I have a bit of a confession to make.....
I fear that I may have become a little bit of a shopaholic lately. An intervention may be needed.
This cement finial was one of my most recent purchases. Isn't it pretty? The finial has been hand painted with Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint and then distressed. The moment I saw it at an artisan market I knew that I just had to have it. Just what an addict would say, right?
Since starting my blog, I've felt the "need" to buy new cute things to decorate with, use in my photos, and transform in DIY projects for you to see. Actually, saying I need them "for my work" is just an easy way to justify buying. And as I look around me, I see a lot of stuff.
Pretty stuff.....
Useful stuff......
But still just a bunch of stuff that I could have done without.
And the realization hit me that I'm not making any money for all my time spent blogging if I turn around and spend it all on things I don't truly need.
With a creative mind, it is pretty easy to look at things in thrift shops and craft stores and see a purpose and a project. Many times I even look at things like old boards about to be discarded with the same vision. But then if it isn't immediately used, that thing with potential is replaced with something else to work on. And before you know it you have an entire collection of items with lots of potential and no desire to work on anything.
So.......
I'm going on a little buying hiatus. There are plenty of things for me to work on and post about already at my disposal. Many things I've purchased to decorate with that you haven't seen yet. And quite honestly, a few of the projects I've done in the past using up items just for the sake of doing something with them have been my most popular ideas.
Knowing that I needed to create something for today, I took a trip down to my basement to see what I could find. Believe me when I say there was plenty to choose from!
What I came up with for today's project is a handwritten quote to hang on the wall or lean on a shelf. It was painted on a "framed" board that was actually the shelf on my childhood chalkboard where I spent countless hours with my friends playing school. I still use the chalkboard each year as a welcome sign for a holiday open house market at my home, but the shelf was taken off so that the chalkboard could fold up when not being used. I knew it could have a purpose, but it took quite a few years to figure it out!
I've been seeing art like this all over Instagram. But what I like about this homemade version is that I was able to choose a personal quote and sketch it out in my own handwriting. It is like a giant note to myself. A reminder of something I need to keep telling myself.
Quotes are incredibly powerful. They can remind us of important memories; inspire; give courage; and make us look at an idea from a different point of view. Has there ever been a time that you've read something and felt like it couldn't apply more to where you are in your life at that particular moment? I keep a journal filled with handwritten quotes that have inspired me and refer to it from time to time when inspiration is needed.
Just in case you'd like to create your own handwritten quote art, here is the steps I took.....
SUPPLIES
Large Board
Paint
Stain
Black Sharpie
Sand Paper
The "board" I was using already had a frame around it. You may not want a stained frame around your painted board. Or maybe you want to actually put a board inside of a real frame. A large stretched canvas could also be used for this project. The choice of what you design on is totally up to you.
I stained the outside of my frame in Rustoleum's American Walnut. After it was dry, I lightly sanded the wood to give it a slightly distressed, worn look.
The inside of the frame was painted with Fusion Brand Mineral Paint in Champlain. I dry-brushed Lamp White paint in places to give the plain white a little depth. It is from the same brand and has a very light gray tint to it.
Using a pencil, I lightly sketched my quote out onto the board. Then I used a black sharpie marker to trace over my pencil sketch.
To age the writing, I used a very fine grit sandpaper to lightly scuff up the marker writing.
This was a pretty simple project but packs so much meaning into one piece of art. It can be made large or small and can be completely customized according to your decorating style. Creating something like this is very personal and should reflect what makes you happy, not what everyone else is doing.
What would your favorite inspirational quote be if you were to recreate this project?
Sources:
Basket
Lamb's Ear
White Finial