DIY craft Archives - Farmhouse Chic Blog

Autumn on the Porch

September 16, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: Autumn, decor, diy, DIY craft, fall, Fall front porch, front porch 21 Comments

I just love Fall and all the colors that come with it! The burnt oranges, rustic burgundys’, olive greens and metallics adorn my home the entire Fall season! It’s so much fun to create your own Fall decor to enjoy! Today I’m going to share with you how I created a simple Autumn sign!

If you’ve been following along with my blog for awhile, you have probably seen a couple of these type of signs before! I just love making them because they’re so simple, affordable and cute! You will use at total of 12 shims for this project. Begin by laying two horizontally and start gluing the shims one by one until completed. I broke of the ends of a few of mine just to add some character! I painted the shims a beautiful, warm color: Valspar Coral Gable Biltmore Mediterranean Carmel. I gave it a good two coats and let dry completely.

I sketched out by hand my pumpkin and font design. I began to fill in the pumpkin using clear craft glue and sprinkling with gold glitter evenly. While that was drying I filled in my stem with brown craft paint and traced the penciled wording with black craft paint, let dry.

The first time I held up my sign to view, some of the loose glitter fell onto the, still wet, lettering creating an awesome glittery effect! I couldn’t be more happy with that oopsie 🙂

To complete this project, cut a shim in half and glue together at (about) a 45 degree angle. This creates a sturdy backing! And voila, an adorable custom sign just like that!

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{ Enjoy The Little Things }

August 19, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: chalkboard, chalkboard paint, chalkboard sign, crafts, diy, DIY craft, DIY sign, dollar store craft, easy craft, entry, entryway, shims, simple craft 21 Comments

I recently inherited a gorgeous antique table that has been a part of my family for many years! I placed it in my entry, but it was in dire need of some pretty decor! I had a simple and cheap idea to create an inviting entryway sign!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

11 shims
hot glue gun and glue (or wood glue)
desired tray
chalkboard paint
chalk and/or chalk pen
burlap or desired ribbon

First, grab your shims, use two on the bottom as your base, laying horizontally, and begin laying others on top vertically. Use a hot glue gun or wood glue to attach them. Next I spray painted mine white, and let dry. I had a ornate looking tray I purchased from the dollar store that had just been sitting around, so I taped off the sides with painters tape, just revealing the center and sprayed it with chalkboard paint. I gave it two even coats and let dry thoroughly. To activate the chalkboard paint, grab a piece of chalk and rub over the surface a few times, and wipe off.

To create support for the back of the sign, I simply cut two shims to size, creating a V shape, and glued into place. This gives the sign even stability with little effort!

I wanted to add a little rustic pizzaz to the sign, so I cut a piece of burlap ribbon I already had to a width similar to one shim. I glued one end of burlap to the back of the tray, the other end I also glued to the back of the sign. I added a simple burlap bow, attaching it with an alligator clip so I can easily remove it and add holiday decor when it comes time!

I use a chalk pen for writing, I find it much easier! And I just added a simple little quote! What I love about this is I can change it at any time and personalize it depending on the occasion!

This project cost me well under $5, how can you beat that?!

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Chevron & Burlap

August 5, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: burlap garden flag, burlap wreath, chevron, chevron burlap ribbon, chevron ribbon, craft, diy, DIY craft, diy project, garden flag 26 Comments

I might be obsessed with updating my wreaths and flags, so what?! While at Hobby Lobby I purchased an adorable 9 foot roll of faded black chevron burlap, which just happened to be 50% off!!

Once I was home, before cutting the burlap I gathered a long length and created a bow with long ends. I fish-tailed the ends to hang loose on the wreath and attached it with a small piece floral wire.

I used the same technique as my last garden flag, you can view that here! This time I used regular burlap, and stenciled on the words “Welcome To Our Home” in black craft paint. While that was drying I created a nice full bow and, again, fishtailed the ends. I secured it to the burlap using a generous amount of hot glue from my glue gun. I also sewed the tops of the bow into place since this is a heavy material, I didn’t want it to sag forward.

I love the combination the faded black chevron along with the burlap! It dresses up the front walkway and door perfectly 🙂 I can’t wait to make a flag for Fall!!

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{ Adorable Easter Porch Sign }

March 25, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: diy, DIY craft, DIY sign, Easter, Easter egg hunt, pallet sign, shims 23 Comments

I was in the mood to craft, so I started looking around the house for things to use. I came across a couple handfuls of shims and had the idea of making a sign for the front porch.

I started by playing with a design, mis-matching lengths to give it an aged feel. With your heated glue gun ready, lay two shims parallel to each other horizontally, this is what you will use as the base of your sign; you will glue all the pieces to it. One thing I loved most about the shims I used, is they had natural wear and holes! Play around with a design your happy with and glue into place. I grabbed a pencil and began free-handing ” Egg Hunt –>”… I thought it would be super adorable on the front porch and couldn’t wait to bring it to life! I used a beautiful, teal colored craft paint called Sea Breeze. It took me awhile to fill in the wording, I used a fine-tip paintbrush to edge the letters and a small paintbrush to fill them in. It made the letters on the natural wood sign POP! While that was drying, I begin working on the stand for the back. I broke a shim in two and glued one at an angle and let dry. The other I glued directly below it and attached it at the bottom. This made the piece more sturdy and less apt to fall. I let the entire piece dry for about an hour and then I went back and used a distressed ink and very lightly smeared it over the lettering. I wanted the sign to appear weathered and age and I think I accomplished it.. I think it’s a great addition to our front porch, what do you think?

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