A Little Custom Numerology

Normally I love doing custom work.

It's fun to try to recreate what people have imagined.

I like it the most when I can use a little artistic license.

This was not one of those times.

The customer saw this board online and wanted one exactly like it.

Except a bigger 8 and a bigger board.

{J} at Twigs and Twine suggested we make the numbers about 10 inches tall.

And they had to be made from multiple kinds of media like wood, plastic, metal.

I looked all over for large metal numbers.

I even went to Signtastic here in AZ and they said for

a thin piece of metal over plastic that size would be

$40-$60 each.  

Yikes!!

Definitely not in the budget.

I could cut them out of different thicknesses of wood 

and paint some to look like metal,

but she didn't like this first version.

The numbers were to squishy.

And the wood is too dark.

It's pallet wood for heavens sake!

No two pieces are alike.

Just the way I like it but unfortunately not the customer.

So I told her I could sand the wood down as much as possible and try to lighten it up a little.
It was a lot of sanding!
And it's still got some black spots from the nails.

Next was to find the numbers.
After a lot of looking online and in stores I scored a jackpot at Lowe's.
I got all these numbers for under $20.
Sweet!

Then I just had to buy a 0, 4, and 8, which I got from Hobby Lobby for about $13.
I cut the 7 myself out of plywood along with cutting the center out of the 0.

I had to text this picture to make sure 

the customer was happy with it before 

I took the numbers out of their packaging.

Huzzah!  She loved it!

Now a bit of paint.

She also wanted the 8 to be framed and stand out.

So I cut a piece of plywood, used some furring strips to make the frame

and glued it all together.  

It also got glued to the board along with the 0, 4, and 7.

I knew there was no way I could figure out how to screw them in place from the back

and I didn't want nail or screw holes seen from the front.

I think it turned out super cute and after a bit of stress worrying about

how to put it together, I'm glad it's done.

Perfect for a boys room or a baby room!

Busy Busy... with some Arrows!

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted.
Life has been really crazy... stressful... more crazy... busy... and more busy lately.
I'm still creating with pallet wood nearly all the time,
but since my iPhoto crashed because I didn't upgrade my operating system (Ugh!)
I haven't been able to access the pics of the latest projects.

I still have a little soft spot in my heart for arrows.
I love making them!  I still make these all the time because they always, always sell!
Each batch is a little different, sized, color, etc. but still fun and funky.

{J} over at Twigs and Twine has asked me to do some string art for a while.
I though I could try it with arrows instead of the generic hearts you see all over pinterest.

Boring!

Especially for a crafting ADD girl!
And while these turned out cute, I didn't love the process as much as I thought I would
and haven't made anymore since.
They did sell however and I might try again sooner or later.

It's super easy.
I just have gotten out of the habit of taking pictures of the process.
I will try to explain.

First get your pieces of pallet wood and cut to size.
Screw them together from the back with a couple of cross pieces.
I used some paper and cut out an arrow that would fit the space on the board.
Fold it in half before cutting so the sides are the same.

Lay the paper template on the board and mark where the nails will go.
They are pretty evenly spaced but not to tightly placed.
Make sense?

Tap some finish nails in that have a decent size head to them.
You want the string to stay in place and not slip off over the top of the nail.

I used some crochet thread that I had on hand to string the arrows.
Tie a square knot at one end and start stringing.
I wrapped the string around the nail 360 degrees to secure and move on to the next nail.

Keep going keeping the string taught.
If you don't like it, just unwind and start over.
Easy peasy!
Tie off the end and you're done!

Now for the pics!

These last pics are from the same batch.

I think I went a little arrow crazy with these

but I think they are fun and whimsical.

Each one is hand painted on.

It was fun playing with different arrow designs!

Perfect for a boys room or man cave!

Sorry my staging doesn't depict that.

I'm really bad at staging.

Maybe if my life would calm down a bit I'd have time...

Wishful thinking!

Arrows.

Just Awesome!