Not very much. But mixed in with the excitement of joining two families is the apprehension of taking on a new name (for some of us ladies). Full disclosure, it's hard shedding a name you've held on to for so long. That, combined with living with a different person who has a different mind and different habits, can make the whole moving in together somewhat... well, difficult. Distressing, even.
So, anything I can do to make a dwelling feel a little more home-y is worth my time. We received a doormat with our new initial for our wedding that I love (thanks Maggie!). Before you even walk in the door, it establishes us as a family, in a weird way.
That feeling, coupled with a great letter and springtime flower, is how I came up with this:
Nope, E is actually not for Emma, but their now-shared last name. At least that's what I told the couple. Mwahahaha.
I started with a mdf initial from Michael's, and spray painted it. Since it was mdf, it just sucked in the paint! I had to switch from my cheap-o paint to spray paint plus primer. Two coats of that and we were in business.
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| Tip: Use an old shower curtain or sheet as a drop cloth! |
When that was dry (I waited an hour or so) I mixed some acrylic paints to come up with this pretty blue color. I was actually going for a more muted bluish grey, but I ended up loving this color so much I couldn't help myself.
Acrylic dries quickly, so after about 30 minutes I went ahead and gave it a coat of Rustoleum Clear Enamel. It dried so glossy, so protected... I have no fears of the acrylic chipping off anymore. Really, this was my favorite step since it polishes everything off quite nicely.
Since I wanted to hang this with twine, I wasn't sure that using just glue would hold up in the North Carolina humidity, wind, etc. I also wanted to be able to tie the twine around screws and hunker them down. The letter itself was too thin - any screw would penetrate the front - so I added some scrap wood (furring strips) to the letter and drove in some screws, leaving enough space to tie twine. I only needed it on the top, but added the wood to both ends so it wouldn't hang tilted forward.
And using some leftover faux flowers I had on hand (from making Diana's shadowbox art), I drove a screw through the center and painted it with nail polish to disguise it. I don't have any pictures of that step, but it was so simple I don't think one is needed.
Then I added the twine and here's the result!
I admit, I kept this on my closet door for a while before I went to the wedding. I love it so much. I hope you do too, Olivia and Andrew!
And happy Memorial Day to everyone!
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| posted by Emma |
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