{DIY} Faux Boat Wood - how to make painted wood look chipped and old

 

I have been in love with boat wood for a long time.  The vibrant colors, texture, and the story - salvaged wood that's been a part of countless voyages on the sea...it all appeals to my sense of style.  Unfortunately, it's really expensive.  So, as the Officer and I were discussing our headboard options, I pointed out that I'd really looooooove a boat wood headboard.  We studied several photos and realized we couldn't think of any distressing method that would create the look we desired. 

source

It doesn't look sanded or faded. 
It looks like it's been chipped away.  Now, for a moment I actually considered painting the wood then taking a chisel and chipping pieces off... it was a crazy DIYer moment.  

Thankfully we did more research and came across a very simple technique that worked perfectly.  Lucy of Lucy Designs demonstrates this method, and even though she's not trying to emulate boat wood - it creates the same effect.  And here's the best part:  the only tool you'll need is a block of wood.  I'm talkin' a hunk of a 2x4.  I think anyone can come across one of those.  

Once you've found a block of wood and selected your paint colors, simply pour one color of paint onto a paper plate, dip the wood block in it, and slide it across your wood in a long sweeping motion.  Follow the length of the board.  It will create this really cool weathered and chipped look.  Once the first layer has dried, paint another layer - continue this method until you are happy with the results.

We painted the boards in groups of 3 or 4 so it would look like some of them came from the same boat.  The entire project only cost us $20, because the wood we used was from reclaimed pallets. 

 
The Officer also fashioned that awesome anchor from some of the scrap wood - he's amazing.
I know this style isn't for everyone - but we really love our eclectic, beachy, colorful bedroom!  Hope you had a great weekend!!
jessica

*CTSB* - Boy's Builder Bedroom - liZ from Simple Simon and Co.

It's almost the end of Cure the Summertime Blues!  I'll tell you what would cure my summertime blues - having all of these stinkin boxes out of my house!!!  We have a PODS coming today so we can start that process, but I'm soooooo ready for it to be over!  I'm also ready to get back to crafting/sewing - I'm having withdrawls and it's making me cranky.  Anyway...for those of you who can decorate, today we have liz from Simple Simon and co. - she is sharing an update to her son's bedroom - it turned out really cute. 

Take it away liz!

Hi! I'm liz from over at Simple Simon and Co. There my super talented sister-in-law (who's name is also Elizabeth) post our daily projects, ideas, tutorials, and adventures in homemaking. But today we are so excited to be here at Sew Home Grown. We "met" Jessica awhile ago and have loved her and her blog ever since.

This past week our cure for the summer time blues was to spend an afternoon indoors. We opened the windows, turned on some music, and did an afternoon bedroom remodel. (Ok. SO, it wasn't a total remodel...it was more like an update.)

Recently we let Simon (our soon to be 1st grader) choose a paint color for one wall in his room. He chose his favorite color, grass green. It's a little loud but it's his room so we went with it. Then my husband built him some much needed shelves to display all his "good stuff" on. This is how it turned out:

Simon loved it and has already rearranged the shelves several times. However, the rest of his room was still decorated in semi-cowboy gear. Including a wall with red and brown stripes. Which wasn't working with his idea of a builder/inventor room. So on this particular afternoon we decided to change things up.

We started by "dirtying up" the stripes and adding a green one to match the green wall.

To do this we taped off the new stripe and painted it in a solid green. Easy enough.

As for the dirtying of the stripes I just did an average dry brush technique---dip your dry brush into a little dab of paint (I used bottled acrylic paints that can be found at any craft store) and brush it onto the paint in random areas.

The colors I brushed over the top of the stripes were a darker shade of green, a darker shade of red, a medium brown, and a yellow.

When the paint dried I went over the top of each stripe with a coat of gloss and pulled off the tape. (The tape is great but I have those dang orange peel walls so the lines weren't perfectly crisp---something that bugs me so after removing the tape I touched up any under the tape paint leaks with white paint.)

Meanwhile the kids were having a movie party on the mattress and bedding removed from the bedroom.

(They "needed" a rest. They spent the first half of the afternoon armed with baby wipes to clean bedroom baseboards and Magic Erasers to wipe off any scuff marks on the walls. It sounds lame but the kids had fun cleaning while I painted and then had fun again lounging around in the family room while I finished up with the gloss and touch ups.)

Finally we added a much anticipated element to the top stripe---Simon's name painted and designed by Simon himself.

For this project we spread the letters (found at any craft store---they even sell similar ones at Wal-Mart) out on the grass and turned him loose with the black spray paint. He covered them thoroughly and they dried quickly in the hot sun. Then before hanging them I ran the sander quickly over the edges. Black letters done.

As for the letter M. Simon wanted it to be "metal" so we sprayed it with aluminum colored spray paint and then turned him loose with a bowl of glue and a bucket of random nuts and bolts. This is what he came up with.

