Hearts Painting

I have to admit, I've never been a huge Valentine's Day celebrate-er. My philosophy has always been that one shouldn't pile their affection onto one day - the smaller, insignificant days should be the ones to  get the most love. BUT, I think I've caught the bug a little bit this year after seeing so many awesome posts on other blogs.
So I did a little digging in my craft piles... I had bought a few of these canvas prints on sale after Halloween (hello, $3). Canvas can get pricey so I scooped them up hoping to paint over them when the spirit moved me. And with zero Valentine's Day decorations (I must sound so sad! haha), I decided to give one of them a little LOVE (hehe get it?... I'll stop.)

Hearts Painting

What you will need:

• Canvas (however you get your hands on it... I used halloween prints!)
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brushes
• Index cards
• Paper towels, paper plates, and newpaper for easy cleanup

Step One: Prep your canvas - I primed mine since I had to paint over a design. Then I painted the background blue. Let dry.

Step Two: Make a template for the hearts - fold index card in half and cut out design

Step Three: Go. to. town. Seriously... I just picked some colors and painted away by sticking that heart template all over and painting in the heart. Be careful overlapping the template onto wet paint, though. I wasn't too picky about precision lines, but if you want a cleaner look, just be careful with your template and maybe make a few templates to replace messy ones.

Ah, so sweet!

I hope you have as much fun as I did splattering some paint around!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers, 

Bridget XOXO

Wood Slice Coasters

When the holidays came to a close and it came time to toss our Christmas tree, I did a little begging and bribing to get Joe to chop off a few slices of the trunk. I have been giddy to make coasters out of wood trunk slices. They are all different and full of character! There's something I love about the texture and earthiness they bring to a room.

*Sorry for the lack of pictures, I got a little enthusiastic in the beginning and forgot to take photos!

Wood Slice Coasters

What you will need:

• Slices of wood from a trunk or thick branch - let them sit out and dry for a week or so
• Sand paper
• Polyurethane or other wood sealer
• Felt brush
• Silicone calking (can be found at any home improvement store) (you could also use felt instead)
• Wax paper
• Level

Step One: sand down your "slices" of wood... You only have to do one side, but feel free to do both if you want. Leave the raw edges alone, the bark add character.

Step Two: brush off all sawdust and wipe down each wood slice with a damp cloth.

Step Three: coat the wood slices with two coats of polyurethane according to the directions on the can. Also coat the sides. I skipped the bottoms.

Step Four: once dried, lay out a piece of wax paper and on the underside of each slice, add a few circles of silicone. This will prevent sliding and protect surfaces.

Step Five: flip over your slices so they were silicone side down in the wax paper. Take a small level and level out the coaster by pressing on each side until level. The silicone will help level the coaster.

Step Six: let dry overnight. Then, carefully peal the coasters from the wax paper and flip them over to finish drying for another day.

There you have it! Non-slip coasters that are unique and beautiful!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

Bridget, XOXO