DIY Felt Letterboard

Dec 5, 2016 /

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I mentioned to my sister over the holiday weekend that I wanted a felt letterboard for Christmas (like the one below) but the ones I found online were too expensive for my non-existent decor budget.. So I made my own!

via Pinterest

Supplies:

deep frame (hobby lobby)
.125″ wooden dowels cut to size (menards)
hot glue
felt (1/2 yard)
white letters
gilmore girls (optional)

I started this with a completely different plan than what I have pictured here, but I bought the wrong size dowel for the way I thought I was going to do it. I also thought I’d only use half my felt, but I used every last bit. The lesson here is to be flexible when you’re creating off the cuff.

Start by cutting your dowels to the width of the inside of your frame. .125″ dowels are really thin so I simply scored the length and then broke it. Repeat 40-75ish times depending on the size of your frame.

Now you cut your felt to the length of the dowel and hot glue it. I wasn’t planning on wrapping each individual dowel, but that’s just how it worked out once I realized how tiny they were.

Order your letters! I got mine off amazon when they were on sale for $10. I found them other places for cheaper but the shipping cost was a deal breaker. Free shipping was worth it, but I had to wait 4 days for mine so this letterboard has been finished, waiting to be photographed for toooo long.

After all your dowels are wrapped in felt you can glue them into the frame. I was extra careful at the ends of mine because they are exposed in the final project, but if you’re using a different type of frame this step would be super quick. You want to make sure the dowels are snug so the letters can pop in and stay put.

Then you add your letters and hang it up! The space between the mirror and the letter board is reserved for something special and I can’t wait to show you! But for now it’s just a blank spot on the wall.

Oh and guess what? It cost me $40 and I could have saved more if I had bought a cheaper frame.

Is this something you think you could do on your own? I absolutely do! DIY is easy if you start small.. Plus you might end up saving a little money!

DIY Pallet Shelf

Nov 29, 2016 /

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Over thanksgiving break I was hopeful to do a few projects around the house. They were all decor type things or just general cleaning and organizing. Nothing major, just things that have been waiting and waiting and waiting their turn since Dwayne’s arrival (and before).

I actually started this project when I was 4 weeks pregnant, before all the nausea kicked in, so more than a year ago.

I found these two tiny pallets at my job two summers ago and knew they needed to come home with me. I’m only using one for this project.

So after they sat in my garage for a couple months, I sanded them and cleaned them up (while newly pregnant with Dwayne) and then I experienced morning sickness, pelvic pain, birth, recovery, nursing, working mom, etc. and hadn’t looked at them since. Until this weekend.

I started with a clean pallet, any size. I roughly sanded it to remove splinters and big chunks, but wanted it to look rustic.

Then I did one very thin coat of brown spray paint.

I let that settle and then I did two very thin coats of white spray paint. I didn’t have a specific method here. I actually kind of expected to have to sand the white to let the brown show through, but it ended up looking exactly like I wanted.

After one coat

After two coats

I love the way it turned out, especially since it was trial and error!

After it was all painted, I let it dry and then had Mike hang it on the wall for me.

Then I styled it real simply: some tiny jars, fall {fake} foliage, and some family photos!

I love seeing it styled next to the Christmas tree, but I think I’ll love it just as much without the tree. I’m so glad to get this project checked off my list.

Happy day!

Recycled Spice Jars

Sep 12, 2016 /

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When Mike and I got married we were gifted a spice rack set (Thanks Webber family!) similar to this.

We used some of the spices but in my effort to declutter it was put into a cabinet and forgotten about until last weekend when I was attempting to free up some space in our kitchen.

The spices were 4 years old so I decided it was time to throw those out, but I knew I wanted to reuse the glass jars.

I washed the jars and lids, grabbed my black sharpie and some rubbing alcohol and got to work.

I also went down to the basement to dig through our office stuff searching from my IKEA spice racks. They used to hold my craft paint and mason chairs before the office became a nursery. I’ll spare you the photo of where all that office stuff is now… IT’S A MESS, sut you can see the racks in use in the back of this old photo…

I had Mike drill some holes, hang my shelves, and then it was ready for my newly cleaned and freshly filled spice jars.

I love it – and I freed up some cabinet space and was able to reorganize so it’s a little more functional than before.

Before

After

I hope you can find something to recycle today.

Happy Day!