In the end his wall looked like this. It is still a little bare for my liking however his new aluminum colored bunk bed is supposed to be here Friday and will go on this wall (I hoped it would be here before this post.) and fit nicely just beneath the green stripe. Meanwhile I'm on the lookout for something cool to hang, paint, or string across the remaining empty space.

So, how do we cure the summer time blues? By washing, taping, painting, and spraying of course! Then by the time we're done we need more of that summer vacation. (Just kidding, but that's really what we did. And are going to do it again next week when we turn Gracie's room back into a nursery for the new baby.)

Thanks again Jessica for letting us spend part of our summer here with you! We were so happy to be invited!

-liZ

Pretty Pillow Shams - a (really!) simple tutorial

For Mother's Day this year, my husband built us a bed.  We were using an antique one that was my Great-grandmothers, and we loved it, it's just kinda creaky.  So it's now in our guest bedroom.  Ryan found a great knock-off plan over on Ana White's blog and built this Pottery Barn Farmhouse Bed.

The original is around $1200.00.  Ryan spent $40.
All of the wood was reclaimed wood - he got a bunch from a pile at a lumber yard - so all he had to purchase was the stain, wood filler, nails, and screws.

Isn't it pretty?  Thanks hubby!
Well, I've been wanting to show it to you for a few weeks, but the pillow situation was SO embarrassing I couldn't do it.  I HAD to make some shams first.
and so I did.
and I made a tutorial in case you are in the same plight I was in.
Shams can be made in many many ways, but since I wanted to keep it simple I made them pillowcase style.  If you use 56" wide fabric this works out perfectly because you can use the selvage for the edge of the pillow and you don't even have to finish it!  I also left the edges of my embellishment raw because I was lazy thought that's what Anthropologie would do.  Right?  Pretty sophisticated silk - embellished with bright, textured fabrics with a raw edge.  I know it's not everyone's style, so if you hate the raw edges (mom) just sew all four pieces together then stitch the whole thing on the pillowcase.
Here is what you will need (these measurements are for a queen size, but they're not really tall, so feel free to adjust the measurements to your liking). 

11/3 yard of 56" wide fabric
Fabric scraps in your color palate 2 different colors 6 1/2' x18"- fat quarters would work well, or just something from your stash
Sewing machine/thread
Scissors/pins/yard stick

Step 1:  Cut out the pieces.  Cut four pieces 19"x 26" out of your main fabric.  (Best to do this by folding the fabric selvage to selvage (the width from selvage to fold will be 26") then just measure 19" from the edge, cut and another 19" and cut).  Out of your embellishing fabrics cut 8 pieces 3 1/4" x 9" (4 of each color).

Step 2:  Turn your pillowcase pieces right sides together, and sew around the three sides that are NOT the selvage.
Clip the corners and turn right side out.

Step 3:  Pin the first rectangle to the front (be sure to only pin it to the top piece!).

Top stitch it on about 1/2" from the edge.

Pin the second rectangle on - and place it right up next to the first one so that the seam allowances will stand up - like this:

Sew around that piece.

Continue in this way until all four piece are sewn on. Like I said before, if you would like, sew all 4 pieces right sides together to create one big rectangle.  Then press all the edges under and topstitch that on.

Step 4:  Stuff your pillowcase with a pillow - I just used a regular queen sized pillow from Target.  That's it!
4 easy steps to a better looking bed - AND it looks so custom with that bolster which you can find the tutorial for here.

Happy Sewing!
jessica

Master Bedroom Reveal

This was done on a teeny tiny shoestring.  I only spent about $100.00 on accessories to complete my look - including things like a sidetable, lamps, votives, planter, aluminum bin, etc.  I had already made the window treatments and quilt,  I just worked on finishing touches.  I am really happy with it, and I am trying to keep it clean since your bedroom is supposed to be a "sanctuary" (every decorating thing says that...mine rarely is)  So here we go.....

The Bed:

(all of our bedroom furniture belonged to my great-grandmother)

I made the quilt using this free pattern from Amy Butler, and I used mostly AMH Good Folks Fabrics, with a little Nicey Jane (heather bailey).

Painting above the bed that my sister did - I would love to be at that beach right now.

Lying in my bed, I see this when I wake up.

Those mercury glass votives are from Anthropolgie, but there's a great tutorial for making your own at Remodel this House.  And my hubby made that gorgeous brown pot when he was in highschool.

I love having this Indian Sari hanging above my dresser - my friend gave it to me to wear to her wedding reception.  It's gorgeous.

and this is leading into our bathroom.

So that's it - our little sanctuary.  I tried to fill it with meaningful items that make us happy - and I tried not to make it too girly - Ryan says I did a pretty good job - the darker color in the quilt helps to ground all of the other wild colors. My bathroom is white and cream - a nice contrast from the colorful bedroom.  It's a happy, cozy place to be while the snow falls endlessly outside!

jessica