Put on your Yarmulke!

About two weeks ago, my bestie in Las Vegas texted me and said "I saw this at the craft store, make it for me."  And honestly, if I had a $1 for every time she, or anyone, texted me saying this, I would be a millionaire, and by millionaire I mean I would probably have $5.  

So, like any good best friend, I went head and made her one...now if I actually get to the post office to send it to her, that's a completely different story, but my issue with getting to the post office isn't the point to this post now is it......

The first thing I did, was raid my scrap wood pile. I was happy that I had enough precut wood pieces for myself and my friend Jessica to do one.  See crafting is always more fun with a friend.  And when I am working with someone, I tend to actually get things done and finish them.  Had I not shown this to Jessica and asked for her assistance on aging the blocks I would have never finished it.    

I used my Silhouette to cut the menorah and the "happy hanukkah."  Normally, had I been doing this by myself, I would have used vinyl to do the letters, or contact paper, but Jessica suggested that I use just plain paper and we could tape it down.  That ended up being much easier than my idea.  Again, crafting with friends is just more fun.   

Seeing as Jessica is waaaaaaaay better at "aging" things than I am, she gave me the confidence to just sand over the whole block.  I was nervous about this, what if too much paint came off, what if I didn't do a good enough job?  But she assured me that it would be just fine.  And you know what?  It was. 

So for the paint, I used a water color for the royal blue.  It wasn't my original intent, but when I was putting the light blue over the dark, because it's water based, it started to bleed into the light blue.  At first I started to panic but in the end, I actually really loved how it turned out.  It helped give it the exact look I was going for.

For the light blue I used a chalk paint which went on very smoothly and in one coat I had what I was looking for.  The top block I just used a tempera paint and used the water based paint to do the menorah "happy."

The only hiccup to this project was when I held a play date at my house and one of the kids used an orange crayon and colored all over the blue block.

I was freaking out because when I used a wet wipe to get it off, the paint started to come off, not the crayon.  But my friend Jessica recommended the magic eraser which my friend Tracy had, so I used that and it came off perfectly!

When everything was said and done, this project turned out way better than I had ever expected.  I loved how the aging came out, I loved how the paint worked, I loved loved LOVED it!

But most importantly, I hope my bestie loves it too, since she is the one that will have to live with it for the rest of her life ;)

And what do you think?  Did I nail it??

Don't forget to check out the information below too!  I have joined up with the Silhouette group this month for not ONLY the monthly challenge, but a GIVEAWAY for some super awesome prizes!

Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?

My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration! 1. Pineapples and Pinecones // 2. Simply Kelly Designs // 3. Architecture of a Mom // 4. Just a Girl and Her Blog // 5. Two Purple Couches // 6. Chicken Scratch NY // 7. Creative Ramblings // 8. One Dog Woof // 9. Ginger Snap Crafts // 10. The Thinking Closet // 11. Please Excuse My Craftermath... // 12. Designer Trapped in a Lawyer's Body // 13. weekend craft // 14. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 15. Practically Functional // 16. Living My Given Life // 17. My Paper Craze // 18. The Kim Six Fix // 19. Home At Eight // 20. Queen of Everything // 21. Tried & True // 22. Mama Sonshine // 23. unOriginal Mom // 24. Create it. Go! // 25. From Wine to Whine // 26. GetSilvered // 27. It's Always Ruetten // 28. Nearly Handmade // 29. McCall Manor // 30. Silhouette School // 31. It Happens in a Blink // 32. Create & Babble // 33. Sowdering About // 34. Where The Smiles Have Been // 35. My Favorite Finds // 36. Lil' Mrs. Tori // 37. Designed Decor

Silhouette Giveaway!

And I've saved the best for last. My Silhouette Challenge buddies in partnership with Silhouette America are hosting a mega-huge giveaway for not one...but two winners! The prizes up for grabs? First prize: The NEW Silhouette Cameo Machine and Designer Edition Super Bundle! $406.93 value.

• Silhouette CAMEO®
• Designer Edition Software
• Dust Cover
• $25 Download Card
• Four Essential Silhouette Tools (hook, spatula, scraper, pick-me-up™)

Second prize: Silhouette Portrait Machine and Rhinestone Starter Kit! $219.98 value. Pretty sweet, huh? We want you to have the chance to get that Silhouette machine that might still be on your wish list. To enter: just complete the entries in the Rafflecopter widget below or at this link. Because of my many blog friends who helped make this giveaway possible, you have 42 potential entries, which means a lot of winning power. So, hurry up and enter! {This giveaway runs from today through Monday, December 15th at 11:59p eastern and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older with a U.S. or Canada mailing address. You can read the rest of the terms and conditions in the widget below.}

  a Rafflecopter giveaway