my "But for the Grace of God" bench - Home Decor

Quite a few years ago, my eldest son 

(with a wee bit of help from my carpenter husband) 

made me a lovely bench for Christmas.

He left it unfinished so I could 

paint it to match where ever I 

wanted to use it...so sweet.

It's a beautiful bench, buttery smooth

and I debated whether to just leave it

as is.

Then I was inspired...

Keith Urban 2016

by a Keith Urban song, 

"But For the Grace of God!"

It was a #1 hit back in 2001

but it's one of my favorites

from him.

I originally used my Cricut to 

cut out a stencil but had major

issues with placement and paint

getting underneath it...what a mess.

So I pretty much free-handed it.

Sketching the letters with pencil,

painting with acrylic then using a 

sharpie marker to even out where 

my hand was unsteady. whew!

Determination always succeeds!

Hope you're having a great day.

Blessings!

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Cricut Wall Art - Bless This Home - Cutting Vinyl

Playing with my beloved Cricut, 

I made this fun little vinyl sign

the other day.

I had cut out this phrase some time

ago when the Cricut Craftroom had

it for free. (It's now available HERE

for $1.99)

The three boards were cut at 3.5"x12.5"

then glued and stapled together.

After my acrylic paint dried, I placed

the vinyl and made sure there were 

no air bubbles. 

The vinyl on the paint is "moveable"

at this point using transfer paper if

you need to adjust it but be careful.

I then painted a thin coat of Mod Podge

over it, left it dry overnight and wrapped

the cord around three times. The cord

is knotted in the back and stapled down.

Note: 

when cutting vinyl on your Cricut,

your blade should be at 3 and the 

pressure at medium.

(I used my Cricut Expression)

Do you use an

electronic cutting machine

for you DIY projects?

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Springtime Centerpiece - Chicken Wire Flower Cage

Spring has sprung!

So I thought it appropriate to dust the 

cobwebs from my blog and say HELLO!

This past winter season was a busy one
in our home, more on that later but I
wanted to share my first spring project
with you.


A Chicken Wire Flower Cage

centerpiece using  recycled bottles

My original idea was to place

single stem flowers in plain 

clear bottles spaced across my

table. Cute idea, right?

Turns out it was not very practical 

once I needed to move them every

evening for meal time. So hubby 

made me this sweet chicken wire cage!

So simple but I'm lovin' it!

general materials used:
soda/beer bottles, labels removed.
flower bouquet (Walmart $3.00),
 snipped to separate stems.
scrap wood.
chicken wire.

*side note...we have a very long
farm table (nine foot long) so I
needed at least seven bottles to
make the piece look right. If you
have a normal size dining room table,
and you wanted to make a similar
centerpiece you could probably get
away with using only 3 to 5 bottles.

Sweet & Simple

What do you think?

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HELLO SUNSHINE simple DIY wall art

 

"Some days you just have to create 

your own sunshine!" 

This little gem hangs in the kid's bathroom 

to bring a wee smile each morning.

Hubby made this 5x5 inch wooden base 

with a lip to frame my little creation. The 

design paper was cut to size for the background. 

I used my Cricut (electric die-cutting machine) 

to cut out my sunshine image, stamped the 

sentiment and hung it on the wall!

You could easily use a piece of scrap wood 

or a store bought canvas to make this project, too. 

Cricut - Accent Essentials cart.
Joy's Life stamps (Pun in the Sun)
My Mind's Eye Citron background paper & yellow scraps
Mod Podge,  adhesive & Memento ink (embossed)

This is such an easy art concept, think 

of the possibilities for creating 

coordinated decor for your home.

note: 

My project was photographed before 

giving it a final top coat seal with 

Mod Podge; resulting in a better 

photo without glare.

Do you enjoy creating 
your own home decor?



Want to see more of my
DIY projects?


or click the
"Let's Connect"
tab at the top of
the page for more
options.

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Recycle - wooden block flag - Americana Decor

Hello July!

Summer is in full swing this week,

with it's hot, hazy & humid weather.

As much as I enjoy this season for

gardening, I do not enjoy the heat!

So, for the next two months you will

find me cowering in the air-conditioned

house!

wooden block flag

If you're hiding in the cool air too, 

here's a quick & easy project to make!

A wooden block flag!

You'll need some wood scraps & paint!

I used 2x4's, a 4x4 block and Krylon spray paint.

Or have the kiddos join in 

with their brushes & paint!

wood scraps

These wooden scraps would have

gone into the kindling box for the 

winter if I hadn't rescued them!

wooden block flag 

I made extra white blocks 

to change it up a bit

throughout the seasons!

interchangeable blocks, wooden flag

I have so much fun seeing the 

potential in a piece of "trash" 

and turning it into a treasure!

Do you re-purpose your trash??

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Wood Slab Table & Springtime Snow

I haven't had much time to 

craft or bake this past week.

We've been stepping up the 

de-clutter process. By the time

we're done, my house should be

almost empty...which sounds good

to me!

surprise snow storm March 30, 2014

We were hit with a surprise snow 

storm over the weekend. The forecast

was for rain, possibly a little sleet.

but wow! We woke up Monday morn

with 2-3 inches of snow.

#soreadyforspring (:

Meanwhile...

hubby's been crafting. 

Ash/Walnut slab wood table

 

Here's a recent slab wood table he created. 

Slab wood can have so much character in its

grain, beautiful.

His furniture is custom made, so it's usually

created & out of his shop before I have a 

chance to snap a few pictures. However,

this one was delivered to a friend's house,

so I was able to capture it.

