Erika & Willy - on a rope swing over the pond
Susie - sister of the groom, sporting an (ouch) sunburn
I was responsible for a little staging - 2 lemonade stands and some table decor. This was crafted from a pallet - the uprights are 2 fence posts from a free pile that we quickly threw in the back of "Katrina" after Sunday morning meeting.
The large lemonade stand was crafted from a 10$ Craigslist table (sold by a certain questionable character). It was painted, sanded, stained, sawed on and screwed to. The final product is adorable . . .
Miss Maren - waiting for the event to begin. The setting was unbelievably gorgeous. Last September, the existing pond was drained and reworked. Since then, there has been hundreds of hours of landscaping and LOTS of rain - an extreme before & after.
More wedding preparations . . . a window frame saved from the trash - now chalkboard. LOVE this saying. They have "chalk pens" that are easier to write with than a piece of chalk. I used a combination of both on this.
The centerpieces are going to be a mixture of wine bottles, mason jars, slabs of wood and tin cans. Multiple trips to the recycling depot yielded several wine bottles.
Getting the labels off can be a pain. Also my cutting method isn't 100% successful which means that I need to scrounge for more bottles.
Despise is not a strong enough word for what I felt when an overhead projector was used in class. I hated the squeaky sound of the markers and sitting in a stinky room with 25 sweaty 6th graders, copying mountains of notes from it's glare. Today, these dudes are nearly extinct.
I have enjoyed designing window displays at a local florist. As with many design projects, the request is to make it look awesome, using a budget of $1.75 or less! This tends to make one look at ordinary objects in a unique way. A paper bag banner and tin can planters make a statement without putting a dent in the budget.
This wheat grass was amazing. The second picture is less than a week after the first picture. The stuff grows FAST and it is unmistakably springy.
I gave it a "haircut" after this picture
We start by clocking in first thing in the morning (not really). This time clock was a bit of a splurge a few years back as a Father's Day present. I spied it at an antique mall and tried to shove it out of my mind. When I ventured back a few weeks later, it was still there - I could hear it calling me from the parking lot. It actually works and I love the authentic wear and greasiness from years of use.
Old ledgers and time books are way cool. The stapler was used by Scott's grandma and the asphalt calculator was my grandpa's.
A small collection of vintage toy typewriters - from great aunt, Ebay (Wow - she's your aunt too?)
Scott's grandpa's real estate sign.
From my grandparents - was at the bottom of their road. Big deal -it's just a wooden sign with letters routed on it. No, that combination of letters is meaningful. As a girl, I would have uncontrollable butterflies in my stomach when I saw this sign, because it meant that we would soon be at their doorstep.
Print out a saying in the font of your choice. Pssst - shorter sayings take less time (yup yup, I'm a brain surgeon)
Prepare your board. This is just fiberboard (pegboard minus the holes). It has been painted and distressed. To add patina, you can dry brush another color onto the initial color or roughly add contrasting color, achieving the desired "look" when the paint is wet (I like to use my hand to spread the paint where I want). The idea is not to mix the colors, but make it look like it's been faded and weathered. For example - this board was primarily cream, but I added a mustard brown color to give it depth and make it look old.
Once the paint is dry, rub lettering with fine sandpaper to distress. To age it even more, I used a dark walnut stain over all. It's a no-fail recipe. Honest.
I have been preparing to do a gallery wall in the office. I couldn't resist this sign. I think we can all relate . . .
I plan to use black/white pictures in black frames. After a successful trip to the thriftstore, I came home with these beauties and some new family members! I used flat black spray paint to paint the frames and now the arranging process begins. FYI: make sure the frames are real wood. Removing the glass is a pain and sometimes even painful if you get sliced. Careful careful.
Some people do this in a very systematic way, but I will probably end up with 300 holes in the wall. Love these old pics. Where did these kids (and puppy) go?
One thing I love about Katrina is she's a little bit car and a whole lot pickup. The former owner was a concrete inspector and he hauled a wheelbarrow in the back, so some fiberboard and foam insulation (recent bargains at Habitat) are nothin' new to her.
The boards were 97" long and they fit perfectly in the back of my "crummy." I have been decorating the windows of a florist shop in town and thought the lightweight foam boards would be perfect for display. I covered them with some bargain striped fabric from Wally World and it was the perfect "look" I was going for.
The picture is less than stellar but you get the drift. The hearts were cut from the fiberboard and were stenciled with a chevron and houndstooth pattern (and OF COURSE - distressed). I know "Me & You" is gramatically incorrect, but it was on purpose.