Free Download Especially for You

I am going to warn you now. TOMORROW IS APRIL FOOLS DAY. Be prepared.

Sometimes my sense of humor leans to the juvenile too, ok? So I made this, just for you. Download it and use it however you'd like. I even included an 8x10 and 5x7 version.

Just don't sell it, k? That's so not nice.

8x10

5x7

Oh The Office. There's such wisdom there.

In case you'd like to order some fake bird poop, and why wouldn't you?, go here. Sounds like the perfect April Fools day purchase to me!

Seriously. People make fake bird poop?

Mom Cave Sign Tutorial

I got a decorative sign as a gift years ago. It was cute at the time, and it had a place in our dining room. But now my tastes have changed and I was ready to redo it.

Now it looks like this!

Would you like one too? Let's make it!

When I looked closely at the sign I could tell it had been hand made. I think it was made by a 1x6 board and a stencil. The dimensions are roughly 1 inch x 6 inches x 18 inches. The edges on this sign had been routered. Roouuuterr. Ed. Routturd. Routed? I think you know what I mean. You can route your edges, or not. Your choice. You can also buy precut/pre-routed sign boards at craft stores.

For this project you'll need:

• 1 board for a sign. Approximate dimensions: 6 inches x 18 inches.

• Paint (and possibly primer)

• Printer

• Scissors or exacto knife

• Some sort of glue or ModPodge to attach a print to the sign board

• Pound in picture hangers (optional)

My original sign had already been painted, so I just gave it a few coats of some left over spray paint. I used "Mediterranean" by Valspar, purchased at Lowes. I originally used it for my bedroom lamps, found here.

If your board is bare, you may want to give it a quick coat of primer before painting. This will help the paint adhere.

Next, download this image. (On my computer I have to click twice for the largest version).

I uploaded the above image as large as I can. You may have to enlarge it a touch. The final size should be 5 inches x 16 inches.

If you have a printer that prints TABLOID (11 x 17 inch) sheets--lucky you!-- you can just print it at home.

My at-home printer is pretty horrible, so I do all my "nice" printing at FedEx (formally Kinkos). You can bring it in on a CD or other portable memory device (I have a little cheapo memory stick) and they'll print it while you wait. I think you can even email it to them and pick it up later. I did this today, and my 11x17 print was $1.99 including tax.

Next cut out the image.

In case you're a beginner and don't think you can cut straight lines, this is what I do. For straight lines I use an exacto knife and a cork-backed metal ruler. Here's my ruler. It, uh, has cork on the back and stuff. The cork allows the ruler to sit on the paper firmly, without sliding.

I put my ruler over the image to protect it. Then I rest my knife against the ruler and follow the straight edge of the ruler.

For the flowers poking above the image area, I cut them with the exacto freehand.

It's also perfectly fine to use a scissors, if you prefer

Use your choice of glue or ModPodge to attach the image onto the board. Allow to dry. That's all folks!

If you'd like to hang this sign on the wall you can add picture hangers that pound right in. Here is an example. You can find these at hardware stores.

Pretty inexpensive little project. I already had the sign, spray paint and glue, so my out of pocket was $1.99. Your milage may vary.

It's cute too, if I do say so myself.

Here it is in, duh, my mom cave over my work area.

Someone alert Donna. I got some Funky Junk up (down?) in here!

Here's the original photo of "the junk."

Find the original mom cave post here.

CREDIT: The hydrangea image is originally from The Graphics Fairy. You can find the hydrangea here.

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Free Download-Christmas Pair

My free downloads continue to be some of my most popular posts. Why not one more? Or two more... a pair!

Why not indeed.

Again, the original image came from the Graphics Fairy. Gotta give credit where credit is due! She rocks, doesn't she?

This time I used the same image to make a pair of Christmas birds. Print these suckers out on your home printer, frame them--instant holiday art.

Here's how mine look, what about yours? I think they look amazing against a green backdrop.

Linking to some of these parties.

A Penny Saved...

... is one less knick knack to buy!

Do you spend your change or save it? I'm a change spender. Mr. RBR is a change saver. I recently went through his old plastic change jar and fished out all the silver. But what the heck am I going to do with all these pennies, I thought.

TA DA!

I got these large canning jars quite awhile ago off freecycle. What's freecycle, you ask? It's a forum where people want to get rid of stuff--FOR FREE. Find out if there's one for your area. People get rid of all kinds of stuff. One time I got a free pregnancy test, just a few blocks away. I walked there with the boys in a double stroller and got it out of some woman's mailbox (the place where she said I could get it). Weird, huh? But fun too.

Was that too weird of a story to share? I used to be a pregnancy test addict. I've taken hundreds. I don't know how I got from canning jars to pregnancy tests anyway. Oh right. Freecycle.

Anyway...

So that is how I got 5 large canning jars. For free. It makes a much nicer container than what they were in originally. Add a label and you have a cute accessory... and a place for spare change to land.

I stuck the label on there with my favorite spray adhesive, 3M Super 77, but you could decoupage, or double stick tape it, or whatever floats your boat.

Here's the label in case you'd like to make your own. Happy crafting!

Linking to some of these parties.

This project was featured on Beyond the Picket Fence.

Free Download-Christmas

It's almost December. You probably have all your Christmas decorating done already. I haven't started yet. In case you have room for one more little picture, use this charming Santa which originally came from The Graphics Fairy.

Click twice for the largest size. Enjoy!

Linking to some of these parties.

ETA: This little page of mine is getting a lot of hits! If you use this jolly guy, send me a photo of how you use it and I'll feature you! :)

This project was featured on Under the Table and Dreaming.

Free Download-Thanksgiving

A special shout out to the Graphics Fairy. Her vintage images absolutely rock. Here I took an image from the Graphics Fairy site, and combined it with some texture. Feel free to download it for your own personal use (in other words, don't sell it). Click twice for the largest size, download to your desktop and use as you wish!

Size is 8x10, so print it out and frame it if you'd like. No need to even print on photo paper. Plain paper in a color printer is just fine. Here's how I used mine.

Send me a photo of how you use it and I'll feature you.

Linking to some of these parties.

Free Download-Pumpkin

I should have thought of this before Halloween. In case you'd like this for your personal use... download away! Click for larger version. Click again for full size. For Macs, press control and click to download to your desktop.