Frame it up!

I usually scour pinterest for ideas on what to do with 

my stash of Pallet wood for pieces to take over to Twigs and Twine. 

I've thought about a possible frame for a long time

and finally found something that I fell in love with. 

The pinterest link is here.  

It's from an etsy site that no longer carries the frame, 

but I loved the design.  

Very simple. 

But of course I needed to change it up a bit and make it mine.  

I always do.

Plus I have loved playing with different colors like I did with the arrows. 

Very fun.  

A little funky.  

Perfect.

This frame it very big.  

The side and cross pieces are full pallet wood slats.  

The rest of the pieces are cut down from my scraps left over 

from making the arrows, plus one or 2 more slats.

I laid out all the pieces to dry fit them togethter and make sure they would line up.

Then sanded all the pieces and randomly painted a few of them.

Screwed it all together and stapled the chicken wire to the back.

A quick coat of polyurethane and some hanging wire and it's done.

I did add 4 triangle pieces to the back corners to raise the frame a bit from the wall

to make hanging pictures easier.

I purchased a small pack of tiny clothes-pins from 

Michael's with my 40% off coupon so they only cost me about $2 and I didn't use all of them.

The rest of the materials I already had.

I put it over my couch for display.

I love how I could change out the pictures easily.

I'm definitely going to make one for me soon.

It would also make a great message board in the kitchen.

Isn't it Lov-er-ly?

(I just watched My Fair Lady recently.)

Here it is up over at Twigs and Twine.

Happy Crafting!

I linked up over at Beyond the Picket Fence.

Enjoy the Ride

 {J} over at Twigs and Twine asked me to do some more masculine
pallet wood signs.

I immediately went for the bicycle.

I found this great image over at The Graphics Fairy.
The original is much more detailed than what I can do with
a paintbrush on pallet wood bards.
But I think the effect is just as good.

Plus I found this fun font over at daFont for free.
It totally fits the bicycle theme in my opinion.

I did another one in the last batch but forgot to take pictures.
{J} didn't get to take a picture either for her facebook page.
It sold before she even got it hung up on the wall.

Love it when that happens!

Plus I loved the colors in the wood. Very textured and fun!

Perfect for that Man-Cave or home gym.

Ride on!

Point Me in the Right Direction

I recenly purchased a Miter saw.

Of course I had to play with it.

Let me just say I'm in love.

Can I really be in love with a power tool?

Maybe.

If you must know, 

I've researched and dreamed about what I could do with one too.

So when I finally got it home and unpacked and set up,

this arrow was the first project.

I love it!

It takes me about the same amount of time start to finish as my regular pallet wood signs,

but I get to play with power tools way more.

Wahoo!

I did have to purchase some plywood for the backing to hold it all together.

But I can get 8 - 11" strips of plywood out of a regular sheet that only cost about $13 dollars.

I had the guy at Home Depot rip the plywood sheet for me.  

Easy peasy.

So with minimal paint, and some screws and wire this is a relatively inexpensive project.

But a miter saw is essential.

So let me show a bit of the process.

First I disassembled a few pallets to get some slats.

Because I'm piecing these together, I'm not sure how many per arrow.

Plus I made 4 of them at the same time.

Assembly line is definitely the way to go for me sometimes.

The plywood strips are 11 inches wide by 4 feet long.

I used the jig saw to cut the point at one end of the plywood,

as well as the center shaft angle.

I haven't figured out how to make the miter saw do those cuts yet.

Everything is really just eyeballed to length and size, except the fletching is 12 inches

from cut to cut.

The arrow point was cut with a 45 degree angle.

The fletching was cut at 22.5 degrees.

I lay out all the pieces and alternate the color and texture of the slats

to make it more random.

Then I paint a few pieces sage green and white.

Trying to make them not be all matchy-matchy.

Lay everything down upside down and lay the plywood on top

making sure it lines up correctly.

Pre-drill the holes and attach screws to securely hold each piece in place.

I added wire for hanging on the top of 2 arrows and the bottom on 2 arrows 

so you can hang them together or separate in which ever direction you want.

Done and ready for the top coat of polyurethane.

I think they turned out so pretty.

My youngest asked if I could make one for him too.

I definitely will do that.

But for now this batch is hanging up over at Twigs and Twine.

This is them hanging up in the store.
I also did the numerology piece below the arrows,
but unfortunately I forgot to take more pictures of the project before delivery,
so that is all I have.

The number 5 is cast metal from Hobby Lobby
and the 7 was made out of wire and screws.
The rest of the numbers are hand painted on.
Another fun piece that let me play with the miter saw and use up my scraps.

Double bonus!!

Have a super day!

I linked up over at Beyond the Picket Fence.

A Reclaimed Wood Wall Art Roundup

Ever since I met {J} over at Twigs and Twine, 

she's kept me busy, busy, BUSY with more reclaimed wood orders.  

If you head over you can see my latest batch displayed.

Some are custom like this one and this one, but for the most part,

I get to just play.

From the next several pictures, it's obvious that I've been playing with

different fonts, different designs, and different colors.

I seriously have crafting ADD.

It's funny to go through my stash of supplies and remember which phase I was in at the time.

Scrapbooking.  Check.

Card making.  Check.

Jewelery making.  Check.

Quilting.  Check.

Vinyl.  Check.

Sewing Fabric Bags.  Check.

Sewing Maxi Skirts.  Check, check and still checking!

But now it's on to reclaimed wood.

For the most part it's pallet wood, but occationally

I will score some different pieces like a sheet of lovely beadboard and plywood.

And since none of these signs will be going up in my house,

I just put them in the best looking place for display for the pictures.

Hence, they are all taken in the same spot.

If you want a different setting... well use your own imagination.

So here's the round up.

First is a Bakery sign on beadboard.

I love the font.  It's the same one I used in my blog header.

Chalkboard hand lettering.

Again the process is the same as this one and this one.

I make the transparency, print it at Staples for $1,

take it home and set up my projector and start tracing.

I used to use contact paper and the Cricut, but I felt limited on what I could design.

The projector method takes longer for sure, but I have more artistic license.

There I go talking like I'm actually a real artist.

Nah.  Just a crafty girl who likes to play with power tools and paint.

Bonus is that I'm actually getting paid to craft.

That's never happened before and I'm savoring every moment.

I like playing with birds and have used them quite a bit in the past.

These are some new images I found and thought I would try them out.

This one is a throwback to this board I made at the beginning of the year.

Same image, totally different design and color.

Again more bird love.

I think it's fun that you can see part of the labeling on the wood.

It says product of Canada.

Kind of cool.

I love this word-art.  

I plan on doing something like this for my daughter for her room.

I just have to decide on the medium.

Haven't got that far yet.

Last was a quick piece that was super easy to paint.

I love it when pieces come together quickly with out much extra work.

I've wanted to  play with come kitchen images and have done a few in the past.

I definitely see some zinc letters in my future.

But for now... enjoy!

That's enough for one day.

Sheesh.  I'm tired.

Another day saving the planet using reclaimed wood

and making things a little more beautiful.

If I do say so myself.  ;)