A Vintage Wooden Tooblox

I came across an old wooden toolbox that a lady was wanting to sell.  It had a great shpae, but was made of plywood, which I'm not fond of.  Still, it had possibilities.

I painted it green and added a chalkboard area.  I kept it at home long enough to create a pattern to make another.  My hubby wanted the ones we make to be a little different.  The bottom wouldn't show in front.  It would be completely tucked inside.  I got another tool lesson and we built another one.  My cutting was a little off and I made the two ends a little taller than I intended.  The next one will be shorter. 

I'm keeping the one we made.  It's in our family room on top of an armoire.  I'd like another for the porch and another in my loft.  I could think of lots of places to use them.  I could even make one to go in the bathroom to hold toilet paper! 

I don't have photos of the one we made and am too lazy to go take them.  I'll be making more soon. 

Moved to a New Booth... AGAIN!

I cannot believe I moved my booth again.  I have promised myself to stay put for a long while this time.

I did have good reasons for the move.   I need wall space for my signs.  My new booth is the same size as my previous one, but it has an extra 5 feet of wall space.  The location is good and it happened to come available at exactly the time I needed it.  Isn't it wonderful how things often work out that way?

My sweet sister-in-law, Nancy, helped with the move again.  She volunteered.  What would I do without her!  She made the move lots of fun, but we were both worn out by the time we finished.

I did manage to take a few photos afterwards -

There are till areas I know can be made to look better.  There are also things I need to take home and things I need to bring in.  But mostly, I want to get some more signs made to take advantage of that wall space!

Feed Sack Sign

I'm really having fun with these signs.  I'm picking up new ideas and tricks along the way.  I've been reading about lots of different techniques that I can't wait to try out.

My hubby gave me a lesson on how to make the wood part.  I am loving those power tools.  He has everything and knows how to use it!  I am now able to make these without help.  I still refuse to do it when he's not home.  If I chop off a finger, I want someone close by to be able to put it in a cooler and get me to the emergency room.  I am very nervous around power saws of any kind.

I saw a picture of a fun feed sack on Pinterest.  I worked out a similar design on my computer, then printed it out extra large  I used the printout to help in cutting out a stencil... by hand... with an Exacto knife.  All those small letters.  OMG.  I will never, as God is my witness..  Oh dear.  I sound like Scarlett O'Hara.  Anyway, that process is tedious and still had to be touched up, which was also tedious. 

Stencils... &^%$#@!

I'm selling the sign for $69.99 which means I probably earned 2 cents an hour.  (Only a slight exaggeration)

The sign works perfectly in The White Booth right now.  Our current accent color is green.

More Signs and Flags

I'm getting into making signs.  I had a successful venture with my first wooden flag. It sold really fast.  I'm taking that as a sign that I'm on the right path.

Last year I wore myself out searching for treasures for my booth.  I found some great things, but it took lots of time and lots of gas.  I seemed to always be in a hurry and my house was never "company ready".  In fact, I'm not even sure it was ready for the health inspector!  I'm determined to keep things more balanced this year.  I am thinking my treasures this year will be split between some that I find on the road and some that I make.  I have a number of projects planned and some actually in the works.  Plus, I've completed a couple more. 

I made this farmers market sign for The White Booth, which is currently accented in pinks and greens.  The sign has layers and layers of paint and took waaaaay too long for the $24.99 I'm selling it for.  Lots of people complimented it, but I'm not satisfied.  My next one will have a few added details and another color.

This picture shows some of the layers, but *I think* the sign is a little prettier in person than it looks in this photo.  The green is really nice. 

If I'm going to make this worthwhile, I need to find some shortcuts. I don't know which way to go.  Do I get a Cricut or Silhouette?  Do I go to a vinyl printing company?  Do I get an overhead projector, which wouldn't save all that much time?  Anyone have ideas or tips?


I also made another flag, this time on canvas.  I definitely prefer the wood.  But I had a canvas with a picture I had painted ages ago when I had visions of sitting in a garden outside with my easel and a bonnet with the wind blowing through my hair.  Ha.  The painting wasn't very good and the world is a better place for having it painted over.

Interestingly, canvas was just as easy to sand over the as wood.  I could layer and do all the same treatments with the same results.  It looks nice, but the wood ones will sell better at a higher price.  If I were a buyer, I'd want the wood one despite the price difference.  However.... a barn wood frame might equalize things a bit.  So canvas isn't ruled out.