Life as a LEO Wife

Designing Devotion Edition

Today I am giving you a tutorial for creating a Dollar Tree sign refab, followed by a devotion on claiming the happiness we have access to in Jesus. If you want to skip to the devotional, click here.

As I have mentioned before, I enjoy changing the decor in my home with the seasons and holidays. Spring and Easter are coming up, so I’m getting everything ready room by room. I bought these shadow box type signs a few months ago at Dollar Tree, and I finally decided what I was going to do with them. The signs didn’t come with 3-D items in it, but they were made in a way that would allow for them. I definitely wanted to take advantage of it.

To make your Dollar Tree sign refab, you need:

• Sign/shadow box- I used one that was pink and the word “Create” on it.
• hot glue gun and glue
• Mod Podge or Elmer’s glue/glue stick
• faux succulents
• 1″ to 2.5″ ribbon in your color choice
• Folk Art chalk paint in sage
• paintbrush
• scissors
• pattern cardstock

Take the frame apart

The back of the frame is a piece of cardboard type material, in 3-D style, with a small amount of glue holding it to the frame. Carefully pull one side from the frame while bending the cardboard in slightly. It should be very easy to take it apart.

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Refab the interior of the sign.

Lay the inside, back of the frame flat on the table. Paint the four sides of that back. If you are a good artist, you can paint in the main section. Then you can paint, draw, or write/stencil words or pictures on it. If you’re like me and can’t draw to save your life, stick to painting the four sides.

Cut your cardstock paper to fit over the main inside section of the sign. You can either glue it on with Mod Podge, then place another coat over the top, or use an Elmer’s glue stick to glue it on. I used Elmer’s glue because the cardstock will be behind the glass of the frame so it won’t be damaged over time.

Add embellishments to you Dollar Tree sign refab.

Once I was finished with painting and gluing the cardstock in the frame, I felt with the empty 3-D space, it looked unfinished. I thought of adding small items, like I did in this Valentine’s shadow box with small red hearts, but I couldn’t find anything that looked right in that manner. I decided to add faux succulents and ribbon.

Choose the type of greenery you want in your frame. I had a greenery garland that was perfect for this. It matched the greenery on the cardstock. Trim your succulents so you can add them like they are growing out of the the frame. Place a small amount of hot glue to the tip of the succulents and place them on the cardstock in areas that look natural with the frame.

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Finally you will put the bow on the cardstock. You can use a number of different sizes and types of ribbon. I used a non-wired, 2″ sage colored ribbon. Tie the ribbon into a bow that’s about 4″ wide so that you don’t have a blank space at the top of the cardstock. The bow should not have tails on it. Use hot glue to attach it to your cardstock paper.

Finishing touches.

The sign comes with a ribbon that is used to hang it. Cut the ribbon as close to the frame as possible on both sides.

Carefully fold the sign along the spaces notched out for that purpose. If you have trouble, trim the cardstock paper so that it fits the main section perfectly. Hold the sign on all four sides and slide it in to the frame.

Finally, clean the glass of any smudges and fingerprints that may be on it. You have finished your Dollar Tree sign refab. Now find the perfect place to hang the frame, or set it on a shelf or table. I am adding mine to a shelf in our dining room where it adds to the neutral spring theme. I am liking the decor in there!

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I hope that you like this frame and will add it to your home decor. This frame doesn’t have to be just for spring. You can use many different patterns of cardstock or stenciling to have it fit your normal decor or make it into a holiday theme. Please like and share this project on social media if you enjoyed it. Post a picture, comment, or question in the comment section at the bottom of this post. Use the social media buttons to follow us on your favorite social media platforms.

Devotional

I’ve often heard that Christians should be the happiest people in the world. When we accept Jesus as our Savior the Holy Spirit comes in to our hearts and lives. So, yes, we should be happy, but the enemy does not want us to be happy and our human free will often drives us away from that joy. The longer we are saved, the more chance we have moved a little away from the joy.

In order to claim your joy, you need to remember that your performance, your success or failure, in your walk of faith won’t lead to your peace or happiness on their own. We can never be perfect, so instead we need to allow Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to be your source of peace. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to run our human life with endurance because Jesus endured the shame of the cross for the joy that was set before Him. Paul knew there would be times that we would falter a bit in our lives, so he knew he needed to tell us to concentrate on running our race with our eyes set on the Lord for the duration.

The next thing that will bring you peace is having the wisdom of the Lord and a healthy fear of Him. God gave Solomon great wealth and fame because all he asked God for was wisdom. He is said to be one of the wisest men to ever live. In Proverbs chapter 3, he describes how wisdom is greater than any silver, gold, or jewels, and that it is the key to a long life. Going hand-in-hand with wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Psalm 128:1-2 ESV says, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be well with you.”

Jesus is always the answer to any question that could be asked. One thing that is for sure in this life is we will all have trials, highs and lows. We can have peace even in bad times if we give our problems to Him. He said in Matthew 11:28 ESV, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest.” We are promised in Psalm 9:9 that God is the stronghold for times of trouble. Even when we’ve let go of Him, He’s never taken His arms from around us.

We are called on to be present in every moment, to treasure the happiness we are blessed with. Begin each prayer by thanking God for every piece of happiness that we experience because joy comes from Him. James 5:13 says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone among you cheerful? Let him sing praise.” When the Lord knows that we are truly thankful for everything we have in this life, He blesses us more.

Rejoice with those who rejoice!

Romans 12:15

Finally, we should strive to be contagiously happy and grateful! Romans 12:15 says “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Let your joy pour off of you, and make a difference to whoever you come in contact with. Who doesn’t want to be around someone who brightens your day? Be sure to let everyone know who the source of your joy is, who your Savior is!