Monday, March 28, 2011

The weathered look is on my side

A week or so ago I decided to start tackling a little art project.



  I had been envisioning a simple piece of wood framed out, stained a nice gray with some kind of white design painted on.  So off to home depot for their super convenient 2 x 2 piece of plywood($4.77),  some of the cheapest trim I could find which was .68 a foot and it said it was "trellis" trim(1 1/2wide x 1/4thick). So I spent a little over $10 on the wood.
 I laid the trim out and marked where I needed to cut(I didn't miter the corners so two pieces are a bit longer than the other two).  If you lay it out it makes sense.  Then I used some gorilla glue on each piece right before I used the nail gun to attach it.  
I had to have hubby hold the pieces as I nailed them to keep all the edges lined up.  I bought the cheapest materials I could so I didn't have a real good thickness to work with when nailing but it worked..Only one nail popped through but hey it adds to the rustic charm right? Here is how it looked once all the trim was attached.  
Here is my sad little nail that came through..
I sanded the whole piece to even up the edges and just take a bit of the roughness off of it.
Then took my minwax water based stain in slate($10) and applied with a sponge brush and wiped away the excess with a cloth. 


I LOVE all the gorgeous stencils that I'm seeing out there but I have been a little shocked at the prices.  I originally wanted to do a rustic looking piece of wall art but I am no artist so I decided I would go the stencil route since I can't draw a good stick figure.  I started researching the ones I really like and they were anywhere from 29.99 to 49.99.  Gulp...that was going to add a penny or two more to this project.  
So after a little research I came across this Free Stencil on the This Old House website.  It was too large for the look I was going for so I minimized it 50% on our copier, cut it out and then played with the design.  Lining up all the points on the stencil made it much easier to just go for it and not have to measure anything.
I traced the stencil on with chalk.  I don't know if this was a good route to go or not but it worked for  since I was painting the design with white and planing on roughing it up a bit.

I couldn't find the white paint that I thought we had laying around so I just used the Kilz that we had in the garage.

 I also didn't have a good brush to use but just went with it because I was determined not to spend $$ on anything but the wood and stain.  After it was all painted I roughed it up a bit with my sanding block .
What do ya think?  I think it turned out pretty good.  I am glad the weathered look is in because it helps hide the fact that I not only can I not draw but I also have a hard time tracing:)
Here it is on our living room wall..Looked kind of blah there with nothing around it..

 So I threw it up on what I call my mantel since we don't have one...I liked it much better here!


 Here is a close up of that shows off the messy rustic finish!



I linked this project to several of the parties in my sidebar on the right and in the "party" tab.
And at the The Lettered Cottage who have a fab big button to post right here but I can't get it to work..Arg.
And:


Photobucket

42 comments:

Amy Gilman and Emily Lee (Sisters of the Wild West) said... Best Blogger Tips

i absolutely LOVE your wall art. it turned out awesome!!! I would love for you to link it up at our link party here
http://sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/2011/03/weekend-features-and-sister-sunday-link_26.html

Amy
www.SistersoftheWildWest.blogspot.com

Designed by Chance said... Best Blogger Tips

I love this! The pattern is great and the colors are perfect. You are an artist.

Carmella said... Best Blogger Tips

I love this! Beautiful one of a kind art work, what's not to love!

Shannon @FairfaceWashcloths said... Best Blogger Tips

I love the design! I think it looks fabulous on your mantle with the other decor. Nice work!
shannonsews.blogspot.com

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

I love this! I have a smaller piece of scrap wood Ive been wanting to do something with, I think its 12x12..something like this to sit on my mantel would be perfect. Thanks so much for sharing your technique..I plan to follow your lead!

I found you through the Paint Party at Domestically Speaking..glad to be following you now!

Heather @ A Table for One, Please
www.dorilukedesigns.com

The Farmer's Wife said... Best Blogger Tips

Love It! Very cool

Dear Sweet Home said... Best Blogger Tips

Very Pretty! The mantel looks great.

liz @ bon temps beignet said... Best Blogger Tips

It turned out beautifully! And it looks great on your 'mantel'. We dont have a real one either so I like to dress up a little Ikea shelf in our entryway. here's a pic of it all done up...
http://bontempsbeignet.blogspot.com/2011/03/happy-happy-happy-happy.html

Stopping by from Someday Crafts

liz @ bon temps beignet said... Best Blogger Tips

It turned out beautifully! And it looks great on your 'mantel'. We dont have a real one either so I like to dress up a little Ikea shelf in our entryway. here's a pic of it all done up...
http://bontempsbeignet.blogspot.com/2011/03/happy-happy-happy-happy.html

Stopping by from Someday Crafts

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

Your wall art is great-love the design and colors-you cracked me up by using Kilz!lol-I'm your newest follower!Claire

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

Your wall art is great-love the design and colors-you cracked me up by using Kilz!lol-I'm your newest follower!Claire

I like it, I love it! said... Best Blogger Tips

I love this! Great job!

megandcalconner.blogspot.com

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims said... Best Blogger Tips

saw you over at Christina's adventures. i love this!! such a cute decorating item!! :)

Lisa @ Shine Your Light said... Best Blogger Tips

I love your wall art! It really looks great - the design is so fun yet neutral enough to use with other items. I just made my very first sign this week and lightly distressed it a bit with sandpaper, which completely hid my imperfections! Just a tip for next time.

