365 Designs: DIY Fall Décor & help with your Cleaning Conundrums

Hi Design readers! I hope everyone had a great summer. Doesn’t it always go by so fast. Now that the season is winding down and autumn is moving in, it’s a great time to do a little fall cleanup. Open the windows, put in the screen door, and enjoy the cool autumn weather. I’ve gathered a couple of great fall checklists from a few of my favorite websites for you to look at. And, to help you guys out with some of that fall cleaning, I’ll be holding a give-away for one of my all time favorite cleaning products.

This month 365Designs, as well as nine other blogs, will be giving away a Dyson DC59 Motorhead vacuum to one lucky reader! That’s right. It’s the awesome vacuum you’ve seen everywhere and always wanted but never got around to buying. Don’t you love it!

But before we get to the giveaway let me show you this super simple craft that’s fun and easy to make. Oh and don’t forget to check out these sites for some great fall cleaning and organizing tips.

MarthaStewart.com is the easiest place to start with a visual slideshow of great ways to prep your entire house and yard for fall.
OrganizedHome.com gives an extensive guide on fall cleanup complete with printable checklists.
HGTV.com has a plethora of great tips for cleaning and organizing your entire home.
RealSimple.com provides and interactive checklist to stay organized all season long.

Keep reading for a chance to win a Dyson DC59 Motorhead over $500 retail value!

You’ll Need:

3 1/2” x 12” Pine Board
Jute twine & Raffia
Tight Weave Burlap
2” Stencils
Acrylic Paint in brown
Martha Stewart Crafts® Glitter in Brownstone

Step One…Prep your board.

I purchased this piece of pine board from AC Moore. It just happens to be the perfect size and needs no cutting. The wood was a little too light for me so I decided to stain it. You can make a quick and easy wood stain by simply diluting your acrylic paint in equal parts water. The more water you add the less opaque the color becomes allowing more of the wood grain to show through.

Step Two…Fray the burlap.

This next part gets a little messy since your dealing with burlap. (*see Dyson DC59 Motorhead Giveaway!) Pulling apart burlap tends to leave fiber shreds EVERYWHERE. What you need to do is cut the burlap to the same size as the craft board. Pull about three strands of jute off each edge of the burlap. Using basic PVA glue(Elmer’s white glue) paint the surface of the board and lie the burlap onto to adhere.

Step Three…Stencil.

For this sign a stencil with 2” letters seems to work perfectly. The important thing to remember when stenciling is to center the word. Sometimes it helps to stencil the word with a pencil on tracing paper. Lay the paper over the sign to make sure it’s exactly what you want. Also be sure to give the paint enough time to dry before moving on to the next letter. It doesn’t have to be fully dry, just enough so it won’t smudge.

Step Four…Glitter.

After the paint has dried you can begin to apply the glitter. (Warning, glitter is EXTREMELY messy and WILL get everywhere – once again see Dyson DC59 Motorhead giveaway!) I really love this glitter from Martha Stewart Crafts® called Brownstone. I used it along with the same brand of glittering glue which comes with a fine tip applicator. This was perfect for highlighting just the tops and sides of the letters. After the glitter has dried brush it off onto a piece of manila folder or other paper. You can empty the unused glitter right back into the container.

Step Five…Drill & Glue.

Now your almost ready to hang the sign. First your going to make a simple bow from Raffia and attach it to the top with either hot glue or white PVA glue. Next you want to drill holes on both sides large enough for your jute twine to easily fit through. A 1/8" drill bit should work well. *In the photo below you can see I originally used copper colored paint. I found that it just wasn’t dark enough so I went with a deep brown acrylic enamel paint. String the jute through the holes and tie off.

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You can also make this work with any variety of greetings.

Try using different colors within the neutral or earth tone palette.

You also might want to give it a quick spray with a water protective sealant
if you plan on keeping it outdoors.

How great was that! Simple and easy.

Design Accomplished!

Oh, and don’t forget to enter the

Dyson DC59 Motorhead giveaway below.

It’s a retail value of $549 !!!

To Enter Dyson DC59 Motorhead Givaway:

First, visit the Dyson homepage here to learn about all of the exciting ways to use the Dyson DC59 Motorhead!
Next, leave a comment below answering the question: "What is your dreamspace and what Dyson DC59 Motorhead feature do you enjoy the most?"

Good Luck!

Contest Rules

Winner will randomly be selected from a comment on one of the ten participating blogs. The winner will be announced Wednesday September 24th 2014. Contestants are in part responsible for responding by October 1st 2014 to provide contact information in such case your are chosen as the winner. Contest is limited to US Residents 18 yrs. of age and older. One entry per person no purchase necessary. Any information gathered will be used solely for the purpose of the contacting contest winner. Ends 12:00AM PDT 09/24/14. Odds of winning are determined by total entries at the time of contest end.