Unique Guestbook

A bride recently contacting us about using our state cutouts as her guestbook. I love unique touches to weddings and was excited to create something for this wedding.

 

What makes this even more unique is that the bride wanted to use THREE state cutouts for her guestbook! She had three states with significant meaning to her and her fiancé so she chose those states. The colors for her wedding are not available in the brand of paint we normally use. But we worked together to come up with paint colors to match her wedding.

 

 

A beautiful mint green for Virginia!

 

 

 

A pink Kentucky! Could this be any cuter?!

 

 

 

And a gorgeous gold for North Carolina.

 

 

 

The best part is how happy the bride is with the final results. After she received her order, she shared this feedback for us on Etsy. 

 

 

 

It means so much to use to be able to create work that our customers really do love. I can't wait to see pictures of the guestbook at her wedding next May! 

 

 

 

Beautiful Weather, Busy Week

It's been a beautiful week here in Tennessee. The weather has been surprisingly nice and the zinnia are blooming. I couldn't find a vase (all my vases must be in storage) so I improvised with a tin can!

  

We've been busy this past week working on custom orders and creating new items for our Etsy shop. I will share the pictures of the custom orders once they have arrived at their final destination!

We've added a personalization option to all our state cutouts on Etsy. Now customers can add their last name, their initials or any wording up to 15 characters to their state. This Tennessee is painted in Orange Marmalade and the wording is done in our cursive font.

 

Jesse had a brilliant idea to cut the shape of Tennessee out of beadboard. Of course, being that this is the home of the Tennessee Volunteers, "orange marmalade" is a popular paint color. Jesse distressed the edges and then sealed it with the a dark wax for an aged appearance.

 

 

This one is painted "summer rain" for those who aren't Vol fans. ;-) It is currently available in our Etsy shop.

 

 

I wanted to create something special for my best friend. She's the one who suggested we add a personalization option to our cutouts. When I asked her what she wanted her Tennessee to look like, she ask for a silver heart over Nashville with the word "HOME." It turned out beautifully and can't wait to see it in her kitchen!

 

 

There are three custom orders we are finishing. One of the orders is for three different states to use wedding guestbooks. I can't wait to show you the usual colors the bride chose for them! They're gorgeous. I'll be sharing the photos next week so be sure to check back. - Jessica

 

New Paint Colors and States

Last Saturday we stopped by our local "junktique." Pick-it Fence Junktique recently opened their store. They carry our favorite brand of paint, Blackberry House. So we picked up some paint while we were there.

 

 

We love Blackberry House brand paint. I know I've mentioned it already but I'm crazy about their paint. Before we opened our Etsy shop we did some experimenting with paint, including trying to make our own "chalk" paint. Our experiment wasn't a disaster but it was messy and the results weren't all that pretty.

 

 

The paint colors we bought were Blackberry Jam, Farmers Tan, and Well Water. We recently added New York state cutout to our Etsy shop. I painted it in Well Water and really like the color.

 



 

I have a California state cutout painted in Farmers Tan waiting to be distressed. I swear I'll get to it as soon as I finish this! It should be listed in the Etsy shop tonight. ;-)

 

What's New

We've added new states to the Etsy shop! This week we added wood cutouts of Georgia and Michigan. We painted Georgia a beautiful shade of green called "Fresh Cut Grass."

 

Jesse chose a light shade of blue named "Morning Dew." It was a great choice for his home state of Michigan!

 

We are now offering all our states in a variety of paint colors. Pick from any of the colors below and we will create a custom Etsy listing for you.

 

 

 

We exclusively use paint from Blackberry House, a small business located here in Tennessee. Their paint provides a rich, creamy look perfect for our handmade creations. It is an alternative to chalk paint. However it delivers a smooth, light texture that resembles chalk paint.

 

And finally we wanted to share our latest creation!

 

 

Our favorite animal rescue league is hosting a fundraising event this Saturday. As a part of Operation Education's fundraiser, they host a silent auction. We created this elevated dog bowl stand. Hope it brings a big donation for Op Ed!! :-)

 

 

 

New State Cutouts Added

Jesse and I launched our shop Southern Wood Grain on Etsy back in January. We have been adding new items each week.

We originally started by creating a wooden cutout of our home state of Tennessee. We came up with this idea as a way to show off our love for our state. Jesse is originally from Michigan but we met, married and live in Tennessee.

 

This past week we added 3 new state cutouts to the shop. We added this gorgeous red Alabama, a pretty blue Kentucky and this beachy North Carolina cutout.

We were contacted by a bride who wanted us to create an Alabama to be used as a guestbook at her wedding in Gulf Shores. She chose a beautiful blue-green color for her state cutout. I hope to share with you pictures with her after her wedding in August!

 

By the end of the week we will be adding THREE more states! Any guesses on which states we will add? What state would do you think we should add?