postcard table shabby, distressed

 read SO many blogs that seem to start their post sounding so smart

 yet I sit here just not knowing what exactly to say.

 I'm the first to admit that I'm NOT a brilliant (and that's a stretch) writer.

 I tend to write like I speak. Sometimes, not very well, lol.

 So, when I sit here I think to myself.

"what would I say if Ms./Mr. Reader were sitting infront of me?"

 Then I just start typing and to me I sound like an idiot.

 Today is no different.

 I will just start by saying that this is a table re-do.

 What I do best.

 I picked up this lil' table at the shop about a month ago.

Apparently it had been there for awhile and never sold

 so they wanted me to re-finish it and re-list it.

 The moment I saw it, I saw a very primitive piece.

 Although, when I started the process it developed into something a lil' diferent.

 Yea, I'm ok with that.

 So, without sanding or priming it I painted it a soft white color.

 Because it wasn't sealed before, I wanted the color of the

 stain to come threw after distressing.

 Lots of beachy yummy-ness.

 But, of course it's going in a different direction. 

 So I found this awesome graphic from Graphics Fairy.

I enlarged it then did my technique of coloring the back with a pencil.
You can check out how I enlarge my images here.

Then I trace around everything which leaves the print on the table

and I use Elmer's paint pens in Black to color everything in.

 After some sanding and some Ralph Lauren Glaze in Smoke

 it's ready to be sealed with wax.

 Yup, I love how it turned out.

See, not too bad once I get it started : )

candy bark

Gather your ingredients--you really could add anything to this that you want.

Melt your Almond Bark over very low heat or in the microwave.  Be careful because once it burns it is ruined.

**TIP**

When making Bark dab a little of your melted chocolate on each corner of your cookie sheet, then lay your parchment paper down and press over the melted chocolate.  It is like a glue and it holds the parchment in place.

Crumble your pretzels and Oreos over the parchment lined baking sheet

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the pretzels and Oreos.  Spread chocolate with a spatula but don't drag the oreos too much or your chocolate will get yucky looking.

Once the chocolate is smoothed over your pretzels and Oreos, sprinkle with red, white and blue sprinkles.

Add red and blue M&Ms over the top. 

Place in the fridge until chocolate is completely cooled. 

Make sure the Bark is completely solid before you start breaking it up.  I let mine sit for at least an hour in the fridge.

Just start breaking pieces off of the Bark until you get the desired size.  Enjoy!

fabric covered mats

It's a wrap

Wrapping mats in fabric or paper is one of my favorite tricks for drawing more attention to artwork or freshening up an outdated mat.  With the artwork for our bedroom in mind, I hit pinterest looking for some inspiration:

wrapped in scrapbook paper

maps - love this! 

mixing up neutral fabrics adds interest, but keeps the look cohesive

 bold patterns!

And after finding all these beautiful, interesting choices online, I ended up using what I had.  {I probably realized I would do this before wasting all that time searching for ideas, but pinterest is addicting!}  

I started out with two thrifted frames with gosh-awful mats (think primary colors and bold, circus-like patterns).  Then I just followed Martha's instructions (loosely) and thirty minutes later ended up with my finished product.

still needs finishing touches as per these plans.....

Two of our favorite wedding photos - the church where we were married and an amazing shot our photographer captured of us leaving after the ceremony.

Wrapping the mats in fabric was super easy and definitely an improvement on the previous look.  It's a great {inexpensive} way to change up the look of artwork.  

map/canvas wall art

Ah Ha!  My son needed something on his wall in his room and since that is where I put the globe how about matching wall art! 
I went to Michaels and picked up a bunch of canvases at 40% off.  I spent 29.00 on all 12.  (yes, I admit the super thrifty side of me wishes it wasn’t that much….it would have sounded so much better to say I got all 12 for 5 bucks, but I can’t win them all.)  I traced around the canvas and cut out each rectangle.  The overall size was 31”x 50”

                     (map was $2.00)

Next I spray painted the edges with a left over blue I had from this wine glass project.  I am a sucker for anything AGED looking so I spray painted some brown to the edges too.



Once dry, I brushed on some glue and attached my cut out map pieces. 

 
Once that dried (I turned them over to add some weight to the drying process) I wanted to age the edges just a little more so I took out my inking pad, or chalk pad, and “aged” the edges.  If you were really brave you could lightly sprayed some gold or brown spray paint on the corners to age it.  I also put a little brown glaze on the map itself to try to give it some more character.  I can’t decide if it was worth that extra step or not??  Anyway, once dry I came back and put Mod Podge over the top, quite thick,  and in criss cross strokes. 
VOILA!!!  Really, that wasn’t too hard.  Now I have a BIG piece of wall art for under 35.00! 




