Framed Pallet Wood Backdrop

Today's project is one of the simple yet loveliest pieces of home decor I've ever made.
At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Seriously though, I adore the coloring on this simple framed backdrop
more than I ever thought I would.

Rustic Photo Frame DIY

I took some pretty nice photos of my kids a few weeks back and
thought a nice, rustic frame would be the perfect accompaniment for the 8x10 I had printed.
Using wood from a crate, I made a great little frame for my living room!

Flowers in a Frame

Since I'm not sure the snow and cold temperatures are ever going to end here in Michigan, I'm doing my best to think spring! I put together this little craft that's filled with bright greens and white flowers. Anything to hurry spring along a little!

You Make My Heart Sing!

I never tire of love signs. No matter what time of year it is, love is always a good language. But, when Valentine's Day rolls around, you can play with fun colors and use cheeky phrases. Like I did for this new sign.

Wild Thing...

In Our Home {A Client Project}

I received an email a short time ago from a wonderful lady, Laura, who had a frame she really liked but had redecorated her home and it didn't fit anymore. She requested we paint the frame and add a new graphic. Today I'm showing off the newly painted frame and stenciled graphic.

Coffee Served Daily Sign

I love coffee. This is no secret. But, for some reason, I've never made a coffee sign. I've seen some super cute ones out there lately so I figured it was time for me to join the crowd!

Love You More Chunky Sign

Chunky frames. I love them. And I don't find nearly enough of them. So, sometimes I just create my own, like this litlte guy!

Fabulous Farmhouse Tour: Family Gallery Wall

Thanks for joining me again for the Farmhouse Tour Series.

Everyone loves a great gallery wall these days. And Mary sure put together a fabulous one at her farmhouse! Let's take a walk upstairs today, shall we...

Chicken Wire Memo Board

I'm finally getting a chance to show you some of the projects I've been working on for this weekend's craft show!

A Button Daisy

A broken frame. A placemat from the thrift store. Paint. Vintage buttons. A little embroidery thread and some glue. That's all it took to make this cute little wall hanging.

Cherished Memories Corkboard

We had this really great, detailed frame in the garage. I finally pulled it out and painted it. Using Annie Sloan™ Graphite, I painted the entire frame, then dry brushed some Duck Egg blue over the detailing, finishing it off with a coat of clear wax. 

Next, I cut some cork to size from a plain-jane corkboard we had sitting around and inserted/glued it into the back of the frame.

I added some simple blue ric-rac, painted a piece of chipboard I had on-hand with Graphite and used my trusty awl to put a hole in it. I inserted the cherished memories metal tag (another scrapbooking embellishment) into the hole, glued some pretty matching flowers on the chipboard and added a few vintage buttons and she was finished. 

I think she's awfully pretty now. Hope you do too! 

I would love it if you'd connect with me via bloglovin', facebook, google+, pinterest, or hometalk!

Getting new followers and comments absolutely makes my day! :)

A Custom Mother's Day Gift

In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to share with you this custom sign we made for a friend of mine.

She sent me the poem a while ago and asked if we could make something rustic for her Mother in Law.

Yeah... we do rustic. :)

I first laid the poem out in Adobe Illustrator to set the text  up in a pleasing way.

Then I cut a stencil.

I painted the leftover banner material with ASCP Old White and then Coco, adding some dark wax over that. I normally don't put wax on this material, but I just love Coco with dark wax on it. 

Next I laid out the stencil and painted the serif text in Graphite and the script in Aubusson Blue.

That part was done.

Next up, Eric made a frame with pallet wood. I asked him to make it slightly larger than need be so I could put a burlap matte around the canvas.

I stained the frame and, once dried, measured my burlap out and cut it, also cutting the inside portion out to about the size I wanted it. I then placed it on the back of the frame, making sure to check to flip it over before stapling to be sure it was relatively straight along the inside edge of the frame. I stapled it onto the back at the corners. Then I added the banner, stapling that, along with the burlap, along the whole edge all the way around. I trimmed up the inside of the burlap then, just to straighten the line a bit. 

My friend thinks her Mother in law will love it.

I certainly hope so!

