One Dashing Runner

Just so you know, I despise running.  Of all the ways to get into shape, it's #1 on my list of 0% fun activities.  If on the rare occassion I jump on a treadmill, I'm more likely to do something like this guy.  (With much less coordination because let's face it, this former ballet dancer looks awkward "in da club".)

Nope, this runner is more my speed:  

That pun just now was completely unintentional.  Although, a runner that just lays on the ground is really my speed. ;)

Our foyer has been one of the spaces, like most of the rooms in our house, that has slowly been coming together on its own.  I finally have a plan in my mind to finish it up, but it wasn't until I stumbled upon this mattress ticking runner from Dash and Albert that it really started to make sense. 

(Nope, this isn't a sponsored post.  I just really really am excited about this new addition.) 

I was worried that since it was partly white, I would have issues with keeping it clean, but so far it's awesome!  And I sprayed it with ScotchGuard to repel any dirt and grime and keep it lower maintenance.  

I think our little foyer update has gotten Robert's wheels turning too because yesterday he looked in here and said, "I want a cool looking front door with a window.  Want to get rid of that builder grade one?"  Oh, that man knows me too well.  A craftsman style front door is probably still a ways in the future, but it's good to know when he and I are on the same page.

Our entry table is still in desperate need of a paint job too.  I mean there's shabby chic and then there's just plain ol' shabby.  We got it for $50 on Craigslist last year, and I knew I would need to paint it.  I just hadn't decided on a color until now.  

(P.S. Just pretend you don't see the bits of debris under the table where I missed a spot with my broom...um...a month ago.  Okay, you caught me. I haven't swept in here in a while.  No judging.)

I'm thinking a light, blue-toned gray paint to go with the subtle blue stripes in the runner.

And I'm hoping this summer, we can add white shiplap on the wall behind the table so the gray I paint it will pop.  Painting the interior of our plain, white door to add some interest would be nice too if the craftsman style doesn't appear to be in the future any time soon.

If we ever do upgrade our front door though, the HOA requires that we keep the exterior our current blue color.  (Yep, #suburbanlifeprobs.)  But I do like the blue, and it works perfectly with the rug stripes.  Robert likes that the exterior of our house is Dallas Cowboys colors.  This Carolina Panthers fan has to overlook it.  Boo.  Although, I'd much rather have Cowboy blue on our front door too.  

I'm telling ya...if you give a decorator a runner, she'll have an entire room planned in an hour.  The key is to actually make it happen!  That's the hard part.  There aren't enough toddler naps in the day to accommodate my plans sometimes.  I'm still working on our breakfast area.  

What do you think?  Are you a fan of our new runner?  And maybe more likely to play on a treadmill than to actually run on one?  

Blessings,

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Chalkboard Hand Lettering the Easy Way & Spring Shelf Vignette

Our family took a quick road trip to Myrtle Beach this weekend to visit family, but before we left, I decided I couldn't look at our hallway window chalkboard for one minute longer.  Y'all, it still had a Christmas scripture on it.  Which is cool and all...I love little baby Jesus, trust me.  But I couldn't deal anymore.

I wiped the slate clean for a fresh scripture that was perfect for spring (and really any time of year).  But if you're like me, even if you have the most beautiful saying in the world to write on your chalkboard, it can still get really frustrating to actually make it look pretty.  Kid you not, I can barely draw stick people.  I'm as artistically challenged as it gets when it comes to drawing/painting/hand lettering.

So if your artistic limit is stick people too, and you know you'll never get to the point where you can free-hand lovely fonts perfectly symmetrically on a chalkboard, you're going to love this trick.

I really love using this method on my window chalkboard because one piece of printer paper is the perfect size for each pane.  I just design sections of my quote/scripture on Picmonkey and print.  So easy.  It can be done on a regular chalkboard too, and you can even cut out your words on the paper and play around with your placement.

Once I'm happy with my placement, I work on one pane at a time.

I rub the back of my paper with chalk first and gently shake off any excess.  (Dang it. That Taylor Swift song is stuck in my head now.)

Then, I flip my paper back over and tape down the sides to hold it in place.  I use a pen or pencil to trace my letters.

I switched to a pencil right after this shot because I felt like I could press down a little harder with a pencil to get a better imprint. (You caught me.  I'm not left-handed.  Definitely faked it for a second to get this shot.)

Once traced, I had a faint outline imprinted on my chalkboard.

From there, I filled in the outline with chalk.  You can wet your chalk too by dipping it every few minutes in a cup of water to make it easier to work with and less dusty.  I think the chalk shows up a little more opaque that way too.

