DIY Front Porch Signs (using cabinet doors)

A visit to the Habitat Store yielded some great buys, including a cabinet door for $3 and cabinet panels in various sizes for $1 each!! I bought several and knew some of them would be perfect for porch signs. I used the cabinet door to make a new "welcome" sign last month.

I simply sanded down the finish on the inset and painted it white. I printed my lettering and traced them onto my cabinet door (using chalk on the back of the paper). Hand-painting the letters takes a bit of time but since the letters are fairly large, it went quickly. After the lettering was completely dry, I rubbed a bit of stain on the white paint to give it a more rustic, aged appearance and then roughed-up a few spots with sand paper.

The sign turned out cute and worked great on the porch this Summer! Still needing more of an update though, I saw a lovely bench from Amy at The Idea Room and knew that it was what my porch needed! And since I was building a pretty new bench this past weekend, I figured I'd take the opportunity to replace my old Scripture sign too. One of those $1 panels was the perfect size!

The panel is actually particle board covered in a wood veneer, but it took the stain and paint beautifully!

I stained the panel and then cut the lettering and image from vinyl using my Silhouette.

After the stain was dry, I transferred the vinyl lettering to the panel and put a coat of white paint over the raised front of the panel....excluding the edge (like a built-in frame). When the paint was dry, I rubbed a little bit of stain over the panel using an old soft rag.

 

I let everything dry a couple of days while I was at work and on my next day off, I was able to peel the vinyl letters off revealing the stain underneath.

I sealed the whole sign with a clear coat and added ring hangers on the back.

It works perfectly on the wall above my new DIY bench. I can hardly wait to decorate for Fall with my new signage and bench!

Have you made anything new lately?

 

 

 

 

This post is linked to:

http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/2016/08/wildly-original-208-link-party.html

http://tatertotsandjello.com/2016/08/link-party-palooza-and-25-target-giveaway-3.html

http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/2016/08/talk-of-town-link-party_23.html

 

DIY Spindle Candlesticks

Any Fixer Upper fans out there? Have you made it to Magnolia Market yet?

I finally drove to Waco this Summer with my Mother and a friend for a Ladies Shopping Roadtrip! We hit Magnolia Market, Harp Design Co., several antique stores in Waco, and IKEA in Round Rock. It was a fun day and we gained tons of inspiration for future projects! We even got to sample a free cupcake from Chip & Joanna's new bakery, Flour, before it opened......very tasty!

The only disappointment in the day was that I wasn't able to get candlesticks from Harp Design Co. Have you seen them? They are simple but so pretty. And, apparently, extremely popular.....you can only get them by pre-ordering. My mother said: " Make your own." Hmmmmm......well, obviously I can't turn my own spindles, but I do know of a place with a huge selection of antique spindles in all shapes, sizes, ages, etc.

One of my favorite places for project inspiration and supplies is Architectural Antiques here in Downtown San Antonio. My first chance to get down there was two weeks ago and I wasn't disappointed! I bought 4 spindles for $4 each and old wooden squares for bases for $0.50 each. The wide spindle was $10 but worth every penny because they are hard to come by. Because of its width, I decided a base wasn't necessary for it.

I dusted the spindles off and then soaked the spindles in a bucket of vinegar-water and let them dry in the sun. After they dried, I sanded them down and finished cleaning them up before I started painting and staining.

A little paint.....

A little stain....

A little more paint on one of them....

I added the turquoise paint on one of the taller spindles and love the finished color! It was created simply by layering the white paint, walnut stain, and turquoise paint and continually wiping with a cloth as I went.

The two shorter ones, I simply stained because I love the wood grain on them that is still showing through.

Then, in order to make the taller ones able to hold a taper, I drilled a hole in the center using a 13/16 bit....perfect fit!

I am still playing with candle sizes and need to make a run to Hobby Lobby to buy just what I want, but I LOVE how they turned out!

 

Now, go out and find some old spindles!!

 

 

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