DIY Pallet Board Horse Sign

While I was on Pinterest looking for baby shower ideas I ran across a pallet board that had a horse on it and since my sister-in-law loves horses I knew it would be the perfect decoration for the shower and gift. I wasn't sure where I was going to get a pallet from, but I found a pallet crate at a used furniture store and thought it was worth a shot. 

To do this project I used the following: 

Wood crate - or a wood pallet 

Hammer 

Light Creme / White flat interior paint

Black wood stain 

Stencil 

Pink acrylic paint 

Wet wash cloth 

Paper towel or rag 

Sand paper 

I forgot to take a picture of the crate, but this is the crate reassembled into a pallet board. I used every piece from the original crate including the nails. I pulled the crate apart using a hammer and then lines the boards up and nailed them all back together. 

Front

Back

I wanted an old grey barn wood look to it, so I used a trick I found on a blog a few months ago. 

1. First take your black stain and lightly paint it on the wood. 

2. As soon as you paint it on take a paper towel or old rag and wipe the stain off. You can also rub it across places that got missed. Be sure and do this immediately after you apply the stain. 

3. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, so it is mostly dry to the touch.

4. Take a paint brush and apply a light layer of light creme or white paint. I used flat interior paint. You could also use acrylic paint.

5. Using a wet wash cloth wipe the paint off / rub it around the board mixing it into the black stain. This is what will turn your wood a grey color. 

It is okay if you miss some spots. It will give it character! 

For the horse I created a stencile in Sillhouette. I used a light pink acrylic paint. Make sure your stencil is secured really well so you don't get paint outside of the stencil. I had a few spots that were funny so I took a pencil and dipped the eraser in paint and went around some of my edges. 

Let it dry and you now have a finished pallet board horse sign! After all of the paint had dried I took some sand paper and went over the board very lightly. I wanted to rough it up a little bit, but I didn't want it to be obvious that I took sand paper to it! 

It was the perfect centerpiece for our dessert table! 

I can't wait until I have a little girl of my own and I can make her one! 

Instagram

I finally got myself together and created an Instagram account for the blog. 

You can follow me @masonjarsandlemonbars.

DIY Chicken Wire Frame

Okay friends, this is one of the easiest DIY's ever! It does require some tools, but if once you have everything it is a great Saturday afternoon craft.

You will need the following supplies:

Frame - you can use any frame you want, antique, goodwill find, etc.
Chicken wire - Unless you are like my parents and have chicken wire sitting around you will probably have to make a trip to the local farm supply store to pick up some.
Staple gun - I used an easy hand staple gun. Confession, my dad did all of the stapling.
Putty - You might need this if you use an antique frame that has some holes that need filling in.
White paint -  If you are working with wood and white (or any other color) washing your frame then I would highly suggest using flat interior paint. You can pick up a sample at Home Depot or Lowes for about 2-3 dollars if you don't have any sitting around.
Wet wash cloth - if you are planning on white washing your frame like I did you will need a wash cloth to wipe paint off. If you are just painting your frame then you don't need to worry about this.
Wood Glue
Plyers

Directions:

I found frame at a used furniture store for $2. I know it looks pretty rough, but it was just what I had in mind for this upcycling project.

When I took the frame off of the back board I found out the frame wasn't put together and it didn't actually fit together on its own very well. After some nails, wood glue, and paint cans I was able to put the frame back together. 

I wanted an antique white washed effect so I brushed a light layer of paint and then took my wet wash cloth and wiped the paint off until I had the look I wanted. I left enough paint so it was white, but made sure you could see the wood showing through.

To fill in the uneven spots where the frame didn't fill well together I used putty and evened out all of the edges. After the putty dried I painted over it, wiping it down and blended it into the frame.

All done! 

Next I laid the frame down on top of the chicken wire and cut out with plyers. To attach it to the frame we flipped it face down and stretched the wire over the frame and then stapled it. Chicken wire is somewhat stretchy (?) and I didn't want the frame to have bumps, so we pulled it really tight as we stapled. I did have to go back over the puttied spots and paint because it shifted somewhat after attaching the chicken wire.

I forgot to take a picture of the frame with the chicken wire all by itself, sorry! When I get a chance I will take a photo and update the post. We used the frame to hold onesies for my SIL's baby shower. I love how it turned out and can't wait to use it for other events.

Ponies in Pink: A Baby Shower

While I was home for break I had the chance to host a baby shower with my sisters for one of my sister-in-laws. Because I live in Utah I often miss out of this kind of stuff so I was really excited to help put it together. My sister-in-law is a vet and loves horses. She is also having a baby girl, so we went with a pink and gray horse theme. I can't tell you how much fun I had doing this, it was a lot of work, but so fun! 

My mom and I picked up some onesies and shoes at the second hand store. All together it was about $15 to put together, but all of the onesies were in brand new condition. Most of them had never been washed! 

 

One of my sisters had the idea of hanging them on a clothesline to display them. I'm so glad she thought of it becuase it was such a fun way to show off all the cute onesies and baby shoes!

I have been wanting a chicken wire frame for a while and I saw an idea on Pinterest similar to this and thought it was the perfect opportunity to make my frame.

The chalkboard photo display board was a Christmas gift I gave my mom. All of the onesies were cut out with a sillouette machine. The gray onesies are actually wrapping paper! It is wrapping paper made out of stone and it is awesome. Google it!

We had everyone write their name and their favorite childrens book on a onesie so my sister-in-law could have ideas of what children's books other people like.

Remember my mom's chalkboard banner? We couldn't find any pink chalk so I typed everything up and then cut it out with the silhouette (I finally got my very own for Christmas, I am so excited!!). 

Also done with the Silhouette. 

One of my sisters has an entire collection of mason jars with vintage flower lids. They work perfect for parties! 

My mom picked this up in Salt Lake back in October, I think, and it was the perfect peice for the dessert table. 

 

I saw a sign on Pinterest that I wanted to recreate so I made myself a pallet, designed a horse, and put it together. I loved how it turned out and hope my baby neice loves it too! I will put up a tutorial on how to make your own in the next week or two.

FYI sugar decorations are much harder to make than they sound. I was really pleased with how they turned out, but they were not easy!

My sister made some delicious cupcakes and brought down these cute nut cups that she picked up from Orson Gygi in Salt Lake. 

We thought it would be a cute idea to have people guess when baby Elisabeth (yes, her name is spelled wrong on everything... whoops!) would be born. I forgot to get a picture at the end, but it was fun to see everyone making guesses. 

We are so excited for Baby Elisabeth to get here!

Making Our House a Home: Christmas

We are back from our Christmas vacation and while I was hoping to get this post up before Christmas, it's better late than never right? I had so much fun decorating for Christmas this year. It was the first year we finally felt like we could pull out our decorations even though we weren't in town for Christmas.

My mom got this angel at a garage sale of sorts and I absolutely love it. It is so unique and adds a fun twist to a regular angel.

Remember my stencil? I actually made this pillow for my mom, but had to include it in this post. 

Probably my favorite decoration. I love the serenity and peace it brings into our home.

How cool is this star? I found it at my favorite little antique boutique in South Provo.

Also another gift for my mom. I was going to make a banner, but ran out of time so I borrowed hers. P.S. that is chalkboard vinyl, it is the coolest!

Growing up my mom always decorated our staircase banisters along with our Christmas tree. When we first moved into our house and I saw the banisters I knew I wanted to do the same. My collection is much smaller, but I can't wait to see how it grows throughout the years.