DIY Growth Chart Ruler

This is a project that was long over due! I have wanted a Growth Chart for a very long time, but never got around to making it. A couple of weeks ago, with my hubby's help we finally got it done!!! I am so excited to be able to go back and mark where the kids heights have been and be able to continue marking for years to come so they can see how they have grown each year!!

Here is what our Growth Chart looks like:

How We Made It:

My hubby bought a 1"x6" wood board and cut it to 5' tall. He also sanded it for me!

Then I stained the whole board with Early American Stain. 

We let that dry for a full day. 

Then my awesome hubby cut out the vinyl numbers and stripes in 

black vinyl to look like a ruler. 

He then applied those to the board. 

We are going to hang this 6" off the ground so that's why the board 

is set up the way it is.

 Each stripe is 1" apart and each number is 12 stripes apart. 

It was not too hard to make, but 

I am thankful to my hubby for helping me with this project!!!

Joining the Following Link Parties

HERE

DIY Wood Step Stool

This last week I started potty training our little 2/12 year old boy. 

He has done so well so far...lets hope it continues! 

This time around we didn't buy him the little potties they make for kids. We bought one for my daughter and she didn't really use it that much. Plus with my little guy he has had interest in sitting on the toilet for a few months now so I figured I would just go right to the toilet. 

Its hard for him to get up on the toilet so my hubby and I made him a little step stool. 

Of course you can use this step stool for anything, but for now its for our little man!

Here is what the stool looks like:

Isn't it the cutest?!?

EEEEK I Love how it turned out!

How I Made It:

First my awesomely amazing hubby made me an A Frame Step Stool. This is the look I wanted so that's what we did! The top measures 13" wide by 11" height. It stands           from floor to the top of it. 

I started with the legs of the stool. I used a white wash stain that we had leftover from our bed that we made awhile back. I put 2 coats of that on.

When that dried, I took sand paper and cleaned up some of the mess I had made on the top board and also sanded the edges of the legs a little bit. 

Then I took the color Jacobean and stained the top board and also the legs of the stool. On the legs I had to do it in small sections and quickly. I rubbed some stain on and took a dry cloth and wiped to get some of the access off. I didn't want it to turn dark brown, just a lighter brown-almost cream colored. 

Next, I took clear spray paint and coated the whole bench with it. I did do 3 coats on the top of the step stool since that was going to be getting stepped on a lot!

Lastly, my hubby and I designed the chevron pattern on top and cut it out in yellow vinyl. 

Then we applied that to the step stool. 

*I didn't put anything else on top of the stool to protect the vinyl. This way we could easily remove the vinyl to do a different pattern on it down the road! I thought this would be a fun thing for it**

I love how it turned out and my little man loves getting to the toilet and sink easier now!

Joining the Following Link Parties

HERE

Family Definition Board

This was a project I did way back when I first started my 

craft blog almost 2 years ago. 

I decided to do another post on it because it is 

one of my favorite little projects I have done and 

since its old and I didn't have many 

followers back then,

 I have decided to bring it from the vault!! 

{A lot of you have probably not seen it yet!}

I wanted something with the definition of family on it. 

I have loved this idea and wanted to do something for my home with it. 

I don't have my own house so I didn't want to put straight vinyl on a wall since I am not living where I am now forever so I put it on a wood board.

Here is what

 The Family Definition Board

looks like:

What I Used:

-9"x11" wood board

-Sand Paper

-Paint of any color (I used Buttermilk Cream)

-Stain (I used Early American)

-Vinyl (I used Brown)

-Mod Podge

-Flet & Burlap for the flowers

-Hot Glue Gun

How I Made It:

First, paint the wood the color you have chosen. I only painted the top of it because I wanted to stain the rest. I did 2 coats on mine. 

Then I sanded the edges a little bit so I could see wood around it on the front side. I like being able to see the stain color around the paint. 

Next, I stained the whole thing. I even put it over the paint on the front. Some spots I did heavier then others because I wanted an old fashioned look to it. 

Next, I put together the definition about family that I wanted. 

