Front Door Greeting {with Chalkboard Vinyl}

I am slowly but surely working on bringing my new home together. I still have a ways to go but it has been fun to find a place for everything and create new items to put in this beautiful home that I never want to leave. {too bad we are just renting it}. I knew I wanted to make my front porch welcoming, kind and friendly to our new neighbors around us. I change out the wreath each season and holiday, but I wanted to do something else on the door. I thought about the tradition vinyl welcome sign but then quickly came to the realization that I wanted something a little different and unique. I found some chalkboard vinyl I have had in my craft stash for quite a while now I just didn't have the perfect project for it yet, that is until I thought of this simple, but really fun decal for my front door. It was so quick and easy, literally half of a nap time craft :)

{Supplies I used}

-Chalkboard vinyl {mine is Cricut brand}

-transfer tape {not require but it does make it easier to get everything straight and is a quicker application process-the cricut chalkboard vinyl came with the transfer tape}

-Cricut mini {again this is not require you could easily do this without a cutting machine it is just quicker}

-Marker and scissors {if you don't have a cutting machine or a way to borrow one}

-Applicator tool {or really you could just use a credit card}

-Chalk

-Rag 

{What I did}

The first thing I did is hook up my cricut mini and chose my designs that I wanted to use:

 Main label- label 1-5 11 1/2 inches 

Triangle banner- banner 2 each triangle is 1 inch total of 71/2 inches 

Arrow- Arrow 8 inches 

heart- heart-5  1.5 inches 

Then once I had it all picked out, designed and sized, I cut it out on some scrap paper to make sure everything was size correctly, then I cut it again this time on the chalkboard vinyl. 

***If you do not have a cutting machine you can design it your self or find designs online to print out and trace onto the vinyl then you are going to cut out your designs with scissors. 

The machine will cut the vinyl and leave the back uncut. This is nice for the transfer tape. Once it is cut you are going to peel off the excess vinyl as shown above. 

Next you will take your transfer tape and measure it to the size of your decal backing, then peel the tape off its backing, put the sticky side onto the chalkboard vinyl and use your applicator or credit card to smooth it on. So it looks like the last picture above. 

Peel the backing off and the chalkboard vinyl will stay on the tape then you will place it onto the door right where you want it, use your applicator and rub it around to make sure it is sticking onto the door and then peel the tape away and all you are left with is the chalkboard decal! tada!

Next you will take some chalk and rub it over the entire thing, then use your rag to wipe the chalk off. Then your surface is ready for coloring, writing, or picture drawing. Use your creativity. This is a great tip for all new chalkboard surfaces so that it doesn't leave a ghost {previous writing} on it. 

Didn't it turn out so cute?! I Love how it is unique and different than any of my neighbors doors. I also love that it is not permanent and it is great for both renter and home owners alike.

For now I just colored in the banner and arrow with some yellow and Wrote Welcome in the label. It will be fun to change this out for the season, holiday or whatever is going on in the area or our family at the time. 

Moss Monogram Sign Tutorial 

 Current front porch. I have some really fun ideas coming up to
spruce it up a bit so make sure to stay tuned

 Side table Tutorial 
 White planter // Ikea
Glass Milk Bottle //Ikea
Blue mason jar // Smiths

 Outdoor Door Mat Makeover tutorial 

For those who have asked here is a picture of the front of the house. Isn't it cute?! I die and i really want to buy it one day if we could, or at least build a replicate. I love the inside floor plan just as much as the outside. 

 

Happy Crafting! And don't forget to PIN IT!

 As always if you have any questions please feel free to email me any time 

@wjwiki07@hotmail.com I would love to hear from you.

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Sofa Table Revamp {tutorial}

If you saw this post or have been following me on Instagram {you should if you don't} you know that I have been wanting to make my old sofa table pretty for quite sometime. I got this table about 3 years ago at the DI {a thrift store here in Utah} for only $10 and it has been needing some love since then. I knew it had good bones when I saw it I just couldn't decide what color to do and I put it off for forever. At the beginning of July we move and as I was looking at my open rooms downstairs that table just drove me crazy not being up to date so last week I finally took the plunge got some Yellow paint and got to work.
 

{Supplies I Used}

-Sofa table {DI $10}
-Power Sander {named Gus Gus}
-Yellow Paint {Valspar samples from Lowes}
-Primer {Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 from Lowes}
-Paint tin
-Paint brush {2}
-Paint roller {foam roller-size small}
-Rags {3 or 4}
-Stain {Early American}
-Finish Spray {Minwax Polycrylic clear Satin}

{What I did}

Here is what she looked like before just a regular,old, boring, scratched up, light oak sofa table. Nothing too special. Well that's what you may think, but I was in love as soon as I saw it. I loved the rope detail and the curvy legs. It was perfect and the price tag was even better. I knew I was going to like this makeover.

Lets get started, first you are going to grab Gus Gus, or in other words your power sander. Yes I like to name my tools. Makes me feel like our time spent together in the garage is more fun and not as lonely. baha! Sand the table, removing the top coat finish and smoothing out the scratches. There were a lot of scratches, I sanded down most of them but I left some for character and a shabby chic look.

Once she is all stripped and sanded down you are going to clean it all up with a wet rag followed by a dry rag removing all the dust and debris.

Next up is the priming. I can not stress enough how important the priming step really is. Do not skip this step. The primer gets the wood surface ready for the paint and helps the paint to stick along with giving it the best vibrant color and coverage. Also get the Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 primer it is the very best out there. It goes on much smoother and better coverage than the killz. Take my word for it you want this stuff. You can find it at Lowes home improvement. It also dries soooo fast which is nice to getting your project done faster.

Then its the fun part. Painting. Where you really see the transformation. I rolled this table because I could not find the perfect color yellow I was going for in a spray paint. I got a couple cans of the valspar samples from Lowe's and got to work. First I took my paint brush and brushed in the creases and areas that the roller wouldn't be able to reach. Then I rolled the paint on going in nice smooth patterns over lapping so there were no paint lines. I did two coats and that was plenty of coverage. Then I let that dry completely. Isn't the yellow so pretty.

I loved it already but with all the detail I really wanted it to pop so I got out my stain and distressed it up a little really quick. This is such a quick and easy process. I don't like to do this to ever piece of furniture, because I think there is such thing as over glazing things but I like to do it every once and a while and when it is next to pieces that are clean crisp painted pieces.

You are going to work in smaller sections so it doesn't dry too quickly before you can wipe it away. You are going to brush it on making sure to get it into all the detailed crevices. Let is sit for about 30 second to a minute to let it really seep into those detailed sections, but don't let it sit too long that is dries all the way. Then you are going to take a clean rag and you will wipe away the excess stain just leaving i t in the details and a little distressed background on the flat pieces. Then you will move onto the next small section until the whole table is complete. Then again you are going to let it dry for at least a couple hours.

Do you see how it really shadows and makes for perfect details pop out. Love that stain with the yellow.

Once it is dry, I sprayed a coat of the polycrylic finish on the whole table. Let is dry for 2 hours and then it was beautiful, transformed and ready to bring back into the house.

Bringing the table back into the house finally got me to take down my 4th of July decor and put up some fresh, crisp decor for the rest of the summer months.

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See that one of a kind pallet art made from scratch?
Yeah a post all about where I got the plans and an awesome ebook to tell you all about coming soon
You don't want to miss this one. :)
Until then check out some more of my painted transformations

 Ikea table transformation

 Yellow Nightstands

 Ikea side table/stool transformation

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