Welcome To Our Little Big House On The Prairie


Friday, May 4, 2012

Keeping it.... ummmm... REAL.

Have you ever done a craft that no matter what you tried it just wasn't working for you?

Yeah.

I had one of those days.

Two days, actually.

Yesterday.

And today.

I wasted almost two full days on a project that 
I will probably throw in the burn pile.

Really.

See, I found this really cool old wooden thing.

I don't know what it is.

I'm thinking it was a gate.

Ya know...  Before they made swinging ones?

That fit into a gap in a barn stall?

Yeah.

I think that's what it is.

Scott's not here, so I can't ask him.

Anyway...

Here it is:





I found it inside the walls of the barn, when we pulled off the old wood 
to install the insulation and plywood.

And I thought...

This would make a really neat sign.

Like, a welcome sign for my studio.

So, I spent an hour scrubbing off 
a hundred years worth of dried manure and cobwebs.

Waited patiently for it to dry.  
(Okay, I put a fan on it.)

Sanded it a little bit.


while getting my DIY Network fix (at least the afternoon wasn't completely wasted.)

I gave it a wash with ASCP "Pure White".


And then attempted to make the cow parsley like Annie Sloan makes in her book.  
Ya know...  with the torn cereal box strips?

Yeah.

Not as easy as she makes it sound.

Then I hand painted on the word welcome.

And went outside...

Didn't have time to do anything with it because we had YSF Football sign ups and I volunteered to man the check out, so I left it.

Brought it in this morning and thought maybe it just needed a little contrast of darker paint here and there.  

Maybe a little bow...

Yep.

Stared at it.

Took it back inside.

Painted over the horrible hand painted welcome.

Thought I'd try the freezer paper transfer for the first time a'la 

Karin at Art is Beauty.
(click link above to see her awesomeness)

Yeah.

Not as easy as she makes it look either.
(I now have a new profound respect for the stuff she turns out.)

Painted over the wax paper transfer.


Google burlap bows.


Take it outside for the third time.


Yeah.


Stare at it again...  With loathing.


Left it there.

Uploaded the pictures.

Tweaked.

Pic-Monkeyed the death out of it.

Still couldn't make it look good.

Needed a blog post for today.

So, here ya go.


I'm going to take a nap now.  :P

Have a great weekend, y'all.  

I think we're going to have s'mores tonight.  ;)

XO,


10 comments:

Art Is Beauty said...

OH MY! I love it~ Are you SURE you hate it or is like me with that Samual Jackson vanity. You will come to realize you love it, it just takes time to forget what a pain it was!
I think its lovely!! YOU did a great job!
Hugs,
and have a margarita and you will love it even more!!!
Karin

Emily said...

LOL I know just how you feel! I've spent the last day trying to shabby something up and it looks really terrible now...I definitely wasn't going to post about it (for now, anyway) so I had to scramble for something else to post. I just now finished THAT...now I need to keep working on Big Ugly. I think the best thing that would help is a hammer - it will look MUCH better in a hundred pieces.

But I digress...what if you try turning the sign sideways and starting over? Distress the heck out of that white paint. I actually really liked the first picture you shared - it's definitely got the 'prairie patina' that your looking for. You can't do better than 100 years in an old barn!

Jeri said...

Laura I love it!!! Give it a day or two and come back to it maybe? I think it came out fab!! I'm having the same kinda day so maybe it's a lunar thing? lol

Kit said...

I absolutely love it too! You did an awesome job and it looks great and the added bow is just perfect. Since I am obsessive compulsive the only thing else I would do is maybe connect the letters with a little gray paint so that top & bottom of lettering are connected, but hey, that's just me and certainly doesn't mean that your sign is not AWESOME, bc it is LOL.

Shari @ turnstylevogue.com said...

First of all, it is great! Don't get your knickers in a twitch or you are gonna get slapped LOL. If I had to choose, I like the 2nd version better simply because the lettering is easier to see outdoors.

Second...use carbon graphite transfer paper. No hassles. You can get it anywhere and it is only a couple bucks!

P.j. said...

(Take this with a grain of salt, because I tend to get AR on my own projects.) I would have made the lettering just one board high so it would fit without the space. Since the gate was rough, a solid paint may have classed it up too much. You could scuff it up a bit around the edges, &/or add an antiquing stain over the whole thing. I wouldn't worry about trying to paint the weed too perfectly. OR--just leave it as it is & let it weather & age gracefully.

NanaDiana said...

Hey- You are way too hard on yourself. I like it. It does look like it might have been an old gate. I think it looks okay and I sure wouldn't toss it. xo Diana

Pamma said...

This made me laugh so loud. Amy over at The Salvage Collection had the same kind of day. I have these days quite often...sometimes it eventually works out!!!! Anyway, made me laugh.
Pam

Gwen @ The Bold Abode said...

Maybe it'll grow on you...like a fungus.

Anonymous said...

Don't burn it! It's cool and versitile...you will think of other things later on that you'd like to transform it into! I think you have it looking great! Some cool hinges or hanging it up higher or covering an opening or making it the door to a corner of your garden.....the possibilities are endless....DON'T BURN!