{Pinterest Inspired} Polaroid Magnets

One of my first days on Pinterest, I stumbled upon this adorable photo of mini polaroid magnets.  Are you kidding me?  It doesn't get much cuter than this.  It originates from the Ambrosia Creative Blog.  

photo from Ambrosia Creative Blog via Pinterest

I couldn't wait to make them!  Her tutorial was wonderful but I do not have Photoshop so I had to think of another way.

I bought these cheap wooden squares and rectangles at Hobby Lobby.  I wasn't sure which shape I wanted to use.  

I ended up choosing rectangle although I think either would work.

1.) Paint your squares or rectangles with white paint.

I painted the front, back, & sides.

2.) Choose your pics and size them down to fit on your chosen shape.

I copied my pics into a word document and sized them to 0.75" x 0.75".

3.) Print the pics and cut them out.

4.) Glue the pics in place.

5.) Apply a light coating of Mod Podge to protect the photo.

6.) Glue a heavy duty magnet to the back.

7.) Sit back and admire.  

8.) Last but not least, put them on your refrigerator or give them away for somebody else to admire!

Okay, I have to admit that my method does not deliver the same amazing results as the original tutorial I found through Pinterest. 

I still love them though. 

Happy Tuesday!

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Weathered 'Guest Cottage' Sign

Please join me in welcoming MJ from 517 Creations today! Check out this great tutorial she has to share with us...

My name is MJ and you can usually find me blogging over at 517 Creations.   I have the greatest job in the world: being a stay-at-home momma of my wild and wonderful little boy. I'm married to a youth pastor, which often make for such a fun (and crazy) life!

I'm excited to be blogging at Lemon Tree Creations today!  The ladies of Lemon Tree always have such fabulous projects...I'm totally flattered to be included!

One sure way for our mailman to make my day is for him to leave a Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, or Ballard Designs catalog in our mailbox!  I love browsing through the catalogs, pouring over the pages, and circling items I’d love to buy if I had a million dollars.  But, let’s face it…I have Pottery Barn (and Ballard) taste on a Target budget!

To remedy this, I have started creating “knock offs” of some of my favorite items from the design catalogs.   My favorite "knock off" so far has been my Ruler Growth Chart.   Pottery Barn always draws me in with fabulous accessories...and they did it again a few months ago!  I was browsing on the Pottery Barn website and saw this sign and loved everything about it.   I loved that it was worn, distressed, and vintage-looking...but didn't love the price.  It's listed as "sold out" on the website now, but I think it was well over $100.  I will just enjoy looking at their inspiring pieces for free and create my own!

The nice thing about this sign looking worn and distressed is that it doesn't have to be perfect!  That is definitely another plus in my book.

I'm going to take you through the project step by step...or at least the steps that I used.  I'm sure you could do things differently, but here's what I did to make my version.

First, gather your supplies:

• a board cut to whatever size you'd like your finished sign to be.I went to Lowe's and bought a 1x8x4.  I wanted something substantial, but not heavy since I'll be hanging this over the guest bed in our home.  I was in luck because the wood that I wanted ended up being the cheapest of this type!  It was a little less than $4. 

•  a variety of paint brushes (I used a sponge brush to paint the board and small artist's brushes to paint the lettering, but use whatever you have on hand)

• paint of choice (I used several different "white" acrylic paints, as well as brown and black)

• sand paper or a sanding block

• stain or watered down brown paint

•  a copy of the phrase you'd like on your sign

 

I painted the board white, with a little tan and brown paint mixed in...just so it wasn't stark white.  I didn't worry about sanding the board before I painted, because I knew I'd be sanding it later.  If your board is splintered along the edges, you might want to hit it with a piece of sandpaper before you start to avoid splinters!

While that paint was drying, I opened up my trusty Photoshop Elements and did my best to recreate the fonts and look of the Pottery Barn sign.  I made a canvas that was the same size as my board and sized the phrase to fit.  (I ended up using Edwardian Script for "guest" and IFC Railroad for "cottage".)  I printed this out actual size, which ended up printing on 4 sheets of paper.  It required a little trimming before I taped it together, but it was an easy step!

