Flip Flop Beachy Sign

I found this sign recently at TJ Maxx.

I was in love with it, and brought it home for just $6! Not too bad!!

Except I knew my BFF would be in love with it too, and if she lived any closer- she'd probably steal it!

So, having come off of the success of my last sign, I snapped a pic of this one, returned it, and got cracking on TWO of my own! (One for me, one for the BFF!)

I used the same methods as my last sign, using my Silhouette for the letters, but freehanded the flipflops. I probably could've downloaded a flip flop, but I'm trying my hand at some freehanding (haha) so that I can eventually make signs to sell. All that legal mumbo jumbo on the Silhouette site says you can't use their downloads to sell but only to make things for personal use (or to give away!) See, some of us do read that stuff!!

I'd already primed the board and drilled holes to hang when I made the last sign, so I got started painting it with a great teal color (very similar to the original!). I've been having fantastic luck at buying these $.50 little things of oops paint at Home Depot!

Used the Silhouette to make the words, in vinyl so I can peel off later.....

Lightly covered with two coats of a creamy color paint (using what I've got- it's some leftover standard wall paint!). I wanted there to be some brush strokes and for the original color to show through some.

I used the pencil transfer method to get the flip flop outline on the sign- instead of risking messing it up while freehanding on the board. I drew the flip flops, heavily traced it on the other side, and then put the heavily traced side down, and scribbled over the other side, which transfers the heavy line to the board! I even used the same paper again by just tracing a little bit more and scribbling again on the other board!

It leaves a perfect outline that you can paint over!

Filled in with the same teal and cream colors

Used a pencil eraser to make polkadots- didn't worry if I left a few blogs cause I was gonna sand it!

Peeled off the vinyl letters to reveal the teal below, and sanded away!

I thought it needed outlining and tried it out with a sharpie....which looks good far away, but bad up close. I bought a paint pen that I'll be reoutlining with (I only did the sharpie on the one, since it was my "test" one I'm keeping for myself!). Except, I can't find that paint pen anywhere, so I'm going ahead with pics like this!! I also strung some jute through the holes to hang it up! Beautiful spring day (that dissappeared behind a few weeks of cold rain now!), hang it up in gorgeous blooming tree (despite the sneezing that you know will ensue!) and snap lots of pics!

Here's hoping that sun that we got a preview of for a few days will return so I can get more sign making done!!


Linking up at some of these parties!

Check out a brand new party here at Cherry Street Cottage!

Baby Girl Pillows

I'm still trying to tackle the list of things to do for Baby Girl's room. Yep, my almost 8 month old Baby Girl's room!! It's a process for me, ok?

I just recently whipped up a bunch of pillows from scraps I had from other stuff for her room.

The 2 Michael Miller prints are her main ones, used in her bedding, changing table pad, curtains, diaper bag, and rocking chair. (None made by me!!)

The other two, she has blankets made out of- the animal print blanket made by me!

Sewing pillows, blankets, and burp cloths is all I've mastered so far! Oh and her changing table cover, which I hope to feature soon!

I've got plans to paint, replace the lid and cover the lid of this hope chest here, that matches the furniture I had as a kid. I got rid of the rest of the set before I knew I was pregnant! Had I been reading blogs at the time, I may have kept it. However it had over 20 years worth of layers of glossy paint, so I'm not sure I could've handled the experience!

This bench will get a coat of white, and possibly black painted scrolls.

I'm hoping this will be a lovely little spot for her to curl up and read some books as she grows older!

Just needs a few more bigger pillows that I may have to actually buy fabric for instead of resorting to scraps that only yeild small pillows! :)

Linking up to............

NC Beaches Subway Art

I just got back from a trip to Wilmington with my family and my BFF (I wrote about my thrifting/shopping there here!)

Before I went, I made this sign for my BFF!

We usually hit up the NC coast, beaches and cities a bit inland around 2-3 times a year. She's much closer since she lives in Charlotte, but I still try to make it as much as I can even from far away Nashville!

I had a vision of this sign before I made it, and it surpassed my expectations!


Here it is:

And here's how I did it!


- 11x14 wood board from Home Depot
I got a huge board from Home Depot cut down into 6 11x14 pieces, plus a few small leftover pieced I kept for other projects! I can't remember what this board was called, but it was right by the MDF boards.

- Drilled small holes in the top to string jute (didn't take pics of this!)

- Sanded around holes to make them smooth

- Painted board White

Why are my fingers covered in paint? Oh I left out a step!

- Clean up the mess that happens when you shake a bucket of paint that has the LID ON LOOSE!!!

Have to say, I'm kinda glad that it was a cold day, and I painted inside! At least everything I spilled on was already white or almost white! It actually was trim paint that I used so I put it to use by touching up some spots in the house. Don't think the dishwasher needed that new coat though! Ha!

- Used Silhouette machine to print out beaches/cities onto vinyl, used "weld" tool to make each word one piece- makes it easier to transfer in my opinion! You could use stencils or lots of other things too!

- Applied vinyl letters to board.

I *could* have done this reverse, painted the board black and applied the white vinyl on top, but I wanted a more finished look.

- Spray painted flat black over the top, didn't want a glossy look for this project. Home Depot carries a basic flat or glossy black for $.99!

Yeah, that *blinding*white may be some leftover paint!

- Peeled off letters with tweezers.

I thought it would benefit me to work quickly before the paint dried, but turned out that the letters at the end were actually easier to get off because I didn't smear any paint. (easily wiped up where I did smear though!)

Oh yeah, these are my Revlon tweezers that I cannot live without for my eyebrow plucking!! I should get some ones I can get paint all over! I did give them a good scrubbing....when I went to pluck my eyebrows the next time!

Let's add some black paint on the hands to those leftover white flecks!

- String jute through holes, tie knots and hang!

I originally purchased sawtooth hangers to put on the back, but changed my mind. So glad I did because I love the look of the jute, and it was much easier! I was just gonna wing it and hope the sawtooth hangers would work on the thin piece of wood!

- Debate over actually delivering this to BFF cause I am in loooooove with it, but give in when I realize I can do it all over again!

- Take lots and lots of pics of it, outside and in!

It's safe to say I WILL be doing this again!

I have plans for a bigger black and white one using vacation spots for me and the hubby (it'll go on the wall next to those black and jute apothecary jars you see above!!), and another one with these same beaches for me, but blues, tans, and shabbied up which will match our guest room! At least thats the plans I have for now!

I'll be linking up here!