Once I fill in my outlines, this is where I can get a little creative, as creative as my artistically challenged self will let me anyway.  I can do dots and squigglies and that's pretty much it.

Repeat on your other sections and ta da!  You have a beautifully hand lettered chalkboard.  You can use chalk pens too if you want to make it more permanent, but I like to change mine out with the seasons.  It seems tedious, but it's a good rainy day project while watching an episode of Fixer Upper or something. ;)

I love that we always write a Bible verse on this chalkboard since it hangs right near our front door.

Sometimes we need that reminder that God is with us when we walk out the door every day.

And it's good for us to see when we walk into our house after a long, challenging day.

Oh, and do you see a little sneak peek of a change in our breakfast area already?  Those red curtains are gone!  I still need to raise the curtain rod and hem them, but it's getting there.

Do you have any chalkboard tricks you use?  Do you have a favorite scripture on display in your house somewhere?  Are you artistically challenged too?  My 2 year-old can out-draw me, I think.

Now that spring is starting to come to life, I think we'll be seeing a lot more sidewalk chalk in our immediate future.

Blessings,

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Your Turn To Shine Link Party #22

Just so y'all know, I'm blaming my former teacher mentality on the fact that I cannot for the life of me pick just 1-2 favorites from our link parties here.  I was the type of teacher who, if the entire class worked really hard and deserved an A, I gave every single student an A.  And I didn't think I had to give a fair share of Fs to prove that I was challenging my kids enough.

Because you know what I found out?  When I gave those students a passing grade on an essay who many other teachers had given up on, I discovered that those students suddenly wanted to do well in my class, and by the end of the semester were turning in beautifully written essays all because I showed them that I believed in them.  (Okay, so this second paragraph really has nothing to do with this link party, but sometimes we need the reminder that the one way we can succeed at this blogging thing is believing in ourselves.)

So choosing even 6 favorites from you guys is like only giving 6 A-pluses to a class of 200 students.  Not fair.  Just so you know, I want to feature all of them.  I am so thankful that y'all take the time to share them with the 5 of us in our little corner of the blogosphere.  Be sure to spread the love!  I can't wait to see what you have in store this week. :)

Blessings,

Lauren

Lauren - Bless'er House

Breakfast Area Revamp Planning | Bless'er House FAQs | Simple French Rustic Bathroom Sign

Vicki and Amy - Canary Street Crafts

French Graphic Painted Dresser || Easy Projects Using Moss ||  How To Paint Graphics On Furniture Like A Pro

Nicole- Meet the B's

Painted Spring Planters || Succulent Planter || Patio Rules Sign

Kendra- Joy In Our Home

My New DIY Coffee Table |Baked Oatmeal Breakfast |Framed Chalkboard (for the Kitchen)

Jamie- anderson + grant

Cake for St. Patrick's Day  || Photography 101 - Learning about Aperture  ||  Yard Sale Chair

We would love to connect with you on social media!  

Vicki & Amy from Canary Street Crafts  ||  Facebook  || Instagram  || Pinterest  ||  Twitter  ||  Google+

Jamie from anderson + grant  ||  Facebook  ||  Instagram  ||  Pinterest  ||  Twitter  

Kendra from Joy In Our Home  ||  Facebook  ||  Instagram  ||  Pinterest 

Nicole from Meet The B's  ||  Facebook  ||  Pinterest  ||  Twitter  ||  Google+

Lauren from Bless'er House  ||  Facebook  ||  Instagram  ||  Pinterest  ||  Twitter   ||  Google+

And don't forget to check out the Your Turn To Shine Pinterest Board, where all our features will be pinned!

Follow Kendra's board Your Turn To Shine on Pinterest.

Amy & Vicki's pick: 1920's Ornate China Cabinet from The Curator's Collection

Kendra's pick: Subway Tile Backsplash from Texas Decor

Nicole's pick: Spring Mason Jar Vases from Dwelling In Happiness

Lauren's pick: Spring Tulip Wreath from Life Love Larson

Jamie's pick: Loaded Baked Potato Soup from Pennies Into Pearls

I'm a huge fan of this bright and cheerful DIY Spring Tulip Wreath from Life. Love. Larson.  The black door behind it really makes it pop too.

I love Sarah's version of this spring umbrella wreath alternative at Sadie Seasongoods.  Makes me wish I had an old umbrella lying around so I could try it out too.

How stinkin' cute are these Salvaged Junk Signs from My Salvaged Treasures!?  I can't even fathom this creativity.

