Just finished a whole slew of wooden signs for gifts this year. They are so simple to make. I have some others in mind, but who knows if I'll get to them before Christmas!?
As usual, I began with a 1x12 pine board, graciously cut to size by Bob. I like them about 18" long. I paint them with a really watered down brown craft paint that acts as a quick-drying stain.
After the brown dries, I cover it with whatever color I wanted the sign to be. These below are minty green and light blue. Hard to see in the photos, I know. I give them a few coats until the sign is solidly covered.
Then, I design a stencil using my Silhouette vinyl cutter. This time, I did two different designs. I made one of the designs based on a sign I actually purchased last year, and the other design is my version of a printable I saw online recently.
After designing the vinyl stencils, I cut them out on the machine, and applied them to the painted boards. I then pulled out the lettering, and painted over the openings in the colors I wanted the finished lettering to be in. It takes several coats, since you want to paint with a really dry brush (to avoid bleeding under the vinyl stencil).
The best part of the project is peeling off the vinyl. I can usually count on Bob to help me with that, as we watch something on TV together! :)
The color on this top one doesn't show that well, but its the same green as the bottom photo.
And the finishing touch is the back of the sign. Usually, with the layers of paint, the back gets kind of cruddy (a descriptive word borrowed from Bob). I like to cover that with layers of Christmas-y card stock. Sometimes I make copies of old Christmas book pages. I glue them all on, hodge-podge style, and then put a picture hanger on, and voila. Done.
No comments:
Post a Comment