I'm happy with the burlap matte.

I had never tried it before but it turned out really cute. 

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

Hope you have a great one!  

Sharing at Mother's Day Categorically Crafting Party at Someday Crafts

A Little Project for Me!

It's pretty rare that I actually work on a project meant for me. We're usually too busy trying to prepare for a show. And now, with the addition of our permanent booth at Caledonia Vintage Marketplace, things will probably only get worse. Let's hope business is that good anyway. :)

But a few weeks ago, I decided to get a print made of a photo I'd had taken of the kids and I about a year ago. I hate to say I'd waited that long to get prints made, but it's true. Sometimes things just get crazy and you forget little things like that.

But I figured it was high-time to replace another picture I had in my house so I got this one printed too. Of course, when I got home, I didn't have a frame to put it in. When it comes to my own frames, I always gravitate toward nice, chocolate brown tones. But, I figured I might as well put some of my painting skills to good use. So I grabbed a thrift store frame. It was shiny silver. Not my taste at all. But, no fear. I had my Ce Ce Caldwells' paints on hand! 

I painted a nice coat of Virginia Chestnut on the frame and let it dry. Then I added Santa Fe Turquoise over the brown, brushing up and down, left and right, making sure to deliberately let the brush strokes show. I love how the brown peeks out from under the strokes and in the details on the frame. 

The colors were a great match for the photo itself. With the filter on it, the picture definitely has a nice vintage feel and the color of my shirt and eye shadow coordinate so nicely with the chalk paint colors I chose.

I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

And ugly silver frame would never do, but now it is a focal point for one corner of my living room. :)

Waste Not, Want Not!

Just a quick post today to remind you why it's good to be a hoarder! lol

You may remember the Barn Wood Hook Board we made for a friend.

We cut a cool piece of chippy old barn wood for that project.

After cutting, we had 2 pieces left over. 

Well, Eric saved the pieces.

Shortly after, I picked them up and realized that they fit perfectly together to make a little self-standing easel. 

Eric glued them together, I added a bulldog clip and there you have it...

A cute little rustic easel for your desktop or for holding a picture.

And that proves it... it's good to be a hoarder! :)

Love, Cherish and Adore Pedestal Signs

Today I'm sharing with you a quick little project made from frames and some old stool legs.

These little pedestal signs were created from 3 thrift store frames of roughly the same size. All I did to the frames was paint them with a  little Graphite ASCP, distress them and add dark wax. 

I also used Graphite on some leftover banner material from the shop where I work. 

I then applied a vinyl stencil (I must have had weddings in mind when I made the stencil. lol) and painted the letters with both Coco and Old White.

After that, I got out the staple gun and attached the banner material to the back of the frames.

Pretty simple process.

I pulled some old stool legs out of my stash in the garage and painted those with Graphite as well. 

I had purchased a few pieces from the Habitat Rehab store that we used for the base on these. And Eric cut a piece of wood for each so that they would be more chunky. 

The stool legs already had threaded hardware on the bottom so, after painting and waxing them, I simply drilled holes through the base pieces, added some glue to each and the threads themselves, and screwed them all together. 

Eric attached the frames to the pedestals with screws from the back, attaching one slightly lower than the other two. 

I then added some sisal and a button over the frame that was sitting lower on the base, securing it all with glue. 

I think they make a cute little set. :)

Everyone loves a good party!
Check my project out along with other great inspiration, at these great blogs...

Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage, Mop It Up Monday at I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill, Pink Hippo Party at Pinkapotamus, Monday No Rules Blog Hop at A Sorta Fairytale,Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative, Metamorphasis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Making the World Cuter Monday, Before and After at Thrifty Decor Chick (first Monday of the month), What's in the Gunny Sack at the Gunny Sack, Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House, Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life, Budget Decorating Party at Creative Cain Cabin, That DIY Party at DIY Showoff, The DIY'ers Link Party at Home Coming

