We have no excuse now. Our anniversary date is now on our living room wall.
The other day, Robert and I were actually having a conversation and, together, we completely blanked out on our anniversary date.
In a matter of 5 years, Robert finished his time in the Marines, we both graduated from college, started dating, got engaged, got married, started two new careers, had a baby, moved three times, and built a house. That’s a whole lotta life changes crammed into a short time frame. It’s no wonder the years are starting to run together.
Since our gallery wall had one little blank space at the very top I’d been eager to fill, our anniversary date seemed like the perfect finishing touch.
Best of all, it cost me all of $4. Love it when that happens! Craft supply leftovers come to the rescue again.
If you ever get the urge to whip up a faux driftwood anniversary sign for yourself, here’s how I made ours: (Affiliate links are provided below and noted by asteriks.)
- 1 piece of pine board cut to the size you want
- Hammer, chain, or any other hard objects to bang up your wood
- Pre-stain wood conditioner* (optional)
- Rustoleum Weathered Gray Wood Stain
- Number stencils*
- Pencil
- Craft brush
- White acrylic paint*
- Medium grit sandpaper
- Sawtooth hangers* (I used two.)
I happened to have almost an entire quart of this weathered gray stain leftover from our oversized antique map, and it was just begging to get used.
Over the past year from making our faux fireplace, window moldings, and bathroom plank wall, we’ve accumulated a nice little scrap wood pile too. (Our garage is a mad house, y’all. Not even sugar coating it.)
I pulled out the perfect sized pine plank and then…
beat the thing to a pulp!
I used both sides of a hammer and chain to rough up that wood. If you ever feel stressed out, go smack a piece of wood with some tools. You’ll feel better.
I already had a quart of this wood conditioner from our hallway hook rack, so I had nothing to lose really.
I just followed the instructions on the back of the can to condition the wood. I think it really helped a lot to make the next step nice and even. After I swiped on the weathered gray stain and wiped it away one minute later, I had this gorgeous finish.
For not being real driftwood, I’m pretty convinced with this stuff.
The only supply I had to buy for this project was a stencil set from the craft aisle of Walmart. (Cuz that’s where all the cool kids get their emergency craft supplies, ya know. I’m the chick dancing in the aisle singing this song.)
I wanted to save the stencils to use in the future, so I traced them with pencil instead of directly painting the numbers onto the wood. I taped them down before I traced.
My artistically-challenged self managed to fill in the numbers with white craft paint.
When the paint was dry, I gave the entire sign a once over with sand paper to fade the numbers, added the sawtooth hangers on the back, and that was it! So simple. And way cheap.
It looks right at home on our gallery wall now.
Robert is really excited that there’s less of a chance he’ll be in the “doghouse” now that we have an anniversary reminder on the wall. Truth be told, I usually need the reminder more than he does.
If you read yesterday’s post about how to discover your decor style, this wall was that “ah ha” moment for me. When we put up all of these photos in these thrifted, painted frames, something clicked.
These frames have already been up a year, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at the pictures from some of our favorite moments from the past 5 years. Even though it’s been so fast-paced, it’s been a fun rollercoaster ride.
I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and trusting God through all of the ups and downs this far in our marriage makes me trust Him even more, no matter what is thrown our way in the future.
This wall is that constant reminder of everything that’s most important to us, and it seems appropriate that it’s displayed in the very center of our house.
5 years ago, when my best friend asked me to marry him, I never could have imagined our life like it is now. I couldn’t have planned it better myself. Good thing I’m not the one in charge of the big plan.
This week, I’m heading to the Haven Conference in Atlanta to meet up with so many of the talented home/DIY bloggers from around the world. If you’re a Haven Maven, I cannot wait to see you!
Next week, I’ll be sharing two projects that I’m so ecstatic about along with all of the Haven deets. Until then, be sure to follow me on Instagram for all kinds of fun shenanigans.
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Hey Lauren,
Love the addition to your gallery wall!! What a great idea! Your gallery wall has always been my favorite out of all the ones there are on Pinterest (and I’m not just saying that!) and this addition just completes the look. I love the frames, the layout, the S’s and especially the pictures! Our home has a two story entryway and that’s where our stairwell is, as well. We are having it painted in a couple weeks and then I am going to use your techniques to do our gallery wall. Thanks for the inspiration!
Blessings,
Lanita
That’s quite a compliment, Lanita! Thank you! There are so many out there. I hope you’ll share yours when you get it finished. I’d love to see it!
What is that Great Wall color ?
It’s Perfect Greige from Sherwin Williams. 🙂
I’ve been thinking of doing something very similar in our house for the same reason – It’s only been two years and my husband & I forget our what our actual anniversary is ALL.THE.TIME. In fact, he wished it to me a day early this year.
Part of our problem is that we didn’t have an actual wedding where we had a date we were constantly focused on for months ahead of time. We were engaged, had recently bought a house and couldn’t wrap our head around the cost and stress of planning a wedding on top of that, and we wanted to start the timeline to adopt from foster care (in our state its married one year to start the process, married two years to actually adopt) so on a completely random Monday we decided to just go get married! And since it was too late to get married at the court house, we went to the detention center!!! (we figured it made for a funnier story anyway!) Its easy to remember the day but hard to remember the DATE! lol
Haha! At least he was a day early and not a day late. That could have been bad. 😉 I remember in the middle of the wedding planning process wishing we’d just gotten hitched at the courthouse. So much drama! No matter how it’s done, the marriage matters 1000 times more than the wedding day. Your story is SO awesome! And definitely a funny story! That’s so admirable of you guys to adopt. We need more people like you in the world, Michelle.
This is so cute, Lauren! I’ve been wanting to make an anniversary date craft of some sort and yours is such great inspiration. Your gallery wall is beautiful too. Such a great collection of memories! 🙂
Thank you, Sarah! It was the perfect finishing touch for our wall. Only took me a year to figure out what to do with that blank space. 😉 Haha!
I have a strip of chalkboard board just the right size. I am doing this for our anniversary this Friday. Sadly I have memory problems but my hubby will know I’m remembering it on a sign. I’m excited for tomorrow for I don’t leave home to shop. Thank you sooo much for the post today. I’m getting the wood out now secretly. So I won’t forget!!!!
Oh my goodness! That makes my heart so happy to hear! I hope it turned out well. 🙂
I love the sign, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE your gallery wall. Beautiful!
Thanks so much, April!
I love this idea! I made on for a coworker that just got married! I am so happy to send her a handmade gift instead of just a card.
That is so sweet! I agree. It’s so much more fun to give than a card.
Such a easy idea that makes a big impact on your gallery wall–I love it! Thanks for linking it up at the Pretty Preppy Party!
Thanks for hosting it, Christy! Great as always. 🙂
Hi Lauren,
I am ready to start planning and collecting for my wall. I was wondering if you did your pictures all in black and white or sepia or colour….is there a rule of thumb for that?
Hi Judi! I did all black and white just because it created simplicity and continuity. But that’s totally up to your style. 🙂