the one where LeAnne makes a really big sign

No doubt most of you have seen this great autumn sign tutorial over at Ella Claire. I pinned it back in September with the hopes of turning it into a reality for my fall decor.

Just before Halloween, I was trying to figure out how I could work that large of a sign into my decor. I don't have wall space for that size of sign, but I did have space above my cabinets in my kitchen. Perfect. The next problem was the color. I didn't think that light of a sign would work as my walls are already cream. So I decided on a black sign with cream letters. You can never go wrong with black. So here is my version. All the design credit goes to Ella Claire.

 

I decided to go big on this sign it measures 60" long by 14" wide. Now I am not going to torture you with saying, "I just found this old board on the side of the street and painted it."  I am NEVER the girl that finds all these great things on the side of the road or at thrift shops. I am not that lucky. I've never even won a giveaway. Ever.

However, I am very lucky to have a wonderful husband that made and had the idea for this board.  He used the pine panels that you use typically for paneled walls that you can find at Home Depot. He cut the panels to size, glued them together, and used some finishing nails to secure everything in place. The panels have two sides. A nice sanded side and a nice rough side. We decided to use the rough side. I painted on one coat of cream craft paint then a layer of black craft paint. (I was not neat when I painted - seriously just slap the paint on the board. ) Then I sanded, using a circular sander to distress. Then I cut a paper stencil using my Cricut for the lettering. I taped the stencils on and painted, painted, and painted. After everything was dry I sanded it again. (I actually sanded it again after I took these pictures.)

So there you have it! A really big, but really terrific fall sign. I love it!

Happy Monday,

LeAnne

the wall

I've been asked about the wall behind the blocks. Is it vinyl? Stencil? Neither. It is Allen + Roth wallpaper from Lowe's! The best part is that it only costs $20.00 a roll. Yep. The color says beige/tan on the package and the photo on Lowe's.com makes it look more tan than it is in reality.  It isn't 100% gray but I say it is much more gray than tan. This wall gets a lot of natural light so it really makes the pattern pop.  The wallpaper looks amazing when it is up and is a great way to add interest. Get prepared for many complements if you install this wallpaper.

Hope that answers your questions! :)

Happy New Year!

LeAnne

Tutorial: Simple Table Runners

Can you believe Christmas is two weeks from tomorrow? I don't say that to stress you out, but simply because I can't believe it is already THAT close. Today I am bringing you a quick and simple tutorial...

Here is a quick little tutorial for some Simple & Quick Table Runners. There are a couple of things I love about these runners:

• This is a total 'naptime' project or can be done in no time at all.
• Involves NO pinning! Yay! 
• Requires little fabric so you can use that last 1/2 of a yard that you just have laying around.  
• Brings to life the saying "a fast project is a fun project"
• Make a couple and it makes a great gift!

Sold? Great. Here we go.

Materials
1/2 yard each of two different cotton fabrics, prewashed and pressed
(The fabrics don't necessarily have to coordinate since you will only see one side at a time.)
 matching thread
Yep. Two materials sweet. Oh and a screaming hot iron is a must for this project.

Notes
WOF = Width of Fabric
RST = Right Sides Together

1. Cut your fabrics to your desired width x WOF.  I cut mine to 15" wide. You can make it any width you want.

2. Place your fabrics RST matching the selvedges and edges. (The selvedges may only line up on one end. The other end may be short depending on the widths of your fabrics.) Press the two fabrics with a hot iron. By doing this the fabrics temporarily 'stick' together and therefore no pinning!

3. With fabrics still RST, head back over to your cutting mat and cut off the fabrics to the desired length. I have little hands at my house so I didn't want my runner dangling over the edge for little hands to pull off. I cut my length to 37".  (Since your fabrics are RST together, now your fabrics will be perfectly lined up.)

4. Now sew both fabrics together using a 1/2" seam allowance. I stared on one of the long sides, continued all the way around and left an opening. Your opening doesn't have to be huge, just enough to fit your little hand.

5. Head back over to the iron. Press along all seams, this helps make the seams nice and crisp. Clip the corners.

6.  Lets talk about that opening right quick. Press the opening back as shown in the second picture. Flip the runner over and do the same to the other side as shown in the third picture.

 7. Turn the runner right side out and poke the corners. A poking device such as a bone folder is great.

8. The opening should already be nicely pressed inside! When you topstitch the opening will be invisible. Now press around the rest of the runner at the seams. Press so that you can't see any fabric from the other side. Flip over the runner and make sure you can't see the other fabric from that side either.

9. Now start sewing close to one of the ends using about a 1/4" seam allowance. Sew all the way around the runner. Give it a final good press and be amazed!

10.  Tie it up with a ribbon and a gift tag. Done and done.

Fabrics shown:

left: both fabrics from Joann's

right: holly from Joann's & Red Snowflake from Candyland Christmas by Moda (My absolutely favorite Christmas print ever. I bought a bolt of this fabric and it is almost gone.) 

Happy Sewing!

LeAnne

Boo Blocks

We all have seen our share of 'Boo' blocks or the like around blogland lately, right? Well I whipped up my version over the weekend and I have to say I love them.

'the middle 'o' looks purpish, it is really black and creamish'

To make my blocks I used digital papers from Summer Drigg's FREE digikits Dreamsicle and Vintage Oreos. With the power of Photoshop I added some text and a nice gray outer glow. Then it was simply a process of printing the images off as 4x6's @ .13 cents a pop, a little trimming and Modge Poding those babies to some scrap wood blocks I painted black. Talk about instant craftification....wow...did I just pen a new catch phrase? ;) Plus I had all the materials on hand which meant this project cost me a grand total of .39 cents....the dollar store can't beat that.

Anyways. It was a fun festive craft that I am sure to repeat for other holidays.

Happy Tuesday!

LeAnne