Monthly Archives: February 2013

DIY at The Woodgrain Cottage

Posted on by
15

Hello DIY Show Off readers!

I’m Shayna from The Wood Grain Cottage and I’m beyond excited (and really honored) to be here for the day. While Roeshel is soaking up some sun and relaxing on the beach (sigh), I thought we should have a little fun too!

🙂

But before I show you my project, let me take a quick second to tell you a little bit about myself.

Shayna | The Wood Grain Cottage

My husband and I just built our brand new home and I’m on a mission to create custom touches in every room. I love everything to do with design, decorating and DIY and I’m passionate about creating a home that my husband and I can call our own! I try to get the perfect mix of both our styles so that we always feel happy at home. Along the way, I share DIY and craft projects as well as my adventures in making this house our home! I hope you’ll join me!

Alrighty- with that said, let get to DIY’ing!

I’ve had a big crush on homemade signs for forever! I love that they are completely customizable. So after spending countless hours (seriously, a sheet of paper and a pencil were my BFF’s for a week), I was able to write down several different ideas on what I wanted our sign to say and look like.

I ended up choosing “There’s No Place Like Home” for the saying, and I’m so glad that I waited and kicked around different wording ideas before I made a quick decision.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

After I measured the area where I wanted it to hang, I wrote down the dimensions and grabbed my hubby for a little DIY date. Those are my favorite.

🙂

First, we headed to Home Depot to get our lumber and frame supplies. For the sign, we bought cedar tongue and groove planks that slid together and cedar 1″ x 2″ boards for the frame.

$24.00, and 2 milkshakes, later we were on our way home!

We started building the frame out of our 1″ x 2″‘s and made the finished measurements 32″ wide x 42″ tall.

We nailed the frame together and then slid the planks together using their tongue and groove.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

DIY Sign| The Wood Grain Cottage

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

Once it was nailed together, we started the staining process.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

It was a two person job, so while Anthony wiped on the stain (Minwax- Early American), I waited a minute and started wiping it off.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

One heavy coat later, we had exactly what I wanted. We let the stain dry over night and I started picking out a font. I ended up downloading a new font called Aubrey.

I typed my saying in a word document and adjusted the size of the letters to fit on the board. After several attempts, the letter size ended up being 500.

I printed the letters on thick card stock and them cut them out. Once they were cut, I started arranging the words on my sign.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

I decided to align them on the right side and used a yard stick to make sure everything was evenly spaced.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain CottageWith the letters in their place, I used several small pieces of two sided scrapbook tape to hold them down. After that, I took a pencil and traced around them.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

I grabbed some leftover white paint from our entry stripes, and got busy!

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

I ended up painting the entire thing by hand. Originally, I thought that I might be able to use painters tape, but it didn’t work. I tested a small area and when I went to remove the tape, it pulled off some of the stain. There was no way I was going to risk using it.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

For totally free handing it, I am really happy with the way that it turned out.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

Once it was dry, I couldn’t wait to hang it up. Because we had used the 1″ x 2″ boards for the frame, we had a nice lip that would easily hang from a couple of nails.

I love the rustic vibe of the sign! The stained wood letters almost send me over the edge. Every time I look at it, my heart goes pitter. patter.

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

DIY Sign | The Wood Grain Cottage

This has easily become one of my favorite projects to date- and one that still leaves me smiling from ear to ear.

And speaking of my favorite projects, here are a few more that have helped make our home feel a little bit more special!

Our DIY Stackable Fruit Crates cost less than $30 and pack a ton of storage!

DIY Stackable Fruit Crates I The Wood Grain Cottage

We just finished installing a DIY Planked Wall & DIY Bench in our breakfast nook.

Plank Wall I The Wood Grain Cottage

And now I’m a busy bee adding the final touches to the space. I recently shared my Easy Two- Sided Pillow & Tutorial.

Two Sided Pillow Tutorial I The Wood Grain Cottage

I love to refinish furniture, and this Secretary has a big makeover story.

Refinished Secretary | The Wood Grain Cottage

To see more of my projects, be sure to stop by and visit– I’d love to have you!

I hope you enjoyed my DIY sign and a BIG THANKS to Roeshel for having me! 🙂

Shayna | The Wood Grain Cottage

Thank YOU, Shayna for sharing your awesome DIY, beautiful home and for filling in  today! 🙂

Boy’s Bedroom Makeover by Nellie Bellie

Posted on by
9

Hello DIY Showoff readers!! It’s so great to be hear on Roeshel’s blog. That girl is the real deal; she makes my heart happy!! So, it’s a thrill to be able to hang out with her!

