Numeric Epiphany

So many things going on this month that I seem to be running from one thing to another and never quite finishing any of them.  Do you know that feeling?
I did find the time on Saturday to volunteer with the local food bank and spend some time with friends having a barbecue.  My friend Liz brought strawberries from a local stand that you can see in the Instagram photo below.  I posted this on Facebook and so many people could not believe what they were seeing that I decided to post it here as well.  Yes, that is an adult size hand the berries are sitting in (nice to live in strawberry country).  In the background you can even see the homemade salsa brought by another friend.  A great start to the barbecuing season if I do say so myself.

So on to today.
I was cleaning up the work table this morning when I had an epiphany about the numbers I used in last weeks project...."these are a great size for home decor".   In fact, in my world, they are the perfect size and the perfect font.

So, I marched directly to the family room an pulled a couple vintage items, a wood box (which I collect) and a wood bench (okay, I have a few of those too).  Both have a really great color but lack decoration of any sort.

I call that the perfect blank slate.

Back down the hall to the workroom.
Out comes the Distress Paint Black Soot and a non-stick craft sheet to squeeze a bit of paint onto.  Of course the stamps were right there so I just needed a Grid-bock to mount the stamp on and some baby wipes to clean them afterward.
I started with the wood box.  The wood was pretty bumpy so chances are I will need a small paintbrush to fill in the missing spots after stamping.

Ink up the stamp (any number will do) with the Distress Paint.

I stamped the box and sure enough, I felt like I needed to paint in some of the missing spaces.  It was really easy to do.  I used a small flat brush for the larger parts and a tiny rounded tip brush for the skinny bits.

Just for comparison: The 5 has just been stamped (you really could leave as is depending on how much distress you like) and the 3 has been stamped and painted in.  The lines were really easy to follow.

 

This is what they looked like once I finished painting.  I could have made them completely black but I wanted a bit of roughness showing.

 

Now just load in a few things....a ceramic pitcher from Pottery Barn bought many years ago, a restaurant number holder with a vintage sign and a nice hanging ivy.  Perfect centerpiece for the game table when not in use.

Now for the bench.  I decided I wanted the numbers on the end.
The wood used to make the bench was much smoother than the box so I just had to stamp this time.
I used the 2 x 7" Grid-block for stamping.  I used the lines on the block to center each number, then each time I stamped I used the top edge of the block as a guide (top arrow) as it touches the underside of the bench top.  As long as I placed each number on the same grid line (bottom arrow), then each number would be at the same level.  Perfect way to avoid crooked numbers.

Remember to stamp, then lift straight up for the best impression. 

Having the other number stamps on the wood while I was stamping helped me keep the correct distance between the numbers.

 

Here it is completed.

I dried the paint with my Heat it tool for a couple minutes, then back out the family room.  This bench sit by my husbands chair (of course it normally has the remote control on top).  Love the detail the number stamp brings to the plain little homemade bench.
I seriously couldn't be happier about both projects (I am quite sure I can find more things to stamp numbers on too).

Cheers for a great week!
(and prayers to get at least one thing checked off my list before I start another project)
 paula

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