Repurposing an Old Window Shutter into a Photo Display Shelf

I have been wanting to display the gorgeous pictures my husband takes in a creative way for a while and haven't gotten around to shopping for shelves yet. I had been painting our bedroom pale yellow, gray and this color I am in love with called "rainwater"-(by Martha Stewart)-a pale, watery aqua and remembered these old shutters we had that were really close to that color.


We bought the set of old shutters originally to use in our garden from this salvage warehouse in our area--a true goldmine for all things cool from old houses. (Whenever I go there I feel like I am exploring the attic of an old mansion--it even has a homey feel with the random cats you will find roaming around).

We had used this shutter as a headboard in the past, but this time I thought some of our photos printed on mat board would look so pretty sitting on it. I love the contrast of the antique shutter and the clean modern lines of the photos.

If you don't have access to a store like ours or old shutters and want to try this without prying them off of someone's house, I bet you could try the distressing techniques I have shown on earlier posts with a newer shutter along with some sandpaper and two different colors of paint.

By the way, this is the first of a few posts I will be doing on our bedroom redo-I can't wait to show you next how to color on your walls with a paint pen. But don't let your kids see you do it...hope you enjoyed this today!

Pottery Barn Style Wedding Chalkboards

I have some friends getting married soon who are doing a vintage-themed wedding and presented me with the request to make "bride and groom" chalkboards, along with a photo from a Pottery Barn calalog showing theirs, to hang on their chairs for their wedding--distressed style, of course! They were fun and simple to do, here's how I did it:

-First, I started with plain wooden photo frames- one was black, one was white. I removed the glass and spray painted it with chalkboard paint, and allowed to dry. (30 min. minimum)
-Then, I painted the white frame with dark brown acrylic craft paint and let dry. Then I painted both with white latex satin paint as the top coat and allowed those to dry.

-After the frames were dry, I took medium grade sand paper and lightly distressed the edges and grooves. I added dark brown paint to the raised areas that would naturally distress to add more detail. I made the "groom" frame more rugged and masculine and the "bride" frame more elegant and feminine.

-The finishing touch was adding ribbon to the cardboard back so that the glass would sit on top of it, sandwiching the ribbon into the frame to make it more secure, and gluing with a low temp glue gun.

Gladly, Ryan and Savannah were as happy with the results as I was. Can't wait to see them displayed

on their wedding day!

How to Make a Peel and Stick Chalkboard Surface on Anything!

I had these old canisters that I thought about throwing away, but after throwing in the dishwasher, they started to sparkle again. I thought about how I could spruce them up. I had been playing with chalkboard paint at the time, making ones out of old cabinet doors. I wondered how I could put a chalkboard surface on my old canisters, so I decided to experiment with Contact Paper.

First, I cut out a large square of the paper. Then, I sprayed the chalkboard paint evenly over it. After drying, I was able to make several chalkboard labels I could peel and stick on lots of things! They worked great to write on and wipe off with a damp cloth. And, the were much cheaper than buying the canisters I saw in Pier 1 with chalkboard labels on them, and more fun making them myself.

Wine Cork Monogram

So, I have this collection of corks waiting to be used creatively--I am privileged to have them sent to me from my cousin's vineyard in Sonoma County, CA-thanks, Allie!  I love everything about them--from the stamped vineyard names on the sides, the wine stains on the tops, the different colors and smell of them. When a friend showed me this idea for using them in a monogram, I was happy to give it a try.

All you need are wine corks, a glue gun, and a monogram letter. I bought a wooden monogram at Michael's for around $3-it is nice because it already has holes in the back to hang on a wall, but I think you could also print a letter off on the internet, trace it and cut it out of sturdy cardboard too.

Here's how I did it-first I positioned all the corks so they would all fit onto the letters without showing any white. Then I glued one at a time on one side and the bottom and pressed it onto the one next to it.




Here's the finished product!

Pottery Barn Style Moss Wreath with Cloth Rosettes

I found some cool moss ribbon this spring at Meijer and got inspired to make a spring wreath. I later saw the tutorial for this same wreath on the copycatcrafts blog and found out it was similar to ones sold in Pottery Barn. Well, this one will only cost you around $5 to make, or you can go buy one for $49 at Pottery Barn-your choice!

First,I made the base by tracing two circles into a doughnut shape onto a pizza box and cut them out.
Then,I then wrapped the ribbon tightly around the circles to cover all of the cardboard. I actually didn't need to use any glue because the ribbon texture stuck to itself.

  

I recently discovered making cloth rosettes and am officially addicted! They are so easy and the variety of colors, textures and uses is almost limitless. I made all of mine from fabric using old shirts and ribbon I found around the house.

I recently discovered making cloth rosettes and am officially addicted! (This cool blog called Homemade Ginger had a wreath similar to the one I made and she added some rosettes and twigs to hers-which inspired me too!) They are so easy and the variety of colors, textures and uses is almost limitless. I made all of mine from fabric using old shirts and ribbon I found around the house.

First, cut or tear a long strip of fabric. Then, begin rolling tightly, then roll and twist into a circle, glue gunning into place as needed.

To finish, I glued pin backs to these and stuck them to the wreath. I plan on making new ones and changing out the colors according to the seasons of the year, just for fun and variety!