Creativity

There are many ways we can be creative. My dear friend taught a lesson at church on creativity that really hit home with me. This quote I immediately put on my refrigerator so I could think of ways that I used my gift of creativity on any given day. I made the plaque as a going away present for this friend to let her know that she had impacted my life in an important way. How are you using your creativity today? Did you make someone feel better about themselves? Did you fulfill a need in yourself? Did you solve a problem?

Sisters, Sisters

I have the privilege of having six strong and wonderful sisters. Two of them had their birthdays last week, and I had the pleasure of creating plaques for them. When I am designing a plaque for someone, I love thinking about what text would either suit them or give them inspiration, and what design and palate would complement their home. These two were especially fun for me.

New Look

My beautiful and talented daughter-in-law has helped me look more professional. I love what she has done with my blog. I even have a button. Grab it! Share it! Spread the word!

Three Trees

My friend Marci found this adorable armoire on the street, and realizing she wouldn't get to refinish it before she moved away, she gave it to me. When I sanded the layers of terrible finish, lo and behold there was beautiful cedar underneath. I immediately knew what the theme of the piece was going to be and that I needed to leave much of the wood exposed. These are three trees represented in three different stories in the Book of Mormon.

Angels Doll Trunk

Part of my tag sale find was this adorable doll trunk. I couldn't resist pastels, angels and rainbows. This will be a toy for our grandchildren.

Customize your own plaque!

Now that you have seen many of my plaques, think of what you would like on your own plaque.

1. Choose the text would you like: scripture, inspirational quote, song lyrics or funny saying...

2. Decide what pictures you would like: favorite places, flowers, themes, book characters...

3. Choose the palate: coordinate with your home, whimsical, elegant, childlike...

For your very own customized plaque, leave a comment here or email me at: mjs1652@sbcglobal.net. We can discuss the possibilties.

The cost of the plaque is $100.00.

Huntington Beach

My son and daughter in law just moved into their own apartment in Huntington Beach. They love the beach so much, so I thought the famous image of the pier would be perfect for a plaque for their new home.

Beatles plaque

My sister-in-law is crazy go nuts for anything Beatles. I had great fun making this plaque for her birthday.

Out of Small Things...

I hit payload with a neighborhood tag sale and was able to purchase several pieces of unfinished furniture. I thought this little table was adorable and decided to continue with my "small things" theme

I stayed with some friends in their adorable, tiny flat in London last month, and wanted to thank them for their hospitality. So I created this London inspired plaque.

FURNITURE

The designs I create are first burned into the wood and then painted.

For my first furniture designs, I decided to paint all of the furniture in my daughter, Heidi's room. She's away at school, so I emptied her room, and am painting piece by piece in my garage! I took apart her loft bed and created two twin beds incorporating the night time and morning time themes.

The nighttime bed's quotes are "Listen for His Voice" on the headboard, and "His tender mercies are over all His works" on the footboard.

The morning time bed's quotes are "Lift up thy heart and rejoice" on the headboard, and "Be not weary in your well doing" on the footboard. I chose those scriptures because I felt they were appropriate for the time of day and the inspiration you might need during those times.

Here are close ups of the morning bed.

My ultimate goal with this new hobby is to quit my job and do it full time. So, if you are interested in ordering your own custom designed piece, please let me know.

PLAQUES

I was very excited about creating this plaque for some dear friends who are having a baby. I knew the theme and the colors of their nursery, and had a ball designing the plaque specifically for their new little guy's room.

I love the quote "Come what may, and love it". We had a women's conference at church which incorporated this theme and I created a plaque using the design of their advertising for the conference as my inspiration

Some dear friends were moving to Utah, and I designed a plaque for them using the quote "Have I done any good in the world today" because they are the most service oriented people I know. I also used the coast and mountains for the design to illuminate the move from east to west.

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Welcome!

Welcome to Out of the Woods.

Specialty painted furniture and plaques incorporating inspirational quotes and custom sayings and designs.