Love Story Distressed Wood Sign

Eighteen years ago today, I married my best friend.  Jon and I had dated for seven years before we tied the knot.  As I reflect back on the past 25 years of ups and downs, tears and joy, adventures and everyday life that we've shared, I cherish the love story that is ours.

A few weeks ago I saw a sign at my friend's house that had this wonderful quote on it and I knew instantly that I wanted to recreate it for myself.

I bought a blank wood sign at The Wood Connection here in Utah, painted it with an ivory craft paint, applied vinyl lettering that I'd cut out using my Silhouette SD machine, then put three coats of red craft paint over the letters.  Once the paint had dried I peeled the vinyl letters off, drilled some holes in the top for the ribbon, and used a fine sandpaper to lightly sand the surface to give it a distressed look.  The iron scroll hanger also came from The Wood Connection, but you can buy them online here.  EASY!  And a perfect reminder of a wonderful life that Jon and I share.

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The Versatile Blogger Award and One Lovely Blog Award

I am so honored and excited that Hello, New Day has been given two blogging awards!
The Versatile Blogger Award
The Versatile Blogger Award is a wonderful way for bloggers to share their favorite bits of the blogosphere  with their readers and to support their fellow bloggers.
The adorable Kjerstin from The Way I Am gave Hello, New Day this award way back in May.  (Sheesh! Time sure has a way of slipping away from me.)

Kjerstin from The Way I Am

I am sooooo thankful and grateful to Kjerstin for this recognition and for her support.  The Way I Am is a fun place where Kjerstin shares random tidbits of her life.  She often participates in a weekly series called "Friday's Letters" where she writes little letters to anyone and anything that may have impacted her that week.  Check it out when you have a minute!
Life is full of rules and regulations, and The Versatile Blogger Award is no different.  Upon receipt of this award (or two months later ☺), here's what's required:
The Rules

1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to up to 15 blogs you enjoy reading.
4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Seven Things About Me

1. I'm allergic to shellfish.
2. I've seen the stage production of Mamma Mia 5 times (twice on Broadway, once in Las Vegas, and twice in Salt Lake City.)
3. I always wanted to skydive - until I took my first flight on an airplane and realized I have a fear of heights.
4. I never graduated from high school, but I have 2 Bachelor's Degrees from the University of Utah.
5. I love board games, especially Pictionary (does anyone even play that anymore?)
6. My nickname is Beppo.
7. I met my husband when we were both teenagers working at McDonald's.

And the Award Goes To...

I would like to present The Versatile Blogger Award to:

Gary from Being Gawee

Being Gawee - Musings from an Everyday Life is a fun blog written by a charming fellow in Australia.  He participates in Fat Mum Slim's Photo-a-day Challenge with me and he posts his daily photos along with entertaining, often witty, commentary.   

And

Stephanie from From Ice Cream to Belly Rings

Stephanie is a sweet, endearing girl from South Carolina who blogs about everyday life as a twenty-something.  Her honesty and sincerity are heartwarming, and her posts are delightful to read.  Her blog's title is a testament to the versatility of her blogging topics - everything From Ice Cream to Belly Rings!

One Lovely Blog Award

And speaking of Stephanie, she has given Hello, New Day the One Lovely Blog Award!!

Thank you so much, Stephanie!  Your kindness and support mean so much to me!  Here are the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award: The Rules

1. Post the award logo and link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to up to 15 blogs you enjoy reading.
4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Since I've already shared 7 things about myself, I'll get right to the award presentation.  I would like to give a One Lovely Blog Award to:

Lori from A Speck of Dust

A Speck of Dust - Scribbling Down Our Life Stories is a lifestyle blog where my beautiful, talented, funny sister scribbles down her life story.  It's entertaining, motivating and definitely One Lovely Blog.  She doesn't post terribly often, but when she does, it's worth reading.  Stop by and say hello when you have a chance.

And

Kjerstin from The Way I Am

 As I mentioned above, The Way I Am is a fun place where Kjerstin shares random tidbits of her life.  She often participates in a weekly series called "Friday's Letters" where she writes little letters to anyone and anything that may have impacted her that week.  Her posts are fun to read and you can tell by reading her blog that she is a sweetheart and definitely deserves this One Lovely Blog award.

