Burlap & Canvas Monogrammed Banner

I really love the look of burlap and canvas and I love the look of "anything" monogrammed, therefore, I came up with this idea to combine all the elements...my burlap and canvas monogrammed banner.  It was very easy to sew and only took a short time to complete.  I also had all the supplies on hand, so there was no expense. 

Here's what you'll need:
Canvas
Burlap
Craft paint
Heavy jute
Dowel

The first thing you need to do is make your banner pattern.  I made mine by drawing a pattern onto craft paper and then cutting it out.  It measures approximately 14" wide by 15 3/4"" long (from the top to the tip) and the sides are approximately 11 3/4" long.

Pin the pattern to the canvas (doubled) and cut out. 

Now you'll need to make the burlap cording...using a piece of jute, roughly measure around all the sides of the banner, just not the top edge, and add about an inch or so for safe measure.  Cut a piece of burlap approximately 2" wide and the same length as your jute, wrap the burlap around the jute and sew in place.  Now you have burlap cording.

 
Pin the cording in between the two pieces of canvas and sew in place.  Turn the banner right-side out and press with an iron. 

My "leafy wreath" pattern was a stencil I made from an image on the computer.  I just printed the image and then covered the entire piece with clear packing tape.  Then I used an exacto knife to cut the stencil.  I used the same technique to make the letter "M".  Just a note...I like to cover the image with tape because it helps protect the paper from the moisture from the paint...I can then use the stencil more than one time.  Position the wreath on the front of the canvas and apply your paint.  I used "Celery Green" and then added some shading using "Light Avocado Green" by DecoArt.  Once dry, stencil your letter in the center...I used "Burnt Umber".

Cut a piece of burlap 6" wide by 16" wide for the top of the banner.  The extra width allows for a finished hem at each end.  This piece will finish the top of the banner and have a pocket to allow the dowel to go through for hanging.  I used a piece of 1/2" dowel approximately 21 1/2" long and painted it Celery Green.

I wanted a tassle for the tip of the banner so I made one out of jute.  And, I made the "bead" for the tassle using dowel.  I just cut the dowel about 1/2" in length and drilled a hole in the center.  Gave it a quick sanding and painted it Celery Green.  I attached the tassle to the banner by sewing it in place. 

After inserting the dowel into the top pocket, I wrapped each end of the dowel with jute and made a hanger. 

I thought this would look good on the front door or hanging in an entryway.  Also, I think if would make a great gift as it can be personalized. 

Thank you for stopping by and taking a look...I hope you like it.  Have a great week!

Lesa

Candle Gazebo

On the weekend my friend, Elsie, and I went to a few garage sales looking for some special treasures.  We were very successful in our search and I thought I'd share one of my finds with you.  (Just so you know, over the next while, I'll be sharing several "treasure" transformations with you.)

 

What do you think?  Do you love it?  If you are wondering what it is, well, it's an old light fixture.  It only set me back $2.50.  Okay, I know, it's UGLY but I really thought it had potential.  So, yesterday, I took it apart and removed some of the decorative elements.  I had to "smash" the glass center out with a hammer as there was no other way to remove it.  (Actually, that part was fun!)  I then put it back together, primed it and gave it a couple of coats of paint.  ("Sand Bar" from Home Hardware)  I let the paint dry, sanded the edges to remove some of the paint and then added a dark glaze to give it an old, antiqued look. 

I'm thinking a tall pillar candle would look good in the "gazebo" or even a small arrangement of flowers.  Of course, I have neither in my house to add for photo purposes, so I had to use a small tealight candle.

I made the tissue paper carnations to try and give you an idea of the floral idea I have but I just threw it together (quickly) so I could take a picture.  Hopefully, you get the idea. 

Just a note...I call it the "candle gazebo" because I think it looks like a gazebo!

Thank you for stopping by...I enjoy your visits.
Lesa

Versatile Blogger...

Holly of Full Circle Creations surprised me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  It's very exciting to know that someone actually enjoys my blog and feels that I'm worthy of this award.  So, thank you Holly! 

As the rules of acceptance state, I must tell you seven (7) random things that you might not know about me...(this should put you to sleep!)

1.  I left my career (one year ago) as a Pharmacy Technician to take over a custom framing shop (Memory Lane Custom Framing) which I run from home.
2.  I have two children...my daughter, Taryn is 23 yrs. old and my son, Brendan is 20 yrs. old.
3.  My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.
4.  I have been married for 25 years.
5.  I've published ten (10) decorative painting books and was a contributing artist for Woodstrokes magazine.
6.  Frank Bielec (you may remember that he was a designer on "Trading Spaces") phoned me one morning to congratulate me on having one of my designs make the cover of Woodstrokes magazine. 
7.  My favorite places to shop are Winners Homesense and Costco.

Hopefully, I still have your attention...I'd now like to pass this award on to a person who is always creating and is very talented...this is Carri @ Redefining C.   This project is just one of many that caught my eye...

So make sure to pay her a visit.  You won't be disappointed!

Thank you for stopping by...

Lesa

Garden Gate

Nothing in the way of a "new" idea, but I wanted to share with you one of my other projects.  This is in the "other" spare bedroom.  Again, I needed something to hang above the bed to fill in the blank wall so this is what I came up with...

