This project really started out when I found a random piece of MDF in my scrap wood pile. I do a lot of woodworking projects these days. You may have seen the awesome Picnic Table I built, which turned out VERY nicely. I’ve done a lot more than that that hasn’t appeared on the site yet, but maybe they will eventually. Anyway, I have a lot of scrap wood. So I had this piece of MDF which was around 12 inches by 18 inches or so. I thought it would make a great base for a sign.

I searched through my craft stash to figure out what I could do, and the first thing I figured out is that I needed to paint it. MDF isn’t like other wood that has nice grain and can be left plain. It really needed to have a good base before I could do anything else. I grabbed some of my Waverly Chalk Paint in white and painted a nice base layer.

By the time I was done, I was already convinced that I wanted a nice buffalo check background. I thought it would really fit in my farmhouse style, and it was neutral enough that I could go bold on the foreground. I had some buffalo check contact paper that would work, but it had too big of a pattern.

I kept searching, and I eventually found a packet of napkins that I’d bought from Target’s Dollar Spot at some point. It had a tiny buffalo check pattern that would work perfectly. I decided I’d just use some Mod Podge to add it to the board, and that would work perfectly.

I had to separate the layers of the napkins, as the buffalo check was only on the top layer. The second layer was pure white. I thought it would look better if it was a really thin layer. I was fine if the napkins ripped or tore. I wanted it to be distressed in the end. I even thought it might fade a bit and become more transparent once the Mod Podge was added.

Spoiler alert – it didn’t.

In fact, the Mod Podge kind of made the napkins look darker and shinier than I wanted, and I was kind of disappointed with the end result. D’oh!

I waited until the Mod Podge was completely dry, and then I went at the edges with a sanding block. I tried to distress the edges and even the main face a bit, but I realized in the end that it wasn’t actually that important. The main face of the piece wasn’t really going to be seen much, as I intended to cover it up with the main elements anyway.

While the Mod Podge had been drying, I had searched again through my stash and found another Target treasure. This wooden cutout sign was one of many I had hidden away, and it seemed perfect for this project. It fit exactly right in the space I had available, and it only needed a bit of paint to stand out.

I broke out another bottle of Waverly Chalk Paint, this time in red, and I gave the cutout a nice even coat. I love this paint because it drives pretty quickly. Especially on a little piece like this – the wood was dry almost before I finished painting it!

I used my Surebonder Cordless Hot Glue Gun to affix it to the sign, and it was looking pretty good.

Side note: I love my glue gun. I can’t stop recommending it to people. If you are a crafter, please do yourself a favor and buy one, as it is honestly the best one you can get. They have different sizes, but this one has been the most versatile for my needs. It has not ever failed me. I also HIGHLY recommend you use Gorilla glue sticks, as they work the best. I have tried so many other brands, and my crafts seem to come apart eventually. I have NEVER had that happen with my Gorilla glue crafts. End side note.

For the bottom of the sign, I had a bunch of different ideas. I thought about using a photo clip so we could add different photos or Christmas cards or whatever, but I hated that it would mean a blank background most of the time. I didn’t want that. I also didn’t want anything flat. I needed it to be more 3D.

I found this old gift bag that Hallmark had sent me at some point many years ago. I had saved it because I really liked the decoration on the front. I wanted to incorporate it on this project somehow. But it was too small on its own.

I finally decided that I would make a little wreath. I could affix the little deer decoration on the front of the wreath, and it would be super cute. But first I had to find some greenery. I had already used most of my garlands for other projects, but I had this weird thin plasticy garland I had bought a while back and not used, so I decided I would use it to make a wreath for this project. It seemed perfect.

As it turned out, this garland wasn’t as bad as I had originally thought it. It had little branches that fluffed it up as it went, and it made a really cute wreath. I may have to go and make a few more with it! I sized this one so that it would be a little oversized on the outside, but the middle would be perfect for the paper deer detail.

Of course the wreath was a bit bare on its own, so I dug out some of my Dollar Tree florals to give it a bit of OOMPH. I had some oak leaves and some red and white berry type stems that I was able to cut up and hot glue to my wreath. I found some baby’s breath, as well, so it really helped to complete the look.

Every time I thought I was overdoing it, I added a bit more because you just can’t trust that you have added enough. At least I can’t. I usually just walk away for a minute or two, then I come back and notice a ton of empty spots.

Once I was happy with the wreath, I glued on the deer head detail to finish it off.

I went back and forth on whether or not to make the wreath a permanent fixture on this board. I could have glued on a hook and made the wreath removable. It would have been quite simple, and then I could have changed it out for other wreathes or even tried my original idea of adding Christmas cards or photos. But the more I thought on it, the more I wanted this to be a permanent sign. So I grabbed that glue gun and went to town gluing the wreath to the board.

I think it turned out really well. It looks great, and it stands out as really Christmassy. One thing that I hadn’t thought about much was the weight. Obviously all of the elements on the sign are super lightweight. But the board itself is 3/4 inch MDF, which at 12 x 18 inches, weight about 4 pounds all on its own. YIKES.

