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Christmas Joy Sign Tutorial

December 5, 2014 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

christmas_joyI’ve got the joy, joy, joy joy, down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart to stay!

Anyone remember that song? Ok, I will stop singing… for now :). It’s Christmas time…how can our hearts not be full of joy? I know my little family has been sick which makes some days hard, but we are so blessed. We aren’t in our new place yet, but we have been staying with the most wonderful new friends. It’s been a transitioning time, and I am so thankful for the conversations, rest, and fun we have experienced here on the farm.  There are lots of things I will miss when we move into our own home next week. One thing on the list will be their barns.

winter_kids

Huge red barns is something I always dream about, and there are some gorgeous ones here. Last week, my kids were playing dress up, and I then took them to work with me out in one of them. You can hardly tell with all their winter gear, but I had Raphael, Darth Vader, and Queen Elsa with me.

workshop

wood_workshopI know there are lots of joy signs out there. I too have been eying them and wanting to create one for myself. I thought while I don’t have a house, I should make the sign. This way when we move into our new house, my sign is ready to decorate our new front door!

I started with a couple of boards. I got two different width boards because I wanted the size contrast and I wood glued them together. You can purchase boards 10″ or 12″ wide if you’d like to eliminate this step.

wood_glue

how_to_use_wood_clampsNow, this method of attaching is not strong enough to make a shelf or something like a piece of furniture without being reinforced with more wood on the back side. For a sign that will just hang on a wall though, it was ok. I ended up making two signs, so I could give one to our sweet host friends.

Once the glue was dry, I did a dry paint brush technique with a light silver paint. I wanted the boards to have some color, but I also wanted them to look rustic. Doing a dry brush paint job, I was able to get some color on the boards without creating a solid thick paint job. Lightly dip your brush into your paint. Brush long quick strokes so the paint lightly applies and keep working your brush on the wood when you would normally go back for more paint. This will create a nice thin spread. Depending on how rustic or weathered you want your boards to appear, you can decide how much you’d like to cover. If you over cover you can always go back and do some sanding. The key is just to avoid a thick coat.

duluth_flannel

dry_paint_brush_techniqueI then did a light sand to my paint and used this Minwax stain. It gave a darker hue to the boards that is just beautiful. I painted the stain on, left it for about 15 minutes (I’m learning the colder temperatures here take paint, glue, and stain a good bit longer to set – In Georgia I would have left the stain about 5-7 minutes) while I did some other parts of my sign. Once the stain set I wiped off the excess with a rag. I spray painted some letters red. You could stencil or paint the letters on your sign, but I wanted mine to have a 3D dimension and stick off the board, so I used some press board letters from JoAnnes. I think these paper mache letters would look cool too! Next, I stuck some berries in a grapevine wreath and I was almost complete.

minwax_stain

spray_paint_letters

easy_christmas_wreathThe final step was attaching my letters and wreath to my sign. I did the letters first, but I placed the wreath in the middle so I could figure out placement. I used wood glue and laid my letters in place. I used wood clamps to hold them tightly to the board while the glue dried. This step is important to make sure you get the strongest bond possible.

For the “J”, my clamps would not reach to the letter, so I laid a spare board across the top of the “J” to help press the letter down tightly. This method of using clamps is a good idea, even just to protect your letter. By clamping this way, you don’t rough up your letters at all with the clamp. The paint does not get messed with and there are no clamp marks dug into the letters.

making_joy

how_to_use_wood_clamp

christmas_wood_projectOnce the glue was good and dry, I removed the clamps and only had attaching the wreaths left to do. I brought in my husband to help me brainstorm. We thought we might use wood glue and then opted to just hammer a few small nails in place and stick the wreath on. By doing it this way, you can easily remove the wreath to store it better at other times of the year.

christmas_joy_project

work_bench

making_a_joy_sign

how_to_make_a_joy_signI love how it came out! It is a classic piece that reminds us Joy to the world, the Lord has come. I might leave it up all year though, cause there is joy in the everyday. My amazing husband just spoke all about this at church, if you care to listen or watch, you can check it out here.

christmas_wreath

joy_sign_tutorialI’m pretty excited about how this turned out! Christmas is such a fun time to craft. I made another Christmas joy sign last year, that may inspire you as well.

