Front Door Welcome Sign (Step-by-Step Directions)

I've always loved the idea of having something on the front door of a house, whether it's a seasonal wreath, a welcome sign, or just some cute decor item. Since we have our own home, I figure its time to kick my crafting into high gear. While on Pinterest, I was specifically in search (just so you know, probably 90% of the things I find on Pinterest are by chance) of something I could create for our front door to provide our guests with a warm welcome.

I stumbled across this in my searching and though it was cute, simple and elegant. 

So, I pinned it and clicked on the link to the original post, but, it was a dead end. All that it contained was this picture. Lucky for me, it was pretty self-explanatory what I needed and how I'd do it. 

This would make a great Memorial Day Project. Start to finish, including drying time, it probably took me about 7 hours (not straight through tho, I did other things as the paint was drying and I would come back to it)

Materials Needed:

Letter - I purchased mine for $7.79 at Hobby Lobby with my 40% coupon. It was regular priced $12.99. I have never seen these on sale, but that's not to say it doesn't happen)

Acrylic Paint - I used a teal color to match the decor of our house, and silver to paint on "Welcome" (I prefer Anita's Acrylic- it covers nicely, watch for it when it is 30% off at Hobby Lobby)

Burlap Ribbon or Fabric that you like to make rosettes

Sharpie (Silver or Black depending on your color choices)

Paint Brushes - One 1" brush and a script writing brush

Hot Glue & Hot Glue Gun

Drill 

Wire

Here is the "E" I used. It is a bout 18 inches tall

Step 1: Drill holes to be able to hang on your front door when it is finished. I just had my husband drill where they had already pre-drilled the walling hanging spots. 

Step 2: Paint: I always like to start on the back; it gives me an idea how the paint will cover, so I know how many coats I will need.  However, you don't have to do this. It is totally your preference, but you will want to paint around the edges because those can and will be seen when the letter is hanging.

Here you can see the edges are painted before I move onto painting the front.

This is with just one coat of paint on the front - as you can see, it is rather "liney". So a second coat was necessary to get a smooth, even coverage. 

Step 3: Edging: In the picture I found on Pinterest, they have done a dotted line around the edges. I debated about doing a scroll sort of look, but I was afraid it would look to busy (and my husband would probably say it was too girly!). So I settled on doing a dotted trim like the image I had found. If you don't want to do one, that is totally your choice! I used a silver Sharpie that I had left over from making things for my sister-in-law's baby shower. Make sure that whatever you use stands out from your paint color. I decided to do the silver so it would stand out against the paint, but also match the "Welcome" I planned to paint on it. If you would prefer (or don't have the color Sharpie you need), you can just paint it on. I knew that I would not be able to get my lines as crisp as I wanted them. Since I had the marked, I figured it would be easier, and it would look better if I drew them on. 

 Step 4: Use a pencil to write "Welcome" on it (or whatever you plan to write). I wrote it in cursive because I wanted it to flow and be smooth.

Step 5: Carefully paint on your letters. Use a thin brush and go slowly. You can always go back and make it thicker, but you can't go back and make it thinner!

Step 6: Make your roses(or whatever adornment you would like for your sign). I found a great tutorial for how to make roses out of just about any fabric; this is what I used to make mine. You can watch it here. At first I thought I would make five of them to go on the sign, but as I finished the first rose, I realized I wouldn't need that many. I felt like three was a good number. You can also make them however large or small you want them. 

Step 7: Attach your roses. Be sure to use plenty of hot glue, you don't want them to fall off. Be especially careful if you are putting the sign on an exterior door. Extremely cold weather make cause the glue to pull away from the sign. 

Step 8: Prepare to hang the sign. I used silver floral wire that I found on Sale at Crafts 2000 as I was preparing to make this sign. I wrapped it around several time to be sure it was secure. If you don't want to see the "rough" part of the wire, secure it to the back with a staple (but then you wouldn't want to drill the holes into the letter in the first place).

Step 9: Hang it on your door to welcome your guests. 

I purchased a silver toned wreath hanger at Pat Catan's for $1.17. Wreath hangers can sometimes be a little hard to find, and I had never seen a silver one, so I picked it up knowing that my lettering would be in silver. As you can see, the "E" is painted to match the curtains, and many other things in our home! 

Welcome to what I call my own imperfect slice of life!

:)

And Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all those who have served our country, and to those whose family members paid the ultimate price, I thank you for your family's service. Without these sacrifices, we would not be able to enjoy all the freedoms we are blessed with today.

God Bless!

Photo Coaster Tiles

I found a tutorial for Photo Tile Coasters and decided I had to make some myself. I decided to use some of our wedding photos because I love, Love, LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!

Here is what you will need for this easy-peasy-lemon squeezy projects!

