Have you seen my command center in the kitchen? It’s a beauty to look at, don’t you think? Especially that gorgeous wood desk top.
Well, I have a secret! It’s actually an old kitchen table top that was given to me for FREE! Yup, zero dollars, no moolah, nothing! And this is what the table top looks like:
I actually flipped it upside down to refinish it. But, I’m jumping ahead of myself. Here are the details: Read more
Earlier this month, I ran across a roundup of super creative DIY outdoor games that Sara from MomEndeavors had put together! After seeing how this crazy talented group of bloggers were able to build their own DIY outdoor games, I decided to try my hand at one that I’ve played for years at the firehouse when we’re not busy running calls. So, here’s my quick tutorial on how to build your very own DIY Washer Toss Game! Read more
Learn how to make this White-Washed Patriotic Flag Sign and hang it with pride in your home.
The other day I was at the fabric store but after not finding that perfect fabric for one of my projects, I went to the other section of the store to take a break from it all. While there I saw a little sign that read:
This Is A Place We Gladly Call Home…
and for that we are truly thankful
Those words totally spoke to me! I didn’t buy the little sign but I came home thinking about how to create my own version. The sign was more expensive than the materials to make my own sign ten times bigger!
My sign came out beautiful, especially with the large American flag on the background. I’m happy to show you how to create your own White-Washed Patriotic Flag Sign! Let’s make this sign.
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Optional: Gold Sharpie marker
Cut off the tops to get rid of the “dog ears.” Mark the area for the blue square on the flag.
Add star stickers inside the square. Paint over the star stickers with blue paint.
Paint the red stripes next. After the paint dries, remove the star stickers. Give your boards a light sanding.
You can leave your patriotic sign like this or if you want to give it the white-washed look, continue.
White acrylic paint and water is mixed at a 50-50 ratio to create a white-wash. Apply three coats of the white-wash. Wait for the paint to dry between coats.
Print out your quote on the computer:
This Is A Place We Gladly Call Home…
and for that we are truly thankful
Transfer the lettering onto the boards using graphite paper.
Using a brown Sharpie, trace the letters and fill them in.
Do you want them a bit fancier? Use a gold Sharpie to create shadows.
After the letters are filled in, it will look like this:
Give the letters an extra two coats of the white-wash to make them blend better.
Lightly rub stain on the entire sign.
We’re finished making the White-Washed Patriotic Flag Sign. Now it’s time to assemble and hang the sign.
To hold the boards together, attach cup hooks and screw eyes between the boards. (I chose to paint mine silver since I only had gold.)
No need to pre-drill, the boards are fairly soft so the hooks and screw eyes will go in easily.
Attach two extra screw eyes to the top to hang it onto the wall.
This was a very easy way to put the sign together, hang it, and… it doesn’t take much space when it is time to store it away!
I hung some more patriotic decorations and our dining room is ready for a celebration!
What do you think of this White-Washed Patriotic Flag Sign Tutorial?
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Have you heard the term sandbox when talking about software development? It’s the term used for the testing area where the engineers can “play” with their ideas before they go live to the public. Well, this little kitchen desk and hutch (kitchen command center) was my sandbox before I ordered our kitchen cabinets. It was my place to play with colors and style before making the very big step of ordering all the kitchen cabinets. When I had finished with the desk and hutch I was so thoroughly smitten with the colors that I had no problem ordering most of my kitchen cabinets in the same Sherwin Williams Copen Blue color!
Last week I showed you how I raised and transformed the Habitat ReStore desk into a counter-height desk. At the same time I bought the desk, I found a sheet of finish grade plywood that was an old folding table top. At $25 for the sheet, I brought it home and used it to create a wall-mounted hutch. After mounting it on the wall, I worked with my electrician to wire a lamp in the hutch. (Exterior wall mounted light from Lowe’s.) The result is a charming cottage style desk and hutch where I keep our lives organized!
Are you ready to build your own wall-mounted hutch? Grab your tape measure and saw and let’s get busy! Read more
Where do you drop all your mail, papers, reminder notes, kid’s school notes, business cards, etcetera, etcetera…etcetera? If you answered the kitchen counter, I’m sure you are among many including myself who dropped everything on the counter. And then it piled up there until someone filed the papers and threw away the reminders of events past.
(As a Lowe’s Creative Ideas blogger I was tasked with creating a “drop zone” for my June project. And I was provided with a gift card to purchase the supplies.)
I was determined to keep our countertops clean in our new kitchen. Which meant I had to create a space that would hold it all and act as our drop zone! The idea of a kitchen desk seemed like the perfect spot. However, I didn’t want a regular height desk. I wanted a desk that was counter height so I could stand and write a note, file papers, put away the mail then dash off to complete my next DIY project. This handy girl really doesn’t have the time to sit still ;-).
When I stumbled across a desk marked down to $35 at our local Habitat ReStore, it seemed like it had potential. A quick check of the drawers proved that the desk was still in perfect working order.
I was talking to my friend Holly about my idea of the countertop height desk and she pulled four table legs out of her garage and gifted them to me! And, I had a heavily loved craft table that a neighbor gave away. I thought it would make the perfect top for the desk.
Here’s how I put them all together to make a cottage-style counter-height kitchen desk: Read more