A Kinder, Prettier "No Soliciting" Sign

For some reason, our subdivision tends to attract solicitors of all stripes. When the doorbell rings, we never know who we'll find standing on our doorstep. Will it be school kids selling overpriced chocolate cashews? College kids urging us to save the rain forests? Juvenile delinquents peddling subscriptions to obscure-magazines-that-will-never-ever-arrive? Landscapers wanting to save our lawn? Zealots wanting to save our souls? With three vocal dogs and a toddler who only naps once in a blue moon, I've come to dread the sound of our doorbell.

I knew that something had to be done, but I wasn't about to hang up a ghastly orange and black plastic "No Soliciting" sign from the hardware store--you may recall my aversion to choosing guaranteed ugly--so I decided to make my own DIY "No Soliciting" sign.

I started with a small wooden 3" x 3" frame from the Dollar Tree. This is what the frame looked like before I started:
Thanks to blogger Melissa at 320 Sycamore for permission to use her "before" photo--I forgot to take my own.

Making the sign is a snap. It's an easy toddler nap time project--assuming that you can find that elusive window of time when a) your toddler is napping and b) no one is ringing your doorbell.

Step 1. Remove the glass and backing and spray paint the frame white.

Step 2. While the frame is drying, create the text using word processing software. I used a font called "Calligraph421 BT" and bolded my text. The words "No Solicitors Please" are in a 28 point font, and the "Friends Welcome" is 24 point. The little graphic in the middle was created with a 22 point "Wingdings" font. (On the off chance that you don't speak Wingdingian, you'll need to type in the letter "V" to create this character. )

Edited 8/11/10 to add: A few people have written to ask how to create the "white text on black background" effect using word processing software. To do this, start by using the "insert" drop down menu to insert a shape onto your blank page (a square, in this case). Use the "fill" feature (the icon looks like a little paint can with paint pouring out) to paint and fill the square black. Insert a text box into this square--change the text box fill color the same way that you did the square, if needed--and then change your text color to white (the icon for changing text color is usually a capital letter "A" with a bar of red under it). Voila!

Step 3: Print out your text and set it aside.

Step 4: After the paint dries but before reassembling the frame, drill two small hanging holes along the top edge. Run a ribbon through the holes and tie in a knot or bow at the top. (I plan to replace my ribbon with a slightly longer one the next time I get a chance to run to the craft store--the ribbon that I used for my sign was actually a handle from a gift bag!)

Step 5: Reassemble the frame, inserting printed text. Tear off the bulky cardboard stand on the back of the frame.

Step 6: Hang the sign where solicitors can't possibly miss it! Sign=$1 Silence=Priceless!

Step 7: When that small neighbor child on your doorstep earnestly points to the word "Solicitors" on your sign and asks, "I'm not a soul-sitter...am I?", go ahead and buy some overpriced chocolate-covered cashews anyway.



If you don't have time to make your own sign, you can buy this one through the Target website for $29.99. Like mine, it's not designed for true outdoor use.
Can't resist picking up more than one of those cute little Dollar Tree frames? Here's another great use for this frame from blogger Melissa at 320 Sycamore, who first introduced me to this particular frame:


This post has been linked to Finding Fabulous and The Shabby Nest.

Five (More) Surprising Things That You Can Transform With Paint

You're on a first-name basis with every employee in the paint department at your local Home Depot. You collect paint chips the way that kids collect baseball cards. You anxiously await the arrival of Spray Paint Season (referred to as "spring" by non-DIYers), and your neighbors hold you personally responsible for the hole in the ozone layer. Think you've painted every paintable surface in your home? Think again! Here are five more surprising things that you can transform with paint:

1. Beaded Trim:

The formerly-beige beaded trim on this (formerly-beige) lampshade did little to enhance the shade. To paint the trim, I started by removing it from the shade (the beads dangle from a band of ribbon, which was attached to the shade with double-sided tape). I used fresh double-sided tape to attach the trim to the edge of a piece of cardboard, and then I painted the trim with spray paint in the backyard, rotating the cardboard so that I could hit both sides in one coat of spray paint. Once the beads were dry, it was easy to adhere the trim to the shade again with more double-sided tape.

2. Art Mats:














Many people use spray paint to paint picture frames, but did you know that you can also transform the mats with a light coat of spray paint? Here's an example from my own home. I loved this collection of black and white photos from my childhood, but the frame had become dated and the formerly-white mat had yellowed over the years. Rather than spring for new custom framing and matting for the photos, I just removed the photos, took the frame apart, and hit the mat and frame with spray paint. The "new" mat and frame look much crisper, though my mom still shakes her head and wonders why the photographer didn't advise her not to wear a shirt with such a busy pattern! Ah, the seventies!

3. Your Plastic Paper Towel Holder:

















Let's say that you move into a house and find that the previous owners have left their formerly-white-but-now-yellow plastic paper towel holder for you. And let's say, just hypothetically mind you, that you're too cheap and/or lazy to drive to the hardware store and plunk down $20 to buy a new one. Well, my hypothetical cheap, lazy friend, if you've got a can of metallic spray paint, you're in luck! There's no need to prime the towel holder; just give it a good cleaning, hit it lightly with a coat or two of spray paint in the backyard, allow it to dry, and hang it back up. Voila!

4. Cabinet Hardware:


It's the oldest Realtor trick in the book, but many homeowners haven't tried it: to update the look of cabinet hardware, simply use spray paint! The cup pulls on this armoire were on sale at Lowe's for 99 cents because they were an odd brushed gold color. After a coat of Rustoleum oil-rubbed bronze spray paint, they fit in nicely with the cabinet knobs, which were factory finished to be oil-rubbed bronze. One painting tip: to avoid paint drips and pooling, opt for several light coats of spray paint rather than one heavy coat.

5. Light Fixtures:





















Who doesn't have at least one outdated shiny brass light fixture lurking somewhere in the house? With the help of a little flat white spray paint, a string of costume pearls, and some inexpensive chandelier shades, this fixture was easily made over from "brassy eek" to shabby chic. A handy way to paint chandeliers is to disconnect them (turn off the electricity first, of course) and hang them from a tree branch in the yard so that you can paint all sides easily.

Can't get enough painting? Click here to read my earlier post about five other surprising things that you can paint!

This post has been linked to: The Shabby Nest and Finding Fabulous

Celebrate!

Wishing you a safe, happy, and relaxing Fourth of July!