Category Archives: Lisa’s Scribbles

It’s the things that inspire creativity in me like reworking furniture, remodeling a house, baking/cooking, and gardening.

DIY Christmas – Rustic Woodland Coasters

I think I’m on a roll with the whole Rustic Christmas theme this year, don’t you think? And I’ve got another one for you that’s fairly painless because you can either cut your own coasters or you can buy plain ones at places like Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart and even Amazon carries them for anywhere from $4.99 to $14.99. Now how you decorate them will depend on #1 -your abilities, #2 – what tools & equipment you have on hand, say like a Cameo Silhouette machine.

What got me started on this little project was all the wood my boys brought home this past fall. We’re going to be using part of it for my son’s upcoming wedding in April, but I also had some other ideas for the smaller pieces that I thought would make cute gifts.

I dug through the pile of wood and located smaller branches that I knew would be perfect for my Rustic Woodland Coaster.

Most of the pieces had extra branches poking out from the sides, but it was a fairly easy remedy as I just cut them off with my chop saw before hand.

Once I was ready to do some assembly line cutting, I first measured out how thick I wanted them to be and settled in at 1/2 an inch. I use painters tape to mark out a line on my chop saw so I could just start cutting and not worry about measuring each one. Again, these are rustic, so having them perfect each time isn’t necessary.

As you can see some of these had branches that still needed to be chopped off. It was easier on this particular branch to wait until they were in smaller pieces to cut them off.

I got quite a stack from just one branch.

Then came the fun creative part. I made a deer stencil from my Cameo Silhouette and then used my basic black craft paint to fill it in. I let it dry and then pulled the stencil away to reveal a deer head.

I had quite the assembly line going here too.

After they had dried, I added a top coat to protect them from moisture, but next was adding some felt to protect the bottoms from scratching wood surfaces.

I purchased a roll of adhesive backed felt from Amazon and used a canning lid to cut out the round circles I’d need.

One thing to note it that all wood branches are not created equal. I know I shouldn’t need to explain myself, but I will. The canning lid is only a template, once you have your coaster ready, you’ll need to likely retrace around it and then cut off the extra felt.

Once you’ve made your adjustments, then just peel away the paper backing and secure it to the coaster.

What you end up with is a custom, super cute Rustic Woodland Coaster.

I used a bit of gold metallic paint on this one.

And with this coaster, I added red metallic paint.

Of course the classic black always looks stunning too.

Afterward, you can tie them up with some twine in groups of four and give them away as Christmas gifts.

I’m thinking this will be a nice addition to our family room too. What about you? Would you keep it or give it away?

Until next time… Toodles!

DIY Rustic Garland

As promised, here’s another post for your own DIY Christmas and this time I’m highlighting some homemade wood garland that takes on a rustic feel. It’s super cute and super easy to make too! You ready? Cuz I am!!!

So back in October I was in one of my local furniture stores and caught sight of some wood garland that made me take notice and brought out the creative side in me once more. Immediately I knew I had to make this and share it with you, my readers!

Pretty cute, right? Well not only is it cute, but super easy to make too!

I started out with some pallet wood (I’ve got quite the stockpile anymore), and cut it into 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 inch squares. I just took the width of the wood and cut it to the same length so I’d have squares.

I then measured the wood (width size) and found the center point for me to drill holes. And see that drill press over there? I used it to make it easier and faster than using my hand drill, but if a hand drill is all you’ve got, then use it!

After drilling the holes, which I determined the proper size by the thickness of my jute, I stained them because I wanted the stain to show through a little bit on the painted wood. It gives it more of that rustic feel. I also didn’t choose a piece of pallet wood that was perfect, as in smooth and without flaws. I wanted this to be rustic and flawed, kinda like me…the flawed part that is cuz lord knows I’m not that rustic yet!

I picked out an inexpensive flat paint that already had the primer built into it and chose to spray it because #1- I’d be faster, and #2- because the texture of the wood was pretty rough.

I next painted the small wood circles I used for the lettering on the garland. I purchased a pack of six wood discs for just a couple bucks at Walmart.

Again, I wasn’t perfect on the painting process, rustic is the key word here. After spraying them and letting them dry, it was time for the creativity to shine through! And boy did it!

I purchased some linen ribbon that came in a roll from Walmart because I liked the texture of it. You could also use some burlap, as I think that would be super cute too as a backdrop, or you can buy linen by the yard at Walmart for under $3 per yard. I traced each square piece of wood separately on the material and then cut it out.

Using some handy dandy Elmer’s glue, I spread it out across the wood and then adhered the fabric to it.

Then the fun part, determining what I wanted my garland to say.

I used my Cameo Silhouette and cut out the letters to size, peeling away the backing so I was left with the vinyl lettering.

Then using some contact paper, I adhered the lettering to the contact paper to transfer to the wood discs.

I then carefully peeled off the contact paper and as the vinyl adhered to the wood discs.

Using my glue gun I then glued them to the square, fabric covered blocks. And from there I got little creative with adding some additional pieces containing deer, Santa and the like.

