Burlap Monogram

I’m working on cozying up my kitchen and making a few little changes – including this chalkboard!

I had two of these apple wood things hanging in my kitchen… they’ve been there since we moved in (6+ years!)

I painted the plaque because the pattern does show through the burlap. I did use my Cricut to cut out the j on freezer paper. I put it on the cutting mat, shiny side up and then used the flip image feature to flip the j.

You don’t need a Cricut for this project! You can print out your pattern on your printer and then trace it onto the freezer paper and cut out using an X-Acto knife. I’ve done this before an it’s quite simple. It’s also great because you have access to a lot more fonts just with Word. 

I ironed the freezer paper, shiny side down to the burlap. Be sure to empty the water reservoir. Then I just painted the stencil.

Peel off the freezer paper once the paint dries.

I stretched the burlap over my plaque attempting to center the design and then stapled it in place. I had to add a wall hanger to the back since it had previously hung horizontally.

I have another similar project but on a larger scale that I am going to attempt! So stay tuned!

Find another freezer paper stencil project here.

25 Cent Frame Makeover

Remember this picture frame? I bought it for a quarter at a garage sale and figured it would make a great chalkboard for my kitchen.

I finally finished the project and now have a magnetic chalkboard for my kitchen.

My sweet hubby cut a piece of sheet metal for me to prime and paint with chalkboard paint. Now we have a great spot for writing sweet nothings… or grocery lists.

Ugly Painting Made Beautiful

I took an ugly painting from the thrift store and repurposed it as a gift for one of my besties! I’m hoping it will fit in with her kitchen redo she is planning.

I cannot for the life of me find the before picture on my hard drive… just picture it being a very hideous horizontal painting- one that is probably hanging in your grandmother’s house… or hiding in your basement.

I removed the painting part and gave it a couple coats of primer before spraying it with chalkboard paint.

I painted the frame black and then distressed the edges using sandpaper. I finished it off with a coat of poly.

I added a toothed hanger on the back and used a powerful glue to add the ribbon and initial. I advise to use the hanger on the back to hang the frame and then mount the ribbon on the wall.

Isn’t it amazing what a little spray paint, chalk paint, and pretties can do to something to ordinary? Love it!

Not Your Usual Cabinet Door Makeover

I was lucky enough to get a load of cabinet doors that will be perfect for projects – they have a solid flat front with routered edges which makes them perfect for wall hangings! I’m so excited to see what I can do with them – there are many different sizes!

I made a wall hanging for my cousin’s wedding shower this weekend using one of the doors. Everyone at the shower seemed to like it and I heard requests to take orders! 

It started out looking something like this:

And ended up looking like this:

I didn’t take process pictures for a tutorial but I will type it out for anyone interested.

1. Lightly sand cabinet door. I filled in the handle holes with spackling.

2. Paint – I did about 3 coats of paint on the front edges and two coats on the back. I always paint the backs so they look finished. Also paint the initial.

3. I used a dark gel stain to rub over the edges to darken it and add dimension.

4. Figuring out a paper pattern. This door was about 16 x 18”. I marked the center of the door and the line for the lower pieces.

5. I printed out the last name using Word to a size that would look good on the initial (70 I think). I used tracing paper to trace it onto the initial and then used a silver Sharpie to fill in.

6. I Mod Podged one section at a time and adhered the paper. I had a very hard time getting the striped papers straight and had to try several times – and they still aren’t perfectly straight.  Smooth out bubbles.

7. Once the Mod Podge dries, use sandpaper to remove the excess paper. This will give a nice distressed edge. I inked the edges of the paper at this point for extra distressing.

8. Coat with a thin layer of Mod Podge, dry, and repeat. I did 3 coats of Mod Podge before adhering the initial.

9. Adhere the initial using a strong craft glue. I used a Liquid Nails product. Place heavy books to get a good hold. I leave mine overnight.

10. One final coat of Mod Podge over the initial & door.

11. Glue on the accent ribbon & attach a picture hanger to the back. Finished!

A quick little project

I whipped up this quick project last night using cottage cheese & sour cream container lids. I knew I wanted something that spelled out JOY hanging on my kitchen window and came up with this idea. I save all my plastic containers - they are perfect for mixing craft paints and pouring Mod Podge into for projects.

I really simplified this by printing the colored circles with the letters on card stock. I think it would be super cute to use scrapbook papers and chipboard letters. I used my circle cutter to cut the 4" circles out. I also cut an extra circle out of white card stock. I then used tacky glue to glue the solid white circle to the lid and then glued the initial circle. (The white layer helps keep the print from the top of the lid from showing through. Especially since I am hanging mine in a window.) I Mod Podged over the top of the paper to help protect it. Then used Tacky Glue to glue the ric rack around the edges.

You can see I just poked holes with an ice pick and thread ribbon through and knotted it. The top polka dot ribbon, I left pretty long. I hung it over the curtain and safety pinned it to the backside.

I haven't quite figured out if I'm going to leave the little tail of ribbon... I thought about adding a longer polka dot one. Still thinking on that...

I had thought about embellishing it more, but decided to leave it simple this year... I can always update it next year.