DIY_Christmas_signThank you so much for checking out my sign. This is a busy time of year and I hope you can all enjoy it with your families!! As always, thank you for following along with our journey. I love to hear from you! Follow me on Instagram (ericadeuel), as I post there pretty much everyday as my daily blog.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links used in this post.

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Creating Christmas Joy

December 4, 2013 By Erica Deuel 6 Comments

DIY_felt_garlandChristmas joy is here! We have been hanging out in front of the fireplace, playing games, and singing songs loud for all to hear. It can be a crazy busy time, but I hope you are able to unplug and enjoy the little things that make this season such a special time.

I want to share this simple Christmas joy garland that I made in a matter of minutes. You too can make this. Follow these simple steps and you will make a stunning decorative banner (and all who see it will ask how you cut such amazing snowflakes out of felt :)).

The first thing I did was cut three triangles out of burlap. I then placed a foam sticker on each burlap triangle and sprayed painted lightly over both of them.

Joy_burlap_bannerOnce the spray paint was dry, I peeled up the foam sticker. The light layer of spray paint had created a stencil for me to see my letters. I carefully painted the letters in red. Note: the spray paint barely changed the color of my burlap. It just got a little lighter.Painting_lettersOnce the letters were dried, I cut two slits at the top of each of my burlap pieces to allow for the string to be strung through. I used red and white cloths line from the Dollar Tree to string my joy banner. I liked the color combination of this option, but any ribbon, string, yarn, or rope would work.

Christmas_garlandThe last step was to string everything alone the clothesline. I bought two packages of red, felt coasters at the Dollar Tree. I opened both packages and simply strung my clothes lines through one of the outer holes of one of the coasters to begin. I strung four coasters, then my letters, and then the remaining four coasters onto the clothesline. I spaced them out evenly and hung it up! My Christmas joy garland was complete!

Felt_coasters

Christmas_joy_garlandThis was such an easy DIY and fun way to add a little Christmas joy to our home. If you like the idea of adding Christmas joy by simple “joy” crafts, you would probably like this one too.

I think the felt coasters used in this post would be cute as a garland all by themselves. There are lots of ways to use this idea. White coasters would look cute as “snow” too.

I hope you are having a great week and finding some peace and ways to imagine in the midst of a season when so much is thrown at you.

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Christmas Joy {Stick Sign Tutorial}

November 15, 2013 By Erica Deuel 13 Comments

DIY_Christmas_signImagine a mom out in the backyard playing with her kids.  As she is noticing the change of color in the trees and enjoying the cool breeze, she can’t help but keep gathering sticks and throwing them in a pile. To do what with them she does not know, but she has to save them.

That mom is me a lot of days. You have seen my stick obsession in my stick heart wall art and in my stick Thanksgiving turkey. Today, I want to show you my latest stick creation. My Christmas Joy sign!

I started with a piece of scrap Purebond wood from my planked wall. I sanded it and sprayed it with a really pretty green spray paint called Eden from Rust-oluem. It’s perfect for Christmas!

Green_spray_paintI then sanded the corners briefly with a heavy 60 grit sandpaper to round them. From there it got a bit crazy, and I retaught myself a lesson that I’ve learned the hard way like five other times now.

I stained my piece, but I forgot that stain eats at spray paint. Using stain over spray paint causes the spray paint to start disappearing and makes the stain hard to wipe off as it gets sticky. I quickly finished staining the board (to keep it all uniform) and wiped it off as much as I could, as soon as I remembered my mistake. For this project, I liked the look this mistake caused in creating a worn green board. I wish I had gotten more pictures, but I was in panic mood.

Next, I used some of my collected sticks to create a Christmas tree. I made the tree next to my board so I could configure the height and order placement I liked of sticks to transfer onto my board.

stick_christmas_treeI then picked one stick up at a time and hot glued a strip of glue along it ad placed it onto my green board. I simply kept doing this method, so my tree grew taller and taller till I had transferred all the sticks.

hot_glue

stick_christmas_sign

wood_stick_christmas_treeNext, I took extra sticks and filled in gaps and holes in my tree. This step created a more dimensional, layered, and full tree.

fill_gap_holeI really like the simplicity of this tree. I didn’t want to dress it up much, since it was pretty obvious it was a tree. I simply glued a little yellow, wood star at the top and my tree was done.

DIY_christmas_treeMy last step was to add JOY to my Christmas sign. What is Christmas without joy, right!? I picked out the letters from one of my stencils, and I dabbed red paint to paint the letters onto my board. I then decided to paint the letters in solid and outlined them with a thin Sharpie to give the joy a small pop.

JOY

Christmas_JOYMy Christmas sign was then complete! I love how it turned out. It was free to me, since I had all the supplies. I think this simple craft makes a great Christmas decor item.

christmas_joy_signHave you started decorating or creating for Christmas yet?

I don’t usually start this early, since I love Fall and my Jeremiah has a birthday Thanksgiving week. This year is different though. I have big plans coming. I’m brewing something fun for my out-of-state readers. Those that are close though, this little sign will be a giveaway at my next Spoonful Lab. Yay! Do you want it!? Sign up for my next lab here.

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Christmas Wrap Up {with giveaway winners announced}

December 31, 2012 By Erica Deuel 6 Comments

I can’t believe that Christmas is already over.  We had a great Christmas and are still enjoying some downtime together.  Last night I edited some of our Christmas pictures, and I found myself smiling the whole time.  A few of my favorite moments from the day are…

Matt and I set the alarm an hour before the kids normally get up.  We wanted to get up and start the coffee, turn on lights etc, so the kids could come out and we were “ready”.  The kids slept later than their usual time, and we ended up waking them up by stomping and turning the Christmas music up.

waiting for kidsAfter seeing my sleeping beauty so happily snoozing, we decided to let her continue sleeping while the boys opened their stockings.  Sleep was a must for such a full day!

christmasWatching Caleb’s face when he opened Optimus Prime was one of the best moments.  Check out his JOY!

happinessReagan opened her doll and was so fascinated and in love, she didn’t want to open ANY other presents or stocking stuffers.  We didn’t make her.  Those presents got packed up, and she will get them next week on her birthday.  It was so beautiful to watch her joy and innocence in her first gift.

a girl and her doll

rea and dollReagan walked around all morning in her Christmas boy pajamas, in high heels, carrying her baby.  So cute!

1rea

We fought the cold for a few minutes, so the boys could enjoy their new basketball hoop from their Papa and Bebe.

basketball hoopOpening my Dollar Tree presents from the boys was one of the best moments.  Caleb got me a princess wand, and J got me an alligator hat.  How did I get so lucky!?  I was in giggles.

dollar tree christmas presentsGiving all our gifts (and my homemade gifts) out, including Matt’s aunt’s Ruffle Fabric Bag, was so much fun!

I wrote the words on this globe for Matt.
I wrote the words on this globe for Matt.
I sewed the boys Transformer pajama pants!
I sewed the boys Transformer pajama pants!

We must have the biggest fondue dinner ever!  It was perfect with all my siblings in the same room at once!

1fondue

All 8 of my siblings together at the same time with our padres!
All 8 of my siblings together at the same time with our padres!

We love to give one “joined/group” present to the kids every year.  This year it was a “school” present of new bean bags, math manipulatives, craft supplies, work books, and reading books.

student presentI loved watching my family as they poured out love onto my kids as we just played together.

rea and joWatching Matt change out the boys’ new transformers every two seconds was the funniest thing!  He was so patient too!

playing with christmas presents

What an amazing dad!
What an amazing dad!

Seeing the love my kids have for each other as they demonstrated it by hugging and being so excited for one another as they opened presents warmed my heart so much!

kid hugsSomething I will never forget is Reading the Night Before Christmas, the night before all this, cuddled up on one toddler size bed together.

night before christmas

I hope you had a great Christmas too!  I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I wished I had.  I usually do pretty good when it’s just our family doing presents and our thing, but when we are with our extended families I think I must socialize more than think of the camera.  Does this happen to you too?

Now for the winners of last week’s A Year in Review Giveaway!  (You can see how Ralfocopter picked the winners on the original post or check them out below!)

Heather H. won the Scrappy Flower Pillow!
Polly D. won the Flower Earrings!
Rebecca B. won the Winter Hair Bow!
Congratulations to my three winners!!  Thank you so much for following me and entering this giveaway.  I will be in contact with each of you!

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