Reclaimed Wood Arrow Monogram

Today I finished a project that had taken over my mind and I HAD to get done! I wanted to make a arrow shaped reclaimed wood project. I am now itching to make more for my Etsy shop, and I have a few ideas to modify them to make them specifically for wedding decor. (think
i do" in lowercase letters) I want to perfect it first though. This one isn't perfect, but rustic isn't supposed to be perfect. 

 I started out just cutting some old wood and quickly decided I wanted some mint pieces mixed in with the old grey-ish wood.

I am IN LOVE!

Valentine's Day Shelf

Today I got around to putting together my Valentine's Day shelf. I don't have a fireplace/mantel so I use my big rustic shelf and old window frame as my backdrop for seasonal decor. 

 I used the pink rose ball that I made last year, and my old blocks from Target. My cream owl candle gets to be included in almost every holiday because I love it so much.

I used my black and natural chevron burlap that I found on a roll at Hobby Lobby. (It was near the wedding ribbon-wait till it's half off or use a coupon because it's not cheap!) I quickly cut out a stencil with my Silhouette and stenciled a board, and wrapped the top with red yarn. Voila! I kind of love it!

Colorful Distressed Frames

I've realized recently that my house has become too turquoise. I have resolved to add more colors, and refrain from adding TOO much of one color, hard as it is for me. I found six of these wood frames for $1.48 each at Rescued Treasures. I bought them all and headed to Lowe's for paint.One of the colors I've decided I need to add is red. It goes well with turquoise. Have you been to the Lowe's paint department lately? They have a display of some beautiful color samples, already mixed up and ready to go. Great for projects! The dark one is Gypsy Teal (pre-mixed section), the lighter one is Tantalizing Teal, and Heirloom Red, all Valspar. I gave them each about 3 good coats, and then used a 3M sanding sponge to distress the edges.

 I love the way they look distressed. They didn't come with any backing, so I cut a piece of foam board into 5x7 pieces and covered them with black and white chevron paper from Hobby Lobby. Last, I used E6000 glue to add the clips from Wal-Mart. I hammered in sawtooth picture hangers, and voila!

 Hanging them was easy! Have you ever used the toothpaste method? You put a tiny dab of toothpaste on the back of the frame, where the nail will be, and then push the frame up against the wall where you want it. The dab of paste sticks to the wall and shows you exactly where to hammer in your nail. :)

 I love the pop of color that these frames have added to my living room!

Chevron Chair

 Remember my mismatched dining set I did last year? Well I recently discovered some little dirty shoes had turned the edge of one of my chairs black. Thankfully it was a quick fix. I went to Hobby Lobby to find some fabric and discovered they have chevron fabric! I'm guessing it won't be there long.

 It was super easy to remove the four screws and use my staple gun to re-cover the cushion.

I love the bright turquoise of this chair with the black and white chevron fabric! I'm actually glad some little toesies scuffed it up. ;)

Chevron Tote Bag

I had a couple of white canvas tote bags left over from Cami's party. I decided to paint a chevron bag. A girl can never have too many tote bags! ;)First, I used the Silhouette software to cut the design out of a scrap piece of vinyl.

I used fabric paint (NOT the puffy bottles) and a stencil brush. I put a piece of cardboard inside the bag to keep any paint from bleeding through. Better safe than sorry!

I centered the vinyl on the bag and pressed it down as best I could.

Then I stenciled the paint on.

I removed the vinyl while it was still wet.

It bled through under some cracks, but that's ok. Adds character, and it's just for me. ;)

I let it dry completely. Actually, I let it dry overnight because I needed to go out and buy the turquoise paint. I cut a J out and stenciled it on the same way.

Last, I made some rosettes and hot glued them on the bag.

Ugh...I accidentally uploaded the same picture twice and blogger won't let me remove it! Oh well! Now I have a cute chevron tote bag!