DIY rustic wood sign

I have seen some really pretty rustic signs on Pinterest and Instagram lately and I really want one. Most of the prices on these signs are pretty reasonable but I already had some metal letters I bought while we were in California and I knew I wanted to incorporate them somehow so I figured I might as well make my own. Here's what I ended up with.

I really like it and if you do too here's how I did it...

Supplies:

1- 1"x16"x 36" board
3- 1"x2"x4" boards
saw [i used a jigsaw]
screws
drill [or you could use a nail gun if you have one]
stain
old washcloth
white paint
gloves
paint pen [or chalk marker]
pencil or pen
printed quote
2 saw tooth hangers

the first thing I did was to cut the two side pieces. I laid the 1x2x4 against the side of the 1x16x36 and marked where it met the edge and cut it with my jigsaw.

Then I placed both side pieces down and placed another 1x2x4 across the top and marked where it met the edge of the other 1x2 and cut that with my jigsaw. Repeat on the bottom until you have all four pieces cut like so.

Next, I attached the 1x2s with screws on the edges and 1 in the center [2 in the center of the top and bottom] and it should look something like this when its all attached...

Now you can stain! I wear gloves and use and old washcloth for this part but you can use a mens sock or really what ever works for you. I chose Minwax English Chestnut for this project and just put on one coat and then wiped away immediately.

I always whitewash my wood so that it looks more weathered and rustic but if you dont want to just skip this step. To whitewash, mix 2 tblsp white paint [whatever you have] with 1/4c water. I use the same washcloth I used to stain and dip it right into the paint/water and rub it into the wood. It creates a hazy effect that I love.

When it dries it will look something like this...

After that your sign is technically done and you can stop here if you dont want to add the quote. If you DO want to add a quote the next thing you should do is print your quote out and arrange it on the sign.

Trim it and tape it into place.

Now, take a pencil or pen and trace the quote pushing down hard to create and indent in the wood. It should look like this.

Now, you can take your paint pen [or chalk marker] and trace over your indent and fill it in.
*I had issues here as my paint markers werent showing up at ALL, so I grabbed my chalk marker and it worked beautifully, or you could use a sharpie if you wanted to*

Add the saw tooth hangers to the back and Viola! You're done! I added the galvanized letters to mine but you could paint the entire quote if you wanted. Thanks for following along!

xoxo,
Jackie

Couch Dilemma

I never had new furniture. Ever since we got married I have tried to be super frugal and purchased most of our furniture and accessories from Craigslist or thrift stores. When Zack got into trucking and our financial situation changed for the better we both decided it was time to be grown ups and start making purchases that we actually WANTED and not something we thought we could "make it work," so I bought these

I blame it on the fact that I was so excited to buy NEW furniture that i just picked something without much thought. Now, I know most people are wondering "whats wrong with them?" well, they are a very DARK denim color with a loose, thick weave and we have two dogs that shed like crazy! We don't allow them on the furniture and yet I find myself vacuuming the sofas 2-3 times a week and it takes me 30+ minutes each time. All the vacuuming is wearing the sofa down causing rips and pilling. It sucks because we've only had them a little over a year and I really do love the style but they just aren't practical anymore. I am busier than ever at work and will be starting school in the fall and I just don't want to spend what little time off I have vacuuming the crap out of my sofas. Although I hate to spend the money on new ones so soon I know its for the best. We went out shopping for a sofa for the man cave this week and came across this one...

I was smitten with it right away. The fabric is more like microfiber and more close in color to our dining chairs, which never show the dog hair and for the price, $278 each I just cant pass them up. I am planning on getting 2 and completely changing the layout of the living room.

 Zack thinks it'll look great but I'm not sold, it seems off balance to me with the lamp and table both being on the left and nothing substantial on the right sofa. I'm just not sure until I see it so I will probably try this layout first and if I end up hating it I"ll use the current layout....

Either way i cant wait to get them! Stay tuned!

xoxo,
Jackie

Man Cave

I think I mentioned before that Kelsey has been living with us for a while and now that shes found a place of her own we are getting plans ready for her room. Zack and I have discussed having a man cave room that can benefit both of us. We have had the same TV for our entire marriage [six years!] and while it works great, we are due for an upgrade and since I'm a firm believer of no TV in the bedroom and we don't want to get rid of our current tv we decided creating a fun movie room where Zack can escape HGTV and play some video games would work well for our life. Now, Zack and I are so very different in terms of our styles and if it was up to him there'd be car seats on the ground with a tv as big as the wall and black curtains. He would be so happy. Me? Not so much! This might be a room designed for him but its still in MY home and I shutter at the thought of anyone walking into that room for movie night thinking I designed it. It took a few heated arguments but I finally got him to agree to let me do my thing and draw up some plans for the perfect masculine farmhouse room and this is what I came up with.

