Tag Archives: custom wood sign

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,

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!!

While I was making more of these a few weeks ago, I was inspired… check it out!

Masterpieces!

Isn’t it cute?! It sold pretty darn fast at the vendor show!! Here’s some more model shots for you!

What d’ya think?? It’s listed for the same price as Every child Is An Artist, on my For Sale Page!

I hope you have a fabulous Thursday! I know we will – we have a play date planned at McDonald’s today! (for the play place, not the food!!)

Thank you so much for reading!!

xo, Leanne

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Pinterest Wednesday and a Winner!

Posted by Leanne on May 23, 2012 2 comments

Today’s Pinterest post is a little different… yesterday I mention I had 1 more “like” to go to get to 50 on my Facebook Page, and would offer a giveaway for every 50 likes….and since it was reached last night, I get to announce a Winner!! WARNING: This winner has 48 hours to respond to the prize, otherwise a new name will be drawn… so this post is going out at 10:00 am Pacific time, Wednesday the 23rd, so the winner must respond to me by Friday the 25th (my daughter’s 1 year birthday, but that’s besides the point!) at 10:00 am Pacific time!

I’m literally drawing the winner right now… so wait for it…. the winder is: Ashton Suzette Jackson!

So if you are this winner, or if you know this winner, please get back to me as soon as possible!! You can email me at leanne@becauseithinkican.com

What are you winning??

I want to make you a custom painted wood sign!! I have some wood here, the size is 5″x15″ … you get to choose a single word for me to paint on it for you, plus you get to choose the background color out of these choices: graphite, turquoise, old white, or yellow.

The sign will hang from a hanger of twine, like in this example:

Do you need some inspiration for your single word of choice? Here’s some pins I’ve pinned to inspire you!

Source: etsy.com via Leanne on Pinterest

Congratulations to Ashton Suzette Jackson, and I hope I hear back from you within 48 hours! thank you to all of you who have “liked” me so far on my Facebook page, and I will do a giveaway for every 50 “likes”, so if you haven’t “liked” me yet, here’s the link!: My facebook page!

Thanks for reading!!! xo, Leanne

Sunshine!!

Posted by Leanne on May 15, 2012 20 comments

The weather here lately has been AMAZING!! A little shocking, but I have been LOVING it!! And because of that, I am going to write this post as quick as possible… I need to get outside and play with my girls, and do a little spray painting in between! (I know, spray painting!! I’ve never done it before, but I have the perfect project for it, so I’m going to give it a try!)

So enjoy this: You Are My Sunshine!! I am loving this buttery-smooth beauty!!

You are my Sunshine!

I first painted the board in white... then added Vaseline in the areas I wanted easily distressed.... then a coat of yellow (Martha Stewart's Cornbread)... when it was dry, I gave it a sanding, and love how the sanded areas blend together so smoothly...

... I had created the "stencil" on Picnic.com, before they closed their site... I used Blockposter.com to get the sizing I wanted, and printed it out on my printer...

... I had to play with the layout a bit to get it to fit perfectly....

... I used newspaper as my transfer method... lay down paper, place stencil on top, use ball point pen and trace the words... and it transfers like....

...magic!...

I used my Sharpie Paint Pen to paint the words in.... and ta-da!

You are my Sunshine!

If you are loving it, I have this exact one on hand for you right now! Check out my For Sale page if you are interested!

thanks so much for reading, and I hope you are having an awesome week!!

xo, Leanne

oh my, I just remembered I was going to blog about Mother’s Day!! LOL! I had a fabulous Mother’s Day weekend! I hope you did too? Maybe I’ll blog about it a bit tomorrow for you!

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Aka Design

Mommy By Day Crafter By Night, At Home With K, Tip Junkie, Not Just A Housewife,

Keep Calm and Carry On

Posted by Leanne on May 10, 2012 4 comments

Today is a very big day for me! I am guest posting on 2 different blogs!! Today you can find me at Randee’s Organized Chaos, and at My World Made By Hand! If you have a few minutes, please visit these ladies and check out their blogs, they are both VERY talented!!

Well, my theme for yesterday’s Pinterest Wednesday was Keep Calm, and so I couldn’t wait to show you this…

Keep Calm and Carry On

Isn’t she gorgeous?! Like I mentioned, she sold even before my show on Thursday night began, and I miss her! Looking at her was so soothing for me!

I might be making you tired of all my sign tutorials, so if you are new here, here are a couple other great tutorials to check out:

Fresh Cut Flowers and a Mason Jar

It Is Well With My Soul

Chevron Mirror – Redo

Fresh Farm Eggs For Sale

A few details about this one: I based the board in bright white. I applied vaseline in the areas I wanted easily distressed. I followed with a coat of Wythe Blue from Benjamin Moore. After transferring and painting the words and the crown on, I gave it a good sanding. the areas I had applied vaseline sanded really well, and blended the white and the turquoise beautifully. I rough sanded the words to age them a bit.

And Ta-Da!

Do you love it?? I can make more if you are interested! Find more info on my For Sale Page.

Even though I don’t have it on my wall anymore, I’m still trying to keep this as my motto, especially since my little 4-year-old redhead is being a little more trying than… well, what can I say?? I’ll just say she thinks she is the mother of the house lately. So yesterday I renewed our membership to the zoo and took the 3 kids there for a few hours. We had such a wonderful time, like we always do when we get in the fresh air for a while… until the second we got back in the truck and the screaming and tears and fights resumed. Dear Lord, help me to keep calm and carry on! Amen.

Let me know what you think, and thank you so much for reading!!

xo, Leanne

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