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Sarah and I have been madly working on a fun project that I am hoping to finish and show you within the next couple weeks. We have been dressing up a workout room in her house!!  (For more about Sarah, our new WhipperChick and current contestant on The Biggest Loser, click here.)

One of the design elements is a weathered wood sign made out of an old pallet. Pallets are perfect for creating weathered wood elements!!

 

This is a quote that Sarah came up with while on the “Ranch”, working with Kara—one of the new trainers.  Kara challenged each of her team members to come up with an inspiring quote that they could hang on the wall of their workout space to motivate them. This was Sarah’s quote!  Isn’t it GREAT?!!

To make the board I took apart an old pallet…

…and rebuilt it with the slats closer together.  The wood was very weathered and cracked in places, but I kind-of liked it that way.  It added to the overall “look” I was going for.  My sweet husband helped put it together.  I have to admit, I have a bit of a phobia of working with power tools.  I’m in a twelve step program and hope to overcome that soon {wink, wink}.

   

When Sarah first arrived on the Biggest Loser Ranch, her (and her sweet mom) made up the pink team, so Sarah wanted something in her new work-out room to be pink, showing her team pride.

With the sign already being weathered so beautifully I didn’t want to completely paint over the wood, so I took some pink acrylic paint and watered it down quite a bit before painting  it on.  After the wood dried completely, I sanded it a bit to roughen up the finish.

Next, I busted out my Silhouette to create a vinyl negative to stencil the words on the sign.  Can I just say how much I love my Silhouette?! In true Ellie G style I’ve named her Sophie! We have become rather close since she moved in a few months ago.

To create a vinyl negative, you cut the word or image, then take the letters out and leave the “negative” image.  I placed that on my board…

…and then carefully stenciled the letters using a quick up and down motion (not a typical brush stroke) with white acrylic paint.

I removed the vinyl and had a perfect stenciled image!!

I finished the quote and ended up with this lovely sign. I can’t wait to show you how it looks in Sarah’s room. 

Isn’t it an amazing quote?  Well, Sarah is just amazing like that!!

Linking to:

• Skip to My Lou
• Blue Cricket Design
• Someday Crafts
• Sew Much Ado
• Women Who Do It All
• Bouffe e Bambini
• Free Pretty Things for You
• Seven Thirty Three
• Creations by Kara
• Night Owl Crafting
• Rhinestone Beagle
• House of Hepworths
• Type A
• It’s a Keeper
• A Glimpse Inside
• Fingerprints on the Fridge
• My Repurposed Life
• It’s a Hodgepodge Life
• Finding Fabulous
• Simply Sweet Home
• Funky Junk

I cannot believe how amazing the party was this weekend! I didn’t have time to comment on very many, but I did visit every link—and I was blown away by the talent! We appreciate everyone who linked up, and hope to see you all again next Friday.

And now for our favorites…

Spring Canvas from Less Cake {More Frosting}

Earring Card by Just Our Style

Paper Stars by Nifty Thrifty Things

Birdie Wall Art by Who’s Watching The Baby

Master Bath Re-do by Hill Country Homebody

Homemade Bagels from Prunille Fait son Show

Magnetic Board by Homework

Vintage Inspired Watercolor by A {Blonde’s} DIY Life

Button Egg & Stuffed Bunnies by Auntie Lolo Crafts

Little Fishy Cake Pops by Sweet Cheeks Tasty Treats

Pottery Barn Inspired Clock from Too Much Time On My Hands

Bird Faux Oil-Painting from Saved By Love Creations

Spring Decorating by {PRIMP}

Lamb Cookies by The Domestic Sugar Bakeshop

Tagalong Knock-Offs by Sweet Street Gourmet Cupcakes

No Soliciting Sign by Sassy Sanctuary

Forest Ranger Cookies by A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

Craft Room Make-over by Paisley Passions

Spring Carrots by The Ballard Bunch

If you were featured today, feel free to grab a button from our side-bar! See you next Friday!

I have been so impressed with some of the beautiful, yet simple, wreaths out in blog land.  So…I thought I must make one of my own.  I decided that my material of choice would be…

…you guessed it, burlap.  I know, I know.  I just love the stuff.

What you will need is…

• Burlap (the amount varies depending on the size of your wreath base.  I used about 1 1/2 yards.)
• Wreath base (I used a 12 inch ring)
• Hot glue
• Spray paint to match the color of your burlap.

1.  I spray painted the ring red so that the overall color of the wreath would be uniform.  If you leave it white there is a chance the white will show through the burlap.

{Funny story…notice the tape?  I broke the wreath when I gently  tossed it on the ground to paint it.  Be careful, those joints break easily!!}

2.  Cut burlap into 5 inch squares.

3.  Fold burlap  in half and then in half again.

4.  Holding the folded corner, round off the top of the square.

Your burlap will then look like this…

5.  Grab the center of the burlap and gather to look like a flower.

6.  Snip off the folded point of the flower.

 

7.  Apply hot glue to the tip. {Don’t you just love the red fingers?}

8.  Glue to the wreath base.

9.  Repeat until your base is fully covered and looks like this:

Now I have something lovely to put on my door for Valentine’s Day!! (Shhhh! It’s good for Christmas too.)

{Update}  Many people have been wondering where I purchased the red burlap.  I found mine at Hobby Lobby.  Sorry Vegas friends…I bought what was left on the bolt!

Right before the holidays, I was super busy with some fun family photo sessions that I have been meaning to share.  Here are a few of the shots that I LOVE…

Aren’t they fun? Email me [email protected] if you are interested in scheduling a photo session.