I love, love, love the way my Christmas signs turned out. The day I decided to decorate my Christmas mantel, I didn't really have a plan. I "played" around with this and that. Then as my chaotic life took over in the middle of my mantel decorating time, I had to run into the garage for something. As I was climbing over boxes, I found these two pieces of stained wood from the pallet I took apart last year. You can read about that crazy process that I'll never do again HERE.
Anyway, I took the pallet apart, sanded and stained the wood, then made signs out of those pieces. I made this laundry sign, which I love, and left all the extra pallet pieces in my garage.
With our recent move, everything is in disarray in our new garage. Somehow, when I went in to search for that other unknown object, there were those two perfectly stained wood pieces just calling out to me. As soon as I saw them, I knew they would be perfect for the mantel. So into the house they came, and I went to work.
If you don't want to take a pallet apart, I completely understand. You can run to your local hardware store and buy any piece of wood. You can also have them cut it down for you for free. My pieces are approximately 15x2x1inches. (I think they may even sell pieces that small.) They are stained in Walnut and the letters are painted in white acrylic paint. I buy wood pieces all the time for different projects, so having left over wood really comes in handy for times like this.
I explain in my laundry sign post that you can trace letters that you print out in any of your Word/Publisher type programs. Play around with the kind of font you want and increase the font size to fit your sign. This one is AR BLANCA in 300. It took a few pages to print all the letters.
Trace the letters with a sharp pointy object to make an indentation onto the wood. I've used pencils and just pressed hard along the letters. I've also used black markers so the ink will stain through the paper. Here, I had to use the smallest screwdriver I could find because the wood was already dark from the stain.
You can see the outline to follow if you use your muscles!
Paint it. I used Acrylic craft paint, the kind you get at Walmart for $1. I don't have the perfect steady hand to paint, but I've learned to jump into it. Also, mistakes can be corrected and cleaned up with the second and third coat. I used two coats of paint on these signs.
That was it! The white letters against the dark walnut wood looks stunning! Yes, I said stunning! I find myself admiring them every time I come down the stairs and see them. They're the perfect addition to my mantel.
Anyway, I took the pallet apart, sanded and stained the wood, then made signs out of those pieces. I made this laundry sign, which I love, and left all the extra pallet pieces in my garage.
With our recent move, everything is in disarray in our new garage. Somehow, when I went in to search for that other unknown object, there were those two perfectly stained wood pieces just calling out to me. As soon as I saw them, I knew they would be perfect for the mantel. So into the house they came, and I went to work.
If you don't want to take a pallet apart, I completely understand. You can run to your local hardware store and buy any piece of wood. You can also have them cut it down for you for free. My pieces are approximately 15x2x1inches. (I think they may even sell pieces that small.) They are stained in Walnut and the letters are painted in white acrylic paint. I buy wood pieces all the time for different projects, so having left over wood really comes in handy for times like this.
I explain in my laundry sign post that you can trace letters that you print out in any of your Word/Publisher type programs. Play around with the kind of font you want and increase the font size to fit your sign. This one is AR BLANCA in 300. It took a few pages to print all the letters.
Trace the letters with a sharp pointy object to make an indentation onto the wood. I've used pencils and just pressed hard along the letters. I've also used black markers so the ink will stain through the paper. Here, I had to use the smallest screwdriver I could find because the wood was already dark from the stain.
You can see the outline to follow if you use your muscles!
Paint it. I used Acrylic craft paint, the kind you get at Walmart for $1. I don't have the perfect steady hand to paint, but I've learned to jump into it. Also, mistakes can be corrected and cleaned up with the second and third coat. I used two coats of paint on these signs.
That was it! The white letters against the dark walnut wood looks stunning! Yes, I said stunning! I find myself admiring them every time I come down the stairs and see them. They're the perfect addition to my mantel.
Blessings,
Lisa
Fluster
Buster
Posed Perfection
I link all my projects with some wonderful blogs. To visit them, go to the {Link
Party Love} page found at the top of this page on the {Home} bar.
Also linking to:Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed
A Stroll Thru LifeAlso linking to:Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed
Posed Perfection
These are so cute!
ReplyDeleteLove these! They are stunning! Good work.
ReplyDeleteOh I love these, how fun and so creative. Thanks for the tutorial and Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
ReplyDeleteThey're very cute! I am headed to my basement to scrounge up some wood now! Julia
ReplyDeleteI just love signs! your's are so pretty.
ReplyDeleteCute! Cute! Cute!
ReplyDeleteXO,
Sheila