Christmas Gifts

Every year I try to at least give one home made gift.  This is something I have done since I was young. My mom had my brother and I make gifts for our grandparents from an early age.   This ranged from crocheted pot holders to clay items, key holders, etc...  Now I try to have the gifts represent what I enjoy spending time one, which now is more centered on food.

Well this year I decided to change it up.  For my friends over the years I have given, Homemade Vanilla, various alcohol infused concoctions, always treats, crocheted scarves and so forth.

I recently purchased a vinyl cutter and for many family I made custom wood signs which I have found to be incredibly fun.  Here are a few.
 

 I especially enjoyed adding the extra touches with the charms. My nephews sign (Snyder) was made using 3 pieces of rough pine that my husband glued together. I love how it came out. Very rustic beachy look.  Note to self, In the future make sure you know the date. After giving this I had to correct it which was a bummer. I think it upset me more than the receivers.  Isn't there a saying about giving a gift and taking it right back?

My husband got into the spirit too and for his Sister and Brother-n-law he made an American Flag.
                             

He had already made one for our house, above, and decided to make another.  Same technique with buying the boards and glueing them together. He then painted the boards and distressed them. He used a torch and sanded sections.  The stars are painted wood stars that he attached. The final result was so much better then we expected.  It looks great in their home.

We are thinking of new signs to create and that is half the fun.  We have had a few requests for custom signs that we are working on. More to come on that.

I also made spa gift sets which I will post next time. I need to do better with journaling to keep my thoughts in one place.  Night.

Custom Lettering

Recently I helped a close friend plan a birthday party for her parents.  She had decided on a rustic but classy theme with burlap and lace.  We scoured Pinterest and away we went.

One craft Do It Yourself idea I had come across on Pinterest were card board letters decorated with Elmers Glue. I know crazy, right?  I honestly didnt believe it and most of the pins showed afters, provided some explaination but since they were mostly links to Etsy accounts didn't provide much in the way of Before/After Pictures.  Since I was sort of flying blind I decided to give it a try on a cardboard box to see if it could even work.  What!  So glad I practiced cause I definetely learned what not to do and made the final product so much easier. Flowers were not a good idea as the flue ran together. 

The  actual letters I went a little slower and went over the sections to remove excess glue, pop air bubbles and clean up the lines.  As you can see with the E the glue dries clear.  One other thing in my practice was I did one with a double coat and that was too much.  I honestly didnt think that the texture would come through but it does.  

It took a few days to finish the letters with glue since I wanted to do the sides and tops as well.  With the glue running I did it in sections letting the glue set/dry in between.  

I painted the letters with a spray can of flat white primer. Since I was going for a rough look I didn't want glossy.  After the paint was dry I went over with a grey / sunbeached was the name.  Since these are cardboard don't go heavy hand with the paint or the stain.  I have seen some posts where the letters were covered in foil.  Practiced that as well and I didn't care for how the foil looked when painted. This would solve the cardboard issue but just wasnt the look I was going for. 

 I did a matte verithane spray to protect them after everything was dried.  

I really like the outcome and will be making these again.  Have fun with your own project!