Jamie's kitchen from So Much Better With Age is completely drool-worthy.  The apron sink, the industrial lighting, the crisp subway tile with dark grout...I can't even.

I am amazed at these pretty DIY Barn Style Pantry Doors from One Thrifty Chick.  (You should check out her full kitchen reveal too because wow.)

This Family Room Makeover from Around the Watts House is making me long for summer.  So much coastal chic goodness in this space!

If you were featured, don't forget to grab a button!  

  

1. No Etsy stores, giveaways, or link parties.
2. Please link to a specific post on your blog, not your blog's home page.
3. Link back to one of our blogs with a text link or party button.
4. By submitting a link, you're giving us permission to feature your project on our blogs and on social media.  Proper credit and a link back to your post will always be given.  
5. Each week, a few of our favorites will be featured on all five of our blogs.  Features will also be pinned to our Pinterest Party Board  for even more exposure!  If you were featured, be sure to grab a button! 

 Thank you so much for stopping by and for linking up with us!

An InLinkz Link-up

Simple and Cheap French Rustic Bathroom Sign

I get absolutely giddy once the weather starts warming up- partly because I can feel like me again in my flip flops for the 9 out of 12 months of the year that I can get away with it here.

But also because it means we get to host a new year of cookouts, hangouts, and all kinds of family/friend gatherings.  We love grilling up a storm in the backyard and inviting over lots of the people we love who we're so blessed to live close to.  

And it never fails, when we invite new friends over, there are always people hunting for the restroom in the middle of a party.  I guess because our powder room looks like a closet in our downstairs hallway.  

I joked before that I should just put a bathroom sign on the door so no one has to ask that awkward, "Um...where's your bathroom?"  And let the whole room of people know their business.  Then, I realized it wasn't such a silly idea to make one after all.  

A while back I found this teenagery bedroom sign for $1 at Goodwill and knew I'd make something neat out of it.  I just hadn't decided what until now.  Really though, I could cross out the word "room" and write "house", hang it on my front door and call it a day.  Because our house is actually clean about 2 days of the entire year. #ToddlerParentLife  

The comma splice on the sign would have driven me batty though. #FormerTeacherProbs

Supplies I used:

• Sign or wood piece
• Dark brown acrylic paint
• White acrylic paint
• Dark gray acrylic paint
• 100 grit sandpaper
• Vaseline
• Large and small craft brushes
• Computer printer and paper
• Sharpie or other permanent marker

I gave the entire thing a light sanding first.  To make it look like a weathered painted sign, I put a little brown acrylic paint just around the edges.  

When the brown paint was dry, I rubbed a little Vaseline on the edges to prevent the next paint color from sticking.  This sign took 5 coats of white acrylic paint before I could get those stripes to disappear.  I could have used spray paint but I didn't have any.  I just used supplies I already happened to have in my stash.

I rubbed off the Vaseline after the white paint had dried to reveal the brown underneath and make it look distressed.

For the lettering, I just typed "Toilette" into Picmonkey and saved as a JPEG.  (Okay, so I know I could have typed "toilet", but somehow it seems a little nicer as the French translation "toilette".  Toilet = gross.  Toilette = fancy pants.  Just like pronouncing Target like Tar-jay instantly makes it a luxury boutique.)

I flipped the JPEG image horizontally and printed.

I don't own a vinyl cutting machine or anything, so this is my method for making signs.  And it's cheaper anyway.

I gave the sign one more sanding for good measure and wiped away any dust.

Then I placed my printed lettering face down (hence why it needed to be a mirrored image) and taped it to hold it in place.  I painted a little water on top of the lettering just enough to wet the paper, not to soak it.

I rubbed the lettering to transfer the ink from the paper.  I used a Sharpie pen top but you can use anything as long as it doesn't rip the paper.

The ink transfer from the paper left a light imprint.

From there, I outlined the transfered lettering with a Sharpie.

And filled in the letters with dark gray acrylic paint.

I forgot to photograph this step, but I gave the whole sign one more sanding using 100 grit sandpaper.  I focused on the lettering to distress the dark gray paint.

I didn't want to damage our bathroom door, so I used Command hanging strips to attach it.

This bathroom is in our dark downstairs hallway, so it's challenging to photograph, but it turned out pretty great for only $1 find at Goodwill.

It was the perfect size for our door.

And at least now future guests won't have to feel embarrassed to ask where our restroom is.  Unless they don't know what "toilette" means.  Then, we might have a quick French lesson.  I'm pretty sure they'll figure it out.

Want to see other super frugal thrift store projects?  Just click the images below.  Gotta love crafts that cost almost nothing!

Blessings,

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