The Story of a Sign (Opinions Needed)

I had wanted to get this post shared yesterday on the first day of fall, but that just didn't happen.  Oh well, one day late isn't too bad though.  

I wanted to share just the tiniest bit of my fall decor with you, but mostly I wanted to share the story of a sign.

This cute little chalkboard (leftover from last year's Christmas banquet) is hanging on the corner of one of my very favorite yard sale purchases.....maybe of all time.

I got this set of 3 authentic farm signs from a yard sale for only $10.  But it wasn't just any random yard sale I was at.  No, this one was meant to be and this sign was meant to be mine.

Let me explain.

A couple of years ago I shared the picture below on the Facebook page because I was really excited that I had found a local farm that sold raw milk (plus I loved their cute sign).  We had just recently moved back to Florida and were trying out different churches in the area.  At one of the churches we met the family who lived on this farm and that's how we discovered the local source of raw milk. 

We visited their farm a couple of times and fell in love with how sweet and loving their whole family was.  The last time we visited them they told us that they felt they had been called to go to Romania to be missionaries.  (The wife was originally from there.)  Well, life happened, time went by, we bought a house and were busy moving and such and we never did get back to visit them again.  When I realized it was close to the time they said they would be leaving the country we made one last trip to their farm hoping to say good-bye to them and get some info on how to stay in contact.  But sadly, they were already gone.  

I always regretted that life had been so busy and we hadn't taken the time to see them again.  I didn't know if we'd ever get the chance to see them again and that made me sad.  

Well, about 8 months or so went by and one day I was scouring the local newspaper looking for upcoming yard sale listings.  One of them caught my eye and from the description of it I just knew it had to be them!  I didn't know how it could possibly be since they were supposed to be across the ocean, but somehow I knew it just had to be.  So that Friday morning I packed up the kids and we drove across town in search of the sale.  Sure enough, it was them!  They had gone to Romania, but had to come back for a couple of months to finish dealing with the sale of their farm.

The wife and I stood there talking for probably half an hour as she shared their ministry with me and the miracles that God had done for them while there and how He had amazingly provided for each and every need.  I felt so encouraged and blessed by our talk and so thankful I had found them again.  I gave her our information and asked them to stay in contact with us and to continue to share their ministry with us.  

After we finished talking she encouraged me to look around at what they had for sale and see if there was anything we'd like to buy.  It didn't take me long to spot their milk sign leaning up against the barn, as well as the other two little signs they had used in the driveway.  

I was so excited to be able to take it home, because not only is it an adorable and perfect farmhouse style sign, but it also has a story and sentimental meaning behind it.  Now every time I look at it I think of them and it helps me remember to pray for them and their ministry.  

I love it when pieces in my home have a story.

I made a grouping of all 3 signs on a big blank wall in our dining room.  I had never put anything on this wall because I didn't want to hang up just anything ol' thing.  I knew that someday, somehow, the perfect piece would find me and I would know it when I saw it.

And that's just what happened with this milk sign.  I knew it was meant to be.

The sign is fairly large, over 2 feet wide by more than 3 feet long.  It's perfectly aged and weathered, and beautifully chippy.  Absolutely perfect for our home.

Now let me show you some perspective on where this is at and get some opinions from you all.  This is the wall in the dining room where it's located.  The doorway to the right on the edge of the picture leads to the laundry room as well as what we use as the main entrance to our home.  The doorway on the left of the picture is my son's room.  You can see all of his little art work he's taped on there.  Just keepin' it real folks.  :)  You can also see the corner of the table on the bottom left.

That's a big space to fill!  I don't intend to leave the two smaller signs there permanently.  I'd like to have some other sort of items paired with the milk sign, I just haven't figured out what yet.  The possibility of lanterns hanging on each side crossed my mind, maybe some greenery like a boxwood wreath or something would go well with it.  I'm just not sure and the perfect inspiration hasn't hit me yet.  So for now, the two little signs keep the milk sign company and help fill up the large space until I come up with something better.  

And that's where I need your opinions.  What would you guys put with this gorgeous milk sign?

Sharing over at:

Funky Junk Interiors - PJ #298

Rustic Sign with Reclaimed Lumber

  Remember I showed you this sneak peek picture last week?  Well, today I'm sharing one of the projects I completed with that wood.    

I had been on the hunt (a.k.a. watching the side of the road) for the perfect wood for a project for our bedroom, but hadn't had any luck.  Then one day a couple of months ago, Hubby and I were cleaning out the shed and I came across these pieces of wood that went with the extra bed frame we had stored in there.  We put the bed in the garage sale pile and I kept the wood for myself.  I figured whoever bought the bed could find their own wood.  Anyways, they were perfect for the bedroom project so I rescued them.  There were actually 3 of them, but for some reason I only stuck 2 in the picture.  

BUT....the bedroom project has nothing to do with today's show and tell.  A week or so ago I received an invitation to a wedding shower for a cute young couple in our church who are getting married next month.  It was to be a household shower and gave the typical places they were registered, but it also mentioned that their style is rustic.  My wheels began turning on what we could get for them that would be cheap, but not cheap.  Know what I mean?  Cost effective/frugal/easy on the wallet.  You understand.

At first I was thinking the usual - Walmart gift card, bath towels, or crockpot, etc.  But then it dawned on me...a 3rd piece of extra wood...rustic style...no money involved...but meaningful.  I decided to make them a sign.  I already had almost everything I needed so there wouldn't be much money involved and it would be more meaningful than say a gift card.  That is, if it turned out ok.  Otherwise they might have had a mini-shopping spree.  Very mini.

But thankfully, I was satisfied enough with how it turned out.

1) I used my Cricut and some scrap paper to figure out the size of the letters, spacing, etc. and then marked it for Hubby to cut.

2) I used my vinegar and steel wool solution to stain it.  (Handy tip - be sure to wear gloves if you ever use this solution.  I didn't and my fingers still look like I dipped them in iodine and it's now 4 days later.)

3) I then cut out a stencil pattern using the Cricut and some Contact paper, and over the next couple of days I painted each section as I had the time.

4) I tasked Hubby with the job of putting in the picture hangers.  His left brain is much better at getting things straight on the first try.  These were the only things I had to purchase for this project.

Here it is all painted, but before I sanded it to finish off the rustic look.  This is only the 2nd sign I've made and I'm still learning.  There are things I wish I could have done differently, a little bit better spacing, etc.  But hopefully they aren't as picky as me.  Hubby's opinion is that only 1% of people in the world are as picky as me, so I was pretty much counting on that.

And here it is finished up in all it's rustic-ness.

Since I don't get to do "rustic" for other people very often, I decided to have fun with it and continue the rustic theme right on into the wrapping.

I started with brown craft paper, layered with a vintage sewing pattern, and topped with a vintage newspaper article (found inside the sewing pattern).  

I wrapped that with twine, added a small wooden spool from my collection, and tucked in a few Queen Anne's Lace that were growing in the yard.

I thought the whole thing turned out pretty cute, and the bride-to-be seemed to like it so I think it was a win.  : )

                                                

Linking up to:

Wow Us Wednesdays - Savvy Southern Style
Saturday Nite Special - Funky Junk Interiors
Sunny Simple Sunday - Sunny Simple Life