Burlap Wreathe

I'm totally in love with how this burlap wreathe turned out!  I'll admit that I'm very partial to the color red and burlap in red is amazing!  The wreathe itself was really easy to make but a little on the pricey side.  I bought a 9" wide roll of burlap and needed 1 1/2 to complete the project. The rolls of burlap were $20 each so if you can find a good sale on it that would be a bonus.

My first step was painting my wreathe red.  Next I used a kitchen bowl to trace and cut my circles out. I used a brown washable marker to trace the circles.  It washed right off my bowl afterwards and I could see the lines on my burlap.

Once my circles were cut I folded them in quarters and pinned them in the wreathe.  This technique of pinning is much easier with felt, but using a wider pin head works.  You could sew the ends and then hot glue it, but I try to avoid using hot glue for something I may use outside in the summer time because of the heat!  This is how it looks in progress.

I love changing out the wreathes on my welcome sign for the different seasons.  I think this wreathe would be cute for Christmas, Valentine's and 4th of July!

Valentine Box

Last year for school my son had to make a creative Valentine Box!  He loves playing with Legos so we decided to make a Lego style box!  It was so easy and super fun!

The first step was to glue hot chocolate or coffee cup lids onto the top of a shoe box.

Next I let him pick out a spray paint color and we (him with a lot of supervision) went to town spray painting it!

After the paint dried we added some stickers and that was it!  Yes there are some streaks and the lids are not glued on perfectly straight but we sure had a lot of fun making it together!

Gratitude Tree

I absolutely love November!  It's a time where everyone reflects on the blessings in their lives.  Gratitude is a quality that we are trying to instill in our children.  

This year I thought it would be fun to create a gratitude tree out of vinyl lettering. Of course you could recreate this with butcher paper or construction paper.   Each day we write on a leaf things that we are grateful for.  I committed everyone to write at least one thing per day that they are thankful for.

What is amazing is that it is actually hard to only write one thing.  Once we start thinking about something that we are grateful for more and more things come to mind!

I can't wait to see the tree by Thanksgiving!  It will be wonderful to see all of the leaves full of gratitude!

Tips For Using Stain With Vinyl Lettering

If you want to use stain on your signs for a little bit more rustic look always apply the stain AFTER you apply the lettering!  If you stain first and then apply the lettering it will be very difficult to get the lettering to stick and you will most likely be very frustrated!

I like to you cheese cloth to rub the stain into the wood.  Go slow and be gentle so you don't ruin your lettering.

A little stain goes a long way!  Don't over apply:)

Painting With Vinyl On Canvas

I love using vinyl to paint with.  It is awesome to work with on an old piece of wood, but I hadn't tried it on canvas until this month.  This idea was inspired by a project one of my friends did.  I loved how hers turned out so I wanted to try something similar.

First I started off with a stained canvas.  I had originally stained this canvas to make a welcome sign for my front door, but then I make a welcome sign with a wreathe and then had just never decided what to put on this.  I thought having a little darker look to the canvas would be a fun more rustic look.  I love how it turned out, but it's hard to tell from the photo.  Without the stain it would be stark white, (also a great look, but I wanted it a bit more muted this time.)

The next step is putting the vinyl on your canvas.  When you use the "negative" of the vinyl it works like a charm for painting.  Fit the entire vinyl to your canvas for easiest results.  If you are going to use spray paint then tape the edges as well.  I just brushed the paint on this time with a sponge brush.

This is what it looked like when I got it all painted.

After I removed my vinyl I touched up a couple of places where I wanted a bit more paint and then this was my finished project!  Next time I wouldn't mind trying to stain afterwards just to see what that was like:)

Thank You Gifts

This year one of my friends and I put our heads together to come up with a delicious thank you gift!  She makes the most wonderful salsa.  So we put our talents together to come up with these cute and yummy gifts!

By adding a little vinyl to the mason jar we thought it would be more fun for putting something cute in when the salsa is gone.   We either put the last name initial or the first name initial.  I thought it would be fun to print the initial in everyone's favorite color, but in the end we decided to go with cream because it looks the best with the salsa. 

I saw these avery labels at Wal Mart and I thought they would be so fun to print thank you on and put on the top of the jar!

These labels fit a bit better on the wide mouth jars.

