Welcome to my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Friday, March 27, 2015

Stenciled Crates Project

Bonjour Mes Amis!
Hope you've been having a good week!
Today I wanted to share with you one of my latest projects, a pair of painted and stenciled wood crates, which I completed as a project for DecoArt.  I am on the DecoArt design team, so I was super excited to work on this!  The only requirement was that I paint something with their Chalky Finish paint, and use their stencils.  Other than that, it was free reign!
So, I ended up with a couple of wooden crates that I purchases from Home Depot.
Actually they don't carry them in their stores, you have to order them on line.  I really didn't know what to expect, as this was my first experience ordering anything from Home Depot.  I was very pleasantly surprised at not only how quickly they arrived, but the quality of the crates!  They are solid pine and very sturdy. For the price and quality, it wouldn't have paid for my handy hubby to build them!
And, they are made in the USA!
Anyway, back to the crates!
For the one below, I painted the entire piece with DecoArt's "vintage" chalky paint.  It is a really pretty light blue.  I distressed it a bit around the edges, then used their stencils to add a French accent!
I used "night sky" in their satin acrylic paint for the stenciling.

 I took the crates to our botanical gardens for a little photo shoot, and had so much fun among the blooms!
 Love this French themed stencil!
 I then added "No 4" to each end, using DecoArt's "Old World Numbers" stencil.
 For the second crate, I painted it in "Yesteryear" Chalky Finish paint, a soft light gray.
A bit of distressing around the edges, then the fun part of stenciling!
 I chose the "Brocade Motif" for this one, and used "Promise" Chalky Finish paint for the stencil.  It is a really soft pale pink, and such a pretty color along with the gray, I think.
I thought this cute little flower cart at the gardens made a fun backdrop!
 Here is a crate before I painted and stenciled it!
 What could be more French than the fleur de lis motif?  I thought that was very fitting to add to the ends of the crate.
 After the crates were painted and stenciled, I then covered them all with a coat of DecoArt's light satin varnish, for protection.
All in all, it was a super fun project!  I can hardly wait to get some more crates to work on!
I was compensated by DecoArt for this project, but the opinions are my own:)
I've added the crates to my Etsy shop, if you care to take a peek.
Have a great weekend, and thank you for stopping by!
Sharing with:
Inspire Me Monday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

13 comments:

Susie said...

Donna, I love those crates. What a wonderful job you did on them. The flowers just pop. Beautiful post. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

Mary@mydogsmygardenandmary said...

I love the crates - they are beautiful and they look very sturdy. Great job Donna.
Have a terrific weekend.
Mary

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

I've seen these crates and love what you did with them! They do seem very well made. I have that stencil and am looking forward to trying it!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Love the crates! You are so good at painting and stenciling!

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Donna, your crate turned out just gorgeous. I love the colors and the designs with the stencils are so French chic. You did an amazing job and I know DecoArt is very happy.
Doing your photo shoot at the gardens was a great idea.
Happy Creating.
Hugs, CM

NanaDiana said...

Those BOTH turned out great, Donna. Those are really cute crates and you did them proud. Congrats on being on the design team for DecoArt,too. What a nice honor that is.
Hope you have a great night.
ps...the new header is just beautiful, too. xo Diana

Trisha said...

The crates look so cute all painted and stenciled. Great find and wonderful job on jazzing them up. Of course I love the colors and stencils that you used! Have a great weekend!

~Trisha

Unknown said...

The color and stenciling really transformed the crate! You've given me the gift of seeing a wooden crate in a totally different way---so creative!

Row homes and Cobblestones said...

Donna,
The crates turned out great, pretty colors and chic French stencils.
Happy Saturday!
xoxo,
Vera

Okio B Designs said...

Gorgeous! Where can you find their stencils????

Jeanine

BeachGypsy said...

Those are just amazing! Love! You do really neat things!

Debbie said...

Wow! the crates are beautiful, Donna!!! You did a fantastic job on both of them!
What a great idea to use the flowers as a backdrop.
Very professional looking project.
LOVE it!
Debbie
xo

Butterfly 8)(8 Bungalow said...

Those are pretty enough to sell!