One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons, Transformation Tuesday at The Ironstone Nest, Monday Funday at Creatively Living, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm, The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch, Project Inspired{d}at Cupcakes and Crinoline, You're Gonna Love It at Kathe with an E, Transformed Tuesdays at PJH Designs, Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House, Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts, Primp Your Stuff Wednesday at Primp Junktion, Be Inspired at Elizabeth and Co, Pretty Things Link Party at twelveOeight, Time to Shine at A Diamond in the Stuff, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, The Power of Paint Party at Domestically Speaking, Creatively Tuesday at The Rustic Pig, Show Me What You Got at Not Just a Housewife, Share It Link Party at The Winthrop Chronicles, Tasteful Tuesday at Naptime Creations, Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios, Trash 2 Treasure at Kammy's Korner, Fluster's Creative Muster Party at Fluster Buster, The Creative Spark at Clean and Scentsible, Tuesdays at Our Home at Our Home Away from Home, Homemade by You at Made to be a Momma, Trendy Tuesday at Sweet Little Gals

Wildly Original Link Party at I Gotta Create, Wow Us Wednesday at Family Home and Life, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Whimsy Wednesday at Smart School House, What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants, Wednesday Whatsits at White Lights on Wednesday, What We Accomplished Wednesday at Green Willow Pond, Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond the Picket Fence, Show and Share at Southern Lovely, Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style, Wow Me Wednesday at Gingersnap Crafts, From Dream to Reality at The DIY Dreamer, Its' a Party! at A Creative Princess, Show Off Your Stuff Party at Fireflies and Jellybeans, Look What I Made Wednesday at Creations by Kara, Create and Share at The Trendy Treehouse, A Little Bird Told Me Link Party at The Life of Jennifer Dawn, Oh What a Happy Day Link Party at Not Done Growing

Party Time at The 36th Avenue, Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage, Share Your Cup Party at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Hookin' Up with HOH at House of Hepworths, Talkin' about Thursday at Designed Decor, Live Laugh Linky at Live Laugh Rowe, Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life, The Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush, Made U Look Linky at Made in a Day, Creative Things Thursday at The Vintage Farmhouse, Catch as Catch Can at My Repurposed Life, Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage, Catch a Glimpse Party at A Glimpse Inside, 52 Mantels, Creative Inspirations Linky Party at Embracing Change, Simply Create Link Party at Redfly Creations

Simply Creations Link Party at My Simple Homelife, Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Inspire Me Please Link Party at Liz Marie Blog, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, What Have You Redone at Redoux Interiors, Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home, Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, Simple and Sweet Fridays at Rooted inThyme, Be Inspired at Common Ground, Faunt It Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Fabulously Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo, Show and Tell Friday at Romantic Home, Junkin' Joe Vintage and Thrifty Finds at The Cottage Market, Weekend Wrap-Up Party at Tatertots and Jello, Shabbilicious Friday Link Party at Shabby Art Boutique, Tickled Pink at 504 Main, Anything Blue Friday at The Dedicated House, Rustic Restorations Weekend Link Party at Homespun Happenings,  Great Idea Thursdays at A Handful of Everything

Saturday Show and Tell at Cheerios and Lattes, Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors, A Bouquet of Talent Party at Life on Lakeshore Drive, Strut Your Stuff Party at Six Sisters' Stuff, Show and Tell Saturday at Sassy little Lady, Get Schooled Satuday at Too Much Time on My Hands, Power of Pinterest Party at Fox Hollow Cottage, Your Great Idea Party at Or So She Says, Overflowing with Creativity party at It's Overflowing, Craft Country Cottage Party at Old Red Barn, Saturday SHOW-licious Craft Showcase at Sew-licious

The Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming, Sunny Simple Sundays Party at Sunny Simple Life, Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime, Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things, It's Party Time at Three Mango Seeds, Restyled Sundays at Stylish Once Again, Silver Pennies Sundays at Silver Pennies, Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop at A Blossoming Life

The Key To My Heart Craft Challenge at Cocalores

A Chalkboard in Bloom

Today I wanted to tell you a little bit more about our spring chalkboard that was hanging next to our new mail holder made from a shutter that I shared yesterday. 

This little goodie was already a chalkboard. But, the surface was pretty much shot. You just couldn't write on it anymore.