Thanks for stopping by, 

enjoy your day!

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4x4 Wooden Block Snowman - Visions Of Sugarplums Day 3

Let's build a snowman!

This frosty fellow stands about 20 inches tall 

and was created with wood scraps.  

Isn't he sweet?!

For those who may be new here, my hubby's a custom woodworker so I have access to a very generous scrap pile!

We created our snowman from a three foot piece of a 4x4 and 

a scrap of  ¾" board.

The 4x4 was cut to varying lengths:

hat = 5 inches

head = 3½ inches

body = 6½, 9, 11½ inches 

The hat rim is a 5½ x 5½ x ¾ inch.

The wood was painted and heavily distressed. The scarf is an old flannel bed sheet, the eyes were hand-drawn and painted with some shiny fabric paint we had on hand. The hat was decorated with ribbon and pieces of silk flowers. His arms were cut from my lilac bush. And his nose was cut from a paint stick.

This post is part of a wonderful blog event 

hosted by Lori from Choux Choux Paper Art.

Please pop over to her blog for all the details

and be sure to leave comments along 

the blog hop trail to have a chance to win some

awesome prizes daily!

Your next hop stop is Lisa!

♥ Follow Me On Bloglovin'

Full hop list & prizes for
Wednesday, Dec. 4th:

Lori -http://lorihairston.blogspot.com/

Debbie - http://www.papersweeties.com/category/blog/

Maria - http://asimplefive.blogspot.com/

Lisa - http://minkimpressions.blogspot.com/

Sandy - http://simplysandy-sandy.blogspot.com/

Beatriz - http://iralamija.blogspot.com/ 

Vivian - http://vivs-whimsy.blogspot.com/

May - http://mayshappydaze.blogspot.com/

Ignacio - http://nicecranedesigns.blogspot.com/

Giveaways: $10 gift certificate - Paper Sweeties - http://www.papersweeties.com/

                  1 set of choice -  Moonlighting by Mary - http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoonlightingByMary

                  1 set of choice - Iralamija http://www.etsy.com/shop/iralamijashop

                  1 digital set of choice - Vintage Remix - https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheVintageRemix

                  $20 gift certificate  - Nicecrane Designs - http://www.nicecranedesigns.com  
                  Lisa is having a giveaway too!

Cricut Christmas Wall Art -Visions of Sugarplums-Day 1

From Cricut card to wall art!

The Cricut Craft Room has been generously 

supplying free Christmas cards cuts for their 

users.  When I saw this particular one, I knew

I had to create a wall sign for my foyer.

I liked how they hyphenated the word Christmas,

'highlighting' the word Christ...

the reason for the season!

In the Cricut Craft Room, I enlarged the Christmas card to 

fit my 12 x 12 mat, then cut and used it as a stencil. I measured the area of the stencil I wanted to use and found a piece of scrap wood from hubby's shop and sanded the edges.  I 'pounced' some acrylic paint on it with a contrasting color and that was it.  

Fast, easy & fun!

If you have an electronic cutting machine,

do you use it to create home decor?

♥ Follow Me On Bloglovin'

This post is part of a wonderful blog event

hosted by Lori from Choux Choux Paper Art.

Please pop over to her blog for all the details

and be sure to leave comments along the 

blog hop trail to have a chance to win some

awesome prizes daily!

Your next hop stop is Sandy! 

Full blog hop list & prizes for
Monday, Dec. 2nd:

Lori -http://lorihairston.blogspot.com/

Debbie - http://www.papersweeties.com/category/blog/

Maria - http://asimplefive.blogspot.com/

Sandy - http://simplysandy-sandy.blogspot.com/

Regina - http://reginaeaster.blogspot.com/

Jane - http://jane-janesjournal.blogspot.com/

Vivian - http://vivs-whimsy.blogspot.com/

Ignacio - http://nicecranedesigns.blogspot.com/

Shelly - http://www.springhillgraphics.blogspot.ca/

Giveaways:   

$20 gift certificate  - Nicecrane Designs - http://www.nicecranedesigns.com  

                    
1 set of choice -  Moonlighting by Mary - http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoonlightingByMary

                    
$10.00 gift certificate - Paper Sweeties - http://www.papersweeties.com/

                    
1 set of choice -  Springhill Graphics - https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpringHillGraphics

Wooden Leaves - Fall Decor

Time to decorate for autumn!

I've been wanting to include a few more autumn accents in my seasonal decorating throughout the house. When I saw these cute leaves, bingo! I knew I had to make some!

Hubby made me a few maple leaves cut from solid walnut scraps using Martha Stewart's template here. 

I found these beautiful rich tones in my K&K paper scraps (Que Sera Sera 2010).

Trace each leaf for a rough outline pattern to cut. It DOES NOT have to be perfect, you'll be sanding your edges.

Cut & glue down the paper all the way to the edges, smoothing out any air bubbles. (I used Aleene's Tacky Glue)

When the glue dries completely, sand off the excess paper around the edge with a sanding block or some heavy sandpaper.

  

I used my Joy's Life stamp set, It's All Fall Puns to add little greetings!  Be sure to stop by Joy's blog today, Joy's Life, to check out some great stamping inspiration @ the "It's All Fall Parade!"  

These will look so pretty scattered around the house on tables & windowsills.

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I shared today's project with -

DL.Art Thankful Thursday,

Project Inspired,
the Inspiration Exchange
Monday Funday