Building a tall craft desk on a budget

AMAZON CRAFT DESK HACK ON A BUDGET

If you’re in the market to DIY your own tall craft desk you’ve likely seen all the GORGEOUS Ikea tall craft tables that are on Pinterest. Oh boy are they so pretty and clean looking! I have found myself almost drooling over them the last few months.

The thing is my current craft space is just temporary. We moved into a beautiful old home a few months back so until we get my she shed up outside I have taken over a way too beautiful to craft in sitting room. Everything I put up in there is just a for now thing, not permanent.

I just needed a space to create all of my craft tutorials to share with you all here on my blog.

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Of course this frugal momma didn’t want to spend too much money on a craft table that may or may not fit into the she shed once it’s done.

That’s a pic of daughter #2 making the first project after the rolling craft desk was complete. She approved! This is a real view of what my craft space will look like and what you don’t see in my crafty DIY tutorials. The lights, microphone, and all the cords.

Here’s how I made a SUPER BUDGET friendly tall craft table

What I used to make my roll away craft table

• 3/4” plywood - this was scrap plywood leftover from a job my husband did

• 2” heavy duty castor wheels ( I bought 2 packages, totally 8 castor wheels)

• 9-cube white organizers

• leftover white paint

• leftover sealant

Tools I used

• Ryobi impact

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi brad nailer

• Ryobi orbit sander

• orbit sandpaper 120 grit

• clamps

• paint brush for paint

• paint brush for sealant ( I used a SUPER CHEAP one for this since I don’t keep them after I use them on sealants)

• measuring tape

• brad nails

• screws

1.ASSMEBLE THE 9 CUBE ORGANIZERS

My tips for this step. When I purchased mine they were around $40 per organizer. I don’t have pictures of this step. I was so excited to get them built I completely spaced taking pics.

• read the instructions completely prior to assembling, but if you’re anything like me you probably won’t lol!

• use an impact (it looks like a drill but it’s a little different, it has screwdriver bits that fit into it instead of drill bits) to get the screw in properly, a screwdriver really sucks for this

• enjoy a glass of wine while you build these, again trust me you will need one lol!!

This next step is only necessary if you want to have a moveable craft desk. This is something that was a must for me as I’m always needing space to work on bigger projects.

2. ATTACH THE CASTOR WHEELS

Again, I didn’t take pictures because I was SO darn excited to get them done. You want to attach 4 castor wheels onto each 9 cube organizer, two on each end of the organizers. When I purchased mine they were about $14 per set of 4 castor wheels. And they are GREAT QUALITY. I was very impressed.

I HIGHLY suggest attaching a piece of wood to the inside of the cubby on the bottom shelf of each end so that your castor screws will have something to grab. I didn’t do this for the first cubby and I really wish I would have. The screws poked through the bottom cubbies and it’s kind of ugly now. I didn’t make the same mistake on the second one though.

I recommend shooting a brad nail through the wood just to keep it from moving when you start screwing the castor wheels on. This worked great for me when I attached the second set of castors.

3.CUT YOUR PLYWOOD

Measure out how big of a work space you want. Keep in mind that if it’s too wide you’ll need something to brace it on the underneath side of your craft table.

I used some leftover 3/4” plywood my husband brought home off of a jobsite. I cut 3 pieces to 47.5” in length and it seemed to work out perfectly. Almost like it was meant to go on my rolling craft table. I used my miter saw to cut these to length.

If you want to know what power tools I recommend for crafters check out this post.

4.SAND

I used my Ryobi orbit sander and just lightly went over the plywood. Just enough to give it a smooth surface.

5. ATTACH THE PLYWOOD

I know there are a lot of different ways to do this step but this is what I did and it worked great for me.

I was sure to lock the castor wheel before starting this step. Then I measured to find the middle of one of my 9 cube organizers.

Using my brad nailer I attached the ends of my skinniest board to the edge. This is basically just to tack down the plywood so it doesn’t go anywhere till you can get the screws in.

Then I lined up the other 9 cube organizer and did the same thing. Once those were down I attached the wider pieces, one on each side of the skinniest piece.

