Some Steampunk in the Sky

I guess you could say I'm fascinated with Steampunk.

Honestly I had no idea what it was until a Castle and Phineas and Ferb episode.

I know.  I'm a nerd... and a little naive.

I'm defintely not obsessed, nor do I dress up and go to Steampunk Parties.

But the images really captivate me.

ie. The bicycle here and here I've been painting for the last few weeks.

I want to play with some more steampunk images, 

but am a little apprehensive since many of them are very detailed

which doesn't translate well to pallet wood.

But I found this cute airplane over at The Graphics Fairy and loved it.

Simple and fun.

I think it would be perfect for a boys room or a nursery.

This one got a light whitewash, then a light blue wash to imitate the sky.

I off centered the plane just a bit to give a more 'in flight' look.

Up up and away!
Enjoy!

Ride On

The bicycle boards seem to be doing well right now

over at Twigs and Twine.

I just needed to play with the colors and design a bit more.

This time I used Becky's paint technique from Beyond the Picket Fence

on the boards before doing the image.

I did a combo of three layers of paint.

Green, Yellow, and White.

Each was drybrushed on in a very random pattern.

Some light sanding and I added a bit of the apple cider vinegar/steel wool stain

to darken the slats up a bit.

Here is the previous bicycle board.

I love the vintage bicycle image from Graphics Fairy.
Sometimes simple is best.

Ride on!

Pallets, Chevrons, and Messages

This week I thought I'd play with the whole message board idea.

I looked around on Pinterest but couldn't find one that was just right for me.

I had a bunch of shelf boards that my sister and I got for free from Craigslist 

a while ago that have been sitting in my garage.  

I decided to pull out the chalkboard paint and get to work.

The paint was left over from my Beachy Bathroom Makeover, 

and since I barely used any of it then, 

there is plenty for the message boards.

First I gathered my pallet wood boards and screwed them together like always.

Then gave them a light white wash.

After that I used a WinCo paper grocery bag to cut out a chevron pattern.

I just folded it in thirds, then in half again and cut two diagonal cuts.

Unfold and voila!  A perfect chevron.

I used a pencil to trace the design on the pallet wood.

Next came some careful painting being sure to stay within the lines.

I do that sometimes.... 

Then I screwed the chalkboard piece from the back being careful to make sure it was straight.

Then I glued some leftover fence picks that were cut with the miter saw.

They got a white wash, then Gorilla Glue'd in place.

After that dried I added some D-Ring hanging hardware to the back.

The bucket I found at Goodwill for about 2 dollars.

It had some weird painting on the bands around the tub so I painted over it with the blue from the chevrons.

I used some nuts, bolts, and washers to screw them to the board.

Then added some metal clips and hooks to finish it off.

All ready for a cute command center.

When I do something, I usually do at least 2 of them at a time.

If I'm going to make one, I'm going to make 2.

Saves time in the long run to assembly line the process.

So this version is slightly different.

A little smaller pallet wood pieces.

A different bucket.  

This one also came from Goodwill but it's an old bread pan.

Same metal clips and hooks.

A perfectly cute way to have a command center to keep everyone organized.

Now if I could just get around to making one for me I'd be all set.

PS.  These got delivered to Twigs and Twine last Friday. 

The brown one already sold.  I so love it when that happens!!

I Linked up here and here!

Pallets on the Patio

Sunday dinner at my parents house is a tradition.

A few times each month my sisters and their families get together for dinner.

There are a lot of little ones running around and we have talked about

making a table and benches for them to eat at out on Mom's back patio.

I have wanted to make a pallet wood table and benches for a long time. 

Making this set for my parents fit the bill.

I've even had the perfect pallet sitting in my stash just waiting for me to help it achieve it's full potential.

Plus my stash of pallet cross pieces has grown to enormous proportions.

And a friend was moving and gave me the beautiful white table legs.

It was time.

The kids were out of school for Spring Break and my husband was gone hunting.

Perfect time.

I had the kids choose out all the pieces that were still good, not cracked or split.

The little ones helped me mark the measurements.

The older boy did all the cuts for the benches on the miter saw.

My oldest screwed in the table legs and helped me nail in the plywood table top.

Two of the kids sanded and painted the table top.

I painted the benches with some paint I found at Home Depot in the Ooops pile.

It was a gallon for $3.

Love it when that happens.

The tops got a good wax paste finish to protect the wood from 

the Arizona Sun as well as the little grandkids.

We loaded it up and took it over to my Parents house.

They had to close their eyes and we surprised them with the set.

They loved it!

My mom said she has been wishing for a table out on her back patio so she can 

sit outside in the mornings when it's still nice out to eat breakfast or work on a project.

I'm just happy to help fulfill her wishes, as well as my own secret desire to make a patio set.

Now I have to search for another perfect pallet to make one for myself.

It's OK, with my pallet wood obsession, it shouldn't take too long.

My backyard isn't too much to look at,
but this set could make any space look good if I do say so myself.

Here's to enjoying Spring!

I Linked UP!

A Whole Lotta Pallet Love

I had some scraps left over from another project and have been thinking about doing some letters for a while.  

The inspiration actually came from here on Pinterest.  

But for some reason I wanted to do Love instead of Eat.  

Basically the same process.  

A little measuring, eye-balling, and miter saw cutting.  

Honestly I couldn't tell you the actual dimentions.  

I just used the scrap I already had and only needed to cut 

a few pieces like the corners of the O which is cut at 

30 degrees, and the side of the V which is cut at 45 degrees.

After cutting and sanding all the pieces, I actually did two sets, I laid them out on the ground to make sure they were going to work.  Then laid the pieces out upside down on the concrete.

I used some Gorilla wood glue and a staple gun to stick the slats together.

After they were dry, I drilled some holes along the seam.

Then threaded some bailing wire through the holes, pulling it tight to create the X

at each joint.

It added a little stability, along with a great decorative effect.

These are just sitting on my shelf for the photo-op, but

I did add some hanging wire to the backs so they could hang on the wall.

Since these are going over to Twigs and Twine, I didn't 

want to put a bunch of holes in my walls just for a picture.

But really, the letters could sit on a shelf just as well.  

The V may need a little help but that's OK.

Sorry they are kind of squshy.

Keep going, I fixed the problem.

A closeup of the seams and wire.

Just for kicks I took pics of the other boards I delivered.

Another bicycle one.

A new Cafe one.

This one was a custom order and since I was already doing one,

I had to do two.

The letters came from the alphalicious font for the Cricut.

Another batch of Pallet Projects done.

Happy Crafting!

A Little Royalty

I was so stressed when the bulb burnt out on my Projector recently.  

I needed to send another batch of boards to Twigs and Twine and was at a loss of what to do.

So I went back to my old tried and true method of designing boards and pulled out the Cricut.

I found this cute crown on the Home Decor Solutions cartridge.

I cut it out on clear contact paper.

Then carefully placed the pieces on the prepared board.

A little white paint sponged on and it's done.

Simple.

Royal.

I think it would be perfect for a little princess room.

Happily, this board has already sold.

Love it when that happens! ;)

Have a Royal Day!

I linked up here: