Feeling Crafty

Outdoor Christmas Wood Cut Out
Today I was feeling crafty and in the Christmas mood. One of my favorite holiday movies is A Charlie Brown Christmas so I decided to create my own painted, wooden outdoor decor. Here is the pic of the Snoopy I painted:


I still need to cut him out and his doghouse is painted but needs to be put together. I will also paint Charlie Brown, Lucy, Woodstock and the tree. I will post pics once they are set up outside:)
Tutorial:
MDF Boards (you choose the size)
Pencil or chalk
Craft Paint
Brushes or Sponge Brushes
Black Sharpie
Jigsaw
Wooden stake (either bought or you can make your own)
Clear Acrylic Spray to protect the wood


First I printed out a picture of what I wanted to draw. I wanted Snoopy so I got my copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas and made a copy on my all in none printer.
I then just freehanded it onto the board with pencil (here it's plywood, but believe me when I say BUY MDF it's much easier to work with as I later found out.)
Then I started to paint it. When I finished painting it I had my hubby show me how to cut it with a jigsaw.
He said I should have waited to paint it AFTER we cut it, but I didn't care. I wanted to make sure I saw where to make the cuts. You make the call cut either before or after. Any scratching I did on the painted surface was quickly touched up. Then I outlined the character with a black sharpie (one of those fat tipped ones) or if you have a steady hand you can outline it with a brush and black paint. Then you just spray it with a clear acrylic coating to protect it.
Then I nailed a stake 2/3 of the way up from the figure on the back. The stake was made by my hubby.
And there you go! Instant Christmas Outdoor decor for a FRACTION of the price of the roadside vendors.

Christmas Door Hanging
This year instead of a wreath on my door I decided to do something different. A couple of months ago I went to the Octoberfest downtown and picked up some old wooden shutters for like $2. I decided to turn one of those into my door decoration. Here are some pics of it:

I simply took the shutter and a Pine Spray I had in storage. I saw this really pretty birdie at Target and I got him for about $4. The ribbon I already had on hand. I just used some floral wire to tie the pine spray thru the shutter slats and I used the same floral wire to tie the bird to the pine sprig with a dab of hot glue. And that's all there is to it. I'll have to post a pic of it hanging on my door soon.
Linking up to these parties:
Thrifty Decor Chick Before and After
Centsational Girl Christmas Linky Party
Funky Junk Interiors