(I bought that nice latter stand in the corner for 10 bucks! It has a storage drawer on the bottom too.)
Stay creative with me folks – even if you didn’t find a map at a thrift store you could take this same technique and make large canvas art.  I found this great tutorial on how to do that with printed scrapbook pages.  Just apply (glue) your photo to the canvas and cover with the mod podge.  It makes it look like a designer print on canvas.  The possibilities are endless.  How about cutting out a favorite fabric and applying that to the canvas? 

how to cut moldings/trim

Mouldings: An Easy How To

Mouldings can take furniture, cabinets, walls, etc. from boring & plain to being custom & beautiful. I was a little intimidated the first time I cut mouldings...but I knew I would get the hang of it. Now, I am cutting mouldings all of the time!

First, I will quickly show you how to cut mouldings to create a frame...framing out a door/window, picture framing, etc.


1
Set the miter angle at 45 degrees to the left

2
Place your moulding face up and flush with the fence of your saw.

3
Make your cut.

4
Reposition your miter angle to 45 degrees to the right

5
Cut the opposite end of the same moulding that you just cut.

6
Repeat 4 times to make a full square.


I cut mouldings to frame out the beadboard on my bathroom
cabinet that I recently updated.
For full tutorial on this cabinet, check out my tutorial page at the top of my blog.


~~~~~~~~Next, how to cut mouldings such as baseboards, chair rail, etc.


1
Set the miter angle at 45 degrees to the left.
2
Place the moulding top up, face out and tight against the fence of the saw
3
Make your cut with the waste side to the left of the saw blade.

5
Reposition the miter angle to 45 degrees to the right.

6
Make your next cut with the waste side to the right of the saw blade.

7
Nail into place and admire your work.

**This will cut an outside corner. To cut the inside of a corner you would follow the same instructions, only you would be using the other side of your cut. For example, in the above picture I have cut an outside corner (left piece) and have discarded the right piece of my moulding & for an inside corner you would use the right piece and discard the left piece. ***

~~~~~~~

Crown Moulding

Crown Moulding is a little more complicated to cut but is definitely worth the time.

How To Cut Inside Corners
1Set the bevel angle of your miter saw at 33.85 degrees.

2Set the miter angle of your saw at 31.62 degrees to the right side of the saw table.

3Place the crown moulding face up with the top of the moulding against the fence of the saw table and the waste end facing to the right.

4
Make the cut. Keep the left side of the cut. Waste the right side of the cut. This is inside corner piece "A."

5Turn the miter angle to 31.62 degrees to the left side of the saw table. Leave the bevel set at 33.85 degrees.

6Place the crown moulding with the bottom of the moulding against the table fence and with the waste side to the right of the saw blade.

7Make the cut. Save the left side of the cut. Waste the right side of the cut. This is inside corner piece "B."

8Nail it into place and admire.

How To Cut Outside Corners

1
Set the bevel angle of the compound miter saw at 33.85 degrees.

2Set the saw miter at 31.62 degrees left of the saw table.

3
Place the crown moulding face up with the bottom of the moulding against the fence of the saw table and the waste end facing to the left.

4Make the cut. Keep the right side of the cut. Waste the left side of the cut. This is outside corner piece "A."

5Move the miter angle to 31.62 degrees to the right side of the saw table. Leave the bevel set at 33.85 degrees.

6
Position the crown moulding with the top of the moulding against the table fence and with the waste side to the left of the saw blade.

7Make the cut. Save the right side of the cut. Waste the left side of the cut. This is outside corner piece "B."

8Next, fit and nail into place.


~~~~~~~


Layering Mouldings


For a beefier and more impressive moulding, I like to layer mouldings.
For my kitchen cabinets I layered crown moulding, baseboard, and a piece of decorative moulding.
First, I built up the top of my cabinet with a 1x4. I screwed it directly to the top of my cabinet and made sure it was flush with the cabinet front. I did this so that I would have a strong surface to nail my mouldings to.
Then I cut and nailed (using a finish nail gun) the (upside down) baseboard, cut and nailed the crown moulding onto the baseboard, and finished it out with the decorative moulding.

modge podge on canvas

I made this canvas art myself using some very inexpensive items.

Here's what I used...

1. A canvas picture from the dollar store

2. Napkins from the Marshall's store 

3. Mod Podge 

4. Gel glaze

5. White paint 

Here's what I started with - a canvas art from the dollar store.

I painted the canvas white first one direction, and then the opposite direction after the first coat dried to give it a canvas-like texture.

After the painted dried completely, I gave the entire surface a coat of glaze.  You can see how it adds texture.

I then took one of the napkins 

and separated the layers....leaving only the outside layer.

The next step was to apply Mod Podge to the canvas.

I then applied the napkin to the canvas, (I left a few wrinkles in the napkin to give it a more aged look) allowing it to dry completely.  After it was dry, I then applied 2 more coats of mod podge, brushing in different directions to give a canvas like look. 

After the final coat of mod podge was dry,
I applied another layer of glaze giving it an aged look.