a year ago today...

One year ago today I published my most popular post (with over 60,000 page views),  my PBK Knock-off Ruler Growth Chart.  It's been fun to see this project pinned on Pinterest and re-created on other blogs.  I thought I'd re-post it today, with a little update to include some of the questions that I have been asked. 

What kind of pen do you use to label the ruler?

We have found the Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Superfine Pen to work really well! It doesn't bleed and is permanent when dry.  Here's a link to find them online.

(http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?CATID=cat1125&PRODID=zprd_09653841a)  Whatever pen you choose, be sure to test it on the back of the ruler to be sure that it won't bleed or smear and ruin all of your hard work!

What did you use as a "clear coat"?
I usually use a Premium Enamel Spray in a Clear Gloss from Ace Hardware (Here's a link: http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/ProductDetails.aspx?SKU=17007)  but any type of clear sealer should work!  The only thing I would caution is to be sure that your sealer won't cause your paint pen to run.  I use an acrylic paint pen (so it's water-based, not oil-based) and it works great, but I've heard that you should be cautious when using a sealer on top of a Sharpie or oil-based paint pen.

In fact, another reader (Jennifer W.) left this comment:

"I made the board this week. I tried using polyurethane (the kind you paint on) and it made the paint pen bleed/smear even after it dried for a whole day. I only went over about 5" of the board with it but I was able to wipe off and the ruined number and lines and redo them. Go the SPRAY route if you are sealing it!"

I love this idea,and it is now on my project "list", but I really love the alphabet posters on the wall! Where did you get them?
I found these flash cards at Michael's in the scrapbooking section. With a coupon, they only ended up being a little over $4! Amazon also sells these if you're interested! They are super cute, with relatively muted colors, and awesome animal facts on the back! 

Given my "decorating ADD", I knew that I didn't want these to be a totally permanent fixture in the playroom, but I wanted them to stay put until it was time for me to take them down. :) I was looking for a different type of mounting strips, but came across these Reusable Tabs from Scotch. They are AWESOME! They are specifically for "lightweight mounting" but would be perfect for hanging posters, etc. AND you can reuse them! These ended up costing a little more than the cards (I think they were around $6), but that's a good price considering you can reuse them!

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One sure way for our mailman to make my day is for him to leave a Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, or Ballard Designs catalog in our mailbox!  I love browsing through the catalogs, pouring over the pages, and circling items I’d love to buy if I had a million dollars.  But, let’s face it…I have Pottery Barn (and Ballard) taste on a Target budget!

To remedy this, I have started creating “knock offs” of some of my favorite items from the design catalogs.  One item that’s been in the Inspiration folder on my computer – doesn’t everyone have an Inspiration folder? – is the Pottery Barn Ruler Growth Chart.  Sadly, they don’t sell it anymore…but that didn’t stop me from creating a “knock off”.

YOU CAN NOW PURCHASE OUR RULER GROWTH CHART IN OUR SHOP!

This project ended up costing me a little under $7, because I had most of the supplies on hand.  The only thing I had to purchase was a 1 x 8 x 6 board from Lowe’s.

I stained the board with Walnut stain, giving it 2 coats and letting it dry in between coats.  I brushed the stain on with a paint brush and then wiped most of it off with a rag. I wanted a vintage, aged look, so I wasn’t too careful with making sure the coats were even.

 After letting it dry for 4-6 hours (per the instructions on the can), I brought it in the house to tackle making this stained piece of wood look like a ruler.  I pulled out a pencil, a ballpoint pen, my acrylic ruler, and a paint pen.  This is where it gets a little tricky, but it’s worth it!

I marked off 1-inch marks along the entire length of the board.  In order to mimic the lines on a ruler, I made the “quarter” lines 2 inches long and the “eighth” lines 1 inch long.  Make sense?  I drew all the lines in pencil first, then went back and went over them with my paint pen.  This took a little while, but I did it while watching “The King’s Speech” with my hubs to help me pass the time! This picture gives you a better idea of how I did the lines...

