FALL Pallet Sign

 I'm in that stage of being sad Summer is ending, but also being 99% ready for Fall to bring it's cooler temperatures. So in an effort to welcome it in, I make a fresh new sign! In case you're not aware, Walmart (at least mine) has some pretty legit craft supplies that are an awesome price. This 

is not at all spsonsored, I just thought you should know that that is where I got this pallet board for under $5. Oh you betcha! Grab some paint while you're there to & let's get started.

You'll need paint in a medium grey, white & either black or a darker grey. I used black and my medium grey mixed to get what I was looking for.

 I wanted a little bit of dimension when I sanded the finished product, so I started with a coat of the medium grey.  Just one coat will suffice for the purpose.

 Then two-coat the white paint after the grey has dried completely. Then let that dry completely.

 I used my Cricut to cut out my letters, but you could use stencils or free hand or vinyl like me.

 This is where that darker grey comes in.  I wanted something dark, but not exactly black.  So I mixed the grey I used earlier with a bit of black to get the color I wanted.

 Let it dry, peel off your stencil & touch anything up that you need to.  For a final touch, use fine grit sand paper to rough it up a bit and show some of that grey & wood underneath.

It's just the thing my pumpkins needed to finish off a little fall decor.  I was struggling with what to add, since I realized a lot of my decorations that aren't Halloween are technically "Thanksgiving", and I'm not welcoming in Fall THAT quickly!

Faux Wood Stain

I love the look of stained wood, but sometimes it gets pricey to buy every color stain you want.  So when I'm looking for a certain color for a small project, I use this trick to fake a wood stain. And it's also nice because I can make it as thick/covering or as thin/slightly tinted as I want.

 Start by mixing equal parts water & paint.  You want it to be runny.  For this grey stain, I used a paint darker than the color I wanted to show up on the wood.

 Using a paper towel, rub into the wood. Just a little stain at a time, working it into the wood so that it can absorb it to get that stain-like effect.

  

 Use a paintbrush if your piece has ridges on the edge, like mine, to get the stain in there. 

 Be sure to use a clean paper towel to wipe off the excess.  Use wet one if you want to take more of the stain off or a dry on to just smooth away leftover color.

 To finish off this sign, I used a piece of vinyl & my favorite gold pen to color on the number 3.

Of course, just be sure whatever you do to finish up your own sign, you let the stain dry completely!

  I've done this trick with different shades of brown and black, but like I said before, if you're doing a big project or sign, it's best to stick with real wood stain.

Striped Canvas Artwork

This striped canvas is one of the easiest pieces of art you may ever create yourself.  But it's pretty enough you could sell it at Home Goods for 5x what it actually took to make it! Make it as big or as small as you want, just pick whatever size canvas you want!

 Spray paint the canvas gold, be sure to get the edges. Create a straight line to start taping.

 Tape, tape, tape, making the spaces any size you want.  For sanity (and no math) purposes, I just make every stripe the same width.  Be sure they're nice and stuck.

 Then paint away!  I actually changed the colors of the stripes a few times, so don't be afraid to 

paint over a color that just doesn't look right. Let it dry before you take the tape off.

I settled on mustard yellow, off-white, sage, light grey, teal, light pink, bright purple, light blue, & one dark strip of navy. I repeated some of the colors. Look at that metallic shine! And when people ask where you got your gorgeous canvas from, you can yell "I MADE IT!"...I mean quietly, humbly tell them that you whipped it up yourself.

School Desk Makeover

A few weeks...maybe even months ago...I jumped on a desk & chair that was being sold by a local interior designer on instagram.  I knew it would fit perfectly as my nightstand and little work area in our bedroom.  Here's a quick before picture:

And plenty of afters.... I chose a bright royal blue for the upper portion and a slightly matte gold for the legs.  I repainted the chair white and gave it a new cushion cover.

The top is my favorite part and it was one of those, "I-really-hope-this-works" experiments & it turned out even better than I imagined.  The faux-wood metal top makes me heart sing! I still want to replace the lamp, but I'm still waiting for the perfect one to pop out at me.