Woodworking

Just about ready to post the pattern for our Knights and Squires, BUT, how successful can a knight be without a mighty steed? With the help of The Red Knight and his Squire, I designed a horse, to be cut out of wood this weekend.

Starting next week, I will share the patterns and tutorials for making your own Knights, Squires and Steeds! Then, imagine the quests that will surely follow :) 

      For a supply list and discount coupon to A Child's Dream, click HERE.

When it comes to decorating our house for the seasons, Pixie is my "go-to" helper. Out of Michelle's 3 wee ones, she has the strongest interest in artistic pursuits, and arranging and showcasing our finished projects is almost as important to her as the project itself. She is forever collecting "props" to "stage" her work. We are certainly kindred spirits :)

I mentioned a few days ago that I had seen some City Chalkboard Blocks that were shared on Hello Bee. I loved the idea, and with the help of Tim, created a whole village. Here are the simple instructions for creating your own Autumn Village.

Materials:
Pine lumber boards in 2" x 4", 2" x 6" and 2" x 8" widths. This can be construction grade, just check each piece and find those with minimal knots and imperfections. You want the surface as smooth as possible. 
Saw for cutting
Sandpaper
Chalkboard Paint - I used chalkboard paint from Hudson Paint
Colored chalk

Directions:
Using your saw, cut the boards into random sized houses. When you are done, sand well. The chalkboard paint works the best on smooth surfaces. Check out all the photos below to see the shapes we had.

Apply 3 coats of chalkboard paint to all surfaces of the houses. I used colorful paint on the 4 sides of the house and the bottom, then used a dark brown paint on the tops for roofs. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly between each coat.

Allow the paint to dry for 48 hours before drawing on the houses with chalk. This was the hardest part of this whole project... waiting to draw on with chalk :)

Use a damp cloth to clean off the surface of the houses. Allow the surface to dry before drawing on again with chalk.

Now, arrange your houses. When the mood hits you, just clean off a surface and redo. Pixie had a blast arranging the houses on our seasonal hutch. I'm sure they will be redone and rearrange each and every time she's over :)

When Fairy saw the village the next day she was disappointed she didn't get to help draw on the houses. "No problem", I told her. Just get a damp cloth and erase a house and redo it!

Usually, when I am done crafting a project, it is "finished" and ready to be displayed or played with by the wee ones. The beauty of our chalkboard village is it is NEVER finished. With just a damp cloth you can redesign your village to suit your fancy whenever you are so inclined :)

HERE ARE SOME LINKS TO THE OTHER "PROPS" PIXIE USED TO STAGE OUR CHALKBOARD VILLAGE. IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE A STASH OF PAST PROJECTS TO PULL FROM :)

Old World Gnomes

Wooden Autumn Trees

Burlap Hay Bundles

Mini Pumpkins

Paper Bag Trees

http://www.weefolkart.com
Copyright © Wee Folk Art 2008 - 2012. All rights reserved.

All photos, text and patterns are copyright protected. You may not copy, reproduce or redistribute any material found on WeeFolkArt.com without written permission. Wee Folk Art retains all rights. Read our FAQs found HERE for specifics or contact us at weefolkart@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

Autumn... traditionally a time to harvest the bounty from our gardens and a time of gratitude. The simple words "GIVE THANKS" reminds us to count our blessings and to Give Thanks. With just some inexpensive pine 2" x 4"s and a little paint, you can share this message with family and friends.  

If you can cut a piece of 2" x 4", you can make this project. BTW... even if YOU can't cut a 2" x 4", many lumber yards are willing to do it for you for a nominal fee. Use your imagination to share greetings and messages by simply stenciling or hand painting letters to the blocks.

Materials:
2" x 4" pine board. You need 1 block per letter (Figure approximately 3 blocks per linear foot)
Saw for cutting wood
Sandpaper for sanding wood
Paint - I used our Non-Toxic Soy Paints available in our shop
2" alphabet stencils or you can pick a 2" font from your word processor (more about this later)
Paint Brushes
Wood Finish (optional) - I used our Original Beeswax finish available in our shop or you can use our recipe for Olive Oil and Beeswax Finish available HERE

Directions:
Cut a pine 2" x 4" to create squares. (Each block will be approximately 3 3/8" x 3 3/8".)

Lightly sand the edges to remove sharp edges.

Paint all 6 sides of the blocks. Allow to dry completely. You should only need 1 coat of paint.

