The latest signs {and a little about my bid-ness}

Today I thought I'd share some of my latest signs. If you need ideas for signs, I also have a link on my sidebar where you can see many more that I've done. > > >

Here's a family sign I created with an old door and rustic hinges:



A sign using a door with a verse from Zephaniah...

I really like how this one turned out. It's made from a 16" x 20" canvas.

And this last one is a simple one using canvas as well.

And now, a little bit about my bid-ness. Sorry, I mean business. Whenever I say "business" in my head, I feel all ghetto for some reason.

I started my sign-making business about a year ago and it started really randomly and was not thought-out at all. I made a few signs to hang in my house, because I happen to really like them. People saw them and started ordering them from me.

Last summer I bought some old doors from a reader who lived nearby (thank you Lisa!!) and created some signs using them. I found that old doors and salvaged wood could make some really cool art and started selling them in my Etsy shop.

{This was one of the first art pieces I made using a barn door.}

I made a few signs that got really popular thanks to Pinterest. These are the top two:

I've received hundreds of requests for these signs and, unfortunately, I don't have enough time to make nearly enough to meet the demand, but I do the best that I can.

Now I'm mostly working on custom orders, and I really enjoy the designing aspect of the job. I don't particularly enjoy churning out hundreds of signs that are all mostly the same. But I do occasionally still take orders for the popular signs.

I do almost all the work myself, and I have a few friends who will help me every now and then. Husband is my grunt man. He picks up wood for me, cuts it (power tools make me nervous), cleans the wood, and does all my packaging when the signs are ready for shipping, which takes LOTS of time. I ship 95% of the signs that I make, and they are usually very large and heavy, so it can be tricky. I absolutely couldn't have my business without husband's help. And he really enjoys it, which is awesome.

One of the great things about my business right now is that I can choose the projects and art pieces that I want to work on. And I feel so blessed to be able to have an at-home job where I can take care of my babies and still generate extra income for our family.

My Etsy shop has been pretty empty recently, because I'm mostly making custom pieces right now. But I hope to (someday) get a bit more caught up and add some things to my shop. If you are interested in a sign for your home, send me an email maweaver1@gmail.com and I'd love to work with you!

And if you've ordered a sign from me, thank you!! I've really enjoyed getting to know my clients and have had the most positive, encouraging interaction with everyone I've dealt with. You guys are the best!

My Little Happys

Random little things that are making me smile today...

Avery loves exercising with me in the evenings. She gets so into it and totally cracks me up. I, on the other hand, don't love it quite as much. (In case you are interested, right now I'm into doing Pilates following YouTube videos.)

Getting this little person out of the crib three times a day makes me happy. I love her crazy bed hair.

And this little guy is my right hand man. He is a very picky eater, always jolly in the morning (when I am not), loves wrecking my painting supplies, likes to pester his older sister, and is all-around hilareous. He misses Avery so much in the mornings when she's at school. He constantly asks, "Is it time to pick up Avery yet?".

It's time to pick up Avery from school! Yay!!

The music we rock to while we eat lunch. Thank you Pandora! Love it.

I started some seeds indoors a few weeks ago and it's so exciting to see growth! I planted lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, parsley, and basil. Can't wait to plant my little garden in the spring!

Avery's in this cute little kick of writing love notes to us. I LOVE how she tries to sound out and spell words. Adorableness.

(Sara, me, & baby Violet)

Sisterrrrrss!!! I love having a younger sister who is at a totally different stage of life than I am. She gives me a new perspective on things. I'm jealous of the fact that she has perfect teeth and can become best friends with a perfect stranger in two minutes. Outgoing and loveable, that girl. (and did I mention she is single? ahem.)

I was making flowers out of napkins the other day and Avery wanted to make herself a flower ring. I loved her creation.

I'm so thankful for the many little happys in my life!

 

What I Wore Wednesday {Thrift Store Edition}

Here are a few of my "What I Wore" outfits from the past week...

Striped dress: Goodwill (Old Navy)

Yellow cardi: H&M

Boots: Plato's Closet Consignment

Scarf: Goodwill (Target)

Top: Ann Taylor Loft Outlet

Cardi: Goodwill (Ann Taylor Loft)

Skirt: Plato's Closet Consignment

Shoes: Goodwill

Flower pin: Amelia's discount grocery

Love Sign {just for me}

 Happy Monday friends!

The sun is shining and it's time to take a deep breath and jump into the fresh new week!

I've been wanting to make a sign just for me for a while now and just haven't had the time to put into it. And I had a hard time deciding what scripture or quote I wanted to use. It's easy to give other people ideas on signs, but when it's for my own house, it took a long time to decide.

So, here is what I finally came up with.

I just love the way this wood looks.

I started with a barn door that was free of paint and stain. I brushed white paint onto the wood, then immediately wiped it with a damp cloth so that the grain of the wood shows. It took some experimenting to get it looking the way I wanted.

Then I used my normal method for painting the lettering, which you can read about here.



I hung the sign above the little dresser in our entry, and it'll stay there until I inevitably decide to change things around and will probably sell the sign! That's usually what happens when I make something for myself!

I hope you all have a great week!

Office/Playroom

I had a full day planned today, but instead I'm home taking care of a sick little girl. So I thought I'd take the time to snap some pictures of our office/playroom and give you a little tour of this much-used space.

The space used to be a porch that was enclosed and turned into a room before we bought the house. When we first bought the house, the room was very dark brown, had orange shag carpet, and was pretty much a mess. We painted every single thing white, put in new windows, took out the carpet and put in a large area rug that we got for super cheap at a carpet place.

The built-in bookshelves were already there and are an awesome storage space!

I sewed a curtain to cover the bottom few shelves that hold toys.

I showed you these cute chairs a few weeks ago. I painted the legs with metallic spray paint and used blue spray paint for the seats and backs. I LOVE how they turned out! They came from the old New Holland Elementary School that was torn down a few years ago.

The cabinets were all leftovers from jobs that husband worked on. I painted them white and added hardware. And hubs built the countertops.

A Goodwill table that gets lots and lots of use...

I hung pictures that Jack & Avery drew using string and little metal clips from Ikea.

And here's my little corner of the office...

 

I made this pendant light using fabric from the curtains I used for the bottom of the bookshelves. I used an existing light I already had, took the light all apart, and put together this new light using burlap, fabric, and hot glue. I felt like I was channeling my inner Ashley Ann while I was working on it!

So, there you have it! The room isn't very big but it's super functional, which I LOVE.



1 Corinthians 13 Sign

I recently created this "Love" sign for my photographer friend Shar Halverson in exchange for some amazing family pictures she took of us last fall.

I used an old salvaged door that hubs found in a barn (he's quite good at finding unique things for me to play around with!). The door had some gorgeous Victorian-style hinges that I thought went so well with the verses. The wording is taken from 1 Corinthians 13 (Message Bible).

I love working on custom pieces like this one ~ coming up with a design, a color scheme, finding the perfect wood to use ~ it's all so much fun for me!