Featured on Studio 5 "Self Serve Movie Concession Stand"

I had a wonderful time today featuring my "Self Serve Movie Concession Stand" on Studio 5. This is a project that I saw on Pinterest and it immediately caught my eye. I followed the instructions on how to assemble it from a cute blog found here.

We love our family movie nights, but we a have a procedure or protocol that goes with it. One person is in charge of picking out the movie, someone else pops the popcorn, eventually we all end up in the pantry picking out our favorite treats. This idea makes having our treats ready to go and possibly the one of the coolest houses on the block!

I first started with an open picture frame that was 20x24, purchased at Hobby Lobby(when they were 50% off). Next I went to Lowes and purchased a sheet of peg board. They sell a 4x4 sheet of peg board for around $10, but what I love is that they cut it to size for me, so there was no mess and cutting at home.

Then I bought my old stand by... $1 can of spray paint ( also found at Lowes) in flat black and painted the peg board to match the frame.


After the paint had dried I used a "Liquid Nails" product called Clear Seal to adhere the pegboard to the frame. I let it dry over night.

I found a great deal on Amazon for 4" plastic black pegs. The 4" pegs hold multiple boxes of candy, and was a perfect fit.

I worked out the spacing on my 20x24 peg board to fit 14 different kinds of candy boxes.

For the grand finale, or icing on the cake you could say, I wanted to include some type of concession sign above the candy board. I found three that I liked... The first one shown below on the left is one I purchased from Amazon. I like that it has a chalkboard surface that you can customize with chalk, chalk markers or I used vinyl, and that can easily be peeled off if you want to change it.  The second more vintage sign was purchased at Hobby Lobby.

The one that was voted our family favorite is actually "Heidi Swapp's Light box" It is battery operated and has two notches on the back for hanging. Also, it has an on and off switch so it can be turned on and off easily. I use vinyl and applied it directly to the light box to personalize it. I think the light up feature is what put it over the top.

The kids love our Concession Stand, and I have to admit, I love how cute it turned out. It was definitely one of the easier DIY's I've done. Thanks to Studio 5 and Brooke Walker for having me on the show....and to my sister Maria who's always been my wingman.

Valentine Topiary with an aged, weathered Terra Cotta Pot

I was on the look out for some Valentine decor when I spotted this Topiary from IKEA.

Right away my wheels started turning. I knew I could probably bend the round wire shape into a heart with just the right touch. The Topiary was listed for $8.99, I grabbed it and I thought what do I have to lose.

To turn the Topiary into a heart took 2 people. One person grabbing onto the top center part of the wire with pliers, and the other person squeezing the sides of the Topiary in,  while the person with the pliers pulls down. Once you have the heart shape, you can tweak it by continuing to bend the wires to make it just perfect. This was simple and quick, but whenever I think of Ivy plants or Topiaries, I imaging those vintage, aged, weathered, chippy Terra Cotta Pots.

The kind you might find sitting on a window seal or potting shed in some dreamy European City.

To get this look I headed to Pinterest and started researching different Pins.  There are plenty of Pinterest Hacks, but 4 stood out to me as some what easy to pull off.

The first is a watered down/ dry brush technique I found here. On a side note let me mention how much I love Mrs. Craftberry Bush's Blog. I adore her!! Here is a picture of what hers looked like

After following her instructions this is how mine turned out.

The next Pin I followed used a textured Spray paint technique found here.

After spraying the entire pot with the spray paint you sand off bits of the spray paint to give it a distressed look. 

Once this step was complete I took black and green craft paint, watered them down with a little bit of water and dry brushed them along the base of the pot. Once the craft paint was dry, I dry brushed a touch of white paint around the entire pot to make it all blend together perfectly. Here is how this pinners pot looked...

and here is mine.

The next pin I followed was back to one of my favorite bloggers: Mrs Craftberry Bush this was her take again on an antique Terra Cotta pot transformation. Using plaster of paris ( I found mine at Walmart), you mix it according to the package directions and then tint it with a few drops of crafts paint. Next you appy it all over the Terra Cotta pots. 

