Front Deck

There is a wall to divide my front deck from the neighbor's. It's boring, so I decided to make it a little cuter. The best part is that it only cost me $4 for the whole wall-hanging!
Shutters: $1 at a yard sale last year
Wreath: $3 at Hobby Lobby (50% off sale this week!)
Ribbon: From the stash.
Husband's tools and labor to hang screws: Free.

Little Bench

I bought this ugly bench at a yard sale a few years ago. I liked the shape of it but it took FOREVER to get around to making it cute. It has taken almost as long to get the pictures posted! Here goes:

First, I painted it red. Then, I hand-cut some stencils. It was pointed out to me that vinyl would have been easier, but I don't have a vinyl cutter.... so exacto knife won.

After the letters were stenciled on, I just aged it a bit with a sander and then left it out in the weather for a full year. (That's REAL distressing! ha!) Here's how it looks now: