Faux Rusty Mailbox

Took an old Salvation Army store mailbox and gave it a faux rust treatment! LoVe How it turned out! I just used a sponge brush to paint on a few coats of matte brown acrylic paint, pulling at it so the paint had that raised, textured look (as in, don't brush it on). Then I sponged on some raw sienna (orangey color), and a little bit of gray. Played with it till I got the look I wanted. LOVE the vintage look!

FOR SALE in my ETSY SHOP

Fruit of the Spirit Wood Sign

Fruit of the Spirit Wood Sign
I've been waiting to make this sign for a LONG time. I've always struggled with the Fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self-Control. I thought having a BIG, pretty reminder on my wall might help me when I'm feeling especially impatient or jerk-ish or cranky.

Originally, I wanted to paint these on my dining table. But since it is often covered in art projects, I don't know if I'd really ever see these guys, and I wanted them VISIBLE.

DOWNLOAD THIS FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT SIGN

Free PDF printable 22x17* inch version of this sign available HERE (for personal use only).
*Available as four 8.5x11 sheets to be assembled

 

Here's a quick rundown of how I did it:

Step 1: Hubby Cuts Vintage Pallet Wood For Me And Assembles It
Step 2: I Paint It White (using a satin interior flat paint in a creamy off-white)

Step 3: I design the words in Photoshop, Print and Assemble, trying to remember that I need to exercise the Fruits of the Spirit even while I'm pulling my hair out wondering why the edges of the words aren't matching up.

Step 4: Color The Back With Charcoal

Step 5: Trace Words Onto Sign
Step 6: Paint Words

I love how this sign turned out! So glad I finally got around to doing it!



Vintage Image Stockings

 

We've had the same stockings for years. And while they have some charm and nostalgia for us, I would never pick them out in a store today and say, "Oh, these are beautiful!" Nope. I would say, "What a ratty, nasty old thing. Does Santa really put edibles in THAT!"

They don't match. My husband's is about eight feel long and super skinny. And green. With a pompom. My daughters' stockings were both made by their aunt. And while I love the home-sewn style, they are red and green, which sounds like it would match all things Christmas, but really doesn't because I very rarely do up the house in traditional colors. My stocking is red. I think. And made of satin. Or did I switch to white last year? In any case, it's obviously not memorable.

Plus, my style has changed. It is always changing. Right now I'm in a vintage/shabby/French country mode. I like all things chippy, shabby, burlap and grain sack and decided my stockings should reflect that style. 

So, I got to work making these awesome vintage image stockings. They have cute little vintage graphics on them, ranging from a pic of Santa, to sheet music for Silent Night, to old Christmas ads and even part of "A Visit From Saint Nicholas" by Clement Moore (often called "Twas the Night Before Christmas"). I wish I could tell you where I found them, but I often collect images as I come across them, then use them later. But any similar images would do. I transferred the images to the stockings using Citra Solv. You can read about how to transfer printed images here.

The how-to was pretty simple. I downloaded an oversized stocking pattern from online and traced it onto some excellent grain sack-style fabric. Then I just sewed around the edges. Twice for durability, leaving the top open. My brood can get pretty rough on Christmas mornings. And sometimes poor, old Santa is a bit frantic while filling those things in the dead of night, too.

Once sewn, I frayed the edges by hand. This was very time consuming. I also added burlap, lace and other frills to the top along with a handmade chalkboard tag for the names. I think they turned out pretty sweet. Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

Want MORE Christmas ideas? Check out my blog post for a Woodland Christmas Mantel.

 

Silver Collection

Lots of gorgeous old "silver" items up in my Etsy Shop! If you love vintage silver and timeworn patina, be sure to pop over to my Etsy shop and have a look! These would make BEAUTIFUL holiday decor for a shabby / vintage home.

Edison Lamp Bookends & A Clock

Edison Lamp Bookends - by What's On My Porch

EDISON LAMP BOOKENDS
I am often inspired by other people's projects, and these Edison Lamp Bookends are no exception. I was browsing Etsy when I came across a bookend with a light bulb in it. I loved it! But the design was rather simple for me. I wondered what it would be like to make my own bookends with a little embellishment. So, I got to work. Or rather, Hubby got to work--cutting boards and assembling them into cute little L-shapes.

I knew I wanted my bookends to have feet. I experimented with lots of ideas: including Tim Holtz feet and deals on Ebay and even those little rubber dots. In the end, I decided on a package of large wooden beads from Walmart. Sounds weird, but they were perfect, and the variety means I can get lots of different looks if I want to make more bookends!

I also knew I wanted corner details. The Tim Holtz corners work here. It's not as expensive
when I just use two in my design. Also, I LOVE vintage keys, and I happened to have a bunch that I purchased at a yard sale this summer... just waiting for a project. Also, my husband bought a toolbox with a length of old chain inside. Voila! I decided to string the chain across using eyelets to fasten it, then i just slid one of the keys onto the chain. It can be unhooked and fastened to just one side if you want to make room for more books.

The bulb is an Edison bulb that I bought online. The low wattage and amber glow are very
romantic, perfect for this project... plus you can see the cool looping filaments inside.

The bookends themselves I whitewashed and then stained a dark walnut to give them that old, weathered driftwood look. All-in-all I LOVE how they turned out.

Edison Lamp Bookends - by What's On My Porch

CLOCK

Alarm Clock Makeover - What's On My Porch

I purchased this sweet little alarm clock at Walmart. It was plain and silver, but I knew it had potential. I've been wanting to start a vintage clock collection, but I couldn't find a cool, rusted clock in my price range. So, I made one.

Alarm Clock Makeover - What's On My Porch

I started by disassembling the clock with a small screwdriver. Then I spray-painted the silver pieces black. I forgot about one of the hands (which was red) so I had to go back and do that one. I've probably disassembled and reassembled this thing twenty times. (And now I have to do it again because I didn't get the second hand on tight
enough and it's not moving--sigh.)

Alarm Clock Makeover - What's On My Porch

I also found a cute clock face online (I like roman numerals). I manipulated the size in Photoshop and printed it on some script scrapbook paper, although regular would do. Then I coffee stained it. I was bummed because my printer is left-brained, and I am not, so I accidentally printed it upside down... this means my script is upside down while my clock face is right side up. Sigh again. but I decided to just go with it.

After the silver parts were spray painted, I gave the whole thing a coat of acrylic flat brown (not glossy). Then I faux rusted it using burnt sienna (an orangey brown), gray, and just a little copper. I dabbed these on randomly with a sponge brush until I got the look I wanted.

I glued the clock face over the old one and put the clock back together. I LOVE it! It does still work, but the alarm hand got messed up during the re-assemble, and now I have no idea how to set the alarm to the right time. But that wasn't really the point, so I'm still happy. :)