Decorative Wall Crown Tutorial

I need a crown! No, that is not an ploy to make sure my family know I should to be treated like a queen (ha!) and no, there was no costume party... not that type of crown. I was looking for the type of crown that hangs on the wall and usually has some kind of fabric hanging down from it. I found pictures on line....

like this on Pinterest...





and this, also on Pinterest...



....but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. How can I make it for less? Here is what I came up with.

Materials

Foam core board
Metal decorated edge trim or flat lace 1.5" tall
Lace 4" tall
1"x1.5" piece of wood-36" long. (I think I bought it at A.C.Moore's by the doweling)
Tacky glue
Plastic wrap
Gold spray paint (or any color you want)
Small 'L' brackets-2

First I guessed at about how big I wanted my crown using a tape measure bent into a semi-circle. Also I was trying to use what I had on hand! I cut a piece of  foam core board 20" long by 4" wide using a metal ruler and an Exacto knife. Tip: make several passes at it, do not try to cut all the way through the first time and put something underneath to protect your floor, table, ect.

My 20" x 4" piece of foam core wouldn't bend enough and I did not want to break it. This is where my obsession with home improvement shows pays off a bit. On one side I measured out and marked approximately 1" intervals; about 19 marks. At the first mark, with my Exacto knife, I cut across the board, cutting about 1/2 way through the foam. (Be careful not to cut all the way through.) Just a hair next to that first cut I made another cut parallel to it but at a slight angle into the first cut. I used the tip of the knife to dig out some of the foam to form a channel. I repeated that procedure another 18 times or so until the 20" long foam core board has about 19 very thin channels cut into it. This will be the inside of the crown. Now your board will bend nicely but still have good structure.

I wanted my crown to have points. I purchased a 4" deep piece of lace with pointy things to go at the top of my crown. Laying my board flat I measured a piece of lace to match. My lace has tall points that would have made me cut into one of the points making it uneven. I chose to shorten my board a smidge to fit the lace pattern. Pull out a cookie sheet or cutting board and cover it with plastic wrap. Pour some Tacky glue into a bowl and put your lace into it. Using your fingers really try to work the glue into the lace. This takes some effort, don't skimp.  When it is sufficiently saturated lay the lace out flat on the plastic wrap. I wanted my lace to fan out at the top so I rolled up a piece of tin foil and scooted it up under the plastic wrap to push up the top edge of the lace. Leave it to dry. Depending on the weather this can take a couple days.

There is a "lace" at the bottom of the crown. On my crown I used a piece of metal trim that I had laying around from a project from several years ago.

If you do not have this or cannot find it, don't worry, just use another piece of lace. This lace should be about 1.5" wide. Cut it about 1" longer than your board. Follow the same steps you just did for the top lace. Lay it flat on the plastic wrapped cutting board to dry.

Once your lace is completely dry pull it off the plastic. The plastic may stick a bit, don't worry. Use tweezers to pull bits off. Run a generous amount of glue where your top piece of lace will lay on the foam core board. In my case it was about the top 2" of the board. I laid the lace on top of that. Do the same for the bottom lace making sure to have about 3/4-1" hanging below the board. You should have about 1/2" extra on either side. Just wrap it around the foam core to the back side. Run your finger along the lace to smooth out any glue poking through the holes. Using another piece of plastic wrap cover your glued lace and put a couple books on top to weigh it down. Let it dry completely. You glue will dry clear. Remove books and plastic.

I cut two pieces of wood from the doweling I purchased at the craft store. Each piece was cut to 13". With a brad nailer or staple gun (this may be too thick for a staple gun- I didn't try it) attach the wood to the ends inside your crown. This will give your crown a nice rounded front.

Yup, I kinda missed. There was no easy way to pull it out without damaging something and so I left it.

The entire thing got a good coating of gold spray paint.

If you are putting this above a bed secure it to the wall with 'L' brackets. It could probably be secured with 3M pieces. Mine was a temporary installment so I didn't need to do anything drastic.  

These photos were taken with my phone. I forgot my camera that night!

And there you have it. Let me know if you try this project! 

Thanks for stopping by.


