Throwback Thursday-Signs

 Throwback Thursday to some sign orders I've done in the past. I've been doing lots of custom orders for the boxed style, planked and smooth signs but sometimes I forget about the stencils that I have previously cut for the simpler signs and maybe this will inspire me to make a few more of these again and bring them to my booth to sell. 
I am planning on spending the day in my garage tomorrow catching up on sign orders and Ken is out there right now cutting the wood for me. Bless that man's heart. He does all the work. I take all the credit. :)

That's a walk down memory lane for me and that's only the beginning. I love making you guys these signs....so fun to see what you come up with and the kinds of reminders and personal touches you want hanging on the walls of your home.  Makes me smile to know I've helped to personalize your space. Thanks for inviting me to be part of your home's personality. 

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Carol Rhoda wanna-be

Chumps, Champs or Chums....I miss you!!  I can't believe I've only posted once this month.  I have no good excuses...just working and playing hard as usual. 

I'm enjoying the fall colors and cooler weather! Just bought myself a full length down parka jacket and I feel ready. Bring on the cozy-up-to-a-fire-need-a-blanket kind of weather! I love to hunker down that's for sure! Although, again as I type this in my 100 year old poorly insulated office, I am reminded that I need to haul out that space heater to warm this spot as I type. Fingers aren't quite as nimble as they were in 80 degrees! :)

All that being said, I don't think I'll be doing as much painting this winter for clients as I have in the past. We just can't find a good consistent way to heat our garage/workshop and frankly, those really cold days out there, I find myself feeling my age more and more. We'll see though. I have a hard time saying no to the transformation that happens when you bring an old piece to life with a little paint. 

Speaking of that...this project was a little outside the box for me, but as is usually the case with me, I have a hard time saying no. (Trying to teach my teenage girls the power of that word though, less they copy my mistakes). wink wink.

My former neighbor and friend, Michelle asked me if I would be willing to take a look at her Carol Rhoda artwork that she had purchased quite a few years ago. It originally matched her home's interior decor, but recently she remodeled her main floor and switched up her color scheme. Now the purples, pinks and navy blues had to go. She didn't want to part with the vignette that hung proudly on her stairwell because all of the children in the artwork represented her own. She has five amazing kids and even though some are grown and out of the house, she wanted to remember them this way. 

 This sounded like a job for Room for Change. At least  SHE thought so...me?, I wasn't so sure. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with Carol Rhoda's work, it's  pieces of metal cut into whimsical, decorative shapes and painted. Like this:

 Again, this represented Michelle's family:

Here are some of the before pics. 

 I am not known for my perfectionist precision.  That's why I like painting LARGE things...walls, furniture, signs, etc. 
But thought I'd give it a whirl. I  headed down to Ace Hardware and purchased several different Benjamin Moore sample jars in various colors that complimented the fabric and paint swatches that Michelle had left with me to use as a guideline. 
(Those little sample jars are being discontinued, btw. Big Bummer)!!

I loved all the colors Michelle was using in her new space -they're all my faves...dusty teal blues, olive-y greens, buffs and slate gray/blues. I took pictures of all the details in the pieces before I got to work and referred to them on my IPAD as I worked on each newly painted  piece. Here are some before/afters of the project:

 BEFORE

 AFTER:

 What a ding dong!! I had the before pics on my ipad, why didn't I line them up exactly like they were? Because I'm not known for my perfectionist precision, that's why!!

I hope you can at least tell how much softer they look?

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

 Don't think I have the original before of just this one:

 BEFORE

 AFTER

Birds BEFORE

AFTER

One More time:

 I had so much fun working on this.  She told me she loved how they turned out and wondered if I could hang them on the wall for her. 

Ummmmm. No. 

Enough precision work for one day. I'll leave the nail holes to a perfectionist!

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Pallet Pumpkin Patch

 So, we've been up to our necks in sawdust around here-having fun re purposing wooden pallets.  Fortunately our neighbor, who is a mason often has skids that are falling apart and he's generous and 'green' enough to toss them our way. Last week, a client of mine facebook messaged me wondering if i (Ken) could put together some wooden pumpkins made from re-claimed  wood that she had seen on a blog. she sent me the pic and away we went...

 we only intended to make the three sizes that she ordered, but we had so many pieces left and ken had so much fun, :) that we couldn't stop with just three.  we needed an entire wooden pumpkin patch. 

 i sold a couple other sets of three, and brought four more in these sizes to the store (individually priced). 

 get 'em while the gettin's good. it's not too late to put on your front porch with your fall mums, ghords and pumpkins and will last you (decor wise) well into thanksgiving.  you can use over and over again each year and could even have fun painting or staining them. i thought they looked cool natural.

  Here's the blog that we used as a tutorial.  The link is below. 

http://findinghomeonline.com/fall-decorating-diy-reclaimed-wood-pumpkins/

She used old wooden flooring, so her boards were stained and pre- finished. and um...her photography and lighting? a bit more professional than my pic taken in a dark garage with my iphone, but hey...

Check out her blog sometime. It is pretty amazing. But please come back here to my amateurish sight from time to time too, okay? Promise?

i'm working at Not So Shabby this week Tuesday, the 8th from 3-7. come in and say hi!

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