Pallet Cottage Art

Thank you all for sticking around - I know I've really been slacking on the blog front, but I'm going to try really hard not to feel guilty about it. Sometimes you just gotta take a break.

And I think the break was worth it because it renewed my interest in finishing my pallet sign. If you remember, I took a pallet and turned it into a blank canvas many, many months ago.

It sat in my craft room all that time because I couldn't get the phrase I wanted to fit the way I wanted. Too big, too small, it just wouldn't work. So the sign and I studiously ignored each other day after day.

But then I started thinking about a new sign. One that looked like it came from a seaside rental property. The last time Tom & I went to Hawaii, we stayed at a place called Turtle Beach Rentals just north of Haleiwa on Oahu. Now I have no affiliation with this place - I'll just recommend it to anyone who will listen. Because it is just that wonderful. Small, secluded, literally steps from a nearly deserted beach.

So I took the name of the place and made my sign. I put "North Shore" instead of the actual town to make it a little whimsical, and so that I didn't infringe on any ownership issues. The catch phrase for the site is "This is the place!" so of course I added that too.

And then my favourite turtles. If you know me at all you know I looooove turtles. Plus the first day we stayed there I managed to get up close and personal (zoom lens, I didn't get in his face) with one of the turtles the beach is named for. It made my whole vacation.

Once I knew what I wanted to put on the sign it all came together quickly. I cut the words out with my Silhouette Cameo and used painter's tape to secure them to the boards. I have stencilling brushes, but I found that a flat-edged artist's brush worked better. The "N" was done with the stencil brush and you can see that more of the paint was getting on the stencil than on the exposed wood.

I used white paint on a grey background and then, once it was dry, I sanded it to make it look old and worn by the elements. The spots where parts of a letter are missing are my favourites. And my sweet little turtle came out just as I wanted. Such great detail.

As a final touch I hot glued starfish to each of the top corners. It adds a three dimensional quality and increases the beach feel.

It will eventually be hung in the basement above the couch. Right now it's balanced on DVD box sets on the sofa table we built in March.

We're going to paint the walls a light blue (I think) or maybe a soft sand. We spend a lot of time there watching TV and hanging out with the dogs, so I want it to be relaxed and cozy.

This sign was huge to work on. But we aren't going to have that many decorations in the room so whatever things we do hang have to be commanding. This is definitely commanding.

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I'm linking up here this week!

Houston or Bust!

Hey, everyone! (or should I practice my y'alls?)

We're heading down to Houston, Texas next week for some fun in the sun. Apparently spring/summer got lost on its way to Canada so we're going looking for it.

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We're going to be staying in Kemah, but travelling around to Galveston, Port Aransas, and San Antonio hopefully. We always overschedule ourselves (I'll take the blame for that) and misjudge how long it takes to get anywhere.

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So who has recommendations for us? Things to do, places to eat, must-see sights? We love to be outdoors - I swear the last time we went to Hawaii we spent the whole week hiking - but we're also going to hit up the outlet malls.

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The above picture kills me. There's not a chance my husband would look that happy while shopping. Not even at a sporting goods store. Maybe an ice cream shop - he definitely looks this happy when he's eating ice cream.

Nautical Kitchen Cabinet Hardware

We really are in the homestretch now with this kitchen update. I am currently painting the last three cupboard doors every morning and evening (backs in the morning, fronts in the evening), and hopefully they can be hung by the middle of next week. I think we're going to leave the backsplash as is. With the wall colour, the white cabinets, and the dark countertop, the yellow isn't all that bad. It just needs a really good scrubbing. It has a plaster texture and grime collects in the grooves if you don't keep on top of it (and we don't).

We have most of the hardware on now. So much nicer than using a piece of painters tape as a pull! After thinking we would have to head to Lee Valley to find something nice, we stumbled on handles and cup pulls at Target of all places.

The cup pulls are for the drawers and the handles are for the cabinet doors. They both have a brushed nickel finish with just a slight sheen. Nothing ostentatious, just hardworking dudes. I know the spacing between drawers is uneven; adjustments will happen eventually.

Tom used a hole guide from Lowe's to make sure the holes were evenly spaced and level every time. No way was I going to go through puttying and painting again.

The smaller drawers have one pull each, with the larger, longer drawers having two. We keep our pots and pans in these drawers so it's nice to be able to pull the drawer out evenly when it's so heavy.

The cabinet handles are called "nautical" on the packaging. I guess they are reminiscent of a boat cleat.

I like the raised detail at each end, and there is just a slight bend in the middle.

At first I thought I was going to want dark hardware - oil-rubbed bronze or something like that - but with the stainless steel appliances, these ones tie in much better. We're trying hard to make this windowless kitchen as light and bright as possible and the nickel just kicks it up one more notch.

I really can't wait to show off the whole thing. I thought this was only going to take a couple of months, but with changing our minds halfway through (and taking November & December off) it's been 8 long months.