Birthday Present How to

For Clint's Birthday I made this wall art.
I always have such a hard time deciding what to get Clint for his Birthday
because we both just get what we want throughout the year.
So after stressing....I decided to make something that showed him how much I love him.

This is the Inspiration....It is from the adorable Chasing Fireflies. I Love that catalog.
This one costs $278.00
Crazy right? They are practically identical
(Chasing Fireflies)

I bought a long piece of 1"x2" and a large piece of 1/4" wood
I decided what size I wanted it to be and I gave those measurements to the wonderful
Michael Welch, and he did the amazing stuff.
He went way above and beyond what I was planning on doing.
He cut the 1x2 with the measurements that I gave him and gave the corners 45 degree cuts
He then routed out a 1/4 inch down the middle of each side
The 1/4 inch piece fit in perfectly. Snug as a bug.

Then it got pinned together for extra strength.

I wanted the frame to look like raw aged wood.
(just like the inspiration)
I looked up on line and used a method of soaking some 0000 steel wool in a glass jar of vinegar for 24 hrs. then you just brush the liquid onto the desired wood.
It worked like a charm.

I white washed the 1/4 wood and let it dry. Then I printed out the saying on the computer in the font that I wanted. I taped the paper to the wood where I wanted it and with a ball point pen I traced the saying. This makes a little indentation onto the wood so that when you remove the paper you can see the saying and just paint within the indented lines.
After the paint was dry I gave it a quick sand. and then I was done.

I love how it turned out and that it is something so personal that I made for Clint.
The other great thing is that I can use it in my Valentine decorating.

linked to:
Transformation Thursday