Children’s Garden: DIY Upcycled Door
My kids are growing so fast, and while I relish the thought of more freedom for Math Man and me, I recognize that my kids won’t stay little forever. These days, they’re so excited to help me with anything I need (well, except cleaning), so when our Blog with Friends theme for the month of May was “Gifts of the Garden,” my mind went immediately to my children — my own garden of little flowers — and the upcycled door project I was wanting to finish. Thus, my DIY Upcycled Door with the theme of my Children’s Garden.
First, I had to find a door. This isn’t hard considering our old house — now owned by my parents — has tons of old 1930ish doors. There were several they removed for aesthetic reasons, so I claimed them quickly.
So far, so good
Last summer, I created a door that I absolutely love. I’m most proud of the hand lettering I did (without a stencil), and I can’t wait to bring it back out this season. I’m envisioning more props!
Then, I flipped that door over and created a fall themed door. I didn’t want to do anything “typical,” so instead I went with the idea of an apple harvest. Everyone in this house likes apples — that’s one thing we all agree on — so the choice wasn’t hard.
At Halloween, I did something a little different and used an old ladder from our torn-down playground. I hated to get rid of every piece of that clubhouse because of the fun memories, so now we have a cool ladder that looks a little creepy!
A spring door!
It was time for a new door to decorate the porch, and the kids were happy to oblige.
We started by painting their hands so they could press their handprint to the section on the door. Sassy Pants took it upon herself to paint her own hand. At 13, I figured she could handle it (and she did).
Everyone else received my help, and I goofed a little on the Animal’s and Diva’s. That’s ok. Lucky for me the paint was easily wiped and remedied with a bit of water on a paper towel.
Once their hands were on, I painted the stems and leaves of their flowers. I just love the way the stairstep turned out, and I really think that as the years progress, we’ll enjoy comparing their 2018 hands to their whatever-year hands.
I handlettered the Welcome myself, but I drew it on with pencil first so I wouldn’t goof up. Pretty proud of myself!
After everything dried, I spraypainted a clear coat to protect from the weather. The porch does pretty well and keeps things dry, but you never know when a gust of wind will send raindrops further in on the porch.
My last step was to add something to the top. Flash was sure to tell me that the top of the door was boring. Luckily, there was already a hook, and I had some lace burlap left from my kitchen projects. I created a no-sew bow and simply hung it from the hook. When Math Man suggested some flowers, I grabbed the random tulips that were in a vase on the piano and voila!
Could you see yourself doing something similar? I just love hand and footprints!
Be sure to check out my bloggy friends’ posts with the same theme, Gifts of the Garden:
Dawn of Spatulas on Parade shares her recipe for Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed Angel Food Cake.
Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments shares Documented, a new floral product line.
Minette of Southern Belle Charm shares Gifts From the Garden, what playing in the dirt does for her soul.
And Karen of Baking in a Tornado shares her magical recipe for Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes.
Absolutely love how this came out, and perfect for the theme!
I LOVE this! What a great porch idea!