One Word: SHIPLAP
It's taken the nation by storm. It's been around much longer than Joanna Gaines, but she introduced it to the millions of Fixer Upper addicts and we ALL got hooked. How is it, that by just adding those perfectly spaced horizontal boards to any room makes it 1000 times better?
There are now tons, and I mean TONS of ways out there to get the look of shiplap, the real tongue and groove boards, the fake stuff (which is just plywood ripped into boards), the wallpaper, all of which are great! But... while I am a shiplap lover myself, I have to question... when will this "shiplap fad fade?". When will shiplap become the salmon colored carpet and oak cabinets of the 90's? Or the dark wood paneling of the 80's? Granted, shiplap is classic. You really cant go wrong with shiplap. But, when you get into to gluing and nailing boards to your drywall, you are kind of committed at that point. You're in it for the long haul. What of you are a renter (like I am) and long to add some character to your home? Or what if spending all of that money on wood or wallpaper just isn't an option? Well, I have a solution to ALL of those problems.
Ready for it?
PAINTED SHIPLAP
Yes, painted. All you need is paint. No damage to your drywall, no spending $300+ on wood and supplies (not to mention tools). Just paint. And when you decide 5 years from now that the "shiplap look" is a little too "farmhouse-y" for you, just paint back over it!
Did I mention that it looks oh so real and you can't even tell it's NOT the real thing?
Yes, even from a foot away it looks like REAL shiplap. Okay, so enough of me trying to sell you on why this version of shiplap is so much better, lets get down to how to create your own shiplap wall.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- Paint: I used Sherwin Williams - White Batten
[Bought at Lowes]
- Paint Brush
- Paint Roller + Roller Brush
- Paint Tray + Liner
- Painter's Tape: I used the 3M brand
- Tape Measure
- Pencil
- Level
- Two pieces of wood trim (1x1)
- Chalk Paint + Small Brush
HOW TO:
1. Start by painting your wall.
For mine, I used 3 coats since I was covering a darker colored wall and wanted to be sure I had enough coverage. White paint always takes more coats than other colors to get an even look.
2. Measure out your "boards".
The average width of shiplap is approx 6", which is what I measured mine at. You can always adjust to the width you are wanting depending on the look you are going for.
3. Draw out your lines.
Placing your level on the wall, start where you marked out your lines and place the pencil above the level, then draw the length of the level. Continue on moving the level and marking until you have reached the other mark on the opposite wall.
4. Tape it.
Using your painter's tape, place the tape both above and below the pencil line about a nickel thickness apart. Take your time with this step and make sure your tape is straight and that where you start a new piece of tape, that it overlaps evenly.
5. This part is important so listen up!
Before you ever touch those lines with black paint, go back over them with your wall color. This will seal the tape edges and insure that there will be no bleed through from the black paint. You are creating "shiplap" here so you want crisp clean lines! Just to be on the cautionary side, I painted 2 coats of the base wall color and let completely dry before moving onto the next step.
6. Now, for the lines.
I have seen other affordable versions of shiplap include using a sharpie for the lines or just black craft paint. Yes, they both work, but here is why I chose to use chalk paint. When you look at real shiplap, the gap is basically a shadow between the boards. Its not a harsh black line. Therefore, I wanted to replicate that look at much as possible. Annie Sloan - Graphite is not a true black, it has more of a gray tone in it and is matte which I also love. Nothing will scream fake shiplap like a glossy line across your walls. I used a smaller paint brush to apply the paint and did two coats just to be sure I got enough coverage.
7. Time to reveal!
Take off the painters tape while the chalk paint is almost dry. Chalk paint dries fast so you wont have to wait long...And now marvel at those crisp clean lines!
8. Paint and add the wood trim.
Using wood trim, either doing a full room and using it on the corners or doing an accent wall and using them to define the shiplap, the trim adds the finishing touch and makes at appear as real shiplap.
So,what's the final verdict? Does it look like the real thing? I just love how adding the shiplap totally transforms this space. It brings attention to the fireplace and draws your eye upwards. Not to mention, everything just looks better against shiplap.
BEFORE + AFTER:
I hope that this post was helpful in showing you that shiplap and adding character to you home doesn't have to be costly nor permanent. Thanks for reading along!
