DIY sign – A Diamond in the Stuff

Now Dasher, Now Dancer {Subway Art}

Courtney Carmean — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 12:00:41 +0000

I know I have been pretty absent lately….and for that I apologize. During any other year, this time of the year is crazy. Nuts. Insane. But this year times that by a few! Between my awesome hubby receiving a promotion in the Air Force, family visiting, a very successful crafters show, and getting ready for and helping out with my brother-in-laws wedding next week……I am crazy busy. So busy I think they need to come up with a new term for it. Busy just doesn’t cut it right now.

Throughout all the craziness I have been of course crafting. Like I said, I participated in a local Makers Fair this year and it was my best show to date. Being surrounded by a show solely of handmade items is inspiring and exciting! Add to it all the things I’ve been making for the upcoming wedding and my craft room has been getting a workout. Knowing that we will be out of town for Thanksgiving/the Wedding I decided to get my house decorated for Christmas NOW so we can come home to Christmas ready home when we return.

Once I pulled out all my Christmas stuff and started setting up I realized some things needed to go and there was a need for some new items. This is our first year decorating in our new home and it seems like every house we’ve lived in requires a shuffle of holiday decor.

A few weeks ago I designed this Reindeer Subway Art in my Silhouette software. I finally got around to actually making the sign using THIS technique.

I absolutely LOVE it. It goes perfectly with my new Christmas color pallet…..can you tell what it is???? Now sit tight because more projects are coming soon! I promise!

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

USA Map Sign

Courtney Carmean — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 10:00:16 +0000

Last week I shared my Simple 4th of July Mantel. I featured a few items that I created including my USA Map Sign on my mantel. Today I’m sharing a step by step tutorial for how to create your own DIY map sign.

Step 1: Grab some wood and paint it your base coat. In this instance I used some smooth plywood and white paint.

Step 2: Put down Frog Tape to create the stripes. I used two strips of Frog Tape to create one stripe.

Step 3: Paint in between the tape with red craft paint to create the red stripes.

Step 4: Once the red paint is dry, remove the tape and reveal your crisp lines.

Step 5: Cut out a vinyl stencil. I used my Silhouette to cut our an image of the US and used the “negative” part of the vinyl (Meaning I discarded the image of the US and kept the outline of the image).

Step 6: Use Mod Podge to go around the edge of where the vinyl meets the wood. This will help with any paint bleeding from the blue paint.

Step 7: Paint inside the vinyl stencil with blue paint to create the image of the US.

Step 8: Remove the vinyl once the blue paint is dry to reveal your beautiful sign.

I did end up giving the whole sign some distressing, not a lot but just enough to weather it a bit.

I really love the way that the sign turned out. I also love that when I get an idea of home decor that I want to have I don’t have to search and search for it….I can just create it myself! I think that’s one of the best parts of being crafty!

The USA Map Sign looks awesome up on my mantel for the 4th of July. I also think this project could be adjusted to show off any state or country. So for those of you like me who are transplants or military nomads….having this up in your home would be a great way to honor your home state.

Do you like to decorate for the 4th of July? Why not create a USA Map Sign for your home?

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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You can check out the post about my Simple 4th of July Mantel to see all the details!

Joy Pallet Sign

Courtney Carmean — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 08:00:34 +0000

I happen to have a pile of pallet wood in my garage right now. Doesn’t everyone? Anyways, I wanted to start creating with some of this wood instead of just hoarding it. I was also itching to start working on some Christmas projects!

I grabbed some craft letters at Hobby Lobby and got to work. I stained them with wood stain first, then I painted them white with craft paint, and lastly I painted them with red craft paint. I gave the letters a little bit of distressing with a sanding block, didn’t want them to look too pristine next to the pallet wood.

When the letters were dry I used some wood glue to attach them to the pallet wood. I had my hubby attach the three boards together much like we did when I made my Autumn Pallet Sign.

I think this Joy Pallet Sign would be the perfect Christmas decoration for the porch. Can’t you just see it propped up in the corner by the door?

I must admit….I love love how it turned out! However, it will be on it’s way to my holiday show coming up!

So I must ask: Have you already decorated for Christmas? I have not and I’ve really been wanting to!!! We’re going out of town for Thanksgiving and it would be so nice to come home to the house decked out in red and green!

