The pioneer comes out.

 I'm sure I've shared before that deep down inside of this girl is a pioneer woman screaming to surface.  And it seems like this time of year, that side of me comes out even more.  There's just something about the crispness in the air that makes me want to hunker down and get ready for the long winter months to come.  Harvesting the crops, canning, prepping the garden, winterizing the house and yard... you get the idea.  I find myself daydreaming about life in pioneer days when a long summer's work was hoped to be enough to sustain the family for the winter.  Fortunately, today's luxuries don't have us as frazzled as I imagine the pioneers were.  Our homes are heated without having to store up wood all summer long.  Grocery stores carry food 24-7.  And telephones have us a phone call away from emergency professionals if needed.  I'm thankful for those luxuries, but I still have this pull in my heart to be reminded of our "roots".  

My garden at this time of year may not be pretty, but it's still producing!  A few more batches of salsa, stew starter & applesauce and we can put her to bed for the winter.  Then I can sit back with a cup of joe and wait for the first big blizzard of the season to hit, where I can stay snug and warm inside my toasty warm home and enjoy the beauty God showcases outside.

Coming soon to Cherry Blossoms & Chickens

For quite a few years now, my creations have been under the name Legacy Design... which has served me well!  However, as I transition my business and art focus to functional re-purposed design, I felt it appropriate to give my business a face lift.  So now, instead of Legacy Design, my business will be:

Farm Chic

by Cherry Blossoms & Chickens

farm

 [ faarm ] 

1. of or pertaining to rustic or rusty materials used to house livestock or hay.

2. old, weathered, distressed and well worn.

 

chic

 [ sheek ]   

1. stylish: stylish and elegant
2. style: fashionable style and elegance

So, you probably have some questions about this transition.  Hopefully I'll answer them below, if not, please feel free to contact me!

Q:  What happens to www.legacydesigncreations.com?

A:  It will remain active through the next renewal cycle which will be early 2013.  After that it will no longer be active.

Q:  How will I find out about what Farm Chic has to offer?

A:  Very soon, my blog will have an area called "SHOP Farm Chic" where you can see what's available and see locations to buy locally.

Q:  What about your photograph letter art?

A:  I will continue to do my photography letter art on an as ordered basis, however, I will no longer carry them framed.  Individual images will be available for purchase for only $3 each. 

Fox 11 - Pallet Sign TUTORIAL

I really feel blessed that I've had the opportunity to share my creations on WLUK Fox 11 4 times now {but who's counting??}  And now that you're reading this, it means that either you follow me already and like to see what I'm up to, or you're checkin' me out to see what I'm all about!  Either way, I'm glad you ventured over here.  :)

 

Thrifty Thursday: Pallet project

This morning I shared a fabulous, easy & thrifty project that you can make at home.  If you especially liked the pallet sign, you'll want to revisit my post about other things pallets are good for.

Maybe you didn't get to see me live this morning, so here's what I did!


The project stems from something that's all the rage right now.   Pallets!  You can score them for FREE, so if you tell me that you made this, but had to buy a pallet, I might just have a heart attack.  Seriously.

What you need:
1 {FREE} pallet
Paint {again use the sample sizes from Lowes}
A saying that you love.
Clear lacquer
Screws
Pry bar & hammer

Use a pry bar and hammer to disassemble the pallet so you're left with just lengths of boards.

Line them up and cut them the size you want.



Use extra boards to hold all your face boards together.

Other than screws, all your materials should come from the FREE pallet!


I have been pinning several fun sayings and phrases that I love, so I went to my "Great Sayings" board for inspiration for this piece.  I sketched out what words I wanted where, and what colors I wanted {although you can do this in just one color if you want and it'll still be fabulous}.



Now you can do the lettering a number of different ways.

Free hand.     Stencils.      Projector. 

I used a projector {snagged one at a sale for only $5!  Boy has it come in handy!}  I printed out my lettering on a transparency and projected it onto the pallet and traced and painted it from there.  A little time consuming, but hey, when you get results like this, who cares!!

When it dries, just clear coat it and hang it up!  It will fade and weather if exposed to the elements outside, but for a project this easy and thrifty, it's not too bad to have to change it out every few years!

And nothing goes to waste.  I used the cut offs and scraps from our pallet dis assembly to create some mini signs for my upcoming art shows!  How cute is that?