My name is Janel…

headshot1

I blog at NellieBellie…

button

I am hear today to brag a bit. They say you shouldn’t brag. But, sometimes…you have to!! Otherwise you might just burst!! Although I am bragging, I also do so in the hopes that you get a bit of encouragement on your ability to create something awesome from next to nothing. I see a budget as a challenge, not a hindrance. It’s a chance to add creative and personal touches to a space.

So, what am I bragging about today? What was my “challenge”?

My 10 year old son’s room.

He had been wanting his room to “grow up” for several years. The “baby” room was embarrassing him and he desperately wanted me to fix it. I procrastinated and procrastinated. For a few reasons…

1. A giant bunkbed. It was one of those bunk beds with the full size on the bottom and the twin size on top. I am the oldest of 10; our home is often full of overnight guests. His bed was handy for putting an extra person in. But, it was liking have an Airbus in a porta-potty. It just took up too much space. Who wants to help mom take apart a giant bunkbed?? I looked around and there are no takers. Yep, procrastination. Finally, he talked his dad into helping him and I knew it was time to start.
2. A $120 dollar budget. $120 doesn’t go very far. At all. But, that’s all I had in my budget. And, I couldn’t figure out how to get him a bed and ALSO get the needed paint and supplies for the change.
3. Style compromising. He was fairly specific in what he wanted and didn’t want. But, I wasn’t keen on Characters or Neon colors. I wanted it to grow with him and not require repainting and new bedding very soon. I needed to figure out a compromise to make us both happy.

Both he and I are so pleased with how we conquered these “problems”. They weren’t really problems, more like challenges. They made my brain work harder. A hard working brain is always a good thing, isn’t it?

levis bedroom 13

There it is, his new bedroom. Can you see the ways I saved money and got creative?

1. The bed. He wanted a pallet bed. As in, he really wanted it! Well, okay? That costs me all of $8.00. Problem solved!
2. The wood slats on the wall are from the old bunk bed. Doesn’t that make the best focal wall??
3. The main cost of the budget was the paint. Although I paid big bucks for good paint, I only had to do 2 coats. Saves time and gallons of paint! The stencil paint was oops paint. Budget saver!
4. The curtains are “custom-made” fabric. I gave my son a cloth dropcloth and some Sharpies and asked him to doodle. That dropcloth was cut in half and hung on a rod. The coolest curtains!!
5. Lighting was made from shop lights and antique spools.

levis bedroom8

6. I salvaged everything I could from his room and “remade” it to be fresh and new. The bunk bed ladder was painted and put on the wall for shelving. Even his dresser has a new paint job.

levi's room 9

His favorite part of the whole room??

Levi's bedroom 11

His new reading nook.

I took a little closet and turned it into a great place for a little boy to chill. Budget savers were the duct tape paint stripes, diy funnel light, and dog bed instead of a cushion (seriously…so much cheaper!).

This room redo came in under budget and way past expectations!! Stop by and see the before, as well as more details from this room; including the how-to’s on those “custom” curtains, DIY lighting, and more!

You can follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Instagram…you know, if you like friends and all. I know I surely do!

Pot of Gold Giveaway

Posted on by
1

With Saint Patrick’s day coming up, who here hasn’t wished for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? What would you do if you had that pot of gold?

Buy a new sofa, bed, camera?!

Shopping spree?

Weekend getaway?

iPad (to give yourself a little more time on your favorite blogs!! hint! hint!)

DIY? Finish that project that you’ve been dreaming of finishing?

No matter what your pot of gold day dream is, a group of bloggers teamed up to help make it happen for one lucky reader! How about a $600 visa card, to spend on whatever you wish? Sounds good, right?

pot of gold giveaway

So, what do you need to do to enter? It’s simple! Heard of Instagram? A fun app for sharing that lovely real time snippet of what is going on in our lives. All we ask is that you follow each blogger below on Instagram.

Optional Additional Entry Follow All of Us via Pinterest:

Enter to Win a $600 Visa Gift Card.

You only need to enter once, all entries will all be collected in a central location.

Rules: You must be following all of the bloggers via Instagram. If you are not on Instagram, you can still enter once for following each blogger on Pinterest. The Winner must be 18 years or older to participate and a resident of the continental US. Visa, and or Instagram do not endorse, nor are they liable for this giveaway in anyway. The giveaway is open from February 25t through March 3rd. The winner will be selected and contacted via email no later than March 5th . The winner will have 24 hours to respond via email. If the winner does not respond within the allotted time a new winner will be selected. Your email will not be sold or shared in anyway, however participating blogs retain the right to save and use it in their email lists.