Easy as ABC

I have had this idea pinned on Pinterest for a while.  

I started working on it on President's Day and finished it the next day. 

After waiting almost two weeks to have it hung...my husband did it this morning.  Yeah!  

The original sign measured 36x36 and she must have used 3" letters.  

I could only find 4" letters and I didn't want to wait to get started...so I went with it.  

My sign is 42x42 and my blocks measure 7" square to accommodate the larger letter size. 

 It is BIG.  

I used a t-square to make nice square lines.  

Letters from Hobby Lobby.  

Not exactly the same font as an old typewriter...but again, I didn't want to wait.  

I drew circles in the center of each square and painted them old white...almost to the edge, but not quite. 

Here is where I forgot to keep taking pictures:)

In the center of the circle, I placed the vinyl letters and numbers.  Painted over them with black paint and peeled the sticker away when it was almost dry.  I did quite a few touch-ups, then I found a smaller circle to make the partial inner circles.  I finished it up with some sanding and then a darker wax.  

This thing is BIG!  I have big tall walls with lots of windows...so I had nowhere  to hang it.  

So it went in the bathroom.  

This is the arrangement I had in the guest bath before...these are now in my master bedroom:)  

Ta-Dah!  

Perfect size for the wall and I love the impact it has on the space.  

Hmmm...what should I work on next?  Painting my wood blinds?  Sure.  

Renae

Organizing My Life

Just like millions of other Americans, 

I resolved in 2013 to organize my life, eat better and exercise more.  

For the most part, I have had great success.  I have completed a couple major organizing tasks in my home, I hit the gym 3-4 times per week and we are eating lots of veggies and cutting carbs.  

My most recent organizing project was my home office.  

I share it with a fridge, freezer, washer, dryer and too many coats and pairs of shoes to count.  

My biggest frustration is that I have no drawers for all the little stuff.  

Yes, I had a great file cabinet...but my desk top was always covered with EVERYTHING.  

Plus, my work area was very left sided and I typically have an extra computer going and I was all squished in there.  Ugh.  

Before

Before

So after spending countless hours on Pinterest and looking for just the right file cabinet...I created this.  And I love it.  

After

The top is a $5 door from the bargain area at Menards.  I stained it, then added stripes in Barcelona Orange Chalk Paint.  I sealed it with a few coats of dark wax to age it.  

The file cabinets are from Walmart.  I looked everywhere and they were the only place that had what I wanted.  I'm big on quality and doing things right the first time...so I hesitated a little, but when I saw the same ones at Target (wrong color), I was sold.  They were cheap...like $40.  I initially bought two, but decided a third one would fit...so we'll add that one later. 

See the nice little drawer at the top.  Perfect.  

I had pinned this sign a long time a ago and still loved it as I was searching for some artwork.  This canvas has been painted with a dinosaur, words to remind my children to flush and now this.  Free!  

I snagged this paper holder from my son's room...it has sat empty for two years.  Mine.  

I am loving it.  

Now it's time to get both computers going and pull out my files...I have work to do.  

Renae