Category Archives: Custom Signs

Inspirational Words

Posted by Leanne on July 24, 2012 3 comments

When preparing for the show last weekend, I was completely inspired by this pin:

Source: bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.ca via Leanne on Pinterest

I needed a collection like this for sale, so I pulled my own together! Here’s some samples…

Many little girls walked to my table that day and begged their mommies for their favorite word… but like I mentioned before, all the mommies forgot their monies!

What do you think of them?

I love my little collection, and they will be posted on my For Sale sign soon! …don’t worry, I will announce when my For Sale page has been updated, but right now hubby is waiting to watch a movie with me! Can’t keep him waiting too long!

On a sunny note, I’ve been awarded the Sunshine Award again! But since I just received it, I won’t follow through, however, I will send you over to the lovely Desja’s blog, refresh your roost. I met her through her bestie, Elisa from Home Sweet Nest, and we vendored together at the market last weekend. this girl is such a delight, and her work is beautiful! Take a minute to check her out, let her know I’m thankful for the award!

Thanks so much for reading!!

Linking to:
Mommy By day Crafter by Night: ,
Tip Junkie:
Not Just A Housewife:

I did IT!

Posted by Leanne on July 19, 2012 7 comments

breathe. keep calm and carry on. breathe.

I did something last night I have not done in….years. I’m talking like maybe 15 - 20 years. Ready for it??

I went on a bike ride BY MYSELF!!!!

Seriously friends, as sad as that is, it was amazing. I have the most adorable bike. It is a pinkish/lavenderish colored Norco Rio Vista, a beach cruiser, and when I ride, people call out “Nice Bike!!” It’s awesome. But usually I have little people with me, so I can’t truly enjoy the ride. But this week, the kids are at VBS (Vacation Bible School, at church) from 6:00 – 8:30. Our baby goes to bed at 7:00. And it suddenly dawned on me, I could do this! It was great, and a perfect ending to the day.

I also played around a bit with editing pictures on picmonkey.com. this is a seriously fun place to be. I’ve been complaining lately about posting with wordpress, and something that really annoys me is getting all the pictures onto the post… it takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r. So I’m trying to play with ways to make it easier and a bit more fun. And I put my blog’s name on the pics! (all the good blogs are doing it! ). Fun, right??

I had a really good day yesterday, and a really good day Monday. But Tuesday was not a good day. Although my headache was about a 3 on the scale-of-pain, sometimes it’s just the kind of headache that turns my emotions upside down. And it was a very hot day. And Anna was in a mood. It was a bad day. Hubby and I have also noticed something that has changed about me. I used to basically have a photogenic memory of everything in the house. I could remember where everything was. Even the most obscure item. Now I can’t remember where the keys were that I thought I had in my hands. I try to “talk” to myself when I do things now, like “I am putting Anna’s stuffed puppy in this box”, and at the end of the day, her and I will be ripping apart the house to find the stuffed puppy. When hubby find it, I’m like “right… now I remember talking myself through that”.

It’s frustrating, and it’s depressing. And it started when the headaches started.

Why am I like this? Is it because I have headaches and they distract me enough to keep me from remembering things they way I used to? Is it because I had just had my 3rd baby, and it’s my new “baby brain” that’s lasting a real long time? Is it because I have a beautiful but defiant 4-year-old redhead that can deplete me from all positive emotion in an instant? Am I just too busy with my 3 kids, a marriage, a dog, a life, and hobbies? Or is there something wrong with my head? My gut tells me I am just too distracted with life and everything in it, plus the headaches, to bother with the details. But it affects my daily life, so I want to get over it.

Oh well, I have my appointment with the neurologist today, we’ll see what his medical self has to say about it, my guess is he’ll tell me to slow down! …I’m not sure I know how to slow down! And this is why I love these signs, Keep Calm and Carry On. Maybe I should make a few more of these and hang them in every room!!

xo, Leanne

You can find these signs for sale on my For Sale page soon, just not today!

Family Rules Take Two!

Posted by Leanne on June 7, 2012 4 comments

After some sanding, a light coat of wax for protection, a big ta-da!

I was spoiled again yesterday… hubby took the day off, because our family was crazy busy in the morning… Jordan had a school field trip to the zoo, Anna had one to the trout hatchery, I had a specialist appointment, and the baby had her nap (with my mom sitting her)! Not knowing how my appointment would go (which went fine, I just now have to be scheduled for some dreaded tests!), we thought it best hubby stick around. So in the afternoon, we spoiled ourselves with a trip to Tanglebank nursery, and after picking up the kids, we headed back down to Lynden Washington. You all know how much I love Lynden! We hit up my favorite antique store, More Than Antiques, and went for a fabulous Mexican dinner at Marta’s Cucina. Fabulous. Even baby loved the rice and beans!

