Sign of Summer

Over the weekend I came across this typography word art on Pinterest.  It was created by Kristi of Barn Owl Primitives and offered as a free download/printable in her guest post at Thirty Handmade Days. 

Barn Owl Primitives via Thirty Handmade Days

I fell in love with the summery colors and typography and, of course, the little flags, so I decided to make it into a sign for my backyard.  


I downloaded the shabby version of the typography here. (It also comes in a version with a plain white background here.) Then I printed it out on my inkjet printer. 


I primed an old piece of plywood I had laying around.

Then painted it with some homemade chalk paint tinted with a bit of green and yellow acrylic craft pain. 

When the paint was dry, I used mod podge to glue the print to the board and smoothed out the bubbles. 

 I used a sanding block to distress both the print and the board after it was dry again. 

 Then waxed the whole thing, including the print, with dark wax. When the dark wax was dry, I buffed it and applied another coat of light wax, drying and buffing again. 

I couldn't find a picture hanger, so I just leaned the sign against the deck railing.

Digging through the junk drawer the next day, I came across an ornament hook, so I stapled it on the back of the sign for a hanger. (No one's ever called me a perfectionist!)

Worked like a charm!

I love my new little sign of summer. 

Thanks for visiting today!

Please come and party with me at 

Between Naps on the Porch
Nifty Thrifty Things 
DIY Showoff
Coastal Charm
Elizabeth & Co. 
Savvy Southern Style
From My Front Porch to Yours 
The Shabby Creek Cottage  
Beyond the Picket Fence
Rooted in Thyme 
New House New Home New Life
Shabby Art Boutique 
My Repurposed Life
Common Ground 
At the Picket Fence 
The Shabby Nest 
My Romantic Home

French Label Tray

I have a thing for little wooden trays.  For me, they are a perfect blank canvas waiting to be transformed into something special. I find them at yard sales, thrift shops, and craft stores in all sizes and usually for less than $5. They're either stained, painted, or unfinished and vary in the quality of craftsmanship and the kind of wood used.

This little white tray is propped on a shelf in the corner of my loft craft room.  

I bought it at a thrift store already painted yellow and repainted it with 2 coats of white homemade chalk paint (1 cup of flat latex paint mixed well with 1 tablespoon of un-sanded grout.) 

 When the paint was dry, I used matte Mod Podge to decoupage on a French label from The Graphics Fairy. 

When dry again, I used a rag to wipe on a tiny bit of Minwax Dark Finishing Wax and sealed everything with light wax. After  letting it dry once more overnight, I buffed the tray to  a light sheen.  

Wooden trays, an inexpensive canvas for all kinds of creative fun. 


Thanks for visiting today, and I hope you have a great week!

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French Label Pillow

Craft Room Color

  

I'm linking up to parties at some great blogs this week. 

Please join me!

The Graphics Fairy
Between Naps on the Porch 
Nifty Thrifty Things 
DIY Showoff  
Coastal Charm
Elizabeth & Co.  
Savvy Southern Style
From My Front Porch to Yours  
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
aka Design
French Country Cottage
At the Picket Fence
Common Ground  
Rooted in Thyme
My Repurposed Life
The Shabby Nest
My Romantic Home 

Little French Can-Can

I love vintage graphics and labels. I like to make copies of my favorites from my computer and then transfer them onto metal containers that I pick up for a dollar or two at yard sales and thrift stores.  

French label from The Graphics Fairy

French label from The Graphics Fairy

French label from The Graphics Fairy

It took me a few tries and failures to learn how to properly transfer a printed graphic onto a metal container like this one. The first (and most frustrating) mistake I made was not using the right kind of print copies. 

I knew my home inkjet prints wouldn't be waterproof, so I took them to my local Kinko's (Fed Ex) store to have toner based copies made of them. No matter what transfer technique I tried, though, that graphic would not budge from that paper. I almost gave up completely and thought I must be some kind of a numbskull because everyone in blogdom seemed to be having the success with transfers that I couldn't achieve. 

Finally, after reading every graphic transfer tutorial I could find, I came across one that said, "SOME COPIERS USE A NEW INK TECHNOLOGY THAT DOES NOT ALLOW THEIR PRINTS TO TRANSFER." 

Eureka!  

I immediately drove down to my local library to have new copies made from its ancient decrepit toner based copier, and was able that very day to do my first successful so-easy-you-can't-believe-it graphic transfer. I promised to myself I would spread the word throughout the land (or at least to my beloved blog followers.) USE THE RIGHT COPIES!

So here's the rest of the story:
  
Choose a graphic (The Graphics Fairy is my favorite source for vintage graphics of all kinds), size and edit it to perfection and print a reverse (very important) copy using the before mentioned correct waterproof ink. Cut your graphic out. Keep in mind that the paper border around your graphic will probably show slightly on your metal, so cut a shape you don't mind seeing on your finished project. 

You'll also need a rag, some mod podge, a paint brush, some water, and optional fine grit sandpaper.

The galvanized containers I bought were splotchy and looked brand new, like this

I wanted them to look old, and I wanted to rough up the smooth surface a bit for the transfer to have more to grab onto. So I sanded all the surfaces, including the handles, with a fine grit sandpaper until they looked like this

It only took a few minutes, and I love the patina.  Whether you sand your metal or not, make sure it's clean and dry.