That’s a pretty hefty sign to hang on a wall. So I thought I’d see what it looked like just sitting on a shelf instead. Perhaps I could style it nicely that way.

On a shelf wasn’t too bad, I don’t think. It looked pretty good in my craft room. I could definitely see it on my sideboard in the dining room or somewhere like that. But it really was intended to hang, so I just had to try. I used a heavy duty D-ring picture hanger on the back. These will support up to 40 lbs, so my sign should be no sweat. I hung it on my wall in my craft room just to check how it looked. I wish I’d tried it on a colorful wall, though, so I could really see it shine.

I do prefer it hanging, as the wreath can spread downward as it is meant to do. I just think it looks good when it’s not squished up. But maybe you disagree?

I’d love to know what you think. Would you make something like this? Or is it too far out of your style? What do you think of the buffalo check background? Would you have done it differently? Let me know!

Don’t forget to pin this for later!

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I found this super cute little table at our local DI (that’s Deseret Industries, a church-run thrift store chain found here in Utah) for $5 last summer. It has been used in various places in my home, and it’s looks good pretty much anywhere. We’ve used it as a kid’s dining table, a craft table, a coffee table and even a bench! The wings fold down so that you can have it as a circular table or more rectangular.

It really needed to be refinished, as there were lots of scratches and stains on it. But since there’s a lot of wood in our house already, I wanted something a little bolder and more fun. I originally intended to just use chalk paint and distress it, but that still didn’t seem like it would be enough. But I was stumped on what to do. I decided to just paint it white and see what ideas I could come up with.

I started with the underside, turning it upside down and painting underneath. I didn’t bother with the middle, as I knew it would never be seen, but I made sure to do the wings.

I used some white chalk paint that I found at Walmart, but I would not use it again. It was super thick and didn’t spread well at ALL. It also lacked coverage. I didn’t mind too much, though, as I knew I wasn’t going for an all white look. I figured whatever white showed through at the end, I could just distress it a bit and make it look intentional.

Once the underside and legs were dry to the touch (about an hour), I turned it over and painted the rest. I then left the whole thing for about four hours until it was completely dry.

Once I saw it full white, I knew immediately what I wanted to do. I had found several rolls of black and white wrapping paper in various patterns at Michaels for $1 each. I had polkadots, chevrons, and even Moroccan print. I decided that the polkadots would be easiest to match up, so I grabbed my roll and my tub of mod podge and went to work.

I folded down the sides and focussed on the top of the table first. Since my roll of wrapping paper was exactly the same width as the table, I just laid it lengthwise across the top until I had a piece big enough to cover the whole thing. Since the ends were rounded, I knew I’d have to trim it, so I made sure there was enough overhang to reach every spot.

I then used my brush to give the top of the table a nice layer of Mod Podge. I put it on somewhat thickly because the wrapping paper was very thin, and I wanted to get good adhesion the first time. I knew if I had to pull it up to redo it, the paper would rip.

One of the big problems that I had is that the paper (being so thin) wrinkled spectacularly right away. And as I used scissors to cut the edges, I found that the wet paper kind of tore a bit making it look a little jagged. I didn’t mind too much, as I like when things look a little distressed, but if you are fussy about these things, you’ll want to be very careful. It may have been smarter to let it all dry before cutting the excess.

Once everything was trimmed and smoothed out the best I could get it, I added another layer of Mod Podge right on top. I made sure to go over the edges so that the ends would stay down and not curl over time. I then let it dry for about an hour before moving on to the wings.

I followed the same steps for the wings of the table as I had for the top. I laid down my layer of Mod Podge, and then I laid my paper on top. But this time I had to take extra care to line up the paper correctly so that the polkadots would be seamless. It wasn’t very difficult (one of the reasons I chose the polkadots!), but as mentioned before the paper tears easily, so preparation is key!

I did both sides of the table, making sure to finish with a layer of Mod Podge. I left it to dry for about four hours and then added one last layer of Mod Podge to the top of the whole table.

Finally, I left the whole thing to dry for about 24 hours to ensure it would not be sticky or gammy in any way.

When I was satisfied that it was dry, I took some black chalk paint, and I went around the outer edge of the table, where the paper looked jagged. Unfortunately I no longer liked the “distressed” look and thought it was quite sloppy. The black paint made it look a lot more polished.

I also used the paint on the legs where there was a tiny little detail around them. It broke up all the white quite nicely.

In the end, I loved how it turned out. I learned a lot from this experience that I can take with me into my next project.

It looks really great, whether the wings are up or down, and it really jazzes up the space. It is super cute and whimsical, which makes me so happy!

I think if I had to do it again, I’d be a little more careful with the painting of the edges, using a smaller brush and some painter’s tape to make sure the lines are crisp. But I still think it looks wonderful as is, and since I had everything on hand, it was such a cheap project to do!

What do you think? Isn’t it an amazing transformation!? I can’t wait until I can pull up the ugly carpet and paint the walls and make the rest of the room as cute as this table!

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