Country Chic Paint: Sign making...

My lovely niece was married last October.  

She loves all things vintage and chippy, so I wanted to make something for her that reflected her love of  vintage.

I started out with a piece of cabinet grade plywood.  I sanded the edges and front, but not so much that I lost the deeper grooves of the wood grain. 

Then I applied a coat of Country Chic Paint in Cheesecake. 

The words are hand lettered in Country Chic Paint- Hurricane.

I applied dark antiquing wax over the entire piece.

Once the wax dried, I went over it with my hand sander using a 220 grit paper.  I wanted to take the "hardness" off from around the letters, and also work the wax deeper into the wood grain.

I love how it turned out and I think my niece will too!

*all opinions and statements about this product are my own.  I was given product by Country Chic Paint to use for this review.

Home Feature: My Sweet Savannah...

When I popped onto the blogging scene years ago there were a few homes that I immediately took a shining to.  I found that the homes I liked the most were owned by women who were kind, helpful and caring.  Beauty truly does come from within- and that goes for the home as well.

Melaine is the creative force behind the blog, My Sweet Savannah.  She is married to her high school sweetheart, a mom to two lovely kiddos, and is the Queen of crafting!  And her home....well, I will let the pictures do the talking!

Melaine and her family live lakeside and have created a lovely home...

Over the years Melaine has made more that a few of the signs in my cottage.  I love her sense of style and to display her work in my own home makes me a happy girl.  Be sure to check out her Etsy shop and check out some of her handmade pieces.

If you'd like to see more of Melaine's lovely home just pop over here!


PS- Remember, this week begins the Christmas Party Tour of Homes!

Spooky signage...

One of my friends sent me this image from Pottery Barn:

I liked the sign, but wanted to personalize it a bit, so I made my own version:

I added dinner, because when The Walking Dead is on we do "Dead & Dinner" here, also we are not an "Inn" we are a cottage.  Est. 2010 is the year we moved in, but also the year that The Walking Dead came out.  I love signs with personal meaning ;)

First ever Little Cottage craft night...

Craft night was last night.  We made signs...

Oh my goodness we had fun!

I was so proud of this lady- she was nervous about making a mistake, she watched me apply some wax and sand another sign and then all of the sudden she just relaxed and painted- to make this:

It was so much fun to watch everyone tap into their inner artist!

We will be having another craft night in August before I leave for Australia.  This was so much fun and I am thinking of other crafts we can get together to make!

This & that...

I have been wrapping up a major paint job for a client, and then a sign for another client.  I am meeting with three new clients for consults tomorrow, plus an install for a grouping of wall baskets for another client.

Busy.  But loving it!

Violet has been dealing not only with the reverse sneezing, but has now developed a cough/gag thing since her dental on Monday.  Today I called the vet and they recommended Benadryl.....

So sleepy....

 Poor Jack has resorted to catching up on his lost sleep during the day...

This is not the doxie you are looking for...

On another note...I am a pioneer for Happify, and have been working on participating in activities that allow me to grow in the ways I appreciate the things around me.  I have spent the better part of 6 months working on this and thinking about "what's my why" in this world.  Yesterday I was on-line and ran across this amazing video of what I can only describe as a young man who is wise beyond his young years.  Make the time to watch this- you won't regret it.  I think my favourite line is when he says, "You don't have to find out your dying to start living your life".   I love that sentiment and make it a priority each day to find joy in the little things and take the time to savor them.  I think Zach was a brilliant young man and knew at a very young age what I am finally learning at the age of 44.

Busy bee...

Anyone who has kids in elementary school knows how crazy the month of May can be.  Teacher appreciation week...field day...5th grade pool party.  The list goes on.  I also volunteered to help a teacher decorate for her Mother's Day Tea in Kindergarten.   I had a blast shopping and planning the decor...

centerpieces

corsages for the moms

The corsage flowers are felt and the centerpiece flowers are tissue paper.  My mom and I had a lovely time putting them together the past two evenings.  I love that we can sit and work on something while laughing hysterically.  My mom always told me that she remembered laughing so hard with her mother, I love that we do the same thing.

Then there were signs to be made...

And furniture to paint...

There are always furniture pieces for me to paint!...

I still smile to myself every time I realize that doing something I love so much is my job!  Creativity is encouraged and I am free to create as I please.  It just doesn't get any better :)

Me going to work...

My work shoes...

On Saturday my mom & bestie went into H-Town for the Urban Market.  I had ordered a bed from Holly Mathis so she was bringing it there for me to pick up.  I was so excited about meeting her....probably talked a mile a minute and even asked to have my picture taken with her.  She was as sweet in person as she comes across on her blog.

Then we shopped...here are a few things I picked up at Urban Market:

grain sack from Hungary...

babies asleep in their new bed...

loving this dog bed from Holly Mathis...

Preserved boxwood wreath...

Old wooden chippy base for a cloche...

So that's what I've been up to all week.  How about you?  Tell me what you've been up to!

Making a sign & a winner...

Jennifer at Pieces of Me....you won the Feather Hen Give-Away!  Send me an email and I will pass along Heather's contact info so that you can get your fabulous pillows soon!

Making a sign...

I am a huge fan of Miss.Mustard Seed (as a lot of us are!)  and I have admired her signs for a long time now.  I do not consider myself a "fine artist".  I cannot do murals or freehand a bird- or even an egg for that matter, but Marian did a wonderful sign tutorial and I thought I would attempt it.

I had an old table top laying around at the shop.  It had been exposed to the elements, so as a table top it was not great, but broken apart it was perfect for making a few signs.

I started off by painting the piece in an off white colour, then went back over it using an apple green colour.  (no specifics for the colours as I tend to mix my own with what I have in the shop)

Then I printed off the letters I wanted to use, in this case 'Dairy'.

Picking up a fine brush, I painted the letters in using the off white, then went back and highlighted the letters- imagining the light was shining to the right of them.  Highlight where the "light" would hit the letters if it was shining on them.

After that dried I covered the entire piece in dark stain and wiped it back off.  I took a sander to the piece using 100 grit paper, then hand sanded parts using a 120 grit sand block.

 I did the same technique on the second sign, but this time I used a stencil...

Stencil

before antiquing wax or distressing...

after waxing & distressing

I can take custom orders on signs- or if you are feeling crafty you can make one yourself :)

Both signs are available for purchase at I Spy....The Perfect Piece, or just e-mail me and I can ship.

I'm off to do a design consult today- y'all have a wonderful Friday!