Vinyl On Canvas

I absolutely love decorating with vinyl on a canvas.  This piece of art has an amazing story behind it.  Using a canvas as a backdrop for your vinyl gives your space a wonderful look.  

Adding vinyl to a white canvas is an awesome look.  When you are applying the vinyl on canvas you need to be careful that you apply enough pressure so the vinyl will adhere to the canvas, but you want to be careful not to stretch the canvas when you apply the vinyl.

My sister painted this canvas and then we added the vinyl to it.  The marble painting and the old fashioned writing give this an old fashioned, sophisticated feel. 

Using a smaller canvas can be the perfect addition to a shelf!

This idea was inspired by a friend of mine.  I printed vinyl that fit the canvas exactly and then removed the letters so the vinyl acted as a negative and then I actually painted the wording on.  The other thing that I tried with this canvas that I absolutely loved was I actually stained it!  I didn't want the look of the stark white canvas this time, but I didn't want a painted look... just more of a light antiqued look.  It worked like a charm.  I always like to let my projects dry for 24 hours after applying stain.  Next time I might trying painting my canvas first and then adding the stain just to see which one works better and if it produces a different look.    

Holiday Soap!

Let's face it one of the best things about the Christmas season is all of the yummy goodies that bring to parties, work and the neighbors!  Once in a while it's super fun to receive a 0 calorie treat right!  It's a little more guilt free:). 

What we are doing this year for our neighbor gifts is giving away fun Christmas soaps!  I had a lot of fun designing these different styles so that there is a variety and really the possibilities are endless!

The shape of the Soft Soap bottles is great for a variety.  Bath & Body Works bottle we be awesome for a tall skinny tree!

Peel the front sticker off and then take the residue off with Goo Gone.  Apply your vinyl lettering and then voila!  You have a great gift!

Add jingle bells and a tag that says we WASH you a Merry Christmas for a super cute look!

Believe

I absolutely love using cupboard doors to decorate with!  This Believe vinyl with the handle is one of my favorite Christmas decorations!  I love the cream with the cranberry.  The cupboard door give this sign a sophisticated style and the handle with ribbons is a perfect finishing touch!

The Real To Do List

I love this sign.  We should all take time out of each day to do some of the things that really matter!

Using multiple colors with vinyl adds a fun flair to any sign!

Rustic Joy Christmas Sign

I love love love making Christmas decorations!  This sign was inspired by an old piece of wood that my husband had acquired.  I asked him to get rid of it and most of it disappeared but a long strip was left.  After looking at it for months I realized it would be the perfect rustic sign!  So got started.

I choose the roughest side for the front and painted it red.  Needless to say at this point my hubby was a little worried about how my idea was going to turn out!   The next thing I did was apply a vinyl JOY.  Note the fabulous blue color:).  I used a color I had a lot of since I wasn't leaving it on.  The next thing I did was apply a lot of car wax to the sides.  I did this because I was some of the red to come through.

 

Then I got started on the top coat.  I sprayed 6-8 coats of white on top.  (Of course letting the paint dry in between each coat.)  After the paint dried I removed the vinyl and used a rag to rub off the wax and behold the beautiful red that came through!  The wax part is kind of messy so be prepared for that.  

Once all of that was completed I rubbed in a coat of stain to the top.

For the finishing touches I drilled hole 1.5" in from the sides and added wire, a ribbon and rustic jingle bells!

Vinyl Lettering For No Carve Pumpkins

 Adding vinyl lettering to pumpkins is a great way to decorate them without any of the mess of carving!

 The possibilities are endless.  Jack-o-lantern faces, bats, spiders, they are all so much fun!

 If you love carving pumpkins for Halloween you can use the vinyl as stencils to carve your designs!

Back to School Labeling

It wouldn't feel like back to school if we didn't label things with vinyl or find a way to put a ribbon on at least some of our supplies!

 

This year for our notebooks my daughter decided to go with the less is more look.  a little ribbon and a little vinyl goes a long way toward being cute.   One of my daughter's used tombo to put the ribbon on down the side of her notebooks and then we just put one small vinyl in the corner to personalize each notebook. 

 

For the inside of one of my daughter's binder she wanted to label one side for homework and the other side for papers ready to turn in.  I was super willing to accommodate that request!  We coordinated the colors of the vinyl with her folders, just to keep it fun for her. 

I hope that everyone has a great school year!  I sure appreciate all that our teachers do for us!  They are awesome!