And last, but certainly not least,

Ruby from Fuchsia Vision

Speaking of sweethearts, Ruby writes a blog called Fuchsia Vision where she shares photos, poems, printables, and little glimpses into her life in India.  Her writing style is so serene and beautiful; her blog is absolutely One Lovely Blog.

Whew!  I didn't know this would be such a looooong post.  If you've read this far - I'm impressed.  Congratulations to all of you award-winning bloggers!  And to my wonderful readers, thanks for stopping by!

Better Late Than Never? 4th of July Painted Flag and USA/Declaration of Independence Sign

Another July 4th has come and gone.  I finished these patriotic projects just a little too late to share with you before the Independence Day holiday, but they are beautiful enough to display year-round.  Make them now or pin them to your 4th of July Pinterest board to make for next year!

Creating both of these projects was easy.  Let's start with the Pottery Barn Painted Flag knock-off.

My inspiration was this beautiful flag from Pottery Barn.

But at $129, I knew I could make my own.  I started by finding a piece of  alder wood in our garage (left over from our fireplace remodel) that was 26 inches wide (the Pottery Barn flag is twice as big as mine).  Then I did a bit of research on the U.S. Flag because I wanted to make sure that my flag was proportionally true to the real flag.  Using 26" as the width for the flag, I used the dimensional information from usflag.org to figure out the rest of the measurements (i.e., width of stripes, size of stars, etc.).  Here's what my kids who are better at math than me I came up with:  

Next I lightly sanded the wood and rounded the edges a bit (that alder wood is super easy to "shape").  I then painted the entire board with white craft paint and let dry (this was like a primer coat).  Then I applied a coat of antique white craft paint and let that dry.

Using blue painters' tape and a ruler, I marked off the area that would be blue.  Then I used tape to mark the red stripes.  Before I painted the red stripes I applied a coat of Martha Stewart Weather Crackle Effect and let that dry.  Red paint is then applied and when it dries, the cracks in the paint appear!
When the red stripes are dry, mark off the white stripes with painters' tape.  Apply the crackle effect, let dry, then apply a pure white paint.
For the blue Union part of the flag, tape it off once the stripes are dry, paint the crackle effect first, let dry then paint the blue.
For the stars, I created a stencil using my Silhouette machine.  The dimensions are 10.4" wide x 7.4" tall (the same dimensions as the blue union on the flag).  Each star is .84".

I cut the stencil out of vinyl, weeded out the stars, and centered it over my dried blue area of the flag.  I painted one coat of Antique White, then a coat of Crackle Effect, then a coat of white, drying each coat before applying the next.  Then I simply peeled off the vinyl to reveal the white stars.

For the song lyrics, I again used my Silhouette.  I used the font Minya Nouvelle in a size 62.0 pt.  I cut the letters out of red vinyl and adhered them to the flag using transfer tape.

The U.S.A./Declaration of Independence sign was an easy project as well (and less time-consuming than the flag.)

I got the 3-photo wood board and the U.S.A. letters from a local crafting woodshop here in Utah called The Wood Connection.  They do not ship their products, so if you're not in Utah you'll need to check Michaels or Jo-Ann for similar products.

The board measures 16.25" x 8".  The one I got from The Wood Connection has 3 raised panels, but you could accomplish the same look with a flat piece of wood.  
The letters measure 4" x 6".
I painted the board black and the letters red.  The Wood Connection has a great tutorial for applying the glitter here.

For the Declaration of Independence background I downloaded a copy of the document and sized it according to the measurements of the 3 raised panels.  You can download the pre-measured sections by clicking on each one's caption.

Declaration1

Declaration2

Declaration3

I printed these on Strathmore 140lb Watercolor paper because I wanted the paper to have a heavy texture.  Once printed, I cut them out and adhered them to the black board with Elmer's Glue.  Then I glued the letters onto the paper with Elmer's Glue.
Please let me know if you have any questions about either of these projects.  I didn't take photos as I went because I didn't think I'd be sharing tutorials (but I've had enough requests, so there you go!)
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!