Once base coat dried, I painted some lines down the length of the board.  I liked that look in the Pottery Barn sign, so I did my best to mimic that.  I basically painted a straight line with brown paint, but wiped off most of what I painted....just leaving a faint line in the background.

I laid my printed phrase out on top of the board, lining it up exactly where I wanted to, and just traced over the phrase with a ball point pen using a good amount of pressure.  Because the board I used is soft pine, the pressure of the pen makes a faint outline of your letters.

Now it's time to paint your letters!  I found it best to use very small brushes and really taking my time during this step.  I don't have the most steady hand, so I took it slow.  It only took me about 25-30 minutes to trace and paint all of my letters.  Remember, we're looking for a vintage look so don't worry about it being perfect!

Some of you might be wondering why I started painting from right to left...I'm left-handed and always end up smearing my work if I paint from left to right.  :)

Now it's time to give it more of that worn look!  I let my sign dry overnight and then sanded down the edges with my sanding block.  I also sanded the words down a bit in some places.

I used some stain that I had leftover from my Ruler Growth Chart project to add a little more dimension to the sign.   I wiped it on and then wiped it off very quickly. You could easily use some watered down brown paint if you don't have any stain at home!

The only step left is to add some sawtooth hangers to the back of your sign and find a great spot for it!

 

If you have any questions, ask away!  I'd love to help! :)

Thanks again to the ladies of Lemon Tree Creations for letting me guest post today!  I'd love it if you popped on over to my blog to see what I'm up to!

Wow! What a gorgeous sign. Thanks MJ for coming by to guest post with LTC today. 

We are still accepting submissions for fall and holiday projects. Have a fun fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other great project you'd like to share with the Lemon Tree Creations readers? Email submissions to [email protected]. We can't wait to see what you've been working on!

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Bloom Sign

You're in for another special treat today! Please join us in welcoming Alisa from Sweet Peas and Bumblebees...

Hi Lemon Tree Creations readers!

I am thrilled to be unveiling my latest project here at Lemon Tree Creations!  Their blog has the most amazing projects and I’m so excited to be sharing mine on their super creative blog!

First, a little bit about me…

I’m Alisa from the blog Sweet Peas & Bumblebees.  My twin sister and I LOVE to blog about all things crafty and thoroughly enjoy spending our time creating new projects and trying new recipes!  We even have a linky party on Wednesdays where you can show off your best recipes and latest craftiness!  We totally love seeing everything you all come up with and would love if you would join us!

Now for my tutorial…

Bloom Sign

We have an AMAZING craft store where I live….which is where I bought my pre-cut wood to create my Bloom Sign, but you could easily cut it yourself!

You’ll need:

*Acrylic Paint {Black, 2 shades of Green, Cream, Yellow}

*Fine Glitter {Green & Yellow}

*Scrapbook Paper {3 different pages}

*Vinyl Lettering {Where You Are Planted}

*Wood Glue

*Mod Podge

*Foam Brush

*Sealant Spray

If you are cutting your own:

*2x10 Pine Board {to cut your “B”, “L”, “M” & Flowers}

*1/4'” thick pine board to cut flower embellishments

*2x4 to cut base flowers sit on

*Scroll Saw

Now, to get started…..

*Lay your letter “B” on your chosen scrapbook paper.

*Trace your letter {making sure the front of the letter is facing down}

*Cut out the letter “B”, just inside your lines.

*Paint your wooden letter “B” black {this may take a couple of coats"}

*With your foam brush, brush a coat of Mod Podge on the front of your wooden letter.  Apply your scrapbook paper “B” and smooth out, so that there are not any bubbles.

*Set aside to dry.

*Once Dry, sand all of the front edges with sand paper.  This will sand off all of the extra paper hanging off the front of the letter.

*Lay your letter “L” on your chosen scrapbook paper.

*Trace your letter {making sure the front of the letter is facing down}

*Cut out the letter “L” just inside your lines.

*Paint your wooden letter “L” black {this may take a couple of coats"}

*With your foam brush, brush a coat of Mod Podge on the front of your wooden letter.  Apply your scrapbook paper “L” and smooth out, so that there are not any bubbles.

*Set aside to dry.

*Once Dry, sand all of the front edges with sand paper.  This will sand off all of the extra paper hanging off the front of the letter.