4.25 inch White Porcelain Tiles ( I purchased mine at Lowe's and at GoodWill. I got 10 tiles for under $5)

Mod Podge - I used the Gloss Finish

Mod Podge Acrylic Spray

Foam Brush (you can use a regular bristle brush, but I recommend foam, it goes on easier and no brush hairs in your coaster)

Felt

Scissors

Hot Glue Gun & Hot Glue

Pictures

Photo Trimmer (Not necessary, but if you have one, it definitely makes trimming the picture easier)

Wax paper

Step 1: Gather your supplies

 Step 2: Trim your photo down to a 4x4 square picture

***I highly recommend covering your work surface when using Mod Podge. I use either wax paper (Mod Podge doesn't stick to it) or a plastic table cover works as well.

Step 3: Cover the entire front of the tile with Mod Podge using the foam brush. Give it a good coat, but avoid clumps.

Step 4: Carefully set the photo onto the tile. Try your best to center it on the tile.

Step 5: Cover the entire photo with Mod Podge. As you are covering it with glue, the picture may move around a pig. Just be sure that when you are finished putting the Mod Podge on you have it exactly where you want it. As you can see it will look milky, but the Mod Podge will dry clear. There will be a few "lines" in the dried Mod Podge, so try your best to get it as smooth as possible. 

Step 6: Let it dry. I usually let it dry over an evening.

Step 7: Put another coat of Modge Podge on top, I like to be extra sure it is seal well, especially since I'll be using the coasters and I don't want the pictures to become damaged or distorted. You can skip the second coat if you would like to. Let dry. 

Step 8: Put a light spraying of the Mod Podge Acrylic Spray on top - this will further help to keep it "water resistant."

Step 9: Cut a 4x4 piece of felt to use on the back of the tile 

I used a permanent marker to score out the lines I needed to cut on. A pen wouldn't work.

Step 9.5: Cut out the felt square

Step 10: Glue felt square onto the back of the tile. Be sure to use plenty of glue. I ran glue down all the edges, and then made and "x" across the center. See picture below.

This just shows that the felt does not add much thickness to the coaster. But it will protect the surfaces you set them on. 

And viola, your coaster is finished and ready to be used for you to set your favorite drink down on while you work on your crafts!

Enjoy your favorite drink while you take in your imperfect slice of life!

Button Tree (Step-by-Step Directions)

Crafts by Amanda had an adorable Button Tree that was part of a giveaway. Click here to see the original post.

I fell in love with the idea of a button tree! So I set out to make one for myself!

It would be the perfect addition to my craft room.

Button Tree

Supplies Needed:

Canvas (I used an 11X14 - I got a 2 pack from Hobby Lobby by using the 40% coupon on it, without the coupon, it is $5.99 for the two)

Buttons (I purchased two tubs of assorted buttons from Pat Catan's for $2.99 each)

Acrylic Paint (2 Bottoles - one for the background color (your choice), and one for the tree trunk (brown) - I got them for $.54 a piece when they were 30% off at Hobby Lobby)

Aleene's Tacky Glue (I had it on hand from previous projects, but it is available at most craft stores)

Foam Brush

Thin Paint Brush

Brown 3-D Paint (I found some on clearance, but if you can't find any, puffy paint would work as well, just be careful not to use too much)

Button Tree Supplies

Step 1: Begin by painting your canvas. Like I've said before, I always start on the back so I can be sure I like the color, and know how many coats I will need to get even coverage. 

After it had dried, I decided again to do a second coat, so that it was an even tone.

Step 2: After the paint is completely dried, carefully draw a tree trunk onto the canvas with a pencil. If you don't feel like you need to draw it on, go ahead and freehand paint it. 

Step 3: Once you are satisfied with the tree you have drawn, begin painting the tree with the brown acrylic paint. I recommend using a very thin paintbrush to outline and paint the tree. 

Step 4: Add smaller branches to the tree. When you add the small twigs, you may want to use a toothpick if you don't have a small enough paintbrush

I continued to add branches until I felt like I had the fullness I wanted.

Let the tree dry entirely. Mine dried over several days before I was able to work on it more. 

Step 5: On a scrap piece of paper, test out your fabric/puffy paint to see how fast/thick it comes out before you begin decorate your tree. You don't want to ruin all your hard work. 

Begin by adding thin lines to create the bark of the tree. I added it all over the tree, on both the trunk and the branches. 

Step 6: Add buttons to your tree.

I found it was easiest to paint the glue on the back of the buttons with a paintbrush so I did not have too much glue oozing out onto the canvas.

Place buttons around the branches to give the tree its leaves

Continue to add buttons, make sure you are using a variety of colors/sizes of buttons, and to evenly disperse them throughout the canvas.

Continue to add buttons until you are happy with the look of your tree!

Now you have an adorable button tree on your hands! find the perfect place to hang it up and enjoy!

It's imperfect, but it suits me just fine, in my imperfect slice of life!