After I showed him the plans hes totally on board. He even suggested the cowhide rug to tie it all together. We already have a few things, the grey paint, the curtains and the thro blanket, so we dont have much else to purchase. We're hoping to have the whole room complete by July and since Kelsey doesn't move out till June and I have a business trip right after we are going to be working fast to make that deadline, but I'm super excited to work on this project with him and hope you'll stay tuned for updates.

xoxo,

Jackie 

California Finds

We got back from California about two weeks ago and since we've finally fallen back into our routines I figured it was about time to share all the goodies I found while we were gone. We shopped pretty much everyday and I dragged Zack into every antique store we saw. By the time we left our truck was so full of stuff we had to pack our luggage into the back seat. It was awesome. I don't get to do things like that everyday so it was nice to just go a little crazy. I'm not going to show everything I got, most of it was odds and ends but I wanted to show off some of my favorite finds and where I got them. Here we go!

So first off, I collect a couple things: Vintage books and tea towels! I have so many tea towels. I can't help it! I snatched this one up at an antique store in Lake Havasu City for around $7.00

These awesome napkin rings are actually Cholla Cactus and I scored them at a swap meet in Lake Havasu for $.50 each! They also had large pieces for $1.00 each and I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a few. 

One of my favorite stores we stopped into was Tai Pan Trading. If you've never been there or don't have one near you, I'm sorry. This place was awesome! AND it was going out of business so everything was super cheap. I got the grey plates above for $1.97 each, the Aztec pillow below for $12.00 and the button pillow for $7.99... I picked up a few other things there too but these were my favorite! 

I snagged this adorable "Home Sweet Home" pillow at Burlington Coat Factory in Apple Valley for $12.99. We have a Burlington here in Colorado but they never have cute pillows like this. They also had some really expensive hair products for super cheap! I definitely stocked up. 

I got this rustic oar at an antique mall in Lake Havasu for $7.00! You CANNOT find oars like this in Colorado for less than $40.00 and I practically ran to the register with it. Best deal ever!

Like I said before, I collect vintage books and while we were perusing another antique shop in Lake Havasu we came across this ugly but awesome book. I planned to pass on it because the color is just not me but the owner of the shop told me it was from 1896 and I couldn't pass it up! It was around $10.00 [one of the most expensive ones I've bought] but I don't have any others that are that old and I needed it for my collection. It has easily become my favorite book so far. 

I think the best part about going on vacation is checking out local stores that we don't have near us, I found so many unique pieces that no one else is going to have, and those types of items are always my favorite. Till next time! 

xoxo,

Jackie 

Bathroom talk

In my last apartment we had these built in shelves next to the toilet and truth be told I hated them moving in because I wasn't sure what to do with them, but now now that I don't have them I miss them! Ain't that how it always goes?

Right now we just have this little "water closet" and there's no storage and I can't tell you how many times I ran out of toilet paper and had to yell [or text] Zack to run up and bring me some. I mean, yeah we're married but I'd like to keep a LITTLE mystery please! I was looking over Pinterest the other day and came across this tutorial for some faux floating shelves. Right up my alley because those real floating shelves just take too dang long to build and I don't have the skill or the patience to pull it off. If you remember, this is what it looked like when I started...

And this is what it looks like today.

So much better! And, no more awkward, hand-me-TP around the door scenarios. I really love them!

Also, while shopping at Lowes for our supplies Zack and I were perusing the tile isle and he started spouting all these ideas HE has for our future house. I was quite taken aback since he's never voiced any opinions about our decor, and quite honestly our styles are so very different. If he had it his way our house would look like a desert meets Mediterranean meets traditional vibe like this...
[his aunts house in Lake Havasu]

 and this is my plan ....

Total opposites. After and hour of arguing [me yelling "VETO!" at everything he picked out] we did find a happy medium. This is what we came up with....

I'm thinking its a great compromise. He wanted pebble tile in natural color, we agreed on this pretty grey/white one instead. He wanted a glass enclosure, I wanted a shower curtain, he won on that one. He wanted travertine tile in the shower and the floors, I wanted to break it up and do white subway in the shower and grey ceramic on the floor, I won that one. We both wanted oil rubbed bronze fixtures, wood elements and a vessel sink so that was easy and this is where we put it all together. I am loving it and I hope that soon we will have a home to bring this idea to life. Stay tuned.

xoxo,
Jackie