I used a drill to make small pilot holes, those are holes that help you get your screw into the wood easier. I just used whatever screws I had on had that were long enough to go through the plywood and into the 9 cube organizer. Ignore how not straight the screw and drill are. It was incredibly difficult to take this pic myself so I said ‘good enough pic for me’ lol!

5.PAINT

I used a leftover white paint we used in the house to paint the top of my rolling craft desk. I applied two coats, letting them dry in between coats.

6.SEAL

It’s a good idea to apply a sealant to the top of your workspace. I just used whatever I had on hand mainly because this isn’t a long term desk for my craft space. If I were to buy a sealant I don’t think I would use this specific one because it did yellow the white a little bit but it does work for sealing the paint and keeping the surface of the craft table wipeable and cleanup-able.

All and all I spent around $110 to make this. I’m not factoring in the materials I already had on hand. I know technically money was spent on those somewhere down the line but it’s hard telling when, where, and how much was spent so I just left out.

It’s far from perfect but it certainly works for my crafty space.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you have any questions please leave them in the comments below

Happy Crafting!

Interchangeable pallet style wall sign

Interchangeable wood signs are all the rage right now. And honestly who doesn’t want to have less seasonal décor to store?

Don’t get me wrong they are SO CUTE but I’ve seen them everywhere, including a similar version when I was growing up. I just wanted something different. If you haven’t see these adorable signs here’s a screenshot I took from Pinterest when I searched interchangeable seasonal signs. Super cute, just not what I was wanting in my new home.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I thought ‘why not just put up a blank white sign?’ Not really genius but I sure felt that way lol!

Here’s what you’ll need to make a light weight blank faux pallet sign to change out through the seasons

• 1/4” plywood

• 1x2 pieces (number of pieces will depend on the size of your blank sign)

• wood glue

• miter saw (I bought this 12” slider and LOVE IT!!)

• tape measure

• nail gun (I love my Ryobi brad nailer)

• brad nails

• sander ( I love my handheld sander from Ryobi)

• sand paper

• white paint

DIY FAUX PALLET STYLE SIGN USING PLYWOOD

I had some faux planks already cut to the width I wanted. They were leftover from this budget friendly bedroom faux plank wall DIY that we did.

My planks were precut to 5” wide. Then I used my miter saw to cut them to approx 20” strips.

I wanted my sign to be fairly large because I was propping it up on a buffet in my dining room (btw I need to take some paint to it because I’m not loving the outdated brown). I have old house with pretty high ceilings so I also needed the sign to be tall enough to fill the blank space on the wall.

I ended up using 5 planks to make my sign. They aren’t perfectly even on the sides and I’m totally ok with that since I’m not a perfectionist by any stretch of the imagination.

After I got my faux strips cut the length I wanted I gave them a quick sanding with my orbit sander and 120 grit sandpaper. This was just to knock down any little splinters and make the sign somewhat smooth.

I laid them out on my table and placed the sides I liked the best faced down.

Then I took my 1x2 pieces, I cut three of these, and used them for the backing. My planks went horizontally so my brace pieces, the 1x2’s were made to go vertically (the height of the sign).

I placed one in the middle and one on each side.

I used wood glue to attach them to the back and my Ryobi brad nailer to really attach them so they wouldn’t be going anywhere.

I’m going to be totally transparent here…my first plan was to use a white wash stain. I’d never used it before and had this beautiful picture in my head of how it would turn out. Yeah, I don’t think plywood was my best choice for this stain. It just left it kinda blah looking so I wiped it all off.

Paint to the rescue! I took some leftover wall paint, that I’ve been using for everything including this framed Halloween porch sign … btw there’s a free SVG for that sign … , and painted a couple of coats on the plank sign. Painting it worked MUCH better!

That’s it. I didn’t do anything else to it. I’m so glad I used plywood planks for this project. A regular pallet pine sign like this one, would have been far too heavy to prop up. I’m a momma of 4, enough said lol!

I was so excited to decorate it for my first holiday in my new home!

Check out the flying bats post I made for this blank wood sign.

Check out more DIY power tool projects

Flying bat sign, easy DIY sign for Halloween

DIY - Super simple Halloween sign

This year I decorated for Halloween instead of my typical fall only décor. My girls are loving it! One piece they have especially loved, and I must say I do too, is my flying bat sign I made. It was so crazy simple to make too!