Pretty snazzy, right? This is where you can let your creativity soar!

Once I was done with all the lettering and adding the additional touches, it was time to string my rustic garland.

I went for some thicker natural jute because I liked the look and feel of it.

I was also sure to make loose knots on either side of each piece that was used.

I also made adjustable knots on the ends so I could lengthen or shorten it if needed depending on where I hung it. I also quickly found out that I didn’t have any one surface long enough to string them out properly! At least not where it wasn’t freezing cold outside for picture taking!

I’m thinking it’s pretty Merry & Bright? What about you?

There you have it, a quick and easy DIY project you can make at home for your own decor or a gift for someone else. I think I’m keeping this one for a change, sorry family, maybe next year.

Want/need another DIY Christmas project that’s sure to please? Well, wait till I make my next post… DIY Rustic Coasters!

Until next time…Toodles!

DIY Christmas – Rustic Trees

So I’ve been busy lately, really busy making Christmas gifts and rustic Christmas decor for the home. And let me tell you, you won’t be disappointed! So get ready, cuz over the next three blog posts, I’m going to be posting some DIY Christmas projects that might just help you out in a pinch for those final gifts or decor of your own.

Let’s start with my new little Rustic Christmas Trees. And then let me continue by telling you that they weren’t supposed to look like this…nope, they were supposed to be bigger! The hubby was helping me out this past weekend, and I brought in a bunch of pallet wood with a design in mind to create a large tree for the front porch. I got busy working on about 50 other projects, because who really wants to focus in on one thing at a time, and he began cutting some pieces for me. By the time I took notice and realized they were much small than I intended, I was absolutely in love with them!

Pretty cute already, right? All it took was me seeing the pint-sized wonders, and I was all over it! I then hurriedly made my way out to the shed in search wood to use for the trunk and something to make a stand out of. It didn’t take me long to find some old spindles from a deck removal we did a few years back and some smaller pieces to be used for the base.

Once I had everything I needed, we started the process of cutting the pallet wood using 45-degree angles.

The first cut was at a 45-degree angle.

The second cut was straight giving us the top of the tree.

The third cut was similar to the first.

I wanted everything at odd numbers, odds for some reason always look better.

For the second branch of the tree, we cut it at another 45-degree angle.

And here’s the important cut, you need to take off just a small cut on the top of the second piece of the tree, so it will butt up against the first.

Like so.

Pulling out the measuring tape, we ended up with 7-inches.

You keep repeating this process each time. The third branch is measured out at about 11-inhces and then cut at a 45-degree angle.

With the final cut coming in at 13-inches.

I then took the old deck spindle and measured it to about 19-inches, taking care that both ends were square.

We then placed them on the spindle and nailed them in place with my pneumatic stapler using long enough staples to go through all the wood and hold it securely.

Once all the branches are attached, it was time to add the base so it could rest on a table top or floor without falling over.

Resting it directly against the back of the floor stand wouldn’t work, so we added a small spacer behind it to give us the right amount of clearance.

We went with an 11-inch base to give it the support it needs, so it won’t easily topple over.

And secured it in place again with the pneumatic stapler.

See, it stands up all by itself.

Now here’s where your creativity shines. I decided to stain the entire tree because I wanted parts of the stain to show through when I rough sanded it a little at the end.

Add some green paint and let dry.

I used my Cameo Silhouette to make a stencil so I could paint words on the trees. Now, if you’re good with painting free-hand letters, go for it! I don’t do that well with it so I use the tools I have to make it look good.

I also decided to add a wood star to the top of it and painted it gold. Little did I know that the bottle of glitter would explode and I’d be covered in it. lol

And little did I know that it would only take 5-minutes for little Miss Taylor Tot to hit the tree with her tail and break off a star…but have no worries, all is well and fixed.

Fresh cut trees is rocking the star.

And He Is Born looks good with a little shimmering glitter.

And The First Noel? Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.

I’m also thinking ‘O Holy Night looks good in a little silver.

A little glitter to make the season bright…yup, I like how they turned out. Don’t you? Another easy, peasy DIY Rustic Christmas decor item to add to your list. I know the list of people wanting one from me is quickly growing.

And guess what’s coming your way tomorrow?

Until the next blog post… Toodles!

Hometalk LIVE Facebook Demo 12.5.16 7pm est

Cuz who doesn’t love a good promo video? Enjoy and come join me with my live event on Facebook with Hometalk, you won’t want to miss out on this one! Monday, December 5, 2016, at 7 pm est. https://www.facebook.com/Hometalk/

Who am I?

I’m sure a lot of you are asking that question as you’re coming to my website. You see that I’m a DIY’er, but if you jump onto my Facebook Fan Page, you’ll see that I’m also an author and you’ll find posts about DIY, funny meme’s, and updates about my books.

I’m a creative person at heart, I always have been. I just didn’t realize my potential until later in life. The ability to write books I love and complete DIY projects too.