Cover the printed side of your graphic with mod podge. Not the blank side too, just the printed side. Place the graphic on the metal where you want it to appear with the mod podged print side facing the metal. (Don't forget it's printed in reverse, so it's a little tricky to get it facing the right way.) 

Carefully and gently smoosh the paper down onto the metal. Some mod podge will squish out and it will slide around a little. Wipe it off gently with a clean rag as you smooth the paper down with your finger. You want to smooth out any air bubbles, make sure all the graphic is making contact with the metal, and clean off any extra mod podge on top of and around the paper. Your graphic will stop sliding around and stick as you do this, so make sure you keep moving it into its proper position.

 Now, go to bed. Seriously. Once you have your graphic in the right place and the excess mod podge is cleaned off, leave it alone to dry overnight. Don't rush it. 

The next day, place your metal container on something absorbent, like paper towels or a rag, and dip your finger into some clean water. Saturate the paper with water and rub your finger gently but firmly over the paper until it starts to come off. 

 

The goal is to rub off as much paper as you can without rubbing off the ink, so work slowly and carefully.

French label from The Graphics Fairy

As you can see here, I probably didn't have enough mod podge under the letter S in Paris, or I rubbed the paper too hard and some of it came off. Oops.

Continue adding water and very gently rubbing until you can't feel any more paper coming off under your fingers tips. You will still see a faint shadow of the paper around your graphic, but it will be very transparent when dry, and the metal will show through it. If you try too hard to rub off every trace of paper, the ink will begin to come off, also. Play with it until you're satisfied.  

Finally, wipe off your container with a clean dry cloth. I use my containers to hold supplies on my craft table. If you use yours to hold plants or where they will get wet, I'd seal them with clear polyurethane.

French label from The Graphics Fairy

And there you have it, a little French can-can.

I hope you'll give this fun, easy, and inexpensive transfer technique a try. 

Thanks for visiting, and have a great day! 

You may also like

Vintage Craft Chest

Bunny Tray

French Label Pillows

Come party with me at

The Graphics Fairy   DIY Showoff    Coastal Charm  Between Naps on the Porch

Cherished Treasures   Elizabeth & Co.   Savvy Southern Style   

From My Front Porch to Yours   aka Design      The Shabby Creek Cottage    

French Country Cottage     At the Picket Fence   Common Ground   Rooted in Thyme

The Shabby Nest     My Repurposed Life   My Romantic Home     Green Willow Pond
                                                                                      

More Spring Craft Room Color

 

I'm adding more spring color to my loft bit by bit. Last weekend I sewed a slipcover to cover the craft table stool. Next, I wanted to add some color to my windows without covering the light and view, so I used the leftover fabric from the slipcover to make some colorful flags. 

I love to climb the stairs to the loft, turn the corner, and see the fun whimsical shapes and colors that remind me of a country fair. They make me smile and help to put me in a creative mood. 

I made a triangle pattern out of cardboard, traced around it onto the (Jo-Ann's) fabric, and cut the shapes out with pinking shears. Then I sewed the edges onto some bias tape using my sewing machine and a zigzag stitch. Fun and easy.  

 

Tucker wanted to be in every photo, so I think he wants to say hi.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a chance to enjoy the spring colors all around you this week. 

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Ruffled Slipcover

Please join me at these great parties:
DIY Showoff     Nifty Thrifty Things   Coastal Charm  Between Naps on the Porch

Cherished Treasures    Elizabeth & Co.    Savvy Southern Style

From My Front Porch to Yours    aka Design   The Shabby Creek Cottage

French Country Cottage   At the Picket Fence    Rooted in Thyme

The Shabby Nest     My Repurposed Life   My Romantic Home  

Ruffled Slipcover

I was bitten by the Color Bug over the weekend. The symptoms were an overwhelming desire to add color to my neutral black, white, and brown loft. I'm happy to report that I'm now fully recovered!

My prescription was this kitchen stool slipcover I saw on Kelly Rae Roberts' home tour.    

Kelly Rae Roberts

For my loft craft studio version I started with this $6 thrift store stool and painted the legs white. 

With no pattern to follow, I made up my slipcover as I went along. I made a paper pattern of the round seat and cut out a circle of the first of three (Jo-Ann 40% off coupon) fabrics.

 To the circle I sewed a strip of fabric to fit around the side of the seat and used an old pillow case, deconstructed and re-sewn, as a base on which to sew the ruffles.

 I gathered and hemmed my ruffles and attached them one at a time. 

There was a lot of measuring and pinning going on, using the stool as a dress dummy. Finally, all three ruffles were sewn in place. 

The first pop of color in my loft, and my color bug symptoms began to disappear. 

Amazing what a little color will do to lift your spirits and make you feel better.  In no time at all I was back to my old self.

Fortunately, I might be feeling a slight relapse coming on today, and I'm hoping a second dose of colorful fabric will help. But first, I have to consult Pinterest on the proper way to apply it. 

Thanks for coming today, and watch out for that Color Bug. It just might be catching! 

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Paper Pinwheels

Colorful Craft Room Flags

I'm linking to these great parties!
DIY Showoff
Between Naps on the Porch
Coastal Charm 
Tip Junkie
Elizabeth & Co 
From My Front Porch to Yours
The Shabby Creek Cottage
aka Design
French Country Cottage
At the Picket Fence
Common Ground
The Shabby Nest
Funky Junk Interiors 
Rooted in Thyme