I set it up leaving a space in the top corner so I could put some flowers for embellishment.

Then I cut that out in brown vinyl using my cricut and put it on the board. 

Next, I put a coat of mod podge over the vinyl because I didn't want any of the letters or dots to have a chance to fall off!

While that was drying I made some felt flowers to put in the corner of the plaque. 

For the tutorials on how to make the Rosette and the Burlap Fan go here.

Here is the tutorial on how to make the ring flowers:

First, cut a circle out of felt. I used a small cup to trace my circle because I wanted them smaller. 

Then you are going to cut in a spiral motion to the center of the flower. It will look like this:

Next, starting in the center of the flower you will start rolling it. Putting dabs of hot glue every few rolls.

Make sure to put a dab of hot glue on the very end to secure it in place.

When you are all done making the flowers, hot glue them on to the board.

I just love how it turned out! I chose the more neutral colors so that it could go in any room I decided to put it in when I have a home of my own. 

I love reading over this great reminder of what a family is!!

Joining the Following Link Parties HERE

Upcycled End Table

I was in need of an end table for a little waiting area for a store I am getting ready to open right now with my hubby. {More to come later on that.}

My hubby and I stopped at our local thrift store one day to see what they had. I found this gem of a table:

I fell in love with the style of it, but the color....not so much. It needed some life put into it!

I had a vision in mind with chairs going next to this table and I knew this table needed to be white to complete my vision. So I got to work.

The first thing I did was remove the glass from the table and dusted it off.

Next, I set up a little painting station. 

I put up some work horses of my hubbies, put a piece of cardboard on top of those and then put the table up. 

Then came the fun part....SPRAY PAINTING!!!

As I said before I wanted to paint this white. As you can imagine..

Dark Wood + White Paint = Lots and Lots of Coats!

This was the most time consuming part. It took me a whole day to get this done. I also had to put on really thin coats so the paint wouldn't bubble...we started to find out that the owners of this had put oil on before. By doing the thin coats it prevented the bubbles from appearing!

I painted all the legs first and then did the top part. I used the White Rust-Oleum Spray Paint bought at Walmart. I used 3 cans to paint this.

When I got it the bright white look I wanted I put it in the garage over night to fully dry. {This was also due to the fact that it was getting late and dark out.} The next morning I brought it back out to put a clear protective coat on it. I actually put 2 coats on it. I used the Polycrylic Clear Gloss Spray Paint. I bought this at Walmart.

I let that fully dry for a couple of hours. Right before I put the glass back in, I cleaned it really good with Windex. 

When the table was all dry I put the glass back in.

I LOVE the transformation of this table. I

ts amazing what a little love and spray paint can do to a piece like this!!!

Joining the Following Link Parties HERE

{You are My Happy} Plaque

Since we updated our bed and I am doing some new room decor, 

I want to do a little gallery wall corner. I had plans to do this before, 

but it never got done. So now with the updating...

IT IS going to get done! 

I have a vision in mind with some cute little signs along with other things

for the gallery wall. 

So today, I am going to show you 

how I made this cute and simple sign to put with the gallery wall:

This was easy to make and went together pretty quickly. I wanted it simple because I wanted the saying to stand out on its own!

How I Made It:

I cut a piece of wood that was 7"x9" in size. I then sanded down the edges.

Then I painted the whole board the blue color we are accenting in our room with. I did it with regular craft paint. I put a couple of coats on.

While that was drying, I got on my Cricut computer program and designed the saying,
"You are my happy."
I fell in LOVE with this saying the minute I heard it and knew I wanted it in my room somewhere. I used the font Lobster Two. This is one of my new favorite fonts! I cut it out in black vinyl. I then transferred that on to the bottom right corner of the board.

I originally was just going to leave it this way, but when I did it I thought it needed a little something more. Adding a ribbon to hang it up with was just the thing!!
I used black tulle to do that with. I used some 'V' hangers on the back to tie the ribbon on with.

And that's it!!!

I love how it turned out and can't wait
to get everything else put together for my gallery wall!!

Joining these Link Parties HERE