Sunday 29 April 2012

Mossy SPRING Sign!

Hello there! 
Wow - I feel like I owe all of you a big apology for being MIA, AWOL and having appeared to jump ship this month...yikes! I've been trying to figure out how to balance my mommy role with blogging ever since Christmas and apparently I haven't done a very good job of it! Let me tell ya...my hat is off to all you ladies out there that have figured it out...you're amazing!!!
Anyhow...don't give up on me please! My mind is still always whirling and swirling with ideas to turn into reality! 

Here's an idea that I chewed away on for a while...


I've been wanting to make some mossy letters spelling out "SPRING" ever since last year, but this year decided it would really happen. My original idea was to have them freestanding...until I brought them home and realized that...hmm...a "P" doesn't stand up so well on it's own. 
And just a side note here...I realize that for the majority of you - you're probably close to heading into summer already (and I'm terribly envious of you, so don't tell me!!)...but us shivery souls up here in Alberta are just starting to see a few blades of green grass and some swelling buds on the lilac trees...so we're only really just beginning spring!


That's when I remembered some planks of wood that the previous owners left behind. 
I started to think that maybe a quick white wash would be just the ticket...


So that's what I did. Now, let me say...I've never white washed anything before so I don't know if this is how you're "really" supposed to do it (how often have you read that line in my posts?!), but it worked great for this purpose. I just stirred together one part white primer to one part water, then slapped it on. 
I gave the front two coats and the sides and back one coat. I found you could play with the application a bit to get a thicker coverage in some areas, but quite honestly, there was very little "playing". 
I just wanted to finish it before summer arrived. :)

At this point, if I had been thinking (and Hubs had been around because I am tool challenged),
 I would have attached some picture hanging devices on the back. Like those saw tooth thingies, or even some circle screws and wire or something
But, I didn't, and therefore this is now a prop-up-on-a-shelf-only kind of sign. 


Here are the infamous letters that won't stand on their own. I picked them up from the dollar store, and I really liked the size of these letters - roughly 6" tall. 
(The board, by the way, is 10" tall and just over three feet in length.)


Next I pulled apart some Indian Moss and used LOTS of hot glue on the letters and pushed the moss into the glue firmly. Sometimes I would turn the letter over and press down as well, so that the moss was very firmly glued. It's not much fun dealing with falling moss weeks after you thought you were done with the project, so it pays to take your time at this stage! After the moss was applied to the front of the letters, I slowly glued on little pieces around the edges, and pressed the moss in firmly. You can trim off any sticky-outy bits with scissors at this point so that the shape of the letter is crisp and clear. 


Next I glued some tiny little craft eggs into a small grapevine nest - also from Dollarama. 
I thought the nest would make a cute extra springy touch next to the letters.

The last step is to firmly glue those letters into place, making sure you measure and space them out properly, and then glue the nest in beside the letters. Voila!


I big fat heart the whimsical touch it adds to my kitchen shelves! 




After looking at it for a few days, I decided perhaps a sign saying "HOME" would be just as fun and a little more permanent. So...hi ho hi ho...it's off to make another sign I go!! 

Before I do that, however, I want to say a big WELCOME to all the newest followers of BPP!!
To show what a computer/blog savvy person I am (big time sarcasm there), I just recently figured out that there are people - and quite a lot of you at that! - who follow by email!! 
Wow! I'm so glad I know about you now! I feel so honored and humbled by all of you that you are actually interested in what I might have to say...what a great community to be a part of!! 

P.S. I think I used the words "firmly glue" about 50 times in this post...but at least you get the idea now right? Firmly glue it!! 
: )

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Feathered Nest Friday



Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special



Weekend Bloggy Reading

Tip Junkie handmade projects


UndertheTableandDreaming


To see the other great parties I'm linking up to, click HERE!

26 comments:

  1. I love this! So pretty, I love the the tiny birds nest, too. Such a cute touch!

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  2. Evie, I love it!! I've been wanting to make a sign or some sort, but haven't narrowed it down to what kind of sigh exactly. I really like the look of the mossy green letters on the white background. Very fresh looking! Hope you had a nice weekend. =)

    ~ Catie

    Oh, I'm finally back to blogging. Pop by and say hi!