One more thing – I started marking off  my “ruler” at 6 inches, because I wanted to be able to hang it on the wall. If you’d rather rest it on the floor, start marking at 1 inch. So, my 6 foot board ends up looking more like a 6 ½ foot “ruler”.

I wanted the numbers to look authentic, so I found a font that I liked (Century) and printed out the numbers 1-6 in 200 point font.  I rubbed a pencil on the back of the numbers, placed the numbers where I liked, and traced the numbers with my ballpoint pen.  This left a slight indention and pencil lines on the actual board.  I simply filled that outline in with my paint pen.  It requires a little bit of a steady hand, but you’ll get the hang of it!

After I created my “ruler”, I sprayed the entire board with a clear coat to protect my work.  This still allows me to measure my son’s height and mark on it, but gives it a finished look.

To hang it, I simply attached a sawtooth picture hanger to the back and hung it on a nail in our playroom.  It’s not very heavy, so it didn’t take much to hold it.  But, if you have a particularly rowdy crew, or want to hang it in a more high traffic area, you might consider attaching it a little more permanently to the wall.

Using a measuring tape, I made sure that the Ruler Growth Chart was hung on the wall at an accurate height.  This way Grayson can just stand in front of the ruler to measure his height, much like you’d do on a wall at your house.

**Disclaimer: This tutorial is for personal use ONLY. Please do not use this tutorial for monetary gain. If you would like to share this on you blog, please link back to this post and/or give proper credit where credit is due! Thank you!**

PB’s silver bell swag…my version

I originally saw this Silver Bell Swag in a PB catalog in November…be still my Christmas-decoration-loving-heart.  We hung wreaths on our front windows this year, so I knew I wanted something a little different for our front door.  Enter this beautiful Silver Bell Swag inspiration!

The Christmas decorations in Joplin are a little slim these days – as we have almost an entire town of people that had to replace everything – so the closest I could come to the silver bells were these giant silver jingle bells from the Dollar Tree.

To start making my own Silver Bell Swag, I collected a bunch of sticks from a tree in our backyard that I bundled together with a zip tie…

This poor pup of ours thought that Christmas had come early for him when I brought all of the sticks in the house!  He kept a very close watch to make sure I didn’t drop any sticks in the swag-making process.

To the bundle of sticks, I added 3 faux evergreen picks that I bought at Michael’s – they were 60% off of the $3.99 price!  I was originally going to hot glue them in place, but I just stuck them here and there.  The sticks were bundled together tightly enough that they held the picks in without needing any glue or wire.

I added a burlap bow to the top, tied the jingle bell on, and my knock off version was done!  I originally bought 2 jingle bells, but the sound of the bells suddenly multiplied to sound like a mini version of the heavenly host as I was working on this during nap time!  Ha!  I was so afraid that I would wake Grayson up with my ridiculously loud jingle bells, so I just added one bell.

My version definitely isn’t as full as the PB version – it could use a few more sticks added to the base – but it works for me!  Especially when it cost me around $6 instead of the $69 PB price!

anthropologie-inspired sheet music tree

I’m not going to hide it…I have been browsing for new Christmas decorations to craft since October 1. Can I blame it on my 31 Days of Warming up to the Holidays series? While perusing Anthropologie’s website, I came across this Printed Paper Pine…selling for a whopping $48!

Fortunately I had a few old hymnals that were just gifted to me that I’ve been wanting to include in my Christmas décor for this year.  I knew with a few added elements I could have my own printed paper pine at a fraction of the price.  Here’s my version that cost me just under $3 out of pocket.

To make your own Anthro-inspired sheet music tree, you’ll need:

• A 6 inch round wooden plaque – I found mine at Hobby Lobby for $1.47 plus an additional 30% off!

