So I FINALLY moved all of my stuff – of course I totally put this off for a while since I was dreading the process. Little did I realize that the thing I should have been dreading the most is going through it all once it was moved back into a new storage unit. I decided it would make more sense to wait and go through it once I got it all up here so I could take my time. I don’t even know how I could accumulate so much stuff. However, I am starting to feel a little more organized. I have almost finished going through all of the boxes/bags/etc. and re-packing everything for an extended storage stay.
I am so thankful for my movers – however I am not thankful that they are much taller and stronger than I am and opted to put some very heavy things very far up. So far I have injured my shoulder, twisted my back and done lord knows what to my neck. Yes, I am whining.
Thankfully I have a climate controlled unit so I have some relief from the heat but I definitely get a workout and a good sweat moving all that stuff. Here is a pic of my organized chaos. These pictures don’t even do it justice because this was after two days of cleaning things out.
I finally feel like I am making progress in there and have made many more goodwill trips. I am on a first name basis with my friends over there. I have totally resisted the temptation to go in and look at things in the store but I have seen some awesome items in their drop off piles when I pull up. Furniture that just screams at me to rescue it and paint it. However, that would just be silly of me right now considering all the stuff I am getting rid of.
So, I had to settle on another DIY. I have been wanting to make this for a while now so it has temporarily fed my DIY needs. I recently made an adress sign for my parents house, the painted numbers on the curb are really faded and unless you know exactly where to look, you cannot see the numbers on the side of the house. I decided to make something like I saw here at 9 o’clock Dance of Joy here is a pic of their version:
I used a 4×4 fence post that I picked up from Lowe’s for about $5, then I got a 5×5 square and two approximately 6×6 squares from Hobby Lobby – you can cut these yourself but I liked the rounded edges and they were like $1 each so I figured that was a cheap solution. Then I got a wooden sign and iron letters from Hobby Lobby – spent about $20 total at Hob Lob and then $5 at Lowe’s so the whole project was just $25.
I had some leftover black paint from my mirror project and also already had a can of primer and a small can of white paint for the sign. Also, I used chain I had to connect the sign to the post. Don’t forget to pick those up if you don’t have any lying around. I also had some screws for the numbers I bought at hobby lobby, they didn’t come with screws so pick those up too if you need them.
First, I cut down the 4×4 post to 36 inches. You can make two of these posts – DIY with a friend!
Then I primed all the pieces front and back
I painted the sign white and added eye hooks to it to put my chain on – my #’s are iron and I wanted them to stand out.
I taped off the sign to be sure that the numbers were centered then laid out my numbers and marked the places where the screws would need to be.
Then I removed the numbers and drilled small holes on those markings so that I can lay the numbers down and screw them in with a screw driver. You can see the holes above.
I spray painted the edges of the pieces blue so that I can run over it with some sand paper and have a little of the blue show through when I am done. Since I am painting these black, I didn’t worry about being precise at all. Just sprayed lines randomly.
I painted all the pieces black. I also drilled a hole in each corner of the base 6×6 square as well as two holes toward the center. The holes on each corner are for stakes to go into. I am putting the sign in the front garden area and want it to stay in place. The middle holes are for screws to attach the base to the 4×4. I also drilled two holes in the top 6×6 base for the same reason.
Then I attached the bottom piece and top piece with screws. I used 4″ screws and made sure they were all the way down so I could put wood filler in there to make the area flat again before I put on a final coat of black paint.
Then, I added a large eye hook to the center of the post. Since this is for house numbers and a more permanent sign, I used the eye hook. If you want to be able to change the sign out you might just want to use a hook or a knob. I also screwed in the top 5×5 piece.
Then I screwed the numbers onto the sign – the first and the last number are edited out of the below pic for privacy reasons but the numbers are all evenly spaced.
Then I added a black chain to the two top pieces of the numbers sign. I also gave the post one more coat of black paint and caulked in the edges at the base as well as at the top. I used clear caulk. I only did this because this sign won’t be under a covered area so I just wanted to protect it as much as possible. I figure the caulk leaves less space for water to get in and rot the post. May or may not make any difference, just sounded good to me.
Here it is – almost finished!
I took it out to the front and placed it in the front flower bed close to the walkway. I added the stakes in the four corners, you can see them poking out. Then I used a rubber mallet to push the stakes all the way in. In Texas we get random weather and some crazy wind at times. These stakes are each a foot long and probably overkill but I wanted to help prevent it from blowing over.
Now people can actually see our house number from the street – we’ve had a lot of neighbors comment on how much they like the sign, the mailman and UPS/FedEx guy said it would be awesome if more people had more easily legible numbers. My parents love how it turned out.
I still may make some signs that can be changed out for special occasions – parties, christmas, etc.
Have you guys done any fun DIY projects lately? I promise now that I am moved I will be back more frequently! Check back tomorrow for a new WDITOT Wednesday post.
XOXO
Bella Mandarin 