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This mama is a level 10 goddess with a glue gun, but a nail gun? Not so much.... it gives me flash backs of the staple gun incident of 2005 (see this video for the embarrassing details). However, I do love honing my DIY skills and attending workshops. When the lovelies at Anders Ruff Workshop in Pineville, NC invited us to blog about one of their workshops I decided I'd have to leave my torrid staple gun history in the past and learn a cool new skill.
If you haven't checked out AR Workshop, you'll love what they're all about. In addition to creating useful and beautiful custom DIY masterpieces the ambiance is like stepping into a designer magazine.
The colors, the textures and the decor are all on trend. Their aesthetics woven with creativity and know-how provides the perfect backdrop for a memorable GNO, date night, party or just some YOU time.
I've been obsessed with all the projects I've been seeing on their Instagram, so choosing just one from all of their carefully selected options was hard! The ability to choose something that fit my home decor, while my cousin chose something that fit her home decor was one of my favorite things about the AR Workshop. We didn't all have to do the exact same project unless we wanted to.
I opted for the signature family established centerpiece box.
My cousin chose the monogram laurel wreath established plank wood sign.
We saddled up to our benches to survey our wood, tools and pre-printed custom templates. Then we chose our stain and paint colors. We met Jeanette our table lead, who shared insider tips and helped us through each step of the project. If you are a super savvy with all things wood and power tools, or if you're a total newbie, the ladies at AR Workshop can adjust their instruction to make sure you're feeling confident and empowered to create something totally unique.
Jeanette showed us how to use different tools and techniques to smooth then destress the wood. Next she guided us through staining, dry brushing and additional distressing with a hand sander. It was an interesting process to get hand-on-experience with. I already have another project at home that I plan to try wood distressing on with my new found knowledge.
I received one-on-one instruction with the nail gun and was able to overcome my nervousness about using the power tool. My cousin and I laughed, distressed (in a wood-way) and enjoyed our conversation as we created our custom projects. We applied the customized template and technique to ensure that the letters didn't bleed outside of the lines.
We did a tour around the workshop to see everyone's finished products, check out the Facebook LIVE video here. I was really excited about how my centerpiece box came out, it's going to be the perfect addition to our dining room table, and it's fun to tell people that lil 'ol me made it.
To schedule your one-of-a-kind workshop experience with AR Workshop you can check out all their workshop locations and projects here. You can follow them on Facebook here and Instagram Pineville here and Instagram Davidson here.