It's been a while since I've worked with plaster of paris, but mine set up so quickly that by the time my pot was covered, it looked a little more like your child's first Jr. High art project in ceramics or pottery (a mysterious blob).

 I thought this was going to be a total fail, until I took a rough sanding sponge and started knocking the plaster of paris off the pot while it was still drying. This actually turned out to give the Terra Cotta pots a great unique texture. After the plaster of paris had dried completely, I blended the same craft paints as before (black and green) and stippled them randomly onto the pot. Then finished it off by lightly sanding with the sanding sponge to make it all blend. 

Here is Mrs. Craftberry Bush's antiqued pot

Here is my take on the plaster of paris technique

The final idea I used was actually mine. After I used the plaster of paris technique, I wondered if using drywall spackling paste would work too. My first step was to take a butter knife and slather on the dry wall paste in random spots all over the Terra Cotta pot. Then while it's still wet, take a dry paint brush and stipple the dry wall compound to give it a unique texture.  I let it dry for a little while, but before it had firmly set up I took a dry paper towel and smooshed the stipple mark down in certain places to give it even more texture. Once it was dry I took the same craft paints as above (green and black) and stippled them in a random fashion all over the pot. Finally I finished it off with a light sanding to blend it all together. Here is the finished project.

Here is a peek at the different aging techniques for the Terra Cotta pots with the cute Heart Topiary.

I love all the different looks and textures. My favorite technique would be the dry wall spackling paste one. Thanks to Studio 5 for Hosting "West Creek Design" in another fun segment. 

Reclaimed Wooden Snowflake, Featured on "Studio 5"

I was asked to tackle the Reclaimed Wooden Snowflake by Studio 5 for a West Creek Design segment.

Immediately I was smitten! I heart anything that involves reclaimed wood. I started hunting around my garage for scrap wood and bought the rest of the wood I needed from Lowe's. My go to for any type of wood decor project is the cedar fence slats from Lowe's. They're priced at $1.16 a piece for a 6ft board. You'll need 7 for this project. You can't beat that deal. (Unless It's  free)

I loved the post on My Altered State's blog. She has been building these reclaimed snowflakes for quite a while and had very easy instructions, that I followed to build mine.

I figured out the dimensions for the size of the wooden snowflake. I knew I wanted it 3ft in diameter. So started making my cuts. 

You need....

-3 long boards (36" long)
-3 short boards (24" long)
-3 lg V's (6- 45 degree cuts)
-3 sm V's (6- 45 degree cuts)
-6 triangles

After everything is cut, I layed it out to make sure the pattern would work.

My favorite way to add texture and depth to a wood project is with paint. For this project I started with a dark walnut stain and covered the wood. I let it dry overnight. 

Next I went back and forth over the board with a block of paraffin wax. Then I covered the board with white paint. After it was dry, I placed a piece of duct tape over the white paint. Then I took my blow dryer and heated the duct tape. After you've heated up the duct tape, press it down and smooth it out with your hands. Now peel it away and you will get an amazing chippy reclaimed look.

Next, I marked the center of each of the boards. The center Mark is where the boards will intersect, keeping everything symmetrical.

I started out one board at a time, attaching the embellishments on each end. You can attach the embellishments the V's) with glue (you can't go wrong with gorilla glue). I love the look of screws, but be sure to drill pilot holes or the wood will split on you. You can also use a nail gun. I love the ease and speed of the nail gun. It's very secure and doesn't split the wood.

After each of the the boards have their embellishments, start with the long boards and make an X shape. Attach with glue, screws or your nail gun.  Now take the final long board and attach it down the middle of the X. Be sure to line up the marks on the middle of the boards. 

Next start with the smaller boards and do the same thing.  Now you have a beautiful reclaimed wood snowflake!

Studio 5 segment!!

Today we filmed a segment on Studio 5 about how to build our "Porch Trellis Chair". We love Brooke Walker, and it was so fun to have my sister and girls there too. Tune in tomorrow at 1:00 on channel 5 to see this awesome tutorial.