Spray Paint and a Stencil

Oh, how I love spray paint! It transforms so quickly. I love instant gratification, but who doesn't?

We are working diligently on the Southern Makers event on May 4, 2013. Southern Accents is transforming the Train Station in Montgomery into a Southern Accents design! We have lots of projects to cover: the dumpster fencing, the outside bathroom walls, the stage, a workstation, and lots of little spots all over the area.

I went by Cullman Sign and Banner to hang out with Suzi. She made us a few vinyl stencils to try out for putting our logo all over the place! We chose to do one with our long logo and the other is just the monogram. After I picked through these really cool letters from the back, I took the stencils over to the Vintage Wood Warehouse where Ryan helped me find some spray paint. I was just going to find a junk piece of wood for testing and then I saw an industrial cart. Oh yeah! Who wouldn't love to have the SA monogram on an old industrial cart? I didn't clean the wood with soap and water nor did I sand it. You can imagine the texture on the cart. Vinyl doesn't stick very well to dirt and bumps, so I used a little painters tape to hold it all in place. 

It turned out really cool, I think!

The bigger logo wouldn't fit on a cart, so Ryan helped me find a really wide piece of wood. This one could not have been more perfect! I wiped it down with a paper towel and stuck the vinyl on as good as I could. The top and bottom wrapped around and that helped hold it in place. I really loved the white contrast with the wood coming through....maybe another option soon? I can paint the opposite white and have the wood showing through as the logo.

Next step spray paint. I let it sit for a few minutes and noticed the vinyl was bubbling up! I guess the spray paint is too strong. It's probably best to use roll on stain or paint.

I pulled up the vinyl slowly.......I LOVE it! It's just a clean look with the rustic wood behind it.

I have no idea why it says Cullman, Alabama on there twice. Must have been a glitch in the machine! Oh well, they are proud to be from there....so, it fits!

Birmingham Home and Garden Show

Oh man, that was a long week! I can't believe how hard it was to have a booth at the show. We started set-up on Tuesday. I was at the BJCC on Tuesday morning helping the guys lay the floor, decide where to put the doors and carpenter's bench. On Tuesday evening, back to the BJCC to meet Garlan and Michael to go over a few changes and where we wanted to add flowers. We are in the middle of the Gardens of the show, so bear in mind, we aren't going to win the flower category! I was up until midnight with Lori and Ashlee working on the brochure.....we still had a typo! oopsie, maybe because we were up so late? I'm sure our eyes were crossing! We did copy it from the website, but we should have read through that!

We had a few minor issues when setting up. Thankfully, Adam knows how to use a drill, saw and nail gun! I need a clone of him in my back pocket!

I think we have an amazing booth. I'm a little worried about being an architectural salvage company and being in the middle of the Gardens. The event planner assures me that she would not PAY to move! Ok, here we go. Wednesday we added the rest of the banners and all of the little things. Carpenter's pencils and small blocks of reclaimed wood with a Southern Accents logo stamped on them were giveaways.

A few of us "in" the booth. That's Daphney from Thursday, Garlan and I were there Saturday and Sunday and Michael stopped by on Saturday to check out how his flowers looked in the booth!

I was thankful to not have to work on the booth this night. Emma was trying out for cheerleader on Friday and I wanted to see her practice. I needed to feel good about her being ready! Of course, she was! She's a pro ;)! The show started at 11:00am on Thursday. Mike met me at our booth with the brochures. Garlan brought in a few things we needed at the last minute and the show got started!!

We were full force all day Thursday. There were lots of people waiting to get in before the doors open. I had so much fun meeting each person and telling them about Southern Accents. Thursday was Valentine's Day. I had no food and nothing to drink all day! Someone could've brought me dinner, don't you think? Daphney brought me lunch and I ate half of my chicken salad sandwich at 9:30 in bed that night! I was worn out and thankful I didn't have to work on Friday.

I did meet Heather and Mandy at the show Friday morning. They were running a little behind. I didn't mind hanging out at the booth for them. I ended up staying until around 1:00. Cheer tryouts were after school and I had to be there for Emma! She went through around 5:30 and said she did everything perfectly! I am always so proud of her. She works hard at cheer and tumbling and it pays off! After she finished, I took her to Taziki's, one of her favorite places to eat. While we were sitting there the results were in! SHE MADE IT!! We were thrilled! Being in Middle School has lots of lessons. This year a good friend that was on the squad last year didn't make it again. Emma was very upset and not sure how to handle it. I talked her into texting her on Sunday. I think it was good for both of them.

Saturday and Sunday are a complete blur. I was at the show at 10:00am on Saturday and barely remember being home until Sunday night! I do think the show was very successful. We got several leads and lots of email addresses! I think they are doing the Hunstville Home and Garden show......not sure if I'm going to make that one! I will have to wait a few days to decide!

 I was so glad to do this project. It was fun designing the booth and banners. I think it turned out gorgeous. We had lots of compliments and lots of interest in the store. I had a blast meeting so many people and giving them a better understanding of the company.

Just a few more photos from our booth. It should've won an award! We were on Fox6 the morning of the show. One of the news anchors broadcast live right in front of it!

All of this could not have happened without months of work! I know the store was pretty much shut down for a week working on the floor and the blocks of wood. Thanks to everyone that had a hand in making it perfect! It was all worth it, don't you think?