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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Spring Inspired Window Wall Decor

I blame my father-in-law for a little infatuation I've had from the time my husband and I started dating.  

I remember first meeting Robert's parents like it was yesterday, and after instantly greeting me with big hugs as if they'd known me for a lifetime, my in-laws whisked me inside the front door of their charming yellow 1904 house, where I was surrounded by my father-in-law's gorgeous one-of-a-kind bird carvings.  

I'd never seen such talent.  And from that point, I was hooked on pouring over his whittle work.  

To this day, whenever we visit, we watch hundreds of birds that come to greet us on their back porch swing, and it is those same birds that inspire his carvings.  (If you're curious, you can see his work at The Whittler Shop.)

We have a tendency to bring little treasures home from their house too.  An old ladder already made its way from their barn into our bathroom as a towel rack...

...and the latest piece of the past to now hang on our walls is an old window from the house where my husband grew up.  

I've admitted before that along with my love of birds, old books and card catalogs have a special place in my heart.  So when my mother found an old Audubon field guide in a thrift store, she snatched it up for me.  (How did I ever deserve such amazing parents and in-laws?  I don't even know.)

There are hundreds of gorgeous bird illustrations in this book, and after pondering over the best place to display them for nearly a year, our latest makeover in our bathroom seemed like the perfect spot.  

I've wanted to create a bit of an oasis in our bathroom, and since birds remind me so much of my and Robert's wedding day, the space above our garden tub seemed fitting.  (Do you see a peek of our awesome plank wall there?  I'll be giving y'all the reveal of that tomorrow.)

Even though it's the middle of January right now, we had absolutely beautiful weather this weekend.  I can't help it that I'm already gearing up for spring.  Sorry, not sorry. ;)  Are you with me on just skipping winter altogether too?

Even better than the fact that it incorporates a piece of history from my husband, a nod at our wedding day, and a calming ambience in this space, it was free!  Gotta love it.  

Even if you don't have access to a cool barn that produces free wall decor, you can usually find lots of old windows on Craigslist, at architectural salvage yards, and the Habitat for Humanity Restore for fairly cheap.  And keep your eyes peeled for old field guides too. ;)

Have you decorated with windows in your house?  Have you incorporated lovey dovey wall decor in your master space?  Are you hoping the groundhog doesn't see his shadow too?  I'm counting on that little rascal.  

Blessings,

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Gallery Wall Reveal and Free Printable

From the time I was 10 years old, I had a keepsake box.

It started out with little things- movie ticket stubs, notes from friends, a few pictures of my family, and even a piece of confetti I'd pocketed from my first concert to see N'Sync.  (Maybe Justin Timberlake had touched it!)  

As I got older, that box grew.  Letters from high school boyfriends were added (and later removed once that phase of life ended).  

To this day, it is where I stash my favorite fingerpaint artwork by my daughter and favorite photos of our family.  But the world needed to see them.  What good did they do hidden in a box only to be seen by me once in a blue moon?

So I framed them on the most visible wall in our house.

It's hard to believe it looked like this six months ago.  I'm really glad I didn't do that pallet wall I'd originally planned.

I catch myself staring at it all the time, and I can't help but smile.  It's our entire past together: our engagement pictures, photos from our wedding ceremony, Olivia sleeping at just a few days old, a few beach vacations, moments with our parents and siblings, and I wouldn't change a single square inch of it.

I added a map of Ireland a few weeks ago as a nod to our Irish heritage.  

And yesterday, I made a silhouette of Olivia on burlap.  I whipped up a family definition printable to go along with it.  Once these babies were hung up, it was like the cherry on the sundae.  It's done!

So now, you can probably guess, I'm staring at it even more.  It certainly makes our suburban house feel less like a builder grade shoebox.  

The printable I made completely sums up what our little family of three is all about.

If you have a wall needing some lovin' in your house, feel free to snag the download below.  For one like mine, you can run a burlap sheet from your local craft store through your computer printer, frame it, and voila!  

Family Defined Printable - White

Family Defined Printable - Burlap

Cheap but sentimental.  The best things in life are free anyways. :)

What do you think of it now that it's all done?  Am I getting anywhere with this crazy quest for an eclectic cottage?

If you liked this post, be sure to check out tips for the most efficient way to create a gallery wall.

Blessings,

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DIY Oversized Vintage Map

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I married a Leprechaun.  I'm talkin' does a jig around the house when the mood strikes him, randomly impersonates a thick Irish accent when telling a joke, and, truth be told, is a tad on the short side.  Ahem. I mean he's the same height as me, so not short at all.  That's usually his argument. ;)

From the time I first met my hubby's family 5 years ago, they made it abundantly clear just how proud of their Irish heritage they are.  And I gotta say, I love it!  In everything that's Irish, God and family come first, and every day can be made better with a bit of Irish spirit.  It's more than ancestral roots; it's a state of mind.

