Last Name Sign

 I have had an idea rolling around in my head for quite a long time - my BFF just got married and for her bridal shower I wanted to give her a handmade gift that she would cherish.  I thought of a last name plague to hang above their door or in their house somewhere (or in a closet if they don't like it). 
So, here is how I made it:

 My original plan was to use a rectangular piece and router the edges, but on a trip to The 'Will I found this piece for $2.  The shape is nice and I wouldn't have to do any cutting or use the router, so I gave it a go. 

 Sand it

 I had some paint laying around, so I gave it 2 coats.  It was the perfect color, neutral and it just so happens that their wedding colors are grey, burlap, and purple. 

 I played with fonts and sizes until I found what I wanted.  Then (not pictured) I printed them as a mirror image (it was in the print properties).  I worked with one piece at a time and got the paper damp them scraped it with a credit card so the image would transfer (I saw this idea on pinterest).  This do not work very well for me - next time I will try a different method.  Since the words were barely readable, I used a paint pen to go over everything. 

 LOVE it!!  But, it looked a little plain. 
I love the est. 2012!!  I was going to put their wedding date, but planned on making a different sign (still haven't done it) with their date, so I just went with the year.  

 So, I distressed it a bit.  I applied some random stain to the exposed wood to give it an older look, then coated everything with a few coats of poly. 

 The bride to be opening her gift. 

The bride to be and groom to be ... now bride and groom, with their sign.  

I love the result but I don't like how other colors of paint show at the distressed parts - but, they love it (or so they say) and that is all that matters.

What do you think?  Would you make this for a gift?

DIY Necklace Display

 This is probably the easiest and cheapest DIY project that I have ever done! AND it looks great to boot!

Our new house has lots of wall space in the bathroom but not a ton of storage. The last few years I have developed a small collection of inexpensive necklaces and was needing a place to store them. I figured a good way to do so would be to create a board to hang on the wall that would also display the necklaces to help decorate the wall a bit. My grandmother had cork boards for her necklaces growing up which gave me this idea.

Supplies
Cork board - I was pleased to find these framed bulletin board style cork board squares at Wally World. Less than $5 each.
Fabric - Black in this case and a bit velvety from the clearance section. Also from Wally for $2 total.
Decorative pins - I think these were upholstery pins also from Wally for $2.
Staple Gun

 Simply cut the fabric to be a bit larger than the cork board you want to cover. Enough room to wrap it around the edges of the cork like a canvas.

Wrap the fabric as tight as possible and staple gun it in place to the back side of the cork frame. Do one side at a time and be careful to keep the fabric tight. I folded the corners before stapling them to make them smooth.

Adding the upholstery pins was the final step. I added them along the top of course.Pick ones sturdy enough to hold up your necklaces.

The final product is a great looking fabric board for hanging your necklaces. I have a couple of these now and am so happy with how they turned out. Necklaces are easy to see and stored in a way that is organized and decorative!

Customize yours with a fabric that suits your rooms and add as many as you need! These would be a great compliment to Sarah's DIY earring holder.