Today's project completely wasn't planned. I had just put my youngest down for her morning nap when I walked past an olive bucket which I had put two brown craft paper pumpkins in with some greenery. I thought to myself "those really would look pretty with some flowers in them!" I have a whole Pinterest board of pretty floral fall pumpkins and have always wanted to make one for myself, but of course, never got around to it... well, unexpectedly, today was the day and done completely with what I had around the house! Score. If you don't just happen to have things around your home like my craft hoarding self, this project still wont cost you much at all and is so worth it when its done! Plus, its all fake so you can keep it, store it and enjoy it year after year! No rotting pumpkins or flowers here. Okay, so here is what you will need from start to finish to complete the project;
SUPPLY LIST:
- Paper Craft Pumpkin
- Faux Eucalyptus Bunch
- Floral Greenery Stems/ Bunches (I used 3 different ones)
- Brown Moss
- Bamboo Faux Flowers
- Floral Foam
- Green Floral Wire
- Scissors
- Knife
[All supplies used were purchased at Hobby Lobby]
STEP BY STEP:
1. Start by cutting the top stem of the pumpkin off to give you a flat surface.
2. Next, take your floral foam block and cut it into a square
about the size of the center of the pumpkin.
3. You will then want to cut off the corners of the square to make it into an octagon.
4. Once your shape is cut, take a sharpie and trace around the shape onto the pumpkin.
5. Take your knife and cut into the pumpkin INSIDE of the sharpie line. You will want the hole to be slightly smaller than the foam itself so it will fit in snugly.
6. Once your hole is cut, place the floral foam inside. It should be a tight fit, which is what you want, to hold the foam in place. Apply light pressure when fitting it into the opening, leaving approx 3 inches of foam sticking out of the top of the pumpkin.
7. For my greenery, I decided to use pieces that I cut off of a larger garland, because of that, the stems themselves did not have wire in them and were just plastic. The stems were not strong enough to place in the foam itself. To fix this problem, I wrapped each stem in green floral wire, making them easier to place into the foam and bend in the direction that I wanted them to. If you end up working with greenery that has no wire in it's stems, you can easily cut approx 3 inches of floral wire and wrap it around each stem.
8. For the faux eucalyptus leaves, I wrapped wire around them as well. I took each individual leaf off of the larger stem. I wanted the leaves to stick out slightly further to add a variety in height and dimension. I used about 6 inches of wire for these, and I chose to bend the wire in half first, making a stronger stem to stick into the foam.
8. Now for the fun part! Putting it all together!
You will want to start with your long flow-y base floral first.
9. Next, Add in more of the shorter base greenery completely around the bottom of the floral foam.
10. Start filling in with the rest of your greenery and flowers, alternating where you place them. You want to have a variety throughout the arrangement.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT:
After finishing the arrangement, I still felt like it needed something extra...
So, I went ahead and finished off the base of the greenery with some brown moss.
It would have been much more beneficial to do this step first and actually hot glue it into place, but I never seem to know exactly what I want from the beginning. Plus, as I mentioned, this was kind of an on the whim project! For mine, I just shoved the clumps of moss up underneath the base greenery and it works! I've moved the arrangement a few times and it has yet to come lose.
Thank you friends for stopping by and reading! I'm hoping this tutorial inspired you to create your own pumpkin arrangement! It really was a breeze to make and took a little less than an hour and a half total. A nice little soothing craft time while the kiddos nap...
If you follow along with my Instagram, you know that last month we had to evacuate due to hurricane Irma. Unfortunately, my husband had to stay behind to work for the police department, so the girls and I loaded up and headed to South Carolina to stay with family. While there, what better thing to do when you don't know if you will have a home to go back to other than go antique shopping? Yes, I know, I am probably the only woman on this planet that would plan to buy things for her home while evacuated, but seriously, South Carolina has some of THE BEST antique shops and markets! I have been wanting a tobacco basket for a long time, but never found one anywhere near my price range. Yes, I know they are worth every penny, but this lady just doesn't have a lot of pennies to spend. When I came across this one, rough shape and all, I loved it and it cost exactly as much as the amount in my wallet (which wasn't much). Luckily we ended up did having a home to go back to after the hurricane passed and thankfully very little water damage to just a few spots. So I loaded up all of my treasures and finds and headed back to Georgia.
When deciding on how to decorate my mantle for fall, again as stated in my previous post, I wanted to stick with neutrals, simple and with a touch of rustic. The tobacco basket sure was rustic. I was able to buy the greenery all at Hobby Lobby. I used two different garlands and attached them to the tobacco basket using floral greenery wire. Added in little bits of falling greenery and eucalyptus stems. The flowers are also from Hobby Lobby in the dried flower section, but they are actually made out of bamboo! Antler pick is also a Hobby Lobby find and brings in that rustic I was wanting.
Again, more of my "evacuation treasures" included some old books that I found along the way that I love using almost everywhere in my home. I chose subtle green and neutrals for the book colors to coordinate along with the theme throughout the rest of my house.
Lastly, I added a felt ball garland from Hobby Lobby on the mantle to add just another texture interest and decided to place the tobacco basket at an angle to create a larger focal point. I really wanted to take advantage of the height of the wall and fill the space. I hope that you found this post inspiring and maybe were able to gather a few ideas for your own home!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
