Vintage sign

So lately, I'm using stretched canvas for a lot of art. I like it because its cheap to buy, it gives me a creative outlet, and I can customize it to the size and colors I want. I loved how the ones for Ty's room came out, so I decided to do a big one for our room. 

I found one on Etsy that I really liked, but I wanted to have it finished before my housewarming party and there was no way I could get it in time, so I decided to make it. Here's a picture of my inspiration:

I bought a standard stretched canvas at Hobby Lobby (around $15 for a 24' x 48") and painted it the same color as our bathroom for a base color (free). Then, I made a template for what I wanted it to look like in Microsoft Publisher and made a transparency of it. I borrowed an overhead projector from the library and set my canvas on top of a chair and taped it there so it wouldn't move. I set up my projector so it would project the image on the canvas and started tracing. The image wound up being stretched and kinda weird, so I just got the basic shapes and then took it down and finished drawing it so it looked just right. 

Here's what it looked like after I traced the shapes and letters and painted my first letter. 

 Here's another shot:

I used the paint from my bedroom to paint the letters and design with: (free)

 But it just looked too plain. So, I thought I'd antique it a bit with some "Minwax Provential 211 stain". After all, I want it to look like I lucked into finding this old sign somewhere.

So, I got out my trusty brush and stain and rubbed it in until it looked good and dirty and worn. (again...I already had this on hand, so it was free)

But...it still didn't look right. It needed to pop...and it just kinda blended in. So, I asked Mrs. Connely what I should do (she's a teacher at my school who's way into art and very talented). She suggested that I make the Watkins & Co. stand out some more by making it darker. So, I added some black to my brown paint and this is what I came up with:

I still think it needs something more, but I can't put my finger on it so I'm leaving it until I figure it out. I think I should have done the whole thing in black instead of brown like the inspiration picture, but I don't know if I want to repaint the whole thing or not. Plus, it still looks pretty darn good with my bedding and wall colors. I should show a picture of what the room looks like, but Ty is asleep in my bed right now and I don't want to wake him up to take a picture. I'll post some pics later...

Ty's room...art project

Ty's Spiderman room needed a little something to dress it up a little. He has a new big boy bed, and to make him want to sleep in it, I agreed to buy Spiderman sheets. I bought them from Pottery Barn and added a red and gray comforter from Kohls.

We put up a Fathead Spiderman on his wall...but it still wasn't enough.

 

So, I searched the web looking for something not too tacky and I found these...

 ...but they were the wrong color, and the wrong price ($350 for the set of 4 large ones).
So, I decided to make them. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought 4 stretched artist canvas for around $12 (30% off!), some more paintbrushes, and a few bottles of paint. My total cost for the project is less than $20.
So here's how I did it:
Step 1: Paint the base colors

Step 2: Draw the background shape

Step 3: Paint the background shape

Step 4: Draw the words

Step 5: Paint the words

Step 6: Outline everything in black and shade the letters

Step 7: Put 'em up!

After we had all of this put up, we had a blank wall in between the windows. So, we moved Spiderman there and ordered a Batman to go where Spiderman used to be. I figured that Spiderman deserved to be seen first when you walk in the room since Ty has Spiderman sheets. I'm sure it didn't matter where I put them, but I like the colors of him better than the Batman colors. I didn't take a picture of him in Ty's room, but here's what he looks like from a pic I found on the web.

Ty's room....dresser project

I have had this dresser for a long time....since I was a teenager, and maybe before that. My uncle Joe built it for me, so I'd like to keep it. Anyway, when Ty was born, Mom asked me if I wanted it and I snatched it up. After moving a couple of times and after some crayons attacked it, it needed some love.

Here's a before picture with gold hardware:


A little sandpaper, new handles, and the same "Dover White" trim paint we used in our house...





 ...and a LOT of help from Ty....


...and we've got a lovely little dresser for Ty's big boy room. 

 

...

Before:After:

July 2nd...It's been a while...but I've been doing yardwork!

So, the pictures I'm going to show you today span a month or two. Starting out, we have our messy yard after the house construction was finished. No topsoil and a bunch of trash and building stuff everywhere.