The best part of this wooden Halloween sign is that once Halloween is over I can simply take the bats off and replace them with something else.

If you love this DIY be sure to check out this framed Halloween sign I made for my front porch…p.s. it has a FREE SVG to use ;)!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

MAKE YOUR OWN FLYING BAT SIGN

Here’s what you’ll need

• 12x12 black cardstock

• double sided tape

• Cricut cutting machine

• green Cricut mat

• Cricut Design Space

• this Cricut bat file

• white blank sign - click here for a DIY pallet sign tutorial

If you’re new to the Cricut crafting world be sure to check out my post on 10 must have supplies and accessories when starting out using a Cricut cutting machine.

1. CUT OUT CARDSTOCK BATS

I used my older model Cricut Explore to cut out my cardstock bats. If you have Cricut Access you can use the Cricut image, click here for the link.

2. REMOVE THE BAT CUT OUTS FROM YOUR GREEN CUTTING MAT

It’s easier to flip the cardstock facedown on your table then slowly roll the mat away from the material you’ve just cut.

3. ARRANGE THE BATS

Before you put tape on the back of them decide where you want them to go. This took me entirely too long lol!

4. MAKE THE BATS FLY

Give the bats some movement by gently curving their wings upward. I used a pencil to curl the wings up so they didn’t have creases.

5. TAPE THE BATS DOWN

I used double sided tape to temporarily tape them to my wooden pallet style sign.

This is seriously my favorite piece in the house for Halloween! It’s crazy simple but it gives the spooky décor a little something extra ya know?! I love it!

I hope you loved this simple decoration to add to your own home for the Halloween season. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Happy Crafting!

Check out more of my Halloween & fall craft tutorials

Plank wall on a budget

FAUX PLANKED WALL DIY USING PLYWOOD

Are you planning a new planked wall project? Want to know how to DIY A faux plank wall on a TIGHT budget? See how we spent less than $50 to plank a bedroom wall and learn what not to do so you don’t make the same mistakes we did our first time around.

Recently my husband and I bought a gorgeous old home that was built in the year 1900. Of course we got an inspection on it before we bought it to make sure it was sound and the house wasn’t in need of any major repairs before we made an offer. To our surprise it was totally sound! The house was mainly in need of cosmetic repairs and since we got such a great deal on it we snatched it up decided we could tackle those on our own one project at a time. Our first project being a room that had 6 DIFFERENT prints of wallpaper on the walls. Because the house is so old, 120 years to be exact at the time I’m writing this post, nothing in the house aligns perfectly. We love the house but it drives my construction worker husband absolutely bat shit crazy that nothing is even. He likes walls that are square and I love all that old character!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

See how I easily removed the old wallpaper using just my steamer

Once we started pulling off the wallpaper we realized the true reason why there was so much wallpaper and so many different prints. The wallpaper was just a band aid for the big cracks in the walls and it looked like they just put any scrap piece they could find to cover the walls. Honestly we expected the walls to be in rough shape because it’s such an old house but we weren’t expecting it to be that bad. Really we needed to replace all of the walls in the room with drywall but we were on a time crunch and opted instead to replace 2 walls completely for now and apply a bigger band aid than wallpaper to the other two walls. We thought making faux plank walls would be the perfect thing to use on the other two walls for right now.

Love freebies? Click HERE to get instant access to all of my free printables, SVG files, and more

One wall finish we chose was a faux plank wall. Working with a limited budget we knew we couldn’t opt for the premade planks you can buy at any home remodeling store or even this peel and stick wooden wall option. Instead we opted to buy a thin plywood and cut it ourselves.

We definitely made mistakes on this one but my hope is to share those with you so that you don’t make the same mistakes if you decide to do a faux plank wall too. Really it was because we didn’t fully prepare for this remodel. I honestly was just planning on taking off the wallpaper and before we knew it two walls were totally gone lol! So we had to finish what we started before my husband had to got out of town in two days for a job. Yeah…we were completely unprepared for this big project! But the good new is if we decide we want to change it later we can easily pop the planks off the wall and do something different.