So even though we are proud to be American, bringing in a bit of Irish heritage to our home was a lot of fun.  And creating an oversized map of old Ireland seemed like the perfect way to personalize our living room.

Hold onto your hat and run for the hills because it required a few computer tricks. (Eek!)  But even if you're like me and haven't sprung for Photoshop software and are a bit technologically challenged, I have no doubt that you can do this one.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 piece of plywood (later cut to the approximate size of your map)
• Wood stain (I used Rustoleum Weathered Gray)
• Brown paint (optional)
• Several sheets of parchment paper
• A computer and laser printer
• Mod Podge
• Sponge brush and/or small paint brush
• Scissors
• A pen or pencil

Here's what you do:

1.  Save snapshot pieces of a zoomable map.

Whatever sort of map you decide to use, there are tons of resources online where you can find zoomable maps.  The Library of Congress and Map History are great places to start.  Just be careful not to use one that is copyright restricted.

Once you find the perfect map, zoom in (because zoomable will work best) and capture a snapshot of a portion of the map image.  (PC users, you can do this using the Snipping Tool under your Start Menu.)

Continue capturing snapshots and saving each image as pieces of your map.  The snapshots should be as close in size with each other as possible.


2. Piece together snapshots in Picmonkey like a puzzle.
Once you have saved all of the snapshots you need of your map, go to Picmonkey.com, hover over the tab that says Design, and click the size of the canvas you need.  I chose 8x10.

Once you've opened a blank canvas in Picmonkey, click the Overlays tab on the far left toolbar (the one shaped like a butterfly).

In the Overlays toolbar, click Your Own at the top to open the folder where you saved your map snapshots.

Okay, I know.  You're probaby wondering why on earth would I tell you to take snapshot pieces of a map, just to piece them back together again.  By taking snapshot pieces and putting them back together in Picmonkey, you are creating a higher resolution file.  If you had simply saved the original map image as a whole, you would end up with a very grainy, pixelated map.

Taking apart the map and putting it back together creates a sharp, crisp image that can be blown up to large sizes.  Technology is super annoying but amazing at the same time, isn't it?

On your canvas, place and resize one snapshot at a time and piece them together like a puzzle as you continue to use the Overlay uploading tool.  I pieced together one side and the top of the map to make sure my length and width were the right size for the 8x10 canvas.

After you've adjusted for the length and width, you can click the Combine All Image Elements icon at the top of the page to prevent any pieces from moving around as you place more pieces.

Once your map is all pieced together, save in as large of a format as possible.  Picmonkey calls it "Sean", which is the highest resolution file option.

If the file is larger than 1 MB, resize it to be just under that size.  My file ended up being 995 KB.

3.  Upload into Block Posters and print.
I had a hard time figuring out this part without having the capability of Photoshop, but this website was a lifesaver.  BlockPosters.com allows you to upload an image and print a poster by dissecting the image into equal parts and creating a PDF.  It might sound complicated, but just hang with me for a sec.

On the home screen of the Block Posters website, upload the finished map you saved from Picmonkey.  If the image is larger than 1 MB, you'll need to resize it to just under that size.

Here's where you need to adjust the poster size of your image and determine what paper size you're using in your printer.  I needed my map to be about 24" wide and 36" tall, so I chose portrait orientation at 3 letter sized pages wide.

Once your poster size is configured, download the image and print.

4. Cut, place, and glue your printed map.

When the map finished printing, I double checked the size by laying out the pages and measuring.  

Super sweet hubby, Robert, cut a piece of plywood to slightly bigger than the map size.  

I stained the plywood piece using Rustoleum Weathered Gray.  An hour later, I dry-brushed the edges using a bit of leftover dark brown craft paint.

Then, I tested out the placement of my map so I could determine how much plywood I should leave showing as the frame.  (That below shot there helped me see that I needed to pull the map pieces down about an inch.)

From there, I cut any margins on the pages that would overlap.

Concentrating on one page at a time, I marked each page's placement.

I brushed on a layer of Mod Podge where I had marked the page and used the placement marking to position and smooth the page onto the plywood.  I used an old credit card as sort of a squeegee to smooth out any bubbles as I went.

Then, I repeated the same position, mark, paste, place method on the rest of the map pages.

And voila!  Up close, I can see a few lines but they're hardly noticeable.  And it sure beats the pants off of the Restoration Hardware oversized maps that cost about $1,000.  Plus, RH doesn't have an Irish map as an option.

My in-laws visited Ireland recently, and brought back this Gaelic plate.  It translates to "A Thousand Welcomes".  Robert got the idea to screw it into the top of the map, and it's perfect!

So now the lower wall of our stairway isn't looking so naked anymore.  

And you know what Robert did when I showed the map to him after it was finished?  A good ol' Irish jig.  I have to admit, I danced along too. :)

I'll have to figure out a way to weave in some of my Swedish heritage in our home next.  

So even though it seems weird that I'm saying this the week of Halloween: Peace, love, and shamrocks, friends!  

And lots of Irish blessings,

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