For some reason I always have a need to update the decor in my house. Some days it’s the living room, other days it’s my bedroom, and on days like today, it is my laundry room.

To be honest, it is more of a laundry area, as it isn’t an actual room, but that won’t stop me from decorating it and making it my own! Up until now, my laundry area has been pretty boring – just our washer and dryer, a trash can and whatever else we decide to throw on top when we are in a hurry. Today, however, I decided to spruce it up a little by making and hanging this wooden sign on the wall above my dryer. It is really easy to do and today I am going to share a tutorial on how I did it!
Pretty much anyone will be able to follow this tutorial and it doesn’t require any special equipment for adding the letters, because they are hand painted! Follow along and I will show you how you can make one just like this.

Step 1

To begin, you will need a 2 x 10 piece of wood. It doesn’t matter how long the one you purchase is, because you will be cutting it down to size anyway. I cut mine down to 25 inches and it fit perfectly on the wall in my laundry area.

Step 2

The next step is to sand the piece of wood so that it is pretty smooth and without rough corners.

Step 3

Once you have cut and sanded the wood, it is time to stain (or paint) it. I used dark walnut stain, and it turned out great. You can use paint as well if you want to do a different color. I chose stain, because many of the DIY home decor projects that I did throughout the rest of my home use the same color stain. After staining or painting, let it dry until no wet paint or stain remains.

Step 4

After you have chosen the quote or phrase that you want to use, you should type up all of the letters in a Word document and print each one off. Then tape each word or letter in the right order onto the stained wood exactly where  you want them to show up. Next, carefully trace the letters with a sharp pencil, so that you can see a slight indentation in the wood in the shape of the letters.

Step 5

After you have traced all of the letters onto the piece of stained wood and removed the paper, outline the letters with a paint pen. You may have to go over each letter a couple of times.

Step 6

With all of the letters outlined with the paint pen, it is time to fill the letters in with paint. I chose to use white because it makes a nice contrast with the dark walnut stain. You can use a paintbrush with acrylic paint for the bigger areas and the paint pen for the smaller areas. Repeat steps 4-6 with any images or shapes that you want to add as well.

Step 7

The final step is to add a picture hanger or something similar to the back and then hang it on your wall!

This was a really fun and inexpensive project to do, and is especially great if you don’t want to go out and buy an expensive vinyl machine! I love creating things that make my house more welcoming. This one was especially great, because I have been really wanting to make my laundry area more inviting ever since we moved in here over a year ago. Now that I have a start to some great decor, I can focus more on doing my laundry with the constant reminder that all of the hard work that I do is for my family. Luckily, the job has been a lot easier and more efficient since I started using Member’s Mark® Ultimate Clean Laundry Detergent which can be purchased at Sam’s Club. It does an awesome job and has a really convenient, no mess dispenser. It comes in two scents – Fresh Scent and Paradise Splash. The great part is that it works just as well or better as other laundry detergents, but it costs a fraction of the cost – and you know what that means – more money for more great DIY projects!

I would love to hear about your laundry room projects, and if you try this one, let me know how it turned out!

The post DIY Wooden Sign for Laundry Room (Tutorial) appeared first on My Latina Table.

Easter is almost here and we are still decorating!  If you missed our DIY Centerpiece and No-sew Easter Pillow tutorials, make sure to check them out. They go perfectly with these wooden Easter Bunny decorations!

With all of these sunny days that we have been having, I have had more energy and motivation to work on these fairly simple projects using leftover wood from other projects to save a little bit of money. As soon as I decided what I wanted these to look like, I went to the start to find some inexpensive, simple materials and set to work getting our house ready for Spring. Don’t worry about not having much time – you can do this entire project in less than 2 hours!

Materials

• One 3 foot long piece of 2×4
• Thin Wire
• Acrylic Paint
• Wood Slices
• Paint Marker
• Small amount of fabric in the color of your choice (polka dots are perfect!)
• Other assorted decorations like bows and ribbons, if desired.
• White primer or other paint.
• Circular Saw
• Electric Sander
• Pinking Shears

Step 1

The first step is to cut the wood into the sizes that you need. The wood that I used is a little bit thick, so you will need a good circular saw like the one that we used. You can cut them whatever length you want – I cut one that was 10 inches, one that was 8 inches, and two that were 6 inches to represent my husband, myself, and our two little boys.

Step 2

Once you have cut the wood to the correct lengths, make sure to sand them so that they are smooth and so that you can get rid of the rough edges. Then be sure to wipe the excess dust clean.

Step 3

Once cut and sanded, it is time to paint. I used white primer that I had on hand, but if you want to spend a bit more you can always buy some good wood paint. I decided to use what I had, because like I have mentioned in the past, I like doing inexpensive, yet really cute crafts! For the nose I found these perfect wooden slices  for 1 dollar!

Step 4

While you are waiting for the white paint to dry, it is time to paint the noses with acrylic paint according to the color of fabric that you are going to use for the next part.

Step 5

To make the eyes, use a cotton swap to paint a small black circle on the now dry block of wood. After the black circle has dried, paint a small white circle to finish the eyes.

Step 6

The next step is to take out your Pinking Shears and cut two 14″ x 2″ rounded strips of your choice of fabric. Put the inward-facing sides together and then use some needle and thread to tie the middle as shown in the pictures below. Use hot glue to glue it to the top of the block and add any other bows or other decorations that you want.

Step 7

The next step is to make the whiskers. Fo this you will need thin pieces of wire and wood glue. For each bunny, cut three pieces of the wire to equal lengths, put them together, and tie a knot in the middle. After you have tied the knot, put it in the middle, about where the nose will go and attach with your wood glue. Then put the nose on top, pressing down firmly so that it is glued in place as well. Once the nose and wire are in place, use a pen or marker to form the whiskers. Now you can add more decorations, like bows and buttons or whatever else you think will look great!

Step 8

The final step is to draw on the mouth and the teeth and adding a little bit of color to the cheek area.

I hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial and that you will try it too! Let me know in the comments how it turned out! These are a perfect way to decorate your house or it would be a great gift for a friend or family.

The post Wooden Easter Bunnies Tutorial appeared first on My Latina Table.