Just noticed it's hanging crooked!  Ops!

I pretty much put it together like my "Dream" sign, except  that I left about 1/4" space in between each board and added the "Z" pattern to the front to make it look like a garden gate (or barn door).  And, I aged it using green paint instead of white paint. 

I thought about adding a handle on one side and then attaching two hinges on the other side to make it appear more like a gate.  What do you think?

Oh yeah...and the other project for this bedroom was my lamp makeover.  Of course, I didn't take any before pictures, but imagine the lamp burgundy with a pleated burgundy lamp shade. 

Again, nothing new...I primed and then painted the base with leftover green paint and then removed the fabric from the shade and  hot glued heavy jute to the shade. 

 A very simple and inexpensive transformation.

Thank you for the visit...and I've really enjoyed your comments!! 

Lesa

"Dream" Sign

Here is a project I would like to share with you.  I needed something to hang over the bed in one of the spare bedrooms...something to fill in the blank wall.  My husband is eventually going to build a farmhouse bed frame for the room, but since I had company for the Easter weekend, I needed something ASAP and my husband just didn't have time to get all my "requested" projects finished.  Anyway, this is what I came up with to fill in the naked wall...

The sign measures approximately 32" wide x 24" tall and I was able to use lumber that I already had in the shop.  Here's what you need:

Four (4) - 1x3 (8 feet)
Scrap pine (for birds and "Dream" letters)
Danish Oil (medium walnut)
White latex paint
Weathered board mixture
Wood glue and nailer
Jute
Staple Gun
 
How to make "Weathered board mixture":
Use a jar with a tight fitting lid (I used a canning jar) and add a piece of "fine" steel wool to the jar.  Rip the steel wool into small pieces.  Pour "Allen's Double Strength Cleaning Vinegar" into the jar, covering the steel wool.  I filled my jar almost to the top.  Seal the jar and leave for a couple of days until the steel wool dissolves.   Now its ready to use.

This is what the "mixture" looks like once the steel wool has dissolved in the vinegar.

1. Cut 9 pieces of 1x3 - 24" long.
2. Cut 2 pieces of 1x3 - 32" long.
3. Cut 1 piece of 1x3 - 18 1/2" long.  (this is used to make the crown for the top of the sign)
4. Place all the 24" pieces together in a row, making sure to keep the ends even.  Attach the two 32" lengths to the top and bottom of the boards using wood glue and a nail gun.  Make sure to nail into each board as this secures the entire sign. 
5.  Make a half moon shape for the crown/top of the sign using the full length of the 18 1/2" piece of wood.
6.  Attach to the top of the sign with wood glue.
7.  Draw your letters onto paper and then transfer onto a scrap piece of pine.  My letters measure approximately 4"x5" and I used my computer to create the word "Dream".  I drew my birds and also transfered them to a scrap piece of wood.  I then used my scrollsaw to cut them out.

8.  Sand all the wood pieces using 150 grit and then 220 grit sandpaper.  Remove any dust.
9.  Using an old brush, slap on the weathered board mixture to all the wood pieces.  You don't have to be perfect with this process, as I found the more "sloppy" it goes on, the more weathered the wood will look.  The wood will not change color until it drys completely.  I put mine out in the sun to quicken the process.  Here is what it looks like when dry:

10.  I liked the color, but wanted it a bit darker to I applied a medium walnut stain over top. 



I like the look of the "richer" color.



Just to give you an idea of the difference between the "before" and "after" of the wood color.

Once dry, I used white paint and "drybrushed" the boards, applying the paint with the wood grain.  This will give the wood a "painted" weathered look.

11.  Paint the birds blue (or whatever color you choose), let dry, and then sand the edges to expose the stained wood underneath.  I left the "letters" alone as I liked them simply stained.

12.  I attached the letters to a piece of jute using a staple gun.  I then stapled each end of the jute to the back of my sign board.   (Simply cut a piece of jute to the width (plus a bit extra) of the sign board and space your letters evenly on the jute.)
13.  Attach the birds to the sign using wood glue. 

Here are a few more pictures of the completed sign:

 Thank you for stopping by...

Lesa

Console Table Finished

I finished the console table on time, actually two hours prior to my family arriving for the weekend.  Even thought I rushed to finish it, I am happy with the results and so was my husband. 

Here is the before...

And, here is the after...

I painted the bottom half with a paint color called "Twine".  I then used a glaze to antique it and give the color more depth.  The top was stained with a mixture of two colors... walnut and black stain and then finished off with a satin varnish.  Again, I am happy with how it turned out...love to hear what you think!  Thank you for stopping by and have a Happy Easter!

Lesa

Chair Toppers

A few posts ago I shared my slipcovered bargain chairs. 

I had a bit of fabric leftover so I decided to sew "toppers" for each of the chairs at either end of the table to give the whole thing a more "unified" look.

  I found my "stash" of buttons and chose the wood ones because they matched the table and chair legs, again, "tieing" the whole look together. 

The toppers were very easy to do...if you can sew a straight line then anyone can make them!  As always, thank you for stopping by and taking a look.  It's always appreciated!
Lesa