Partying on the blogs;
The Boondocks Blog, French Country Cottage, The Cottage Market, DIY Vintage Chic, Creatively Homemade, Life With Lorelai, The Charm of Home, The Pin Junkie, Pieced Pastimes, One More Time Events, Finding Silver Pennies, Nifty Thrifty Things, Create With Joy, Re Do It Yourself, Ducks n'a row, DIY Showoff, The Stonybrook House, Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Skip To My Lou, Plucky's Second Thought, Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Coastal Charm, Mad In Crafts, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Celebrate and Decorate, Cupcakes and Crinoline, Home Stories A to Z, Lou Lou Girls, A Stroll Thru Life, Our Home Away From Home, April J Harris-Hearth and Soul, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Ducks n'a Row, The DIY Dreamer, Savvy Southern Style, My Repurposed Life, Gingersnap Crafts, DIY By Design, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Katherine's Corner, The Vintage Nest, Joyful Homemaking, Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Imparting Grace, Up To Date Interiors, The Pin Junkie, The Charm of Home

BBQ Sign Tutorial

On a trip to vintage and antiques fair last summer Mister picked up some tin letters and commented that we should make a sign for his barbecue area in the back yard. Hmm....I picked up two B's and a Q, with no specific plan-but, really, when has that stopped me?

Many weeks (or months) later inspiration struck and off I went to the hardware store. I bought one piece of 1x4 (which is actually 1 x 3.5). I bought an 8 foot length and cut three 24" lengths. Why not purchase a 6 foot length, you ask? You want to make sure to cut the end off so you have a nice, square end. Then, cut your lengths.

Apply a coat of stain making sure to get all the sides and ends. When the stain has dried turn the pieces face down. I used paint sticks for spacers and laid the three pieces next to each other.

The pieces were secured in that configuration using mending plates and screws. Make sure you are using short screws, less than the width of you wood, so that you do not go through the front of your piece.

I laid the metal letters on the wood and here is where I kinda thought uh-oh. There were no hangers on the backs of the letters.

How was I going to keep them on the wood?  I cut six small pieces of wood about 3/4 x 1 1/2". I traced the letters onto the wood for points of reference.

Then, just inside the trace marks I secured the small wood blocks where the flat part of each letter would rest against it. Since these are such small pieces of wood you want to pre-drill a hole in each first then screw them in, otherwise they will split.

My thought was that I could use the brad nailer to secure each letter on the blocks! Genius, right? Umm... no. The brad nailer could not pierce the metal. Now what? Super glue! I tried super glue for metal and wood. I walked away from the project for a few weeks during the Christmas season.

During that time I decided it needed a frame of some sort. I purchased a piece of flat trim from my local home store for a few dollars. None of my photos came out for this step! Sorry.  I cut pieces for the top, bottom and sides. All four pieces were stained Weathered Gray by Verthane. I used the brad nailer to attach them. While doing this step the letters started falling off! The glue was not holding! Gah!

New plan. I drilled holes in the metal letters where they met the wood blocks, being careful to avoid the screws that held each block in place. ( A word to the wise here, metal shards from drilling can be extremely sharp and go in like splinters only FAR worse! Keep sticky tape near by to clean off the drill bit and pick up the metal bits.)

I set the letters in place and drilled back through the hole with a very small bit into the wood block- again trying to avoid splitting. Don't go too deep; you want the nail to catch something.  I secured each letter, top and bottom to the wood blocks with a nail. It took a little finessing and a nail set as the trim work was in the way of getting a clean shot.

I did apply a coat of poly on the outside trim but left the inside wood with just the stain. I have not put hangers on the back yet as we are not sure where it will hang exactly so when we figure it out we will adjust accordingly.

Here is the finished product. I can't wait for warmer weather so we can take it outside and hang it!

Linking up to these parties!
French Country Cottage, The Cottage Market, The DIY Village. DIY Vintage Chic, Creatively Homemade, Life With Lorelai, The Pin Junkie, The Charm of Home, Chic On A Shoestring, Ms.Toody Goo Shoes, The Boondocks Blog, Pieced Pastimes, One More Time Events. The DIY Showoff, Finding Silver Pennies, Nifty Thrifty Things, Create With Joy, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Skip To My Lou, Strangers and Pilgrims On Earth, Coastal Charm, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Our Home Away From Home, Flamingo Toes, Cupcakes and Crinoline, Creatively Living, Plucky's Second Thought, Lou Lou Girls, Celebrate and Decorate, A Stroll Thru Life, A Bowl Full of Lemons, The Painted Hinge, Savvy Southern Style, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Gingersnap Crafts, DIY By Design, Ducks n'a Row, My Repurposed Life, The Vintage Nest, Joyful Homemaking, A Cup of Mrs. Olson, A Delightsome Life, Up To Date Interiors, Charm Bracelet Diva, Olives n Okra, Craftberry bush, Imparting Grace, Home Stories A to Z, Mad In Crafts, The Crafty Blog Stalker