I had a lot of fun with this next project for St. Patrick's Day.  I was inspired to create a sign from recycled pallets after seeing this blog post from jaimescott.blogspot.com.  I had a "L" in my craft stash that I had previously purchased or otherwise I would have cut out one myself with my jigsaw. 

I made the background with four pieces of pallet wood screwed together in the back then spray painted green.  I had some little pieces of molding from another project that I cut for the frame and spray painted gold.  I painted the green "L" and cut out a bunch of "L" words with my Silhouette including "leprechaun" and "lucky" for St. Patrick's Day. 

After tearing and pulling all the existing exterior from the base I simple used a hot glue gun and got to work.  As you can tell from the picture I laid the stones and then made sure I put moss in between.  It was rather simple, but took a little time. 

I am so proud of the end result.  Everytime I pass it in my living room I smile with thrifty pride knowing that I gave second life to my little tree.

I bought a pack of burner covers at the $ store after reading about the projects made over at Brassy Apple.  I love this simple, inexpensive project and all the possibilities for cheap seasonal decor.  Here's my take on an easy St. Patty's Day sign.

The steps were simple - spray paint and adhere a vinyl circle and some "no pinching zone" lettering.  Easy peasy!

This wreath was easy and rather quick to make.  The wreath form was wrapped in torn pieces of canvas.  I made various flowers from tutorials I've seen online.  Add a few buttons, a little moss, a ribbon and you're done! 

This little wreath makes me smile everytime we come home through the front door.  I love making wreaths and this one will make a nice addition to my growing St. Patrick's Day decor. 

I'm so happy with how this all turned out and to share it with you!  I finished the gate and knew at once it needed a wreath.  I save some twisted looking branches from our last house for a project just like this.  I think it's pretty self explanatory but I'll give a few more details on how I did it.  But first the final project.

The way I made the wreath is pretty simple.  I traced two bowls, differing sizes onto a piece of a cardboard box.  I cut the circle and hot glued some burlap around it.  This created the base to glue my twigs to.  I hot glued the twigs around the circle then started on the rosettes.  Here's a picture of the backside of the wreath.  The metal ring is to hang on the gate.  I just used a ton of hot glue and it's held in place just perfectly.  Kind ghetto, but hey, it works!

  I was going for a FREE project here so spending money on the perfect blue fabric was out of the question.  I was about to cut up a spare bed sheet but my hubby was resistant.  I asked him what else was made of blue fabric that I could cut up.  He told me he had a couple old work shirts that just happened to be the shade of blue I was looking for!  Yeah for recycling!  I followed directions from previous bloggers about making rosettes out of fabric and after making enough to cover where I glued my twigs I hot glued them on as well.  Here's a close up of the rosettes:

So simple, yet so fun, bright and cheery!  I love the end result and that this whole project cost me $0. 

I'm going to start posting some of the projects that I've been working on the past six months.  I'm having so much fun working with wood and reclaimed pallets.  Here is a project that I made after the inspiration I got from Pinterest.  I made my gate based on the size of the wall I was going to be putting it.  I'll post the final pictures tomorrow with the wreath that is going to finish the ensemble.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the process, just the end result.  This was a super easy project to make and the first of many of the free pallets I scored. 
I ended up painting it with some watered down acrylic paints and did more of a whitewash finish on it. I painted it the green color to go in my kids bathroom that I'm decorating in fun bright colors.  Enjoy!
 

Here's another project I made using my jigsaw.  I followed all the same steps as I did on my previous post, Love Sign.    

The only thing different I did with these letters was add some scrapbook paper.  Oh the possibilities!

This was my first project using my jigsaw.  I'm happy to report it was much easier than I thought.  JD bought me a little jigsaw from WM for about $20.00.  The key for success in working with a jigsaw is using the correct blade.  If you want to cut out letters or shapes, make sure you use a wood cutting blade that is used for scrolling or has a larger TPI.

Here's an assortment pack I bought at WM that has several different sizes.  The blades on the left are for wood and the blades on the right are for metal.  As you can tell I haven't used the metal blades yet, but I will soon and report on my experience.  So, for the wood letters I used the 10 TPI blade and it worked wonderfully.  I found a font I like and printed it out on my computer.  Then I cut the letters out and traced onto a scrap piece of MDF I had in my wood stash.  Before cutting make sure you have your wood clamped down to a saw horse so you have a nice tight area to cut.  Next cut out the letters.  I watched a few YouTube videos on how to use a jigsaw before starting.  Once the letters are cut out sand and paint.  Finally, I glued the letters onto a scrap 1x6.  I had so much fun with this project and will be showing more that I've done with my jigsaw.  I'm so excited to know that now I can cut out any letters from wood and have no need to purchase pre-cut letters at the craft store.  SCORE!

I love all the button crafts I've seen all over Pinterest. I wanted to use some white buttons for Valentine's Day and finally decided on using them in the shape of a heart.  I got the frame at a thrift store for $.50 all it needed was a fresh coat of red spray paint.  Next I hot glued some buttons, added vinyl wording "adore", and finally a white ribbon.  Easy but perfect for my Valentine decor.

This wreath cost me $0 since I had everything on hand.  I used black garbage bags and some orange tulle I had in my stash.  I made some rosettes from orange fabric, tulle, and one of the garbage bags.  This was so fun to make and I love the way it turned out.  Happy Halloween!