We had this particular item donated to us by a woman who saw us at our very first show and loved our stuff. She just so happened to have a few things in her car that she was planning on taking to Goodwill that day. Instead, she brought them back to our booth and made a donation to On A Whim! 

People can be so nice :)

All I did for this piece was paint the chalkboard itself with Ce Ce Caldwell's Emerald Isle and then I used Annie Sloan Aubusson Blue on the frame and dry brushed some Ce Ce's Santa Fe Turquoise over that. I love the effect! 

I printed some letters off of my computer and cut around them. I then cut 3" x 3" squares out of some springy-green scrapbook paper I had and made them into triangles. I glued the letters onto those and I attached the flags to a piece of teal yarn I had picked up somewhere in a free bin with some blue flower brads I had laying around in my scrapbook stash.

I just love the combination of blue and green, don't you? :)

Valentine Picture Frame DIY

I picked up this folding picture frame at the local thrift store. It had a very light stain on it. It didn't look very interesting, that's for sure. But I have one like it at home, in a dark stain, and I use it. So I figured, why not...

I was just going to paint the frame and call it good. Give it a fresh color and move on. But I was monkeying around with a few layouts one day and I decided to see what something would look like. And thought I'd give it a try.

I first removed all the glass and painted the frame and waxed it. I then cut some leftover canvas material that I had laying around to fit the picture areas and painted them in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ (Primer Red). I really like the way the chalk paint looks on this particular canvas, which is actually banner material. When painted, the back has a great texture!

The trickiest part of the project was getting the layout to work with the Coco heart on 4 separate pieces. Measuring between each panel so I would be sure to get the heart to line up, I laid the design out and cut my stencil. I applied those and painted the hearts and lettering. I used Coco and Old White Chalk Paint™  and also some pink acrylic that I had on hand. 

The only thing left to do was assemble the pieces back into the frame. I kept the glass out of the 4 left sections but put them back in the last section. (I cut out some cute magazine pics and inserted those for the photos. Figured that was easier than cutting up pics of my own kids!)

And the project was done. Cute, if I do say so myself. I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't just use pics of my own kids in there. That could be my excuse for keeping this little treasure! :)

Chicken Wire Memo Board

I purchased a box of frames at an auction for $3 last summer and, imagine my surprise, when I found this gorgeous little beauty in there! This frame was originally all gold (and quite ugly). But just look at some of the details on this thing...

I started off on this project by painting the gorgeous details with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ in Graphite. I then added some home-made aqua chalk paint (a leftover accent color from Eric's bathroom makeover). I dry brushed the aqua and didn't try to cover the details very well. This technique works much like a dark wax over the paint... all the architectural gorgeousness of this frame just pops right out with the Graphite underneath the aqua. But I did put a heavier coat on the straight lines of the frame to cover the original color. 

I had Eric staple some chicken wire on the back. And this was not without incident!! No one got injured (except my frame), but I thought I might have to shoot Eric. Okay. That's a bit strong. Maybe I just considered punching him. lol. Despite my warnings to the contrary, he actually stapled right through this wonderful frame! In his defense, however, it was on the side, not in the details, and he did fix the problem with some handy-dandy wood filler. Thank goodness he didn't staple through any critical areas! Who knows what might have happened... :)

Once that was done, it was just a matter of adding some clothespins for a vintage memo board! No more ugly, just plenty of gorgeousness! 

Anything Blue Friday at The Dedicated House

Salvaged Cabinet Door Chalkboard

I found this great old cabinet door at an antique show that I happened to have the good fortune of driving by one day. It was a great show at the Lake Odessa Fairgrounds. Tons of vendors and awesome stuff. But I picked this up from a young kid who salvages items and resells them as he is putting himself through college. He had some great architectural pieces!

Just check out the rusty old hardware on this thing...

And this great weathering too!

It was easy to create a chalkboard for this piece. It already had the groove to slide a board into so all I needed to do was use some chalkboard paint and slide it right in there! Easy as pie and perfectly awesome. I'm sure it's looking fantastic on its new owner's wall. :)

By the way, check out this piece that I also bought from the same kid. All I did was paint some crackly teal on it and add a hook. Some pieces are just so full of vintage charm that they don't need much work at all!