Becca Bertotti said... Best Blogger Tips

So pretty, Jess ... very impressed!! *Becca* (your newest follower)

www.adventuresindecorating1.blogspot.com

Jessica @ Decor Adventures said... Best Blogger Tips

This piece is so interesting, I love the stencils you choose!

Very creative and a great piece for your space for sure :-)

wyochatfields said... Best Blogger Tips

Very, Very Cute, I love the rustic look.

Kindra-At Home With K said... Best Blogger Tips

I love this piece of art you did! Wonderful design and distressing!

Tammy @ Type A said... Best Blogger Tips

i would love it you shared this at my party! you did a fabulous job, looks great.
http://typeadecorating.blogspot.com/2011/03/anything-goes-party-10.html

Tammy @ Type A said... Best Blogger Tips

thanks! you shared it at my party. =)

Heather said... Best Blogger Tips

Nice!

At The Picket Fence said... Best Blogger Tips

Jess! You did a fabulous job! It caught my eye immediately when I saw it at our party. I love that you stuck to staying frugal and made use of what you had, and good for you for not buying a stencil. I think what you did turned out perfect. Thanks for linking it up to Inspiration Friday At The Picket Fence!

Heather

Delightful Order said... Best Blogger Tips

Love this! I'm inviting you to link to my Delightfully Inspiring Thursday Party. http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/2011/03/delightfully-inspiring-thursday-party-5.html
DaNita

Wanda Metcalf said... Best Blogger Tips

Very nice! I have seen things like this in stores and they are not a frugal buy. You did a great job! Thanks for the instructions think I will give it a try!

Have a great weekend!

Carrie @ Dittle Dattle said... Best Blogger Tips

What a great DIY project! thanks for sharing :D

Michelle @ Sweet Something Design said... Best Blogger Tips

Jess, this turned out fantastic! It looks great on your console, I love combined mod and rustic!

Christina said... Best Blogger Tips

This is so cute!! The design and colors are great!

Thanks so much for linking to "20 Below Thursday"! :)

Sommer said... Best Blogger Tips

That turned out so amazing! Your quite talented =) I would love for you to link this to my VIP party today =) http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/vip-party-9.html

Lucydesignsart.com said... Best Blogger Tips

this looks beautiful! I love the color combo!

Libby said... Best Blogger Tips

I think it looks great! Love the pattern!

Sweet Little Smoothie said... Best Blogger Tips

I LOVE this!! It turned out perfectly shabalicious and look gorgeous on your 'mantle'!

ps - I'm your newest follower :)

Christina said... Best Blogger Tips

I featured this on my blog today! Come grab a "featured" button!

Congrats, and thanks for the inspiration :)

http://christinasadventures2010.blogspot.com/2011/04/sunday-features-14.html

Kelsey said... Best Blogger Tips

This is stunning! Love the gorgeous stencil and the weathered effect :) I shared this on my FB page!

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

Looks great!! And for only 10 bucks you can't beat that!!! Rustic is def in!

Sommer said... Best Blogger Tips

Hi there! Just wanted to let you know this was featured on my blog this morning =) Come grab a button when you have a chance!

Cheers! Sommer

Kim @ Too Much Time said... Best Blogger Tips

I concur with all of these amazing comments. This piece is GREAT! I am with ya on the not paying an arm and a leg for a stencil...$30? Really? For a stencil? People are crazy! Yours is just wonderful!!

Kim
www.kim-toomuchtimeonmyhands.blogspot.com

Lindy said... Best Blogger Tips

Awesome piece! I love the color and the pattern -- I think it would go anywhere!

Janelle said... Best Blogger Tips

Fabulous! I am going to have to try the slate stain! Looks great on your mantle

Jenn said... Best Blogger Tips

Absolutely LOVE it! The pattern is gorgeous! Pinning!

LrSchwtz said... Best Blogger Tips

This is so pretty. I love how rustic it is! Please stop by www.laughloveandcraft.com and link up to my Share the Wealth Wednesday Link Party! I'm your newest follower!

Vanessa @ {nifty thrifty things} said... Best Blogger Tips

This turned out beautiful! Great job!
Thank you so much for linking this up to {nifty thrifty sunday} last week!
Hope to see you again this weekend!
xoxo,
Vanessa

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said... Best Blogger Tips

It looks terrific!

Dee