Here’s how we made our affordable faux plank wall

First, I need to start off by saying this requires the use of power tools. If you are not comfortable with using power tools this project may not be for you. But it is a fairly simple project to tackle if you are just starting out using power tools. If you can cut a straight line and use a brad nailer you shouldn’t have too much trouble DIYing your own plank wood wall.

Like I said above we were working with a super short time frame. We had a weekend to get the bulk of this bedroom done and were working our butts off to meet that deadline. So we didn’t do things exactly perfect but at the end of the day we are overall happy with the outcome. And nothing is ever perfect so there’s that lol!

Here’s what we used to make our faux plank wall

• thin plywood, I believe we used 1/4” and purchased it from a local home improvement store

• circular saw

• miter saw

• jigsaw

• clamps

• brad nailer

• 2” brad nails

• pennies

• measuring tape

This is not the way it really should be done but to save time my husband stacked the plywood and cut them into strips that way. I wanted thicker planks so he cut them at 5” wide.

After he cut the strips I cut them down using my miter saw into smaller sections. I measured them anywhere from 6”-24” and looking back I would not have cut anything less than 12”. After I got them on the wall I realized the smaller ones just looked awful so I had to remove those sections and replace them.

Then I started attaching them to the wall starting from the bottom and working my way up. I used pennies as my spacers between my plank pieces. I have to say that worked out GREAT! You use the pennies just like you would any other spacer. Place them in between the wood planks so that you get the same even spacing between the planks.

I used my Ryobi brad nailer to nail the planks to the wall. We chose to use 2” brad nails so that it would hit the wood underneath from the lathe and plaster so they wouldn’t just fall off. And since the brad nails are not like a regular nail they come out of the wall easily if you decide you want to remove them later. This is also why we opted not to use any glue like I’ve seen on other tutorials. We didn’t want this to be a permanent fixture in the room, just a fun accent wall for now to cover the lather and plaster wall. Years down the road we will replace it with drywall but for now the faux plank wall is a perfect temporary fix.

Around the windows I had to cut custom pieces and I used my jigsaw for that. I am not a measuring kind of girl lol! It killed me to have to be exact with this and to use real measurements so that the pieces would come out right. Usually I eyeball my cuts and that’s that, it drives my husband nuts that I do this but it is what it is, I’m not a perfectionist lol!

Making our own faux plank wall saved us so much money! When we bought our plywood we paid $17 a sheet, a lot cheaper than any premade version. We bought 5 sheets total to redo 2 walls in this room and 5 plywood sheets covered it! Less than $100 to redo them. Granted we did have a lot more work to do but when you’re on a budget hard work is worth it to not have that extra money going out!

This was such a great option for us right now. It’s not as much work as drywall and definitely not as hideous as the wallpaper that had been on the walls. While it’s still technically a band aid it’s a much prettier band aid!

I hope this post helps you to DIY your own plank wall and learned what not to do with some of the mistakes we made DIYing our own plank wall.

Love freebies? Click HERE to get instant access to all of my free printables, SVG files, and more

DIY painted baby name and stats sign

DIY painted baby name sign with newborn stats

A couple weeks ago a sweet friend of mine from grade school messaged and asked me to help in creating a wreath she’s having made for her very first baby! Of course I said YES! I am just so happy for her as she’s waited a very long time to become a mom and was so honored she asked me to be apart of something she will be hanging in her precious daughter’s room. She sent me all the details she wanted for the sign part of the wreath and I recreated something similar personalized just for her little one.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

I created my template in CRICUT DESIGN SPACE and of course used my Cricut to cut it out. By the way, I have an older style Cricut and still create AMAZING projects with it, although I’d love a Maker just to have one I don’t need one to make all the wonderful things I share on my crafty blog. I often see others get discouraged because they can’t afford the newest machine out there but you can find GREAT deals on older style machines and they do just as much as the newer models :)! If you’re just getting started using your Cricut read this list of 10 things you need to get you started on your Cricut crafting journey.

If you want a more in-depth teaching on SIGN PAINTING you need to get on my list for my DIY SIGN PAINTERS E-COURSE. Click here to get on the list so you’re first to know when it opens back up.

