of the plastic.
(but you could also use a sharp hole punch). 

Then, I threaded my yarn needle and wove the yarn

through each hole to create a pretty border.

After glueing my heart to the center of the card, 

I hot glued my vellum with a dot on the back of each corner and
placed over the top. I finished my card by writing my message in 

opaque marker. "Be Mine".Pretty sweet! 

So, what do you think? Inspired or at least amused? 

I know vellum isn't expensive to buy at the store, but why not "reduce, reuse, and recycle" whenever you can? And make something beautiful.

(That's what I'm all about here at ReMadeSimple)

 Thanks for visiting and come back again soon. I have many more ideas to share! 

Linking up with these and this party.

Milk Jug Love

If you've been following along, you'll know how much I love to repurpose

and take recycling one step further than the bin by making creative

things from ordinary plastic, paper and bottles. 

So, that being said, I've been cutting out the circles from milk jugs 

for a few months now, because I think the translucent plastic pieces could 

become something really cool.

Weird, maybe. 

But I've been a "think outside the box" kind of person my whole life. 

(And I like being that way!)

So, my first milk jug project is inspired by the lovely day of

Valentine's day coming up. A thrifty little craft idea that is practically free! 

Here are the materials I used to make this project:

• milk jugs 
• scissors
• Dremel (or hole punch)
• white opaque marker
• twine

Pallet Gone Artsy

I have been fascinated by projects I've seen using the ordinary pallet reclaimed as 

something beautiful and was on the search for some pallets so I could start creating.

In my spare time when my husband is off work, we sometimes

find cool junk out on the streets. This was my lucky day. These

pallets were laying outside abandoned in our downtown. 

Yes, that is in fact 3 pallets

rigged to the top of our little hatchback. 

Side note: People sometime ask us how we have 2

kids without a van and I tell them we survive just fine-and sometimes

can even fit furniture inside/on top of it. (You should have seen our car

when we left IKEA! When there's a will there's a way...ha ha...)

Ok, back to the story: So, we found these pallets and since we always drive around
prepared with bungee cords and rope, we tied them up and they got home just fine.
The first project I got to make with them was a gift request for "local art".

Here's what I used to make this project:

• one pallet plank
• wire
• 4x6 photos of zoomed in letters (one letter on each photo)
• staple gun
• sander and sandpaper
• wire cutters or Dremel with cutting attachment
• foam board
• exacto knife
• matte Mod Podge
• small craft paint  brush

To start the project, we took zoomed in and took photos of lettering around our city

on local businesses. We used it as a fun walking scavenger hunt for with the boys. 

(see, this is how you fit in projects with kids and teach them their A,B,C's...)

After getting the photos printed, (we used 4x6's) and gently prying off the pallet plank 

with the back of a hammer,  we were ready to get started:

First, I lightly sanded my pallet plank to soften and lighten up the appearance.

Then, I traced each photo onto foam board.

I cut the foam board rectangle with an exacto knife. This would be the backing

for the photos. (Make sure you protect the surface underneath by cutting on a mat or cardboard.

 I just used a cutting board because that's what I had laying around.)

I evenly spaced out each piece of foam board onto the pallet,

 then used a staple gun to secure them into place.

After the foam board pieces were secure, I brushed a light, even layer of

matte Mod Podge onto the foam board. 

I then placed the photos onto the foam board, careful not to get

any Mod Podge onto the photo, lining them up evenly with the foam board

 and smoothing with a tissue.

For the next step, we needed two people. We wrapped wire

tightly around the pallet in an x shape in the front. I held it in place while

Jeff used the staple gun to secure it in place. 

When it came time to cut the wire, our wire cutter wasn't doing the trick, 

so I pulled out my new Dremel with the cutting attachment. 

It worked really fast, but be prepared for sparks if you try this. 

And wear safety goggles! Yikes!

Here's the finished sign showing off some hometown love! We were so happy with the mix of rustic, industrial, and modern styles. Perfect for the loft apartment where it's going.  I want to try this idea for my own house with other words spelled out, maybe hanging vertically with family photos?

So many possibilities when you take the humble pallet and turn it into art. I can't wait to do a headboard with the rest of them, and whatever else I come up with. Well, what do you think? Are you in love with pallets too? And have you ever made anything from them?

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple!  Looking forward to showing off some more of my repurposing and thrifty decorating projects in the near future. I hope you come back to visit and if you love what you see here, please consider staying connected via Google friend connect, Facebook or Twitter on my sidebar to the right!

Linking up with these parties and this party.