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  3. Evie! Love these so much. I'm still trying to do the balancing act too. Maybe we can brainstorm some ideas C:

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  4. Super cute!!! I love the little nest, so fun!

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  5. Oh I love this so much! So fun and cheery!

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  6. I love how this turned out! Great idea!!

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  7. Great project! I love the colour variations of all the different types of moss you can craft with.

    I wish I could find letters like this at my Dollar Store :)

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  8. Hi! Love your letters! They turned out great! I bought a set of letters to spell out the baby's name for a baby shower, but they were also the kind that did not stand on their own--except mine were those cute curly-q looking ones. I also bought a backer board to attach them to but I didn't measure before I bought it so it ended up being too small & I was crunched for time so I had to come up with a new solution ... I bought some unfinished/undecorated blocks about the same size or maybe a bit smaller than the normal lettered baby toy blocks. I painted them a great color which contrasted nicely with the color I had painted my letters & then I hot glued them to the back of the letter at the bottom so that the bottom of the block was level with the bottom of the letter which worked like a little stand. And then my letters that couldn't stand on their own could now stand up! My letters were RYLEE. The only letter I had a problem with was the capital Y but I used 2 blocks glued next to each other at the bottom of the Y to offset the wings of the upper part of the letter. This worked great for me and ended up adding a cute design element I hadn't planned on. Later the baby momma took the blocks off & hung the letters on the wall with sticky back Velcro! I just had to laugh! She said the blocks came off pretty easy - maybe next time I'll take a tip from her & attach the block with sticky Velcro!!! :D

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  9. This is such a fabulous sign! Won't you enjoy bringing it out each Spring? I love every little thing about it! Thanks for sharing it with us this week!

    Take care,

    Trish

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  10. This is so cute! I'm your newest follower! I'd love you to come follow back and link up to my party going on here:
    http://itsjustcalledspicy.blogspot.com/2012/05/spicy-link-up-3.html

    Jen :)

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  11. This is fantastic! I'm pinning this:)

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  12. I love some mossy letters! This is perfect for spring!

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  13. This is super cute! Stopping by from Southern Lovely Show and Share :-)

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  14. This really is a great gift idea. I have some left-over wood planks and I just don't know what to use it for. This gave me a nice idea :)

    There is a link party going on in my blog today. I would LOVE for you to share this :)
    http://myricandreasen.blogspot.com/2012/05/link-party-and-give-away.html

    xoxo
    Myric

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  15. I think we all hit that balance struggle. Your mossy letters are wonderful. Thanks for sharing at this week's BFF Open House and glad to see you :)

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  16. Love it! I really like the nest and eggs with the moss. I am your newest follower. I would love for you to come and link up this project at my new Linky party--Rustic Restorations Weekend. I hope to see you there!
    http://homespunhappenings-tammy.blogspot.com/2012/05/rustic-restorations-weekend-linky-party.html

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  17. That is so darling and I love how you have it displayed! Thanks so much for sharing it with us this week at Inspiration Friday! :-)
    Vanessa

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  18. Fantastic idea and tutorial! You've been featured at this week's Craftastic party. Stop by and grab a Featured On button. Thanks for linking to Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do:)

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  19. I LOVE this SO SO SO cute.... may be giving this a try for my mantel

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  20. You did an amazing job on this- it definitely looks like something you'd buy from a high end retailer. Love the idea! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

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  21. Adorable! Thanks for linking up to Share the Love Wednesday!
    Mary

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  22. Just wanted to let you know I showcased this sign on my blog today!

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  23. Thanks so much for coming by Homespun Happenings and linking this up to Rustic Restorations Weekend! Have a great weekend!

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  24. Wow...this is such a creative idea! It looks awesome (and I love the idea of "Home" or maybe even a monogram or something!) Thanks for the inspiration.

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