A girl can dream right?

Repurposed Door Into Vintage Sign

Courtney Carmean — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 08:00:59 +0000

I am in full blown holiday show mode right now. I am going to be selling at my first show in the area in a few weeks. So I’ve been working constantly on a bunch of fun projects!!! My goal this year is to use up some of my “stash”. I have a little issue with accumulating things and never wanting to let them go. However my home can not possibly handle all the goodies that I bring home.

I was given some old chippy door panels shortly after we moved. I’ve been wanting to tackle them and create something awesome. I decided to create a Repurposed Door Into a Vintage Sign.

The door panels needed quite a bit of cleaning but I wanted to leave the chippy paint on. It’s pretty fab right?

I cut out some vinyl with my Silhouette to use as a stencil for my letters. If your looking for a tutorial or some tips on how to do this, I shared my technique in my Autumn Pallet Wood Sign post.

Look at the chippiness! The lettering came out pretty good with my stenciling technique, even though the surface is pretty bumpy.

I choose to stencil “Farmer’s Market” on this one. I wanted it to resemble an old sign plucked out of an old market.

I have another door just like this one and a couple smaller versions. I’d love some recommendations on what I should stencil on them?

Alright, I need to get back to work! Have a fantastic day everyone!

Painted Baseball Subway Art Signs {Tutorial}

Courtney Carmean — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:00:49 +0000

A dear friend who is having her second baby contacted me to make some custom signs for her baby boy’s room. I was super excited to try out a new technique and make some adorable signs for the new bundle of joy. I’m breaking the process down and sharing how I made these Painted Baseball Subway Art Signs.

I started with a couple of 12in pine boards cut to 12in and 24in.

I painted the boards with some white paint that I had lying around. Each board got two coats of paint for good coverage.

Once the white paint was dry I gave the whole boards a good distressing. I hit the edges and went over the front of the boards with a sanding block to expose some of the wood underneath.

Then I fired up the Silhouette and cut out my vinyl. Can I tell you that it took me like 6 months to get brave enough to use this thing? Oh and I love it!

I used some transfer tape and applied the vinyl to the front of my boards.

Once the vinyl was on I used a foam brush to apply 2 more coats of my letter color, which was white. I was hoping that this would help prevent any bleeding from the top coat color. It worked like a charm too by the way.

After the white paint was dry I added the top color. The soon to be mom of two wanted classic Americana colors so I choose a dark red and dark blue.

After I did a couple coats of blue and red it was time to remove the vinyl lettering. I waited for the paint to dry fully, then I started the long process to removing every letter.

Once all the vinyl was removed it was time to distress! The mommy wanted the signs to have a vintage feel to them so heavy distressing was in order! I went over the entire sign with my sanding block, paying close attention to the edges. Both signs got a matte clear coat to protect them and they were done.

I am so in love with them!

Isn’t the Little Slugger sign just precious?

I had a lot of fun making my Painted Baseball Subway Art Signs and I hope you enjoyed them too!

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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Since your here….I would love if you’d pop over the this week’s Time to Shine link party and link up! Or just give some fabulous link ups a visit!

All You Need is Love {Fence Board Sign}

Courtney Carmean — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:09:00 +0000

Every holiday or season I am trying to come up with fun ideas and sayings to make my fence board signs. If you’ve been following along for awhile you know that I love making these things! Which I guess is pretty obvious since I’ve made about a dozen different ones!!! So Valentine’s Day came along and I wanted a love themed sign. I came up with this All You Need is Love {Fence Board Sign}.

I’ve always loved the famous Beatles song so it seemed a no brainer to use it!! I painted the wood fence board with white craft paint. Then I used some vinyl letters as stencils and painted over the whole board with some red craft paint. I waited for the paint to dry and then removed the vinyl lettering to expose the white lettering below.

I distressed all the edges just a bit and gave the board a clear coat to finish it off. I included a heart at the end….it just seemed right. I love my little “love” sign.

I know Valentine’s Day has passed but I think this sign is a great reminder through the whole year!!! I hope you enjoyed my All You Need is Love Fence Board Sign!!!

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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This year the kids and I decided to make some non-sugary Valentine’s. Come check out my DIY Crayon Heart Valentine’s.