So we had some topsoil delivered and someone come in and spread it with a dozer.
 




We have a lot of tree stumps with their roots left from doing the pad for the house, and since we don't have a tractor, Doyle strapped the stumps to his jeep and hauled a bunch of them away from the house to a clear spot so we can burn them later. We didn't get them all hauled away...but he did a bunch.


We also burned a bunch of brush (and poison ivy....ugh!).


 I don't have any pictures of the mega-ditch that we dug, but after a bunch of rain we discovered that we needed a drain in the front of the house. So we spent a LOT of time diggin' a LONG ditch so that we could put in a drain to funnel all of the rain out of the yard. That took us several weekends.

And we found a turtle in our driveway...

So after our dirt was all smooth, we seeded the yard but it washed after several hard rains. So we are now in the process of putting down sod a couple of pallets at a time. 4 down ~15 to go.
Here's a picture of the front yard before sod (and with Ty's new pool. I know, great spot right in front of the house..but at least he likes it.)

   ...and a picture after some sod. Flower beds and landscaping to come later. Much later...

May 3rd...iRobot

So...we were really unhappy with how dirty our floors kept getting so we bought a robot to clean it for us. Best money we've spent in a while. It kinda sounds a little like the Jetsons (maybe I'm showing my age here), but it is so nice to have something do my work for me! We got the Pet Series Roomba and now we let him clean for us every day. Ty named him Curious George...which is pretty good because he wanders around the house looking for stuff (dirt, hair, junk...) all of the time. Here's a picture of George in action. 

Here he is nestled in his dock charging up for the next cleaning.

 I'm just telling ya...if you are the least bit interested in not vacuuming all of the time, you've at least gotta look at this link to see how it works. By the way, they even have one that will mop for you. No kidding. 

Here's a link to a video to show you how it works.

April 20th...Anyone want a dog?

Let me start out by saying that after a lot of prayer and tons of self control, we have decided that Emmy can live stay.

At first it started out mild. A missing glove here, a toy there. Then it progressed to rocking chairs...

...and padded footstools...

...and then one day I didn't get the back door shut all of the way before I left for school. I don't have pictures (I was too upset), but Emmy opened the door and got in the house. She got one of Doyle's house shoes and hat, and my eyeglasses. She didn't hurt the shoe or hat really, but let me tell ya she must have been mad at me for something because she chewed up my glasses so bad that we couldn't even find all of the pieces.

A few days later, Doyle called me on my way home and told me that Emmy tore up the window screen on the front porch. Crap! Then...then next day he called me again and said that she had gotten the other six on the back deck. AUGH! What are we going to do with her? Send her to a therapist for separation anxiety?

I mean really...what did the screens ever do to her? They were really just baby screens after all. Not even a year old yet. They've only been up for a couple of months actually. They couldn't even defend themselves.
So, after much prayer and talk with Ty ("I don't want Emmy to go away forever..."), we decided to keep the loyal, loving, patient dog that lets Ty do flying jumps off of the couch onto her. We'd be pretty cruel not to. He loves that dog. And in a disgruntled sort of way, we do to.

April 7th...The Great Room

I took some pictures after dinner tonight of the dining area, kitchen, and living room. The sun was coming in through the windows pretty bright, so the pictures aren't that great. But they'll have to do for now.

I'm standing in the living room taking this shot of the kitchen.

I thought I'd throw in a closer one of my stove, hood, and cabinets. I haven't bought pulls or knobs for the cabinet doors yet. That'll be another project for another time.

This is the dining room just to the right of the kitchen. The sun really messed up this picture.


I'm standing in the kitchen for this pic of the living room. We went shopping over spring break and got this sectional, entertainment center, and ottoman. It made it look so much better because we have something to hide all of the wires, DVR, and Wii stuff. Plus, the sectional is very comfy and lots of people can sit on it. The ottoman has a hidden drawer that holds my blankets...sa-weet!

Here's another picture that shows the rest of the living room toward the front door (and a picture that I have yet to hang...Again, that's another project for another time.)

And the last pic of the night is taken from the the doorway by the TV looking into the living room, kitchen and dining room.