Buy Canadian First - Your destination for good shopping

Being that I'm a Canadian sign maker by trade, I appreciate a cool looking sign. However, why waste the look outdoors if you can bring it inside your own home, too?

I personally design and cut my own decals that I use as stencils, however, you can easily use an exsisting stencil for a similar look. Place your stencil or decal where you desire and paint.

Tip: I choose my lettering to sit off center to emulate that the table was imperfectly cut from an old existing sign.

Here's another tip ... these words actually have meaning to me. Think in terms of a favorite vacation spot, your favorite town, whatever you desire. Instant memory maker!

After allowing the paint to fully dry and cure, distress the lettering with a palm sander to age things up. The look really transforms a standard table into something extra special, for very little cost!

Have you tried "signing up" any of your indoor furniture? What would you like something to say?

Photos and design are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors. The original sign table top tutorial has even more photos if desired.

I realize our fabulous Canadian Summer is still upon us and we don’t want to rush into Fall. However after this tip, it’s my bet you’ll be eyeing up your nearest hydrangea in a real hurry!


 

1. Leave the hydrangea blooms on the bush until the end of the season. When the petals JUST begin to turn slightly dry on the tips, pick them ASAP.

2. Set the blooms upright in water and leave them until the petals are fully dried. The water keeps the petals from shriveling.

Tips: It's best to dry them in the container they’ll be staying in if possible, because the petals are very fragile once dried. 



Try drying at different times for different coloured hues. The above was from a blue hydrangea bush in late fall. Pretty amazing how they changed, isn't it?

Happy hydrangea hunting this Fall to you!

 What kinds of fresh flowers do you like to dry?

Photos are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors. You can find the full tutorial HERE.

For all of Donna's DIYs on Buy Canadian First , click HERE.

3.  Place boards on the wall and insert one screw in the middle. Pivot the board with the help of a level. Once in place, add two more screws. Paint the screws white.
 
Tip: I spaced the boards random widths apart as well so I didn't have to measure a thing!

The end result is a glorious white wall, loaded with charm, that was super easy and price efficient to create!

(If you wished for a more permanent version, I'd suggest to add caulk to the seams and paint out the entire area one last time.)

So, what do you think? Would this treatment work anywhere in your own home?

Photos and tutorial of the board and batten project are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors.

Last summer, I had a nice patio table and chair set out on the deck, however I was always longing for more of a lounge kind of sit.

Ramping it up a notch, a vision of something rustically unique came to mind. And so the pallet outdoor sofa was born.

The frame was built to accommodate a mattress found at the thrift store. From there, reclaimed cedar planks were used for the seat and random pallet boards for the back. To pretty things up, the mattress was covered in a painter’s drop cloth and random thrift store pillows offered all the comfort necessary.

Not only am I totally enjoying my new lounging area outdoors, this project also won a Canada-wide Upcycle 2011 challenge! How cool and unexpected was that?

Have you created any of your own outdoor furniture? What did you use or make?

Photos and design are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors. Full tutorial HERE.

It wasn’t that long ago that I was shopping for a headboard. I wasn’t finding anything to die for so I just hung in there... until an old horse gate from a burn pile was discovered. YES!

The size proved to be perfect for my king-sized bed. The added sawhorse at the foot of the bed completed the rustic look.

Adding hooks to the gate offers loads of fun opportunities for ever-changing decor. Today, it's decked out for Summer. What will I do for Fall... or Christmas? Fun!

Installing the gate to the wall was as simple as screwing it into studs. The "messy bed" look was created by throwing loose linens on top of a quilt. The sleepy cat on the bed fully approves! Other unique headboard ideas could be old doors, fireplace mantels or large vintage signs. If an object is the size of the bed, it can be a headboard!

Do you have a unique headboard?

Photos and design courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors. Full tutorial can be found here.

If you’ve been keeping up with Canadian (and beyond) design trends in home decorating, you’ll have noticed by now that numbers are a huge hit. Who knew that numbers would be desireable things to hang up on a wall?
 But they are! The premise is that a number resembles a piece of vintage sign history. They also just look cool, and the good news is, if you make one yourself, you can have it say or look like anything you desire.

Want to make one of your own? Here's an easy and affordable way you can whip one up in an afternoon!

1. Sketch or print out a number or letter in the font of your choice.

2. On a large piece of plywood, sketch your design. I used chalk.

3. Cut out the shape with a jigsaw, and sand the edges well.

 

4. Paint it up , hang it up and be proud!



Are you a numbers collector? Where do you like to display them?

Photos and design are courtesy of Donna at Funky Junk Interiors. Full tutorial can be found HERE.

