White-washed Easter Blocks.....(Repost)

****This is a repost from one of YOUR favorites from last Easter.....Just thought you'd like to see it, again ;)  ******


As I was walking a couple of weeks ago, I spotted several wood blocks that someone had put in their trash pile (this house is doing a lot of reno….so hopefully I’ll be able to pick up some more!). Can you say FREE?!?!?! I have seen several of these painted blocks on Pinterest with words and sayings and already had an idea of what I wanted to do with them.

I got them out today to do my “thang” with ‘em. I’ve planned on doing my Easter pianoscape in a natural, neutral color scheme this year, so I’m figuring, white, beige, brown, wood, etc…….. So here’s what I did.

Here are the FREE blocks. I’m so glad they weren’t all the same size, makes them more interesting!

I bought a package of sponges at the Dollar Tree the other day. They come 4 to a package and they make great paint daubers! I just cut one of them thirds and that was plenty big enough.

I didn’t have a full tube of white paint, so I thought, let’s do a white-wash look. I put as much of the white paint I could get into a bowl and added water, stirred, and this is how it looked.

As with my Chevron Easter Egg Burlee door hanger , I printed out some lettering on my computer, then put tape over the lettering before I cut it out (to make it more sturdy for the stencil), then stenciled the saying out on the blocks.

And this is what it looks like, FINI! I did do a couple of streaks of the brown paint on the top and sides of the blocks to give it more depth.

Not too bad for FREE! (Yep, love that word!

I’m thrilled that you’ve taken time to stop by and see my tutorial! Please be sure to leave a comment! I read each one and would love to hop on over to your blog too!

Repurposing.......Frames

I love frames!

Lately I've been looking for frames at yard sales and thrift stores. You can leave them as is or paint them. There's so many wonderful things you can put in them as well, or you can leave them blank!

I've seen pretty pictures of walls decked out in just the skeleton of the frame, all painted the same color. Some of them are done in the same color hue, or completely different. Above a mantel, going up the stairway, greeting you in the foyer, the ideas are endless!

About a year ago I got these frames for $2.00 each. They are BIG, and I love the color. Even the black and white romantic pictures are very nice, just not my style. I got them because I knew there was something I could put in them!

All I did was take off the back of the frame (I have to admit, they were kind of a pain in the rear, but after taking off the tape and bending back the staples, I eventually got to the picture, WHEW!). I didn't realize that the picture and mat were one in the same, but no problem! The 12" x 12" piece of scrapbook paper fit just perfectly over the picture. All I used was tape on the backside of the paper to make sure it didn't go anywhere.

Next, I had already decided what pictures I wanted of the kids. I printed both of them on regular 8x10 photo paper (did you know that Dollar Tree has photo paper? It really is good and so much cheaper!). I have a photo editing program that changed the color photos to the sepia ones that you see, which I thought matched the damask paper perfectly! I did an 8" square of the photo that allowed 2" on each side, which made a nice mat around the photo.

Then I placed it back into the frame and VOILA! New custom-looking photo frames for a FRACTION of what it would cost at the big craft/frame stores. I think all total, I spent $6.00 for this project! They are hanging up in our bedroom and look lovely with our newly painted "Caffe colache" walls.

Try your hand at reframing something. It really does give new life and leaves these things out of the landfills! :) ENJOY! This post is part of the Link-Up Party over at Craft-O-Maniac. Ya'll stop on by and see what else everyone has come up with. There are some great ideas :)

CraftOManiac blog and link-up party

Happy New Year everyone! Whew, now that the Christmas rush of orders is done, and I've gotten my head back in the game, I'm going to try and start posting some really cool things that I find. While I was surfing the 'net last week, I happened upon this great website called Craft-O-Maniac . Jen does a great job of offering advice, showing how she decorates and also has a Link-Up party on Monday's too! I've linked up this week with my Note Board that I repurposed for Ms. M's room. Y'all be sure to stop by the link up party to see all of the other crafty people out there! I've already gotten some great ideas on what to make for our home, and they are pretty easy and cheap too! Enjoy!!!

Repurposing ~ Note board

I really enjoy repurposing items when I have a chance. I like the fact that, most of the time, I can use stuff I already have around the house. Out of pocket expense is minimal, if that!

This is a cute little memo board that Ms. M got when she was around 8. She was into princess things back then, but since she's 10 going on 20, not so much anymore :) Her room is done in hot pink and black, so this TOTALLY DID NOT MATCH ANYMORE....oh my! Can't have that now can we?



All I did was cut off the ribbon first. (be sure to save it for later!)



I had this pretty fabric out in one of my totes. Ironed it nice and smooth, then cut it 2" bigger than the board.



I love my staple gun, so I love any excuse to use it! I just folded the fabric in
1", then folded it on top of the board, then WHAMO! Staple it in place. I did one side, then worked on the opposite side, pulling the fabric nice and taught.



Mitered the corners.......



I also used my glue gun and glued the fabric down too (this step is not necessary).



Added the ribbon back to the board. (just hot glued it down on the side)



Reattached the brads and VOILA~!



A brand new note board! This only took us about 30 minutes and now Ms. M has a new board to place all of her cool little notes and cards! She has one that is a longer/skinnier version too...... I guess we'll need to get another hotpink/black fabric to do that one :)

I hope you found this information useful! There is so much that I need to repurpose around the house, guess I should start making my "honey-me" list! Is there anything you've repurposed lately?