• A dowel rod  - mine was 3/16 inches wide by about 15 inches tall found at Hobby Lobby for $0.26 plus an additional 30% off.
• Sheet music – mine came out of this old hymnal

• A topper of your choice - I used a wooden ball (with a hole in the bottom) as my topper. I glittered it up using the fabulous Martha Stewart glitter but you could easily use a star or another fun topper.

• White fun foam
• Hole punch
• Pinking shears

Begin by painting your plaque white (or the color of your choice).
Once the paint is dry, drill a hole in the middle of it – the hole will need to be the same size as, or slightly bigger than, your dowel rod – but don’t drill all the way through.
Create “spacers” for your tree by cutting your fun foam in 1 inch x 1 inch squares and punching holes in the middle. The Anthro tree looks like it has some sort of cardboard or fiberboard spacers, which I didn’t like the look of.

I thought that smaller, white foam spacers would be less noticeable in the final product and they definitely are.
Now it’s time to cut your paper. I had about 10-12 pieces of paper in each of the following sizes:

• 6 by 6 inches
• 5 3/4 by 5 3/4 inches
• 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches
• 5 1/4 by 5 1/4 inches
• 5 by 5 inches
• 4 3/4 by 4 3/4 inches
• 4 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches
• 4 1/4 by 4 1/4 inches
• 4 by 4 inches
• 3 3/4 by 3 3/4 inches
• 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches
• 3 1/4 by 3 1/4 inches
• 3 by 3 inches
• 2 3/4 by 2 3/4 inches
• 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches
• 2 1/4 by 2 1/4 inches
• 2 by 2 inches
• 1 3/4 by 1 3/4 inches
• 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 inches
• 1 1/4 by 1 1/4 inches
• 1 inch by 1 inch

It sounds like a LOT of paper, but I only used less than 1/8 of my hymnal because I could get several different size squares out of each sheet.

Once you’re done cutting your paper, punch holes in the middle of all of the sheets.  I gently folded my sheets in half and punched the hole that way.

It’s time to assemble your tree! Insert your dowel into the hole in your plaque. I didn’t even need to glue mine because it fit well, but you might want to add a little glue to make it sturdy. Start stacking your paper onto the dowel, starting with the largest size. I played around with the look and ended up putting a spacer, then 2 pieces of paper, another spacer, then repeat the process until you reach the top of the tree.  Add your topper and you’re done!
So for $3 I have a new piece to add into my Christmas décor! I had been working on 2 other trees to make a little trio…they’re not the same, but they’ll look great together.  I’ll be back later in the week with more tutorials for those!

guest post: Nailhead Headboard

Well, hello again 517 Creations readers! It's Beth from NashvillePug, and I'm absolutely thrilled to be with y'all again! I'm so flattered that MJ asked me! 

 

Today I'm going to share my new headboard with you. I asked my fabulous readers and Facebook friends if I should make a tufted vs. nailhead headboard, and the overwhelming choice was NAILHEAD! I was leaning that way too, so the deal was sealed. I completed this project in one day a couple of weeks ago during my daughter's naptime and then after she went to bed. It really was so easy as long as you have the right tools.

 

Here’s a quick reminder of how the old headboard looked. It was a very pretty headboard, just too big and bulky for the room. I pulled out a really old pic of our room with the old drapes and old bedding so you could REALLY appreciate the transformation! What was I thinking with that bedding? Oh my!

 

 

After! Doesn’t it look so much lighter and brighter (and look great with my new Roman shades)? I am in love with it. I walk by the room and just stare. It has made such a huge difference in how the room feels. Read on for the tutorial, price breakdown, and LOTS more pics!

 

 

We found a piece of fiberboard at Home Depot for $10 and had them cut it to our specifications of 78”x45” for our king size bed. I knew I wanted the headboard notched out on the corners, so I made a template from a piece of standard printer paper and traced it on both sides of the board. The notch is 11 inches wide and 8.5 inches long. I just drew a curve from one corner of the paper to the other.