Well, my fellow Canadian junkers, are you ready for something on a wall that is a little "off the wall"? Pardon the pun but you’ll soon see what I mean.

Collectors ‘accumulate’ lots of stuff over a short period of time and when you run out of horizontal real estate, you have to go up. My stash was taking over my storage area when I came up with a wild brainstorm. Hang it up!

 

 But I took it a step further and hung it all up in my front entry. Adding a few hooks here and there, I ended up with a junk art coat hook wall.

Everything was placed tight against each other like a puzzle, then screwed into the wall. I was prepared to place anchors where necessary, but everything ended being perfectly sound. 

I haven’t decided if it’s storage until something better comes along or it’s staying. I rather love it just the way it is! Guess I’d better go shopping for more junk then, huh? :)

Do you have anything unique hanging up your coats by the front door?

Photos and design courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors. Complete tutorial and reveal can be found on the blog HERE. 

I adore collecting good ol' Canadian vintage toolboxes. They're just so versatile, making fabulous centerpieces for tables and providing great storage with flair for most anything. However, collecting the antique varieties can be pricey, or the wrong size for what you desire. So what’s one to do? Easy... make one yourself! Trust me when I say that I’m not a pro-builder, so I came up with a cheat sheet method to create a complete toolbox out of one board. Yup, it was that easy!

Here’s how I did it:

1. Find a unique handle of choice.

It can be anything from a branch, an old tool, to a standard dowel. The handle will help dictate how large your toolbox will be.

2. Cut a board down to accommodate  two sides, one bottom and a front / back.

Use two different boards if you desire a two-toned look or different dimensions.

3. Pre-drill holes for the handle, then insert. Screw the rest of the toolbox together and you’re done!

Don’t be afraid to get really creative with that handle. This drill-handled toolbox was a little more complicated to create as the sides required additional shaping with a jig saw, but it was worth the extra effort. The sky's truly the limit where design is concerned.

Are you also a collector of toolboxes? What do you use them for?

Special thanks to fellow Canadian Julie from Follow Your Heart Woodworking for leading a toolbox workshop on my blog HERE!

Photos and design are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors.

White picket toolbox tutorial is HERE.
Drill handled toolbox tutorial is HERE.

I love coffee bean sacks! Not only is the burlap perfectly rustic, but the stamped graphics offer an artful quality to anything you make with them. 

This round, I decided that my own kitchen windows were the perfect candidates to get hit with a little rustic charm, so faux coffee bean sack shades were born.

Sacks can be found at places that roast their own coffee beans. I find mine at a lovely Canadian home-run business, The Back Porch, located in Harrison Hot Springs, BC. But keep hunting and ask for referrals! They’re everywhere if you learn where to look.



How to make the shades:

1. Pick up a closet dowel and accommodating brackets. Install inside your window frame by cutting the dowel down to size and screwing in the brackets.

2. Cut your sack to the size of the dowel, creating a fray around the edges. Burlap is transparent, so select a fabric to line them with, hot gluing them into place.

3. Run a bead of hot glue on the rod and sack and attach.

4. Install the rod in your window. If your rod ‘unspins,’ drill a hole into the side of one bracket and place in a screw. Works like a charm.

5. Add a little junky relic for your ‘pretend’ pull and enjoy the new rustic look!

Another great no-sew burlap idea: check your local hardware store during flood season. The $1.50 sandbags make awesome pre-sewn pillows. Really!

What creative projects have you made with burlap sacks?

Photos and design are courtesy of Donna Williams of Funky Junk Interiors. You can find the entire tutorial on the blog HERE .

If you gave me a choice as to whether I’d prefer to cook dinner or mow the lawn, I’d personally be mowing the lawn before your question was even completed. This girl just LOVES the Canadian outdoors!

Because of that, I love to bring the outdoors in with my decorating. This super easy to make, branch-handled tray, was loads of fun to create. You can make it any size that could easily be used indoors and out. It makes a super cute table centerpiece as well.



 Here’s how!

1. Cut a long board in half then brace them together by screwing smaller boards across the underside.

2. Measure out and cut your branch handles and handle supports.

3. Pre-drill holes in the handles and supports, then screw them together from the top.

4. Screw on handles through the bottom of the tray.

5. If you wish for matching coasters, simply cut chunks of wood to the desired size.

My own tray is more decorative than productive, so just be sure to test the handles for strength before carrying anything around with real weight to it.

Other creative tray ideas: chalkboards, old cabinet doors, vintage signs.

Have you created a unique tray out of unusual, reclaimed items? I’d love to hear about it!

Design and photos are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors. The full tutorial can be seen here.