When choosing my paints, I wanted colors that reflected the season, had a bit of whimsy, and coordinated with the painting that they were going to stack under. Although teal/aqua isn't usually considered a "fall" color, I wanted to pull the color into my letters. (BTW... I bought a series of 3 owl pictures at Pier 1 a couple of years ago. They were only $30.00 a piece. I LOVE them. I just checked. They still have some available online... on sale... for $19.00 a piece! You can find them HERE. I'm sure their supplies are limited.)

Before adding letters, arrange the blocks in the manner you plan to display them. Decide if you want a random look or a pattern.

 
You can either use a set of purchased 2" letter stencils or make your own letters using your word processor. (Mine is Microsoft's Word) I used the font Arial Rounded MT Bold, set the size at 200, and after typing the letters, highlight them, and made them Bold. It gave me letters that were 2" tall.

If using a stencil, center the letters on your blocks. If using a printed font, cut out each letter, and trace them unto the blocks. Because the pine is soft, if you press hard, you will leave an impression on the wood.

You can now stencil or hand paint the letters on the blocks.

If you want, you can leave the blocks with simply the letters. Check out some Christmas blocks I made several years ago. They can be found HERE. I wanted a more whimsical look, so I painted designs on each block. To make the flowers I simply dipped the back of my paintbrush in paint and dabbed the paint on the blocks. You can get a better idea of this process by checking out the flowers on our City Gnome Beds found HERE. To make the round circles, I dipped the back of a pencil (without an eraser) in paint and dabbed it on the block. All the designs are random... just have fun :)

When the paint was thoroughly dry, I went over all the blocks with our wood finisher.

Although this stage is optional, it does give the letters a lovely sheen, will stop the wood from drying out and will help them last for years :)

Now, display your blocks. I plan to make a couple more sets for other places in the house. You can get as creative as you'd like in your wording. This is a lovely and inexpensive way to herald in any season :)

http://www.weefolkart.com
Copyright © Wee Folk Art 2008 - 2012. All rights reserved.

All photos, text and patterns are copyright protected. You may not copy, reproduce or redistribute any material found on WeeFolkArt.com without written permission. Wee Folk Art retains all rights. Read our FAQs found HERE for specifics or contact us at weefolkart@yahoo.com if you have any questions.
 

After being home for a couple of weeks, I finally feel like I'm caught up enough to start tackling some projects. My list is long and mighty of things I want and need to do, so you can expect to see many new projects shared over the next couple of months. Plus, we are working on getting our kits together for our Knights and Squires. All mighty exciting stuff for us :)

Here's a quick peek on what I'm working on at this minute. A couple of weeks ago I saw a neat idea that I shared on Facebook from Hello Bee. Using some 2" x 4"s and black chalkboard paint, she made a street of houses. Awesome thing about it... using chalk, you could draw in windows and doors. I thought the wee ones would love this.

After grabbing inspiration from Hello Bee, I had Tim buy pine 2" x 4"s, 2" x 6"s and 2" x 8"s and cut them into random houses.

Then, I decided my houses needed a little color, so I bought an assortment of colorful chalkboard paint from Hudson Paint. Who knew you could get chalkboard paint in so many awesome colors? I want to use them in an autumn setting, so I picked some lovely fall colors.

Finally, I've started painting them. I am using 3 coats of paint, and I'm nearly done with my first set. The biggest drawback... you have to wait 48 hours before you can start drawing on them! I'm not the most patient person, so I'll be pacing until we can start using them on Wednesday. I'll share photos when we are all done!

What projects are you working on right now???

Bug has the heart of a knight... bound by honor and tradition... well, most of the time :) He is a history buff, fascinated by the Middle Ages. He participates in sports, archery and fencing, that would have prepared him for knightly duties. This year he has also begun "dramatic sword play". His coach has mentored actors requiring sword skills for movie roles. In several years I could easily see Bug getting involved in our local Renaissance Festivals. (Which, BTW, they will be attending soon :)

A couple of weeks ago I shared some BBF Birdie Pendants that I made for Fairy/Pixie and for Little Lady/Sweet Pea. Since everyone was getting one, I wanted to make something for Bug that I thought he'd like to wear. I made him a shield, with a brown cord, and he loved it. Just follow the directions for the BBF Birdie Pendants. The pattern includes a shield. The directions and pattern can be found HERE.

Of course, knights had mottos... a code they lived by... often a family motto passed down through the generations. I included a motto often used by knights of yore. After all, a knight is as a knight does :)