St Patrick's Day in August

We were having a St. Patrick's Day party in August at work and you know what? It's almost impossible to find St. Patrick Day decorations in the middle of summer. So I decided we needed something creative.

I bought a piece of wood at Lowes, it was thin, RevolutionPly 5mm. My husband cut it in half and we glued the two pieces together to make it stronger. Then he screwed 1" x 2" boards around the outside edge for extra reinforcement.

For the stand he cut two triangles out of plywood (1/2 in thick) and cut slots in them so the board would slip in to stand up.

Once we had the board all put together, it was time to lay out the design. I wanted the the Leprechaun faces cut out so people could get behind them and take photos. So I sketched the picture with a piece of chalk and my husband cut the faces out.

Now it was time to paint.

Confession; Lowes was selling the Valspar paint samples for a buck...OMG! I had a big background to paint so this was a great economical find. It was hard to restrain myself to just a few. I think artist everywhere were dancing.

Then it was just paint...and touch up...and touch up

 I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut vinyl for the Happy St. Patrick's Day" and e shamrocks and put them on the final picture.

To add a little dimension I used Washi Tape from Michaels for the front of the Leprechaun's vest on the left and some gold ribbon for the front of the vest for the Leprechaun on the right. I glued them on with Tacky Glue and taped the ribbon until the glue dried.

Happy St. Patrick's Day in August!

Michaels had CRATES on Sale!

 I went into Michaels for some paint on the fish rocks I'm painting and found CRATES ON SALE!

I'd seen these used on Pinterest for shelving so I thought the sale was the universe was giving me a sign.

I bought 4 crates, but then had to decide on stain or paint...hmmmm.

After taking them home and giving them a good sanding  the wood was still kind of rough so I opted for paint over stain. I thought spray paint might help contain any splinters. These were going in my Art studio so I went with some happy colors.


I spray painted them 4 different colors. Each took almost a can to get good coverage, about two-three coats. The green needed the most.









Then I stacked and re-stacked them until I decided which color should go where. (Hadn't really thought of that when I picked the colors)

My hubby used his electric drill and screwed the crates together.

Done! This little shelf unit was less than $50.
I had most of the paint and the crates were $9.99.  

Time spent? One weekend; painted one day, put together the next. 

Happy crafting!