This world is a funny place sometimes where they say you should only excel at one thing, focus on one goal at a time…and yes I’m doing that in a round about way. I’m focusing on marketing myself. I’m multifaceted and there are many sides–just ask my hubby he’ll tell you how crazy it can get at times.

I have a writing passion, and a DIY drive, both of which are posted here on my Facebook page where I market myself. But I blog about them on different platforms to make it easier for my fans to find what interests them most; book information or DIY projects.

So, those of you who are new, then you’ve come to the right place. If you want DIY projects, you can find them at http://www.lisasscribbles.com/ If you’re new to reading my books, you can find other books at https://www.lisawiedmeier.com/

So if you have a creative side for DIY or want to read great stories, you’re stuck with my creative passion for DIY and books, just like my hubby. It’s just who I am. What I’m hoping is that you’ll embrace both sides of this crazy, kooky woman that I am and enjoy it all.

$15 Wood Pallet Shed

I’m going to start out by saying something here, something that is quite unusual in my household, but here it is… This was the hubby’s idea! Check out his $15 Wood Pallet Shed.

Yup! You heard me right! Now let me point out that over the years my hubby has been very supportive of my projects…okay, let’s be real here, he goes along with my crazy creative side because he, #1 loves me, or #2 is scared of the outcome if he doesn’t. Either one works in my favor, so I roll with it.

But this little wood pallet shed project? This was him 100%! Now I don’t want you to think that he doesn’t want to do things, he’s all about getting things done around the house, but deciding that he wanted to go pallet diving, a.k.a. dumpster diving for materials, that was a bit of a shocker. You see I’m the crazy one in our relationship, just ask our friends, they’ll tell you the truth, the hubby’s the calm, sane one.

Okay, so enough of my jabbering and let’s move on with this lovely little number!

The hubby got the idea from Pinterest after searching for some wood storage sheds. We have a fire pit we built a few years ago in the backyard, and the firewood was currently being stored on the ground next to the shed. He thought it was messy and wanted to tidy it up a bit and I couldn’t have agreed more. Here was his inspiration:

You see, it was an eyesore.

You didn’t have to ask me twice to get involved in this lovely little number, the moment he expressed his interest I was all over it like bees on honey. I went on the search for some pallets and came across two Facebook posts where friends were looking to get rid of some. We got lucky too because a few of them were extra long pallets, the other’s I ended up purchasing from a church for $1 a pallet, which is where the $15 expense came from. Other than the pallet purchase, we had everything on hand to make this project on the cheap.

We had three of the long pallets, 74×38, and 16 of the smaller 30×30 pallets.

The first step was to cut them apart. You can go ahead and use a pry bar, but we found it was faster and safer (minus the yelling as the wood split from sheer force) to use a reciprocating saw with a metal saw blade.

It can be done with one person, but honestly, it’s easier with two. One to hold while the other cuts. A little less dangerous too for everyone involved.

Next step was to measure out the length we wanted for the floor framing to be. We made the supports 72″ long.

We then created a rectangular box. We used the 2x4s from the pallets we dismantled.

The hubby cut them to 25″ making the entire width of the shed 28″ wide.

He then screwed them together, and we moved onto the inside framing.

We used our Kreg jig to secure them to the bottom frame.

One thing to note, make sure you do both sides of your 2×4’s before attaching them to the frame.

We then attached our roofing structure, again using wood from the pallets.

It’s a little wobbly at this point until you get your upper supports in place.

Before we attached our upper supports, we moved it outside because I was afraid it wouldn’t fit through the narrow garage door soon. The hubby took pity on me, and we moved it closer to its new home.

After adding the upper supports, we began to place the flooring on because we didn’t want the firewood to be sitting on the ground anymore. I predrilled my holes first and then used wood screws to secure it to the base.

You see this guy? He’s soooo excited that I’m helping him…or he got hold of the camera and snapped himself a selfie for me to find. Silly guy!

After the flooring was securely attached, we moved onto the roof. Now the hubby had a very specific design in mind, and I liked the architectural feeling it gives to the project.

We attached the roofing using our pneumatic stapler and cut the pieces to 35″ so we’d have some overlapping. We also ensured that we had the roof on an angle so the water would run off.

Yeah, and there’s the hubby looking at me and saying in his mind quit taking pictures and get over here and help me!

The next step was to cut and attach the side pieces. We used a 1.5×1.5 wood block as our spacer because we wanted the wood to breath so it’d dry out and not mold. Keep in mind that you do need to level off the first board so you’re not running crooked.

Yeah, there he is playing peek-a-boo instead of working.

Looking pretty great, right?

As you can see, we weren’t going to perfection here. Wood pallets come in all shapes and sizes, so you just have to work with the materials you have. Some pieces are thicker, and some are thinner.

I gonna go ahead and call it…the hubby has some skills. I’ve been telling him this for years, but he always thought it was because I was trying to woo him into helping me, which I’m not going to deny, but it was the truth.

He took something from nothing and made a functional wood storage shed.

Much neater I’d say.

Neater and functional.

I got lucky with him! Until next time, laters!