Partly recycled crafts - signs

I have seen so much stuff on Pinterest that it has gotten my creative juices flowing. 

These 'signs' we created with inexpensive material and did not take long to make.

The one on the weathered plank did not turn out very well and the cherry one is too dark, so I will be redoing them. 

The end results:

Here are the instructions and where I bought the materials:

Cabinet drawer faces, from Habitat for Humanity's Restore (lots of great recycled material for inexpensive prices and our local one has new stuff too.)

Scripts, butterflies, and flowers

Mod Podge and Sponge brush (only needed if you want to sealed the script on the board or try to use it like I did on the weathered board)

Squeegie

Scissors 

 (All are from different dollar and/or big chain stores, if you do not already have them at home.)

Step 1:

Cleaning the dirt off of you boards and make sure they are dry before you use them. 

I use a biodegradable cleaner and a cloth or paper towel to clean them. 

Step 2:

Lay out your chosen scripts to see how they look on the boards.

Step 3:

Pick one to start with and move the others out of the way, then peel the script or a portion of it off and carefully apply it to your wood. If you have trouble with getting it to lay the way you want it, just peel it off and reapply it. That is the great thing about these scripts is they are removable, if you buy the correct ones. If necessary, use a squeegie to get rid of air bubbles starting in the middle and working your way out.  

If you have a great helper like I did, take their picture with the sign they helped create. 

This one you will see in a later picture where I have moved it from one color board to another:

After the change:

Now this is the one that I still need to fix:

It looked better here, before I decided to Mod Podge it:

After Mod Podge and I have given it more coats and it still needs help.

Here are some others I completed a few days later:

This one needed the scissors to cut it to fit my board:

I did more, though they were almost duplicates so I will not bore you with those photos. 

I hope this was helpful, where you can now create your own signs and give them as gifts if you can part with them.

Love & hugs!  =D

Umbrella flower arrangement

I saw an umbrella with flowers in it on Pinterest and thought that was a great idea, especially since I had a broken umbrella that I picked out of someone's trash can at work.

Finished product:

I bought all the items at a dollar store.

4 bunches of orchids

2 rolls of ribbon

1 big butterfly

1 pkg with 2 small butterflies

$8.00 plus tax, not too bad for a nice looking arrangement. 

Well okay, not all items were from a dollar store. The umbrella was from the trash, the scissors and curling ribbon I already had in my craft box. 

I cut to pieces of ribbon the same length, approximately 4 feet (1.25 meters). 

Notice, I made 3 ribbons and only used the double color one.

I tried making bows by watching a video and it didn't work well, so I cut the ribbons in half and followed a blog that used a potato masher to help tie the ribbons.

Once I had everything ready, I bent out the side of the umbrella that would be away from the wall, just a little, then stuck the flower stems in and added the butterflies.  I used the strap to tie the umbrella as a location for my ribbon.  After clipping on the big butterfly I hung the umbrella on the wall and made adjustments to the flowers.

Viola!  I am done!

See picture of finished product at the beginning.

I wish I could tell you how long it took me since this is my first project in a very long time, I did not think to look at the time. Maybe next time.

Happy crafting!  =D