Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Labor of LOVE {bench redo}

I know I say this A LOT....but I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted! I have been doing SO many amazing projects (at least I think so) and I am so excited to share them with you guys! Over the next few days, I'll show you the different projects. This one has a bit of picture overload, but don't miss the free printable at the end of the post :)

I am going to start with this one, because it was intended for Valentine's Day, but I can't pass up sharing it just because cupid has left the building! When I was thinking of something special that I wanted to make for Valentine's day, I didn't want it to be only specific to the "Love Day". Who wants to put in hours of work, to have to shove the decor into a box till next year?? Not this gal!

I decided that I was going to make a wood subway sign for the wall, that says "I LOVE YOU", in lots of different languages. I first designed it, which you can feel free to download the free PDF file.


I sized it to the wood I was using, so you can just resize it to fit your project. I printed it out (in 3 pages) and taped the paged together. Then I spent way too long (I won't even get into it) transferring it to the wood. Here it is in pencil...

I'm not sure where I went wrong after this, but let's just say that this was my first truly failed project. I think I ran out of patience with this one once I started painting the words. So a few days went by, and I decided to paint this bench.

I didn't have any intentions on painting the sign on it, but my sister-in-law suggested it. At first I thought....she's crazy! I'm not wasting all that time again!! But I'm a glutton for punishment.
This time I used the technique that I used on this stool.

I reprinted the sign, only this time, mirror imaging the text. I used sidewalk chalk on the printed side and with the printed side face down (with the chalk on the wood), I traced each word. I used a pencil that didn't have any lead to trace, so that I could still see the original when I was actually working on it. Instead of using paint, I went the smart way....the Sharpie way! I used an ultra fine tip Sharpie, a lot of patience, and when I was finished, I sprayed it with a clear, satin top coat. And ta-da....








OH, I almost forgot to mention! When my sister-in-law saw it, she fell in love (pun intended), a bought it!!

Sticking with the Valentine's day theme, I also thought I should share this cute printable in the same post. Clicking on the picture will take you to the PDF file and you can download this for free!


I used them for chocolate lollipops that I made....YUM YUM! If you download the PDF, you can change the text and use them for anything!

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Furniture Feature Fridays
The Shabby Nest

11 comments:

  1. Jill, that bench is my most favorite of all your creations...I think that I could not havae parted with that...amazing..I LOVE it! Darn your Sis-in-law! nah...glad it is staying in the family....jsut the bestestestest! yeah, that is my word for your bench...GOd just gave you a special little touch on the giftedness of artistry...Keep on creating...Blessings to you girl!

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  2. I love it! I'm about to do a bench redo. Great ideas!!!!

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    1. Thank you Bonnie! I'd love to see what you do with your bench when you finish!

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  3. Love it all Lil. The bench is great as I've seen it in person. That little stool is great too. Whatever happened to that little blue "grains" stool? PS. I have to sign as Anonymous because I can't get it to publish any other way?

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    1. You have to have a google account to be able to reply with your name. It's free

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  4. What a beautiful bench - fantastic transformation!!!
    Your newest follower ( would love to have you follow
    back when you have the time )
    Happy Saturday -
    Hugs,
    Suzan

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  5. I absolutely love this! You did an amazing job. Don't think I have the talent for something like this, but I would love to try :). Can't figure out how to download the link though?

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  6. I absolutely love this! Very cute. I love the black and white. And I have recently been thinking about refinishing some old furniture I have in storage. Pretty sure I don't have the talent to do this (yet lol), but I would love to download the link. I am having a hard time finding it..? Also, if you have any tips for me, I would love to hear them!
    Cait

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  7. Gorgeous bench! You did such a fabulous job!!

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I love to hear your opinions!

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