The Apple Street Cottage

  Halloween will be here before you know it and I have a fun sign to get in the 'spirit' of the season. W elcome to the 'Do It Over' Designers blog hop.  We are a group of bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/DIY.  I'm happy to host this hop and I hope you'll visit everyone to see what they have to share with you. The links will be listed at the end of this post. This post may contain affiliate links. It all started with the back of my Lemonade Sign .  I found the blank sign in the free pile at a yard sale and I love the Lemonade side, but the back was looking rather...shall we say.... boring .  Time to give it a makeover and have a 2-sided sign!   So, I gave it a quick coat of white paint for a base. Some black and gray paint was sponged on and... ...I immediately  hated it! Isn't that awful? So I sanded it off, leaving some of the white and a purple 'frame'. Wanting a distressed look, I applied some black paint and antiquing medium with a rag. F...

  I realize it's August and many bloggers are jumping into Fall and Halloween content with both feet.   Not this gal!   Summer is a very short season in my part of the world and I plan on enjoying it for as long as I can.  Soooo.... Let me share this beautiful hydrangea tile tray that I found at a yard sale for $2. Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers  and I knew I had to have this tray as soon as I spotted it.   Did I need a tray? Nooooo, but who could resist those beautiful pink flowers? The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the wood.  A little too orange and it took away from those pretty tiles. This post may contain affiliate links. Some painter's tape was put down to protect the tiles and out came the sandpaper. Goodbye orange and hello 'I'm not sure what' kind of wood and filler. I usually like to keep wood, but this situation called for paint.  So I created a little sample board to see what would work best. None of t...

It all started with this blank sign I found in the free pile at a yard sale.    I grabbed it for 2 reasons: 1.  'Free' is my favorite word. 2.  I already had an idea for it! This post may contain affiliate links. Before we get started, let me welcome you to the  Creative Craft Hop  hosted by Sara from Birdz of a Feather .   If you just came from Jenna @ The Painted Apron ,   Welcome to the Cottage!  At the bottom of this post I'll direct you to the next stop on this hop, but be sure to visit all of the other stops for some amazing inspiration. They will all be listed.   Now, back to the sign! Since it was already sanded, I used the rest of my can of paint and primer to give it a good base. The paint raised the grain a bit, so I knocked it back down with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper.   I found a font and lemon I liked on Design Space and cut them on my Maker using cardstock.   I like to do a 'dry-run' with...

 Are you looking for a Mother's Day gift that is both fun and practical?  Or a cute gift for your bestie?  I've got just the thing for you!  I saw a similar terracotta pot on Pinterest and immediately thought, "I can do that!".  So I did.   This post may contain affiliate links. Let me show you how.... I started by sealing a terracotta pot and dish.  This pot measures 6" across the top.   Next, 2 coats of craft paint were applied. While waiting for paint to dry, I trimmed a wooden mushroom from the dollar store with my hacksaw and glued it to the pot. In hindsight, I probably would have done that first and then painted, but this was my first time creating this planter, so that's how it went!   I also popped the lenses out of a pair of 'cheap sunglasses' ....Do I hear a ZZ Top song???   Sorry, I digress!   Stencils were cut for the eyebrows and lips with my Maker and stencil vinyl .   You can se...