Tracey in Maine

On the second day of blogmas let’s help one another and ourselves.

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
― Charles Dickens

Your need for help

Admit that you need help, acceptance is the first step towards getting better. You can only heal if you realise what is happening to you and how to get better.

It is okay to look for help, you cannot do everything on your own. You don’t have to be on your own the entire time, you can lean on others for help. There is no shame in asking for help. Don’t forget what Dumbledore said,

“Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.”
–Albus Dumbledore

Getting help is vital for your growth if you want to evolve, accept all the help that you can get.

Most importantly, self love is the…

On the twelfth day of blogmas, I am sharing a 12-step guide to have a perfect mental health reboot day. This is something which works for me, you don’t have to follow all the steps. Feel free to skip a few, change some or add new steps, as it is your day and the guide should be fit to cater to you. By the time you figure out your perfect guide, follow this method.

Step 1

Open the curtains the moment you wake up, don’t leave it for later because you will forget it. Also, sunlight wakes up your body clock faster than anything. You might not even need caffeine to feel awake.

Step 2

Say affirmations to your mirror, however, don’t just say them. Believe in what you are saying, force your brain to agree to the affirmations. There are a lot of affirmations on the internet, I wrote…

I’ve staked a claim on the corner of my family room as a sort of makeshift office for myself. I created an area that has all the essential supplies necessary to help run a household. While I was able to get things done in this space, I never really wanted to spend more time than necessary at my desk…until now. I injected a big dose of personality into my corner of the room with some handmade shelves and pieces of art that make me happy. I’ve noticed that I’m not the only one drawn to this new space. The entire family is spending more time in the room thanks so this fun DIY project.

Supplies:
1 – Walnut Hollow 5-inch Bark Edge Board
2 – Walnut Hollow 18-inch Bark Edge Boards
4 – #10 Screw Hooks
1/4-inch Manila Rope
Electric Drill

Step 1: Use an electric drill to drill two…

I love using shadow boxes as shelves for little knick-knacks around my house, but sometimes I wish they had a few extra compartments! I’ve found the perfect solution to make custom shadow box shelves with the amazing Walnut Hollow Bark Edge Shadow Boxes and Bark Edge Boards! The beautiful bark edge basswood boards and shadow boxes match up so perfectly, it’s like they were meant to be together.  And it’s really so simple to customize them to fit any configuration.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your Bark Edge Shadow Box Shelves:

• Walnut Hollow Bark Edge Shadow Box (Large or Small)
• Walnut Hollow Bark Edge Board – 2″
• Wood Glue
• Hand Held Saw
• Sandpaper
• Measuring tape or Ruler

First, you’ll need to decide how many shelves or compartments you want to add to your Bark Edge Shadow Box.  For my small Shadow box I just wanted to add one shelf…

I’m one of those people who has always loved to organize things.  A well organized studio just makes me extremely happy and I love looking at containers, carts and other storage solutions. So, for today’s project I wanted to show y’all how I turned one of  Rustic Divided Tray (by Walnut Hollow!) into a supply carousel that I can place near my desk to keep my most used supplies handy!

Supplies:

• Rustic Divided Tray
• DecoArt Vintage Effect Wash
• DecoArt Extreme Sheen Acrylic Paint
• Navy Blue Acrylic Paint
• Arrow Stencil
• 1″ Foam Brush
• 1/2″ Paint Brush
• Stencil Brush
• Paper Towels
• Lazy Susan Turntable Bearing
• Strong Adhesive

Step one: Start by giving your Rustic Divided Tray a bit of color. I used a 1″ foam brush to apply vintage effect wash onto the wood. After it was completely covered, I used a paper towel to wipe away any excess paint.  The foam…

String art is beautiful and trendy! It’s very simple to do, too! But you can take your string art up a notch by adding fun textures and elements to the finished product to give it some more depth and character! I made this pretty String art wreath on a beautiful Walnut Hollow Basswood Country Round wood slice, and added some silk flowers for a lovely pop of color!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own String Art Wreath:

• Walnut Hollow Basswood Country Round (I used an Extra Large size)
• Printable Wreath Guide
• Wire Brad Nails (7/8th inch)
• Hammer
• Embroidery Thread in Shades of Green
• Scissors
• Artificial Flowers

Step one:

Print and trim the Printable wreath guide to fit on your Basswood Round.   Tape it into place.

String Art Leaf Guide Printable

Step two: 

Hammer a nail into each dot on the guide.    Be careful not to hammer your…

Have you seen the Framed Sign trend yet? I’ve seen so many cute signs in stores and Walnut Hollow makes a few different sizes and shapes of framed wood signs so that you can make your own, so that’s exactly what we’ll be doing today!

I’ve added some fun, witty, sayings onto mine.

Supplies:

• Walnut Hollow Framed Signs
• Transfer Paper
• Quotes to Transfer
• Paint Markers
• Painter’s Tape
• Color Stain
• 1″ Foam Brush

I turned the saying I used into some pdf patterns you can print out if you want:

• DIY Framed Quote Signs (1)
• DIY Framed Quote Signs (2)
• DIY Framed Quote Signs (3)

How to Paint Framed Quote Signs:

Step one:

I painted the inside area of my framed sign with a white color stain (by DecoArt).  Once that was dry, I taped off the inside, and painted the frame with a black color stain, which really helps the…