When you’re all finished up reading this tutorial and need help attaching hanging hardware be sure to read this post on how to easily and quickly attach a sawtooth hanger to wood signs

How to paint wood signs with no paint bleed

Here’s what you’ll need

• stencil film

• transfer tape

• pre-stained wood base

• white paint

• matte finish mod podge

• 2 paint brushes

• masking tape

• vinyl squeegee

Helpful tools

• CRICUT CUTTING MACHINE

• CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

• CRICUT CUTTING MAT

• XACTO KNIFE

• RYOBI MITER SAW

• RYOBI SANDER

For this tutorial I’m focusing on the painting techniques of making a personalized baby sign. CLICK HERE for my tutorial on how to stain wood.

ONE- Start with a pre-stained wood base. See my video on how to stain wood click here. Be sure you are allowing your stained base to dry for at least 24 hours prior to stenciling on it. Stencils will not adhere to a base that isn’t fully dry.

TWO- Apply your stencil. To do this you need transfer tape. Transfer tape allows us to take a stencil and apply it in one whole piece without a headache, we LOVE whoever invented this product! Place your transfer tape sticky side down onto your stencil. Gently push out any air bubbles on the front with your hands, then flip it ver and use your vinyl squeegee and rub the back of it. Slowly remove the paper backing leaving the stencil (blue part) and the clear transfer tape still intact.

THREE- Flip your stencil over and position it on your wood base. Once you are happy with the placement working from the middle of the stencil out press it down with your hands. Then use your vinyl squeegee and do the same thing.

FOUR- After you’ve pressed down your stencil you can remove your transfer tape. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to roll your transfer tape off of your stencil. Start from one corner and slowly roll is off. You can reuse your transfer tape over and over again. I like to place my used transfer tape back on the roll I cut it off of and use it for the next project.

FIVE- If you have any gaps/air bubbles use an xacto knife to remove those. Use an xacto knife to make a small slit in the stencil film where the gap/air bubble is. This will make the stencil film lay flat.

SIX- Tape off any area that you don’t want to get paint on, like the sides of your stencil. It is a lot easier to take the time to tape this off than it is to try to clean off paint where you don’t want it.

SEVEN- Using MATTE FINISH MOD PODGE seal your stencil. You do this by taking a DRY paint brush, dipping it into a little bit of the mod podge, and brushing it in all directions on the exposed areas of your stencil. Be sure you are painting on a VERY THIN LAYER of mod podge. This step is KEY to the no paint bleed painted sign. The mod podge is filling in all of those tiny air bubbles that you can’t see. Let this dry, usually this takes just a couple of minutes.

EIGHT- I highly recommend using either flat or eggshell finish for your paint. Gloss paint tends to pull up when you remove the stencil. Using a different DRY paint brush paint on your first THIN layer of paint. You want to see the base color/wood grain through the paint.

NINE- After your first layer is completely dry you can paint on a second thin layer of paint. The first layer should dry VERY fast.

TEN- After you’re done painting on the second layer of paint on your stencil you can immediately pull up your stencil. I prefer to do this step while the paint is still wet. Use an xacto knife to remove all the small stencil pieces.

Let your sign dry then you’re ready to use it. I hope that you found this DIY SIGN PAINTING TUTORIAL helpful. If you did I’d LOVE to hear your feedback:)!! If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

DIY cute ghost yard stake

How to make a super cute ghost for your outdoor Halloween decorations

Between my online business and being a mom to four little girls I seriously don’t know where I find the time to make things for myself but I do lol! Like this cute outdoor ghost stake I HAD to make for our front yard. I had been slacking the last couple years with holiday decorating. Usually I go all out but lately I just hadn’t been up to it. So for this fall I decided I was getting back in my holiday décor groove! And this adorable little ghost is just one small part of my DIY fall/Halloween decorations. Check out this DIY PALLET SIGN I made, it’s actually a school spirit sign but with our school colors it ties in perfectly with our fall décor!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

And this fun witch’s brew coffee mug I made using my Cricut and some vinyl. And just one more… this rusty pumpkin I made from mason jar lids. So cute!