 

 

Then I got to cutting with my new jigsaw! It is so easy to use and fun. Ben is scared I’m going to get too excited while using it and cut off a finger…

 

 

My fabric for this project was a drop cloth! I bought two of them a couple of months ago with plans to stencil them and use as curtains. That didn’t happen after I realized it would be the perfect neutral fabric for my headboard. And even better, they were only $10 each! To use a drop cloth as fabric, make sure you wash it with a good amount of fabric softener and then iron it really well. I purchased 5 yards of 1/2 inch thick batting from JoAnn’s to use as my padding. Foam is too expensive, and I figured two layers of batting would be plenty (and it was).

 

 

This project is so much easier if you have a nice long work surface. Luckily, our dining room table fit the bill. I laid my drop cloth (wrong side up) down first, then two layers of batting, and then my headboard.

 

 

My batting was barely wide enough to staple to the headboard, so I stapled each piece separately. This took a little more time, but I had to really stretch each piece to have enough material to staple down. After the batting was secure, I went back and stapled the drop cloth down. LOTS of stapling! 

 

 

Here it is all ready for some nailhead trim!

 

 

I ordered my trim from Beacon Fabric, and it was $20 for a 10 yard roll. This stuff is so easy to work with! I am so glad I did not get individual nailheads. I would have pulled my hair out! Do be careful though when stretching out the trim. I think I got a cut on each one of my fingertips on my left hand. Ouch!

 

 

I started at the bottom left of the headboard and worked my way around. You pound in a nailhead with a rubber mallet every 5th head. There’s a small hole so you know exactly where to put the nailhead.

 

 

The corners were a little tricky, but the trim cuts easily with some heavy duty scissors.

 

 

figured out a little late in the game that it was easier to get a straight line with the trim if I went ahead and stretched it all the way across and nailed the end down. I then went back and filled in the rest of the holes. Live and learn, my friends. It’s also easy to go back and pop out any unruly nailheads. You can see a couple in the pic below. The nail stem bent a little when hammered in, so I popped them out and replaced them with a new one.

 

 

To hang the headboard, I used a French cleat. When I asked the guys at Home Depot which aisle they were on, they said “a French what?”! Ben said the only cleats he knew about were the ones on the bottom of his football shoes! I used a cleat because I was not about to hang this bad boy with D-rings. No way was I going to try and line those up straight. A cleat makes things so much easier because you can slide the headboard to the left and right until it’s in the right spot. This one even came with a little level on it, so we knew it was straight. It was $15 and well worth it! They come in different sizes, so you can use them to hang all kinds of things. I went with the 200# cleat because I didn’t want to take any chances of the headboard coming off the wall. It may not look it, but it is heavy!

 

 

Here’s the part of the cleat that went on the top of the headboard.

 

 

And here is Ben screwing the other part into the wall. It had these fancy screws with teeth around them, so you’re not supposed to use a drill. Luckily one of the screws went into a stud, so the headboard is not going anywhere!

 

 

 

Here’s how the back of the headboard turned out looking.

 

 

And here it is hung on the wall! So pretty! The drop cloth did have a seam down the middle of it, but I knew it would be hidden by the bed and pillows, so I was not worried about it.

 

 

Here it is all dressed up and ready for it’s debut!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, I’m in love! Doesn’t it look good with the shade fabric? I didn’t even plan that! I literally made the entire headboard, and the first time I saw the fabric in the room was when we hung it! I’m the kind of person who doesn’t even take paint swatches home to make sure they look good. I pick out my paint right on the spot, fabric too. It’s a blessing and a curse. I go with my gut, and it most always works out.

 

 

 

 

One more time…Before and After pic

 

 

And here was my little helper while I took pictures. She saw the headboard first thing when she woke up and said “ooooohhh, new pillow!”! So cute!

 

 

Here’s the cost break down:

Drop Cloth $10

Headboard $10

Batting $20

Nailheads $20

French Cleat $15

Grand Total $75

Not too shabby when stores are charging over $1000 for one of these!

