Things I've Made Archives - Page 5 of 136 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

How to Make a Personalized Watch Box – DIY Father’s Day Gift

June 1, 2017 by Ashley Hackshaw

I just love the progression of my daughter’s handwriting over time. I wanted to capture her 10-year-old cursive writing for my husband by making this box for Father’s Day this year. Here’s how to make a personalized watch box for a DIY Father’s Day gift:

I’ve called the box a “watch box” but it could also be used as a remote control box or a loose change catch-all:

The steps are pretty easy and straight forward. I started with an unfinished hinged box from Michaels:

Sienna wrote out a message to her dad in cursive:

I used graphite transfer paper to trace the words onto a box:

Then I used a wood burner to etch the letters into the wood:

You can use any color stain to paint the box I just wouldn’t go too dark…a lighter stain makes the handwriting stand out:

I love that her sweet handwriting is captured in time on something useful:

Her name added to the inside of the lid:

So sweet:

I sprayed the box with a satin polyurethane to finish it and added a piece of craft felt to the inside bottom:

If you have multiple children I think it would be so cute to have them all write out the same words and have all the lines across the front of the box!

From handmade card to DIY t-shirts Michaels has everything you need to MAKE Dad’s day special.

Looking for more Father’s Day inspiration? Make sure you visit Michaels’ blog, The Glue String, for more Dad inspired project ideas.

Here are a few other ideas for Father’s Day that I’ve made in the past:

A Father Child Journal:

Carved Leather Bracelets:

Popsicle Stick Photo Puzzle:

One Painting a Day – Week 17 and 18 – 365 Project

May 11, 2017 by Ashley Hackshaw

Week 17 and 18 of painting were all over the place….maybe because it’s been 126 days so far. No one told me how long 365 days is! Here’s everything I painted in week 17:

A layered floral acrylic painting on canvas:

A quote on gessoboard in honor of Willem de Kooning’s birthday:

I don’t paint to live, I live to paint. -Willem de Kooning

I painted this lettering on an awesome piece of driftwood I found in the Fontana Lake:

I did this lettering for my friend Beau. It’s on an old c. 1800 grist mill paddle that was found on his grandfather’s property in Clinch County, GA. The property was called 8 Mile Still because it was 8 miles from town. The still made turpentine from the crude resin of pine trees. He gave me one of the old original clay pots used on the trees to collect the sap. “Turp pots” had a hole so they could be hung on the long leaf pines below where the wood was cut. They were invented in 1909 by Charles Herty…and were much more efficient and less harmful to the tree than previous methods.

A photo of the turpentine “Herty” cups if you are interested in that kind of stuff:

Another day I painted this quote on a slice of birch. I love doing these so I carry them in my shop now, at least until I get tired of making them:

“In the mountains we forget to count the days.”

(My friend Todd pointed out that I actually AM counting the days…since this was day 117. I laughed so hard at that.)

Another day I worked on the second concrete deer in the yard (here’s the finished first)…I started painting a quilt on him:

A few days later:

Here’s a portrait I painted of a cat:

The portrait was based on a stray I picked up a while back. He was the neighborhood stray. We all fed him and the kids rescued him from the storm drain more than once. Kismet liked to stalk my chickens from a distance and to playfully torment Max. Kismet also liked to procreate with all of the female strays. One 19 degree night this last winter I heard meowing at 3am at our door. It was Kismet begging to be let in. Brett and Sienna are allergic to cats so I put him in the garage with warm blankets for the night. The next day I took him to our small PAWS shelter and they were able to take him. As I left, Kismet looked at me like I’d duped him. I felt so bad but Kismet didn’t know he needed to be taken care of…he thought he was tough. But that first night in the warm shelter was great. Kismit prefers the company of people over other animals…but will tolerate them with his regal indifference. He loves to say hello, loves being held and loves sunning in windows. Anyone? Anyone?

And now for week 18:

A watercolor quote…I love painting these galaxy backgrounds:

He counts the stars and calls them all by name. -Psalm 147:4

Another watercolor quote:

A driftwood trout….these never get old when I find a great piece of driftwood:

On a whim one morning I painted these little nursery paintings:

This was a late night quote:

“What matters is how quickly you do what your soul wants.” -Rumi

A primitive rendering of tomato soup:

I had so much fun painting these little framed watercolors:

And I’m still working….every day…sometimes painting multiple pieces over several days. I’ve found my love of art again. I live to paint.

I do list some of my artwork for sale. You can find it on Etsy here. If you are reading this I set up a special code for my loyal readers…use it on anything in the shop until Sunday for 20% off. The code is: MOUNTAIN20 Thank you!

All my daily paintings can be found indexed here!

Painted Concrete Deer – Upcycling Concrete Garden Decor

May 2, 2017 by Ashley Hackshaw

When we moved into our house two years ago I was so excited to have these concrete deer as a potential project. I immediately saw painted concrete deer as an upcycling project:

Below is what they looked like before. I knew that I needed to at least give them a new coat of paint because they were started to really be affected by the elements…they are over 50 years old. You could use any old garden sculpture for the project….and people are always listing these things on Craigslist:

I see old concrete yard art all over the place and I always think about what designs could be painted on them. This poor little deer is looking a little worse for wear. His rebar skeleton is showing:

I finally got around to starting to paint ours now that the weather is warming up. I used Deco Art’s Outdoor Living Exterior / Interior Paint available at Michaels and other craft supply stores:

My grandfather was Swedish and we grew up with an appreciation for Dala Horses and other Scandinavian art so that’s the theme I decided to use for the first deer.

A dala horse just for reference:

First, I painted the deer with with a flat white spray paint primer. Then I sketched different designs on using willow charcoal. Willow charcoal is a painter’s best friend! It can be easily painted over and easily wiped off. One box will last for years…I’ve had mine for at least 20:

I changed my mind a few times on the design and I just painted over the area I wanted to change with a layer of white paint. I love how it finally turned out:

I think the key for the Scandinavian design is to pick a theme and just a handful of colors to stick with for the whole project. It looks more cohesive that way:

Have you ever seen those statues in different cities that are painted different themes? We have bears nearby in Cherokee and there were Big Horned Sheep in Palm Desert. That’s what this reminds me of:

The back of the deer:

Her side:

When completely finished with the deer I coated it with two thick coats of marine varnish which expands and contracts and basically is durable enough for a ship at sea:

It will protect this from harsh outdoor elements:

It will protect it from the elements for a long time to come!

Stay tuned for the second deer soon….it’s quilted!

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