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Real quick…if you have ever wanted to learn how to paint wood signs, the way the PROs do, you don’t want to miss my COMPLETE GUIDE TO SIGN PAINTING. It is a whole course that you complete on your time. I am teaching you EVERYTHING I know without you having to go through the headache and expense of trial and error. If you’ve struggled with paint bleed, designs not lining up, paint peel up, sticky residue left behind you are in for a treat! Click on the image below or go here for more info.

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DIY CUTE WOOD GHOST CUTOUT

If you don’t want to read the tutorial you can scroll to the bottom to watch the video tutorial or go here to watch it on my crafty YouTube channel.

Here’s what you’ll need

• WOOD {I used leftover OSB}

• RYOBI SCROLL SAW

• RYOBI BRAD NAILER

• RYOBI SANDER

• 120 GRIT SANDPAPER

• ORANGE, BLACK, WHITE, PINK ACRYLIC PAINTS

• WHITE & BLACK PAINT PENS

• SPRAY SEALANT

• PAINT BRUSHES

• ROUND FOAM BRUSHES

• GORILLA WOOD GLUE

• GLUE GUN

• ASSORTED RIBBON

• THICK STRING IN A COORDINATING COLOR

Fist you want to draw the outline of your ghost onto the wood you’re using. We had some leftover OSB so that’s what I used. I also used this same OSB wood to make this pallet sign on the letter cutouts. We had made triple loft beds for the older three girls and WAY overbought for the project lol! So now we have a full sheet and a half still left over.

Then cut out your design on your scroll saw. Honestly this probably would have been much easier if I used a jig saw BUT this is what I had to use and it still worked pretty good to get the job done.

Once you have it all cut out give it a quick sanding to knock down the rough edges. I used a 120 grit sandpaper on my Ryobi sander.

Then paint your ghost cutout all white. I didn’t paint the back of mine and I really wish I would have. I used a leftover paint we had in our garage but you can use acrylic for yours if that’s what you have.

After your white base coat is dry on your wood ghost you can start doing the artsy stuff :)! I like to sketch out my design before I start painting. This way if I make a mistake it’s much easier to fix it vs painting it, messing up big time, then wanting to throw it across the floor lol! I sketched out eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes, mouth, and then I used an off brand K-cup to draw my circles for the large polk-a-dots. {actually I painted the cheeks before I traced the circles but if I was thinking I would have traced those first}

To paint the cheeks you need pink and white paint and I also used a stencil brush but you can use a round brush for this step. Dip your brush into the pink paint then dip one side into the white, but just a little bit of white. Then swirl it around in a circle at the corner of each side of the mouth. Add more white if you need just a little more highlight in there.

Then paint the other facial details, except for the mouth. Somehow I forgot to paint the eyelashes so I did mine later but you can go ahead and paint those now too. I used a round brush for the eye painting and a fine flat brush for the finer details.

Now paint all the polk-a-dots. I used orange and black for my dots. I painted the large ones in with a paint brush. I used a medium sized round sponge brush {black dots}, a small sponge brush {orange dots}, and the wood end of the small brush for even smaller dots . I didn’t plan any of these out too much, just kind of scattered them wherever they looked best.

When the cheeks are dry you can paint the mouth of your wood ghost using black paint and a fine paint brush.

Add the white features to the eyes. I used a white paint pen and made a curved line on one side of each eye {be sure you are making them on the same side of each eye} and I added a dot towards the outside of the other side of the eye then a little accent dot right above that dot.

Using a paint pen I made a long dash line all the way around my ghost and I also added dashes on each circle. For the outline and all of the orange circles I used a black paint pen. For all the black circles I used a white paint pen. Btw….isn’t my little helper just the cutest?!! This is daughter #4 <3

Since this will be outside I sprayed mine with this indoor/outdoor clear satin Krylon sealant.

Attach your stake part to the back of your ghost using Gorilla wood glue and a brad nailer. I really like this Ryobi one I use. My husband has one that I would use before I got my own and omg what a world of difference. You can read more about why I chose to go with Ryobi power tools here for my crafty business.

