Things I've Made Archives - Page 11 of 136 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

Fall Table Decor: Mason Jar Firefly Lanterns

September 15, 2014 by Ashley Hackshaw

This month’s theme for Michaels Makers is fall decor. Fall is always hard for me because I rarely buy anything orange, yellow or red…all classic fall colors. But…I love acorns and barn wood and moss….so I made these cute little “firefly” inspired lanterns using mason jars and Michaels’ LED string lights (found in the floral section of the store):

I also made the barn wood tray and the small rustic twig balls but I’ll follow up with a tutorial on those. The acorns were collected on the Hemlock Inn driveway tonight:

To make the lanterns I used a mason jar and a battery operated set of LED string lights from Michaels. Each set of lights takes 3 batteries and the pack can be tucked nicely into the back of the jar. I used dried moss to give the inside of the jar an earthy rustic look. The great thing about the lights is that you can leave them on “timer” and they will come on at the same time each night.

An easy way to decorate a table for fall entertaining:

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Recent Reclaimed and Upcycled Wood Projects

August 27, 2014 by Ashley Hackshaw

Brett’s been enjoying a new hobby of making stuff. I look outside and he has headphones on, his shirt off….the chop saw and nail gun spread all over the driveway. He says it’s therapeutic. He’s constantly picking up discarded wood and old pallets to take apart to make containers, furniture and wood canvases. A resourceful hobby/hubby:

I came home the other day and he had made us some new furniture from a few old wood pallets. He has since added arm rests but I’m too lazy to walk outside and take a new photo:

They are really comfortable! Here’s Boo watching the sunset from her new chair:

The signs and posts at the inn were in need of a fresh coat of paint so he spent some of the week working on those to help the innkeepers out a bit as they prepare for their son’s wedding.

Before:

After:

The rocking chairs are also looking a little tired and are in need of paint. This little chair is over 35 years old:

I know that because of the photo my mother took of me in it when I was around 3:

Inspired by a bench at the Biltmore, he made me this:

These are just cows. Nothing to see here except that Brett took the photo. And I love these cows.

He found an old table and some barn wood and used it to make…..

This awesome skinny computer desk for me:

The desk today:

He’s cut me lots and lots of wood to make things with. Like this “Mountain Dew” painting:

And these “Mr and Mrs” signs for the inn’s wedding coming up:

And just one more for today….this old sign was rotting on one side and ready for the dump. I saw a little potential in it:

Brett cut it off and secured the remaining top pieces and now it hangs above our fireplace:

It feels good to get creative again. I’ve been itching to do some painting again too and Brett has made me a ton of small wood pieces that are just sitting there waiting for me. Now I just need the inspiration to hit.

How to Make An Oversized Wood Ruler

August 1, 2014 by Ashley Hackshaw

It’s almost time for school to start back. I’m actually really looking forward to having a schedule again. We are still working on our small cottage here in the mountains and something I thought would be nice touch was a large rustic ruler. We can use it as a growth chart for Boo and it also makes a great statement piece for the house.

How fun would this be in a classroom:

First I started with a large piece of wood that I picked up from the local hardware store. It was an 8 foot long 2″x10″….and we cut off a foot to make it 7 feet tall. I used ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape to create my inch marks along the wood. I tore piece in half so I could get an approximate width for each notch:

Here’s the wood completely taped off:

I masked off all the areas that I didn’t want to paint. Then I took chalkboard spray paint and sprayed a few light coats over my masked off areas. I prefer chalkboard paint because it doesn’t bleed through the wood grain:

The best part is removing the tape to see the design left behind:

To make my numbers I just printed off some samples in Powerpoint and traced them over white transfer paper to leave behind a template:

I carefully hand painted each letter with a small brush and some black acrylic craft paint:

To make the ruler more realistic I wanted to add a hole and a metal ring. I was able to find these plastic snap together grommets that look just like metal from Michaels:

The grommets come with a template to cut the hole:

My husband used a 2 1/8″ hole saw drill bit to cut straight through the wood:

2″ is pretty thick so he used a chisel to break out sections in between drills:

I used Golden Fluid Acrylics in Raw Umber to make my own wood stain:

To make an easy wood stain I mixed steel wool with white vinegar in a mason jar and let it sit overnight. The vinegar reacts with the steel wool to create a barn wood color.

I just squeezed drops of the Burnt Umber straight onto the damp wood and brushed it into the wood in different ways to make it seemed aged:

One the wood was stained and dry I glued on my grommet using E-6000.

The finished grommet:

The finished ruler:

Great for an indoor decor piece in a classroom or any room of the house:

Or for outside decor:

Also, Michaels is inviting you to create your own back-to-school project and upload a photo to your Instagram using the #Create2Educate and #sweepstakes hashtags before August 15 for a chance to win a $50 Michaels gift card!

One winner will be chosen each day!

If you don’t have an Instagram account you can also submit your photo via www.michaels.com/create2educate, which will be live on August 1.

Michaels will highlight fans’ submissions on social and on Michaels.com throughout the two week entry period.

Have fun! And Happy Back to School!

Disclaimer: I do receive occasional product from Michaels in exchange for crafty ideas. All ideas are my own.