Look at what I did!

I will never claim to be creative, but I do amaze myself from time to time when I put my mind into doing and finishing something. Back in Utah, in my sis-in-law's home, she had similar plaques that she did with her Relief Society group, so it reminded me of the ones I have yet to do. Thanks Kate!
The plaques, I bought from a Relief Society craft evening project sometime ago, but never liked the notion of having pressed time to do it so it sat in the sidelines. They even endured our move here to north Texas. Also, I'm not a country girl; I'm Filipino so I had to give them an Asian flair. The "Mathews" plaque, I stained it instead of painting or just shellacking the surface. The wood it came with was neither wide nor long enough, so I asked Charlie to help me find a suitable replacement. After he cut and prepped it, I used a deep burgundy stain and used a roller to give it a lacquered look. The result with beige and white vinyl letters on it looks so elegant that it can be used it on any decor. Even for those die hard fans of leather furnishings, it would look great with it.
For the "Family Home Evening", I strolled down memory lane for my inspiration. I grew up looking out onto a construction site of a 5-story home and clothing factory. Outside, at the end of each day, I would find wood with splatters and brushings of paint. It looked messy but beautiful to me. Charlie and I found 2 "oops" paints for $1 each at Home Depot, mixed it to a pinkish beige tone then I used the chocolate shade to splatter with a toothbrush and hit the sides with the bristles using long and short strokes to simulate degrading wood. I was jumping up and down at how good it looked when I laid down the burgundy lettering. To finish it, I'll be placing hooks and star shaped balsa wood with the same paint technique to complete the plaque and use it to organize our weekly family time. I can't wait!


I made the memo & chore board for my children who can never remember their appointments or chores, rather too conveniently... I used canvas boards and my children and I voted on the fabrics to reflect our dream decor. I covered the buttons with the same or coordinating fabrics to the ribbon I used. The memo board is in blue because Lisa's room used to be white and blue, but now, Ian and Jasmine are using it as the neutral color as they share a room. As for the chore board, I used a thick fabric reminiscent of Spanish tapestry as Spain is part of my heritage. The chore board is not quite complete yet; I'm still missing its other component to function as a chore board. For both of these, I only saw what's being sold and decided that I can do it, so I tried it!

Finishing a project and even starting one on your own, very cool "secret candy".