Thursday, May 27, 2010

okay...now it's thursday...

Hey there all you fabulous crafters!

Have you ever seen something and thought..."there is NO WAY I am paying that price for THAT!" It happens almost every time I look at the Pottery Barn catalog! So when I saw these adorable Hawaiian themed plaques I thought, "Hmmmm...maybe my mother in law could paint these for me!" I actually even called her, but she wasn't home...the more I looked at them I thought, "I bet I might be able to do it!" So I gave it a try! My favorites were the turtle one and the reef shark so that was my plan.



(image from Potter Barn kids)

I started with 2 12x12 boards that I had cut at Home Depot and then I had my friend use his router to knock off the edges a little so that they didn't look quite so "boardy".

Then I picked up some craft paint from the store....these are the colors I got...I tried to match the picture as closely as possible!

I painted each board the color of the background!

When my boards were dry I used a pencil to freehand the pictures on. It really wasn't too hard. The shapes are pretty basic. Then I used a small paint brush to start painting. The picture above is of the boards done, but not distressed and weathered.

Next step was to sand the boards A LOT! I did have to be careful not to sand off the eyes or too much of the words. So if you give this a go be careful! Then I rubbed them with a little Burnt Umber craft paint that I watered down. I applied it and then let it sit for a few seconds and wiped it off. Then I applied a coat or two of clear finish.

They aren't exactly like the ones in the origional picture, but I think I got close enough. I hope my nephews love them!

If you have something in the back of your mind that you have been wanting to copy...I say GO FOR IT!

-By Heather

19 comments:

  1. Cute Heather! They look pretty dang close to the originals! Impressive!

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  2. Wow! Great job! These look AWESOME!
    Shelley

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  3. Those look fantastic - GREAT JOB!

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  4. I think you did an awesome job! So very cute.

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  5. A woman after my own heart copying things that are too expensive! You did a fabulous job and I honestly think yours look just as good, if not better than the originals. You could seriously sell them!

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  6. these are great!!! you did an awesome job!!! so cute!!!

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  7. Holy cow, you've got some talent. I'm pretty sure if I tried to copy them, they would look NOTHING like yours do! :) Great job!

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  8. those are soooooo adorable! love what you did and they are much better than your inspiration since you did it yourself and for much less money!

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  9. You did a great job. Love them

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  10. Wow those look amazing!!!

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  11. Ok, so the entire time I was thinking how cute they would be in the boys hawaiian themed room. How excited am I to think that I actually don't have to try to recreate one of your adorable crafts!! I can't wait to get them!! They will look adorable in they boys room! So cute Heather!!!

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  12. I love it! And I totally agree....Love this idea and now it is a one of a kind work of art! I hope you signed your work of art and dated it so one day they can say they own an 'ORIGINAL'....
    Big smile.
    Blessings,
    Debbie

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  13. Awesome! Mine would look nothing like that! Thats something I would soo buy!

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~Andy