Do you remember the Family Rules sign I made some time back? I still love it, in fact it’s hanging above our TV… but it bothered me how small it was… I wanted to make one much, much, larger!!

My newer, MUCH larger, version!

I love this one!!

It all started with a large scrap of wood I found outside in hubby’s junk pile…

The Scrap piece of wood....

I painted the base of it a bright red, and on top of the red I painted a coat of graphite...

Family Rules Custom Wood Sign, Handpainted

I had created my fonts on picnic.com (boy, I still miss that site!), and then enlarged it on blockposter.com

I tried something a little different this time....instead of newspaper or pencil, I colored the back with yellow chalk...

...and then traced over the words to transfer the chalk onto the board...

it didn't transfer great, but it was good enough... beware though, the chalk makes it messy! Don't use this technique on a board you want to keep clean-looking!...

After some sanding, a light coat of wax for protection, a big ta-da!

What do you think? Do these look like the family rules you have for your family??

Thanks so much for reading! Have a fabulous Thursday!

xo, Leanne

sharing here:

The Shabby Creek Cottage: The Shabby Creek Cottage,

Freshly Baked…

Posted by Leanne on June 5, 2012 14 comments

Do you follow me on Facebook?? If you do, you may have read that I did something new last Thursday… new for me anyways! Do you wanna know what?? Does the title give it away?? LOL! I got spray-tanned! And not by a machine, I’ve tried that before, and came out all orange, streaky, and not so pretty! This was done by a friend of mine, who has started out her little business in her home. for $25 I walked out with a beautiful dark tan, which took all of 10 minutes, while my girls played in the same room (which is a huge bonus for me, not having to worry about paying for a babysitter when I am already self-splurging!) this tan lasts 5 – 9 days, and I am on day 6 and still loving it! Because I am naturally SO pale, I don’t mind the tan fading a bit, however my tan lines are still hilarious! I didn’t realize exactly how white I was until I saw the difference! I am very happy with the results, and the compliments, and I look forward to adding this to my summer routine! You can check out her facebook page, Brown Sugar Bronze. thanks Kyla!

On another note, I’ve been having a few problems with my blog lately, and one of them is updates…. the original link to Heidi’s Blog (Fame on Friday #10) was wrong, and my blog refused to update it to the right one… and the wrong one may have directed you to a blog I would not have supported…. eeeks! So please check out the right link, and give Heidi’s blog another chance! she is worth every minute! http://www.ourhouseforcoffee.com

Now on to today’s topic, and the real reason for today’s title!

...starting out with my piece of wood...

I gave it rough coats of paint - brown along the outside, blue and black in the middle...

(the other board you see being painted there was my Fresh Cut Flowers wood sign)

...after the paint dried for a few hours, I gave it a coat of white paint...

... a few hours after that, I gave the board a good sanding...

...I had created the words on picnic.com, printed it out on our printer... I used my transfer technique of coloring the back with pencil, placing the template on the board, and tracing with a ball point pen... this left the imprint on the board, and I painted the words with my Sharpie Paint Pen...

...the "bread, cakes and pies", and the "Freshly Baked" were added as an after thought, as the board looked to plain otherwise...

it also took me a few times outlining the "Bakery" with white, and black, and sanding, to get a look I was happy with... I find fatter letters a lot harder to work with than pretty skinny letters!...

... I drilled 2 holes at the top, added some twine, and ta-da! ...

What do you think?? Would this suit your kitchen??

Thank you so much for reading!! Feel free to pin and share like crazy!

xo, Leanne

Partying at:
Embracing Change: Embracing Change,
The Shabby Creek Cottage: The Shabby Creek Cottage,
Aka design: Aka Design,
HomeSpun Happenings:
Liz Marie Blog:

Funky Junk Interiors:

My Life’s a Treasure:

Serendipity and Spice: Serendipity and Spice

Masterpieces!

Posted by Leanne on May 24, 2012 3 comments

Do you remember my very popular Every Child Is An Artist sign I made awhile back? I decided before my show a few weeks ago to upgrade the hardware, and it now comes with bulldog clips screwed to it. I love the upgrade! Bulldog clips this size are very hard to find in this town, which is why I didn’t use these before, but when I found them, I bought all of them!!