I made a super simple pinwheel bow to make my wood ghost a little more girly. These are also super adorable bows to make for your little girls to wear in their hair. We have tons of these that I’ve made over the years for my own four little girls. Then attach the bow with hot glue.

Once the hot glue is totally dry you can stick your wood ghost in the yard. I absolutely LOVE the way this little cutie turned out! Even when our girls got off the bus they got so excited because she is just sooooooo darn adorable!

I have a few more of these wood yard decorations to make so be on the look out for a DIY CANDY CORN and a DIY FRANKENSTEIN wood stakes.

Let me know below what you think of this DIY HALLOWEEN CRAFT.

Watch the full crafty tutorial below

DIY school spirit pallet style porch sign

DIY porch sign to show off your school spirit

It was an absolute PERFECT day in our small town today that I took a couple hours to make something for my own front porch. I could just feel the fall weather coming in and that reminded me that I needed to decorate for the upcoming season. Which totally meant that I NEEDED to make a new sign lol! Every year I try to incorporate a school spirit pieces on our porch, really it only makes sense because our school colors are ORANGE & BLACK but truly I do it because my husband and I absolutely adore the schools where we live.

The teachers are amazing, the staff in general is amazing, they take such great care of our girls while they are there for 8 hours a day. We can’t say enough nice things about our small town schools! So we show off our school spirit every fall blended into our fall décor.

I wanted a bigger sign than what I usually put out. The old one is a small 40”x5.5” leaning sign that honestly I’m tired of looking at lol! So today was the day for a new one! I had a pretty general idea of what I was going to do but I didn’t know it was going to turn out even more perfect than I planned!

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Here’s what you need to make your own school spirit rustic porch sign

• repurposed wood

• 7/16” OSB {oriented strand board}

• 1”x2” pine wood

• Cricut

• cardstock

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi scroll saw

• Ryobi sander

• hook & loop sandpaper

• Ryobi brad nailer

• brad nails

• paint brushes

• black acrylic paint

• orange acrylic paint

• white acrylic paint

First

You need to decide how large you want your sign, mine is approx. 24”x 22”. Then decide how large you want your lettering to be. I wanted my letters to take up a big portion of the base so I made my lettering roughly 11.5” wide and 14” tall each.

Measure out your wood base pieces and cut them to size using your miter saw. Then cut two pieces of your 1x2 a little shorter than the height of your sign. These are the pieces you’ll use to attach your pallet sign together. Place the pieces that you’ll be using for your sign face down on a flat surface. Then place your 1x2’s on it so it looks like the picture below.

Second

Use wood glue {I use gorilla wood glue} to glue the 1x2’s in place, then use your brad nailer to nail them down.

Third

Cut your letters out on cardstock using your Cricut.. The cardstock I had on hand wasn’t long enough so I butted two pieces together and taped the seam and it worked perfectly!

Fourth

Trace the letters onto your OSB. You can use pine for this but I chose OSB because we had this leftover from building TRIPLE LOFT BEDS for our older three girls…and yes, they came out AMAZING! I still have yet to write the tutorial for their U-shaped lofts but I promise, I will have it written before the end of the month ;)!

After you have them traced, cut them out using your scroll saw. Then give them a good sanding just on the front and around the edges. You won’t see the back so don’t worry about sanding that.

Fifth

Paint your letters. I chose to paint mine all black but you can get as creative with this as you’d like.

I wanted to add a pop of color to my sign so I painted just one of the boards orange, just lightly brushed over it so it was medium coverage.

Now add your letters to your sign. I didn’t align mine because I like the offset look. I didn’t bother gluing these down I just popped a few brad nails in each letter using my brad nailer.

Now for the fun part! I love making these adorable free hand painted garland. I wanted the color to pop so I painted the triangles white, then once those dried I painted over them with the colors I wanted them to be. At first I wasn’t going to paint any of the triangles black but once I started painting over the white with orange I decided to break it up a little with every third triangle painted black. Then I used the end of my paint brush to add polk-a-dots to them. So CUTE!

I just LOVE this rustic porch sign and it will tie in PERFECTLY with the rest of my fall décor.

I hope this inspires you to show off your own school or town spirit where you live. Let me know what you think below.

Click on the pic below to PIN for later