Thanks again, MJ, for having me!! Y'all come see me over at NashvillePug when you get the chance!

 

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Can you believe that transformation?  As soon as I saw Beth's post, I e-mailed her this picture of a VERY similar headboard from Ballard Designs that sells for WAY more!

 

 

Another awesome knock off, Beth!  Be sure to pop over to Nashville Pug and leave Beth some comment love!

 

{guest blogger}: bedford project table knockoff

I'm so excited to have Beth, from Nashville Pug, guest blogging today!  Beth is totally a blogger after my own heart...she has a fantastic Pottery Barn knock off to share today! 

Hello fabulous 517 Creations readers! I'm Beth from NashvillePug, and I am oh so honored to be guest posting for y'all today! When I'm not educating the future nurses of America or chasing around my two year old daughter, you can find me doing home projects or rearranging my house! MJ made my day when she asked to feature my Pottery Barn Project Table knockoff. It's my favorite project I've completed because it gave me a HUGE craft/sewing/project space, and I saved $1000 by making it myself! Read on for the full tutorial and please stop by and visit me at NashvillePug! I would love to have you!

Pottery Barn is going to hate me...

This is the desk I wanted for my craft/work/laundry room. "The Bedford Project Table" It's from Pottery Barn, and it costs $1,099 (plus $120 shipping). Nope, not in the budget. Not even close.

It took me a quick second to realize that I had seen those cubes before in the form of the below Closetmaid Cubeicals, found at Target for $40, on sale. I could use two of those for either end, and then all it needed was a tabletop, and I would have my craft table! So, I sent Ben to Home Depot for some wood. (If you know me and my projects, sending Ben to get some of my supplies is HUGE!) I decided I wanted the table to match the PB specifications of 55 inches long x 37 inches high x 38 inches deep. The cubes are 36 inches high and 36 inches deep. He came home with 7, 2x6 boards that they cut at Home Depot to 55 inches long. The boards are actually 5.5 inches wide, but for some reason they are called 2x6. Probably to confuse people like me who would have trusted that they were 6 inches wide like it said and not bothered to actually measure.

I knew I wanted to stain the wood instead of painting it white like the PB version. I wanted the top to contrast with the white cubes. So, I picked up a can of wood conditioner and a can of stain & poly in one ($24 total). The stain color is "Mission Oak Satin". The stain plus poly is different from regular stain in that you don't wipe it off in between coats. You brush on a thin coat, let it sit for 6 hours and then apply another coat if needed. I only needed one coat, and it looked great!

Don't let the smile fool you; he HATES projects!

My staining setup in the garage. Who needs a saw horse when you have loads of paint cans?

This is my craft area before:

The desk is long, but not tall or wide enough to do my sewing projects easily. I envisioned something that would let me stand to cut fabric with lots of storage.

And after!!! I am in love with my new table! To assemble, we screwed the boards to the cubes from underneath the top shelf of the cube. That way, when we move, we can just unscrew and go. I think we're going to add some braces in between the boards underneath as well to give it more stability.

Look at that wood!

Can't wait to start using this guy at my new table!

I think it looks quite similar to the PB version! I love having all the cubes to store my craft & sewing supplies, stationery, etc. The PB version has a back on the inner sides of the cubes, but I think I'm going to leave mine open since I can grab things from either side. Now I just need to make a trip to the consignment store, also known as my parents' basement, and grab a bar stool!

 

 

Project break down:

White cubes from Target: $80

Wood from Home Depot: $20

Conditioner & Stain: $24

Project Total: $124

PB Project Table: $1,099 + $120 shipping

Savings: over $1,000!!

I made this table for the price of shipping!

What have you knocked off lately?

Isn't that awesome?!  I am trying to figure out how I can re-arrange the guest room/sewing room to include one of these fabulous work spaces.  Be sure to hop over to Beth's cute blog, Nashville Pug!