Fence Board + Graphics Fairy + Citrasolv = Great Old Looking Box

  

I've blogged  a few times about how I age fence boards with apple cider vinegar and steel wool, and a few times about how I have made rustic looking boxes out of the aged boards and more than a few times about using neat graphics from  The Graphics Fairy's blog.  Well, this project combines them all!

I used this technique shown by Kim at Too Much Time on My Hand's Blog using Citrasolv to transfer a graphic onto wood.

 I started with this graphic from The Graphics Fairy:

I flipped the image in Picnik (under the Rotate tab) so this mirror image came up.

I copied it off on my laser printer.  (Inkjet prints do not work for this process, but if you only have an inkjet printer, print it, then make a copy at a Kinko's and you'll have a laser copy)  :)   I put Citrasolv (I purchased mine at Whole Foods) on VERY lightly.  I used a kleenex and dabbed it on so the whole thing was wet, but not soaking wet.  I put masking tape on the sides to hold it in place.

 

I used this plastic piece that I purchased from Pick Your Plum to rub it into the wood.  If you're using smooth wood, you don't have to rub too much.  The Citrasolv transfers to the wood pretty easily.  I had to rub more on this one because of all of the ridges in the fence board.  On other projects, I've also rubbed the graphic on with the back side of a spoon to transfer the image.  If you're worried about whether it's transferring or not, you can very carefully lift a tiny corner and see if it's on the wood.

  

I lifted off the wet piece and viola! the graphic was on the wood!

I used a fence board from Home Depot for this project, but tried to find one that wasn't too rough so the graphic would transfer well.  

I then let it sit for awhile to dry as it felt a little oily (or solvent-y)  :)

We (meaning my husband) then put the box together using glue and a nail gun.  We He then clamped it up for about an hour for the glue to dry.

 I then very carefully applied apple cider vinegar with the steel wool to the box. I was very careful not to touch the graphic with the vinegar.

***After posting this, I've made a few more projects using Citraolv.  I've found that if I let the graphic dry really well on the wood, I can put the apple cider vinegar or stain over it and it won't run.

A couple of people have asked why I didn't apply the apple cider vinegar before putting the Citrasolv on.  The vinegar soaks into the wood and doesn't really allow anything to 'stick' to it, so I had to carefully put it on afterward.***

 Next, I put it out on the driveway to 'cure' for about an hour. 

 After it dried the first time, I applied another coat of vinegar and let it dry again.  Many times the first coat of apple cider vinegar leaves black dots on the wood.  A second coat fixes that.

And here's the finished product.  

I made this for a friend who collects old boxes and even though this isn't anywhere near an old box, I think she'll like it!  

Update:

Here is the box in its new home.  Thanks for the picture Heather!

Thanks for visiting!

Pam



I am linking to the following parties:

Funky Junk Interior's Saturday Nite Special 
You Are Talking Too Much's Link Party 
Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays 

 

Chicken Wire Update to an Old Window

Last winter (in the biggest snowstorm of the year!) I convinced my husband and daughter to go with me about 100 miles away to buy some old windows.  I ended up buying two for myself and getting two for a friend.  I used the first one for this project.

The second 'window' didn't have any glass in it, but had great old, chippy paint and worn wood that I loved!  It sat in the basement utility room for months.  I knew I wanted to do something with it, but wasn't sure quite what that was...

 

...Until I saw The Vintage Bag Lady's Post about how she used chicken wire on an old window.  I knew what my next project would be!

I bought a roll of wire at Home Depot for about $10.  I stapled the chicken wire to the frame.  (ok, yes, this is a picture of my husband stapling, but really I did most of the stapling, and he is not good about taking pictures of me doing these projects!)  :) 

There were some sharp edges on the back, so I put some Gorilla tape along the back so the wire wouldn't scratch up the wall.

And here it is up in my office.  I'm so happy with it!

 When I was hanging the pictures, etc on it, I thought regular clothespins were too big. I found these little ones at Michael's.  They worked perfectly!

While I was at it, I added this box that I made.   It's a good size to hold all of the 'stuff' that accumulates on my desk.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Pam

I am linking to the following parties:

Funky Junk Interior's SNS Party
Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays
My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday

Great Buys at Garage Sales Today

I went out to some garage sales today.  Here's what I found:

My total for all five items was $17.50. 

This bedside table was $5.  I can't wait to sand it down and redo it.

After I bought the bedside table, I went to another sale and found this end table. (Who knew I needed two new tables??)   It is sturdy and has the drawer.  $5 for it too.  :)  I will be sanding it down as well.

I love this iron.  I paid $5 for it.  It looks like I could probably plug it in and use it right away!  It is SO heavy.  I'm sure it would just smash the wrinkles out of the clothes!  :)

 

Thanks so much for coming by!

Pam

A Pretty Way to Show Off Your Address

I love making boxes out of  fence boards. I prefer to find the boards with some chunks out of them.  :)

This time I painted the box using white paint dipped in water to give it a white-washed look.

I learned from Denise at Pink Postcard to use freezer paper as a stencil.

 

I found these stencils for $1 at The Dollar Tree.

  

I laid out my address numbers and taped them onto the freezer paper.  I then traced around each number.

I cut out the numbers using a sharp Exacto knife. 

As you can see, the insides of the "8" got cut out too, so I used a couple of felt dots on the inside.

After I removed the stencil, I decided that the numbers were too dark.  I added more watered down paint  to the entire front of the box.

 

  I sprayed some clear sealer on it and added some mums.  I will take another picture of this in a few days when the mums are all blooming.  Lowe's didn't have any of the little ones that were blooming, but I needed the smallest pots possible and they were so cheap, that I couldn't pass them up.  :) 

   

Thanks so much for coming by!

Pam

I am linking to the following parties:

No Minimalist Here's and On Sutton Place's Open House Party

Potpourri Friday at 2805 

My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday 

Spicing Up a Galvanized Pail

I learned about using Mod Podge to adhere a label to an object without seeing the paper,  from Pamela's blog:  From My Front Porch to Yours.  

I was out garage saling last weekend and found eight of these galvanized buckets for 25 cents each.  I knew I could make something fun out of them. 

I started with this graphic from The Graphics Fairy's blog.  I printed it off on my laser printer. 

Make sure you flip the image so it'll come out right when you make your project.

 

(I have a black and white printer, so the graphic came out in black and white.)

***If you don't have a laser printer, you can print it off on your inkjet and take that to Kinko's (or probably any grocery store with a copier) and make a copy from their laser printer.  I think copies are less than 10 cents each. 

I applied matte Mod Podge to the graphic and the can and stuck it on the can.  I tried to smooth out any wrinkles, then left it alone until the next morning. 

The next morning I sprayed water on it and started carefully rubbing off the paper.  I think I must've used some heavy paper, because it took forever to rub it off.  I had to come back to it a few times after I thought I was done and respray it and rub off more paper.  Be very careful with the edges as I had a problem with one corner tearing away.  I'm going to call it 'character' and leave it at that...  :)

 

 And here's the finished product.

Thanks for coming by!

Pam


I am linking to the following parties:


The Stories of A to Z's Tutorials & Tips Party
Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays
Unexpected Elegance's Transfer Link Party