A~F Creations: Custom

Showing posts with label Custom. Show all posts

I made this sign for my dad's birthday. It's some of the things he likes to do. It was so much fun to make!

I also made one for my realtor as a thank you for finding our house, but I forgot to take a picture.

There are so many possibilities for this concept!

Make one for someone you love, or email me and I can make it for you.

Happy crafting!

Homemade Clocks

I saw this segment on Studio 5 and knew I had to try it!
I made this small version as a tester, and was really happy with it.
If you watch the video the following steps will be easy to understand.

Step 1: Glue and nail the boards together

Step 2: Find the center and draw a line using a 'compass'.

Step 3: Cut out the circle. I used a jigsaw.

Step 4: (not pictured) Route out a spot on the back for the clock kit to fit into.

Step 5: Paint! I printed a clock face off the internet. The easier, faster way would be vinyl.

Step 6: Attach the clock kit. You can find these at the craft store. If you want to make a really large clock like in the video, you can find large clock kits online.

This was a lot of fun. It's satisfying to click the battery in and watch something you made WORKING. I see another, larger clock in my future.
Happy crafting!

Just some Custom Crafts

Just some custom crafts I've made the last several months

Puffy Paint Signs

I decided to try out some left-over Puffy Paint for this craft.

I made it for a friend's wedding gift.

Here are the words/phrases I used (in case you need some ideas):

M+C [Initial + Initial]

My heart is full of love for you

so happy together

love

family

Truly Madly Deeply

from here to eternity

Buckner [Last Name]

First I wrote on the wood with pencil, then squeezed the puffy paint onto the words. After it had dried for 4 hours or more I spray painted them. I decided to do a second layer of puffy paint, but it didn't look as clean as I would have liked. Next time I will do ONE thick, tall layer.

Hope this inspires you to make something awesome. Happy crafting!

"Hello" Chevron signs

These were so much fun to make!

$8 - $12 (depending on size, material, colors)

Be the good signs

*Please do not use my photos without crediting me!*

I absolutely LOVE these signs! Let me know if I can make one for you.

$25- $30 each

Block font (top) or Antique font (bottom)

Spring Ducky Ladder Set

My friend Salina thought of this cute spring ladder set. It was fun to paint!

$20

Email me if you'd like one of your own.

Western Ladder Set

Thanks, Mandy! This set was fun to make- different than other stuff I'd done before.

Custom Wedding Crafts

Here are some more wedding crafts I made:

Here's what they looked like at the wedding:

Wedding crafts

Here are some custom crafts I made for a friend for her wedding.

The shelf story

So a sweet friend of mine and her cute mom asked me if I would attempt a shelf. It was for a Christmas present. I love crafting, and I'm always up for trying new projects, so of course I said yes.

So here was my assignment (in a nutshell): make a black shelf to go above a 46" window; desired but not required to have a curtain rod. Then another friend told me about THIS tutorial, which is inspired by the ones in the picture. Super cute and looks easy...

Ballard Design Wall Shelves

Here's my thinking: "I can do that. Piece of cake! This is going to be the best curtain rod shelf EVER."

homemade corbel

So I go to my favorite home/hardware store and pick up the wood and trim I need. To be safe, I buy enough to do a curtain rod shelf (58" long) and a regular shelf (not so long). I look at the corbels, but they don't seem to match the style I'm going for, and they're overpriced. So long story short, things go well with measurements, cutting, nailing, spackling, priming.... until it's time to figure out the curtain rod.

"hole saw"

Here was my thinking: "I'll just use a hole saw on the corbels and get a thick dowel for the rod itself. Easy peasy."
Boy was I wrong! I needed a dowel about 52" long. Guess what? The longest anyone carries is 48".

New thinking: "Maybe I can fuse 2 dowels together somehow."

So I did some research and came up with 2 conclusions. The first being a wooden closet rod. Guess what? Could only find metal closet rods. My other conclusion was getting 2 connectors and "all thread". Even the guy at the store told me that was the right way to go. So I tried it... (I was so happy to get a lot of help from my husband and my BIL.)

And it failed miserably. It had no strength. It cracked the wood. Instead of looking like a straight rod it looked like a frown. Sad day.

My thinking now: "Bah! This was supposed to be easy! Why can't I figure this out???"

I was so mad at myself for not being able to complete the curtain rod part. But my nice friend and her mom said it was ok. :) So end of story, they got 2 plain shelves. And I didn't even get a decent picture. :/

Moral of the story: {Everything takes longer than you think; Nothing is as easy as it looks; If anything can go wrong, it will}
I really did learn a lot from making these shelves. I would do it all over again! I'm really trying to get out of my comfort zone so I can learn and grow more.
I loved The House of Smith's tutorial. It really was easy, I was just trying to complicate it. :) And if the sister/daughter who received the shelves hated them... at least she got some nice firewood. :) Ha ha! :)
No, I actually offered to re-do them if she didn't like them.

Ballard Designs

Well, I hope you liked my "fail blog". Thanks for reading! I really appreciate your support! And if anyone has made a curtain rod shelf, feel free to e-mail me your advice! :)
xoxo,
Melanie