Wednesday, July 15, 2009

DIY Wednesday: Wooden Signs

Hi!

It's time for another DIY Wednesday. This week I'm featuring another blog (and fellow crafty nestie) I can't live without, Jannypie. As you can see with previous posts as well as my Flickr pictures, I have attempted the oh so trendy wooden sign. I bought my first sign in Florida a few years ago and then I got my second as a wedding gift, all the while I was thinking to myself, why can't I do this? It's a piece of wood, painted with a cute phrase. I can certainly come up with a cute interesting phrase, tracking down wood is easy enough…now how to get those letters on the wood?
Well, the first couple attempts…not so good. My first one, I just free handed the phrase on to the frame of a bulletin board. Not good. Not only did it look like a second grader may have done it, the colors were all wrong. I decided that I loved the various fonts I had downloaded and wanted those fonts on the wood rather than my own chicken scratch. How oh how do you do that? I attempted to print the font on to card stock, use an exact-o knife to create a stencil, then use the stencil method. Well that worked for three signs, but the process was extremely long and the paint bled under the homemade stencils. (Phrases I've used for signs in case you need some ideas, "I live for the nights I can't remember, with the friends I can't forget" "We believe in Santa Paws" "Be Thankful" and the very clever "Fall")

Why couldn't I have found Jannypie sooner? On her fabulous blog, she explains a much MUCH easier way of doing it. (Click here for the tutorial) Carbon paper! Why did I not know about this wonderful thing? I found it at Hobby Lobby right by the paint supplies. (In our store, it was the same aisle as the stretched canvas). You just have to print out the desired font in the size you want and use the transfer paper to get it on the wood. I could have saved hours of cutting myself with an exact-o knife if I had just gone to the internet.
Forever and a day ago I picked up some ribbon boards (you know, the kind you stick pictures in between the ribbon) for a couple of bucks at Hobby Lobby. Now, when I actually get motivated, I might be able to do some fabulous work as well, all thanks to Jannypie!

You’ve seen this before, but here is my own personal successful sign (done the hard way):





Share:

No comments

Blogger Template Created by pipdig