Thursday, October 13, 2011

Building Inspiration

I read a lot of decorating blogs.  I'm desperately hoping to learn something someday.  I came across a lot of posts that made artwork based off this Pottery Barn sign above the bed:


This sign did not float my boat.  Still, I saw people loving this sign and making their own versions all over the place.  I wondered what I was missing.

Then I saw this version at this site and actually started to like the idea and some wheels started turning (plus they gave a tutorial on how they made it!):


I knew I didn't want a list of things.  Actually, I tried making a list, but that was too time consuming and required too much thought process for that particular night.  During Thanksgiving our pastor always says a quote that I think is a good thought and decided that's what was going to go up on this sign.

A few weeks ago Mike was in Chicago and I decided to take on this project without him.  I'd done some window shopping for supplies and noticed that I could get the slats at Home Depot for $12 and the framing wood at Lowe's for about $4.  I already had the stain, and knew the paint would only cost me $2 most.

Happy shopping day!  I got to Lowe's and found some other slats - for $14.  They agreed to give them to me for the Home Depot price.  However, I was going to get 50 slats.  Ugh.  I really only needed about 13 as I'd planned for sizing.  I got to the back and discovered an open set of slats and because they only had 23 of the 50 slats, they gave me the set for $6!  Then I got to Michael's to buy a little bit of acrylic paint, and it was in the clearance section (perfect color!) for 47 cents!  If this sign didn't work out I was only going to be out about $10!!!

I got to building.  I managed to pull out the miter saw and the air nailer and loaded up the brads all by myself.  Turns out I needed 15 slats when laid out and with the 23 I'd gotten, I barely had enough.  These are NOT quality wood pieces and a quite few were not usable.


This was the result after staining:


That only took a couple days to wear off.  I "stenciled" on the letters after printing/cutting the words onto paper.  In hindsight I would have traced and painted them because some of the paint got under the paper and the letters turned out blotchy.  But, I wasn't really hoping to make this perfect and just wanted it done.  I'm terribly impatient when it comes to projects like these.  It's called "Immediate Gratification Syndrome" and I've got it in spades.


It was made for above our mantel.  I'm not totally sure this is the perfect place but for now it works.  I expected to be able to put a picture leaning in front of it, but the sign has to be set quite far out so it leans without falling; it's taking up a lot of real estate up there.  But, it's better than the blank mantel we've had for two years!


All the stick decorations are from Michael's with coupon and the hurricane was found at Goodwill for about $2.  The rocks were selected by Jake and had been sitting in a bucket because they were "the most interesting" from our rocks around the house.

All in all, this mantel setup cost us less than $20 and I love the reminder that this quote gives us every day!

21 comments:

Sue H said...

Nice job! And I'm very impressed at your use of tools and willing to wear the stain of success for a few days.

Anonymous said...

That is a beautiful quote and a great reminder to have in your home. I'm super impressed that you were able to use a saw and a nail gun~ yikes! I'm inspired though, so thanks :) I saw your post on Knock-Off Decor. Have a good day!

XXOO AMY said...

You are awesome! I have a spot that I've been wanting to make something for and didn't know what...I agree with you on not really loving the PB sign. Yours is a million times better! Im going to completely lift yours (if that's OK with you!) thank you so much for the inspiration!

Unknown said...

That looks amazing...I love it! I wish I could get motivated (and brave) enough to try something crafty like that. Found my way over to your blog via Knock Off Decor.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kristin said...

This came out great! I've got to try it sometime (perhaps with my hubby using the miter saw :-)). Thanks for the inspiration...just pinned it!

Kelly said...

Yours looks great! Where are the slats sold? I went to Lowes looking for them bc we don't have a Home Depot but I didn't find them. Thanks!

Kerry said...

Kelly - They are lattice slats. I found them in the back of Lowe's, but I imagine they are all different. They were really hard to find. You might try checking by the full sheets of lattice - that's where they were at HD, maybe some Lowe's would carry them in that area too. Good Luck!

Lisa @ Shine Your Light said...

Kerry, I saw your sign on Pinterest and love it! The quote is lovely!

Denise said...

Love this quote! Thank you for sharing it.I look forward to visiting you often since I found you on Pinterest.

Anonymous said...

I loved your quote. It inspired me to make my own little sign like that. Here's the one I made! http://sandjp.blogspot.com/2011/11/jumping-on-bandwagon.html

Aimee said...

I LOVE that quote, too! Made a freebie printable: http://sprik.blogspot.com/2011/11/just-because-42.html

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Quote ~ perfect timing for Thanksgiving and sharing with friends & family.

Cathy Monetti said...

I love this and have a bare mantel downstairs that looks very much like yours. I would love to "borrow" your idea!

Samantha said...

Stella & Dot just posted a photo and link to your blog on their facebook page with over 150,000 followers! Congrats!

Anonymous said...

Hey Kerry! I saw this post on Pinterest via Knock Off Decor and was so inspired that I tried it myself! I love the quote and think I like your version better but I'm super happy with mine. Thanks for the inspiration!
(www.divacfo.wordpress.com)

Anonymous said...

Hey Kerry! I saw this post on Pinterest via Knock Off Decor and was so inspired that I tried it myself! I love the quote and think I like your version better but I'm super happy with mine. Thanks for the inspiration!
(www.divacfo.wordpress.com)

Rhiannon said...

Looks great, not seen that quote before, but thought it would be perfect for valentines, In fact I just used it to attempt to make my first printable!

http://myhandcraftedhome.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-saw-this-quote-blog-recently-and.html

Thanks for the inspiration!

Katie said...

Tracked down your post after seeing it on Pinterest/Tumblr - beautiful presentation and sentiment!

Heather said...

love your project!!!

Lynn Steimle said...

Hi Kerry! I just decided to drop in on your Kronicles. So even though this is an older post, I wanted to let you know how cool this project is! Love it!

Tiffany said...

Absolutely beautiful idea! Love the quotes!