*Paint your flowers {tops cream & bottoms green}

*Paint base flowers sit on black

*Paint the flower embellishments {yellow and light green}.  When the paint is still wet on the front of the embellishment, dip in your glitter.
*Let Dry
*Apply the vinyl lettering to the base the flowers sit on.
*With the wood glue, glue the embellishments onto the flowers.
*With the wood glue, glue the flowers onto the base.

*Lay your letter “M” on your chosen scrapbook paper.

*Trace your letter {making sure the front of the letter is facing down}

*Cut out the letter “M” just inside your lines.

*Paint your wooden letter “M” black {this may take a couple of coats"}

*With your foam brush, brush a coat of Mod Podge on the front of your wooden letter.  Apply your scrapbook paper “M” and smooth out, so that there are not any bubbles.

*Set aside to dry.

*Once Dry, sand all of the front edges with sand paper.  This will sand off all of the extra paper hanging off the front of the letter.

****Spray everything with your Sealant****

That’s it…..you are done!!  Now, you just have to find the perfect spot for your creation!!

Thanks for letting me share my tutorial here today!

Come visit us at Sweet Peas & Bumblebees to see some of our favorite posts:

Family Magnet Board

Family Name Stacker Blocks

Monster Play Date

 

Thanks Alisa for hopping over to Lemon Tree Creations and guest posting with us!

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Giant Frame {On The Cheap}

I had been wanting to replace the barn picture on our mantel for awhile now.  I still love it but was ready for a change.  

I wanted a giant frame but did not want to pay a ton so while browsing the hardware store with the family one day, we came across these six foot pine planks for a privacy fence.

They were cheap at under $2 a piece and rough.  Perfect.  Jason measured and cut the angles.

We stained it using leftover stain we found in the garage from our nook project.  Jason connected each piece together using "L" brackets.

And my giant frame came to life at just under $12 total cost.  Gotta love that!

Then it was time to accessorize.  The giant frame would not cut it alone.  I added an old window frame and two old frames.  I painted one in my favorite DecoArt Spa Blue for a fun splash of color.  

  Filled the larger one with artwork by my five year old and the smaller one with a favorite wedding photo.  The little birdie I love and I gotta keep my Scrabble tiles handy for changing up the word on top of the toy shelf!

Of course, in honor of summer and because I am a sucker for a cute pennant banner, I had to make a mini one for the old window!  Makes me smile everytime.

I am calling it the "Happy Mantel"!

Thanks for stopping by.


I'll be partying at these blogs this week!

Happy Tuesday!

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Doormat Wall Art

I made these awesome wall hangings last year and they are one of the few decorations in my house that I have never gotten sick of or moved around. I saw the idea in Lowes Creative Solutions and obsessed over it until I could make them for myself. I shared them on my family blog at the time, but I've received so many compliments on them recently that I thought I'd share them here as well.

I started off with a few pieces of poplar board, 1 inch x 12 inches x 6 feet. I had them sawed in half, which left me with two 3 feet x 12 inch boards.

I sanded and stained the boards a dark walnut color,

lined the edges with painters tape, and covered the boards with this doormat that I picked up from Lowes. There were some places on the doormat where there was a little extra rubber attached to the design, so I cut this off first with an exact o knife so that the lines would all be crisp and clean.

I then spray painted 4 light coats of Valspar's Ivory through the doormat - 2 straight down on the mat and 2 from different angles to try to fill in all of the gaps.

I allowed the paint to dry for about 30 minutes after the last coat,

and when I pulled the mat off I literally squealed with delight.

I sealed the wood with a spray polyurethane and hung those babies up as fast as I could.

I used heavy duty sawtooth hangers on the back of the boards, and hung them on wall anchors spaced about 13 inches apart.

The wood shows through beautifully and the design looks so elegant on the wall. The only real problem is that I wanted to put them in every single room of the house-the neutral wood and ivory go with absolutely everything! It took a lot of deliberation before they finally landed in the living room, but I was glad to finally have something to fill the space above the TV, and luckily my mom was willing to hold to hold them up against different walls while I debated.

I'll be linking to these parties this week, so stop by to say hi!!

Have a great week!!

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