"Here's your Sign" :)

Monday, November 19, 2012

 
 
 
I finally got back to work on some of my DIY Christmas presents this week. I know homemade gifts aren't really for everyone, but I personally am a sucker for giving and receiving anything homemade.
 
I have been really into making signs this year. We are working on redecorating our house and I think I could honestly find a sign I want to make for almost every room in our house... It's turning into quite the addiction. I even made a bloggy sign for my Package Pal... read all about that here.
 
 
I started with a scrap 1x6 pine board... nothing fancy, but it is a nice board and doesn't require any sanding to get started.
 
 


My neighbor told me about this Citrus Shield Premium Color Paste Wax and I am LOVING it. I absolutely HATE staining wood.. the smell, the mess, the dry time. This product alleviates ALL of those things. It even smells DELICIOUS. My 5 year old thought I was cutting up oranges when I was using it:)
 
I used a paper towel and rubbed in a circular motion along the outside edges of the board. I knew I would be distressing the edges and painting the center so there was no need to apply it to the entire board.

 
The color wax really takes no time to dry. I applied the paint about 5 minutes later. I used a white sating finish paint that I had bought in a sample size for just a few dollars. I didn't worry about making it perfect since I was making a distressed sign. (notice you can still see the dark color coming through the paint around the edges)
 
 
Once the paint was dry I used my little electric sander and sanded the ENTIRE board, even over the center where I wanted to paint. This gives the paint a smooth finish. It will not remove the paint from the entire board. The bare spots along the edges are where I pushed a little harder and sanded the same spot repeatedly. This doesn't have to perfect... after all a board wouldn't weather perfectly.
 
 
I then used plain old Microsoft Word and printed out the words I wanted to paint and taped them down into position.
 
I used a pen and traced the letters, pushing down hard enough to leave an impression in the wood.
 
 
 
I used regular acrylic paint to fill in the letters. This is time consuming but I found it gets easier the further along you get. When I was all finished painting this sign I added a LITTLE  more of the color wax to the entire sign. When I did this I started on the outer edges and rubbed it toward the center to avoid any extremely dark spots on the white paint. To finish it off I sprayed the entire sign with lacquer to help protect it.
 


I should also mention that once the sign was finished I also applied the color wax to the sides and the back of the sign, just in case it was put in a location where the back would be visible.
 
 I LOVE LOVE LOVE this sign and I'm so excited to see if the Slaymaker's like it too:)  I can't wait to make one for my house... maybe after the holidays:)
If you would love to have one of these signs but just don't have the time to make it... they are also available in the Bella Caiden Shop!
 


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2 Responses to “"Here's your Sign" :) ”

  1. I LOVE it! I have been wanting a sign like that but wasn't sure about the vinyl so this looks easy enough for me to do(;
    Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Thanks Chacoy!!! Hope you are loving your freckles sign!!! :)

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