Tutorial Time! I Made My Very Own Handmade Sign!

Welp, I bit the bullet and did something I thought I would hate...pained a sign.  It looks hard, and it looks fussy, messy, and I hate painting intricate things.  Give me an old dresser and I'll paint that all day.  Ask me to paint a leaf?  Or a spiral or a cottage rose and you're on your own.

So, here's what I did:  I made this! 

Not bad, eh?  It cost me a whole  $0.53.  Yes, fifty-three cents.  I had most of the materials on hand, and I found the wood at the Habitat For Humanity Re-Sale Shop.  It's an old cabinet from someone's kitchen.

Here's how I did this.

Coat your old cabinet with a couple of coats of primer.  I found this in our garage, so I used this.

This stuff is goopy and snotty and smelly, so use a foam brush that you can just toss.  Let it dry really well and give it a couple of coats of acrylic paint.  I used these:

Here's one that's on my workbench, waiting for a little more love.

Now, we're going to get down to business, and I apologize for not having photos of this step, but I was getting down to business!

Print your message out on your printer, to the exact size that you want your letters on your sign.

Cut them out and tape them very gingerly onto your painted board, with a piece of ordinary carbon paper underneath.

I used this:

I had this laying around, but I believe you can purchase this at Office Max or Staples for less than $2.00.  

NOW....trace around your letters.  Take your time.  Use a ballpoint pen and push hard enough to leave a bit of an indent in your wood.  This helps the paint "stay in the lines,."  Use a teeny tiny pointed brush...here's a photo of my brush collection. Yes, I have a problem.  I love craft supplies.

The super pointy one?  That's the one.  Outline your letters, then fill in with a thicker brush.  Take your time, take breaks....relaxxxxx.

When you are satisfied with your masterpiece, give it a light sanding....I used "finishing" sandpaper (pictured above)...I sanded a bit heavier along the edges, and lighter over the letters, but the overall effect was "weathered."  I think I did great.  Here's a closeup.  See my corneres, there?  And the white kind of showing through toward the bottom?

I considered an antiquing finish as well, but I was simply tickled with what I had, so I finished off with a light varnish, added a couple of sawtooth hangers and BOOM.  I made a sign for fifty-three cents.

I would estimate that had I purchased all of my materials, this would have still cost less than $20.00 to make!  

OK, your turn!  Really, give it a shot!  This project only took a couple of days due to drying time, and was well worth it! 

Here is my next victim! I found this sweet thing hanging out at the end of someone's driveway on trash day!

What should I do with THIS little sweetie?

Ugly Brass Chandelier to Pretty Brass Chandelier!

OK I'll admit it.  I'm that mom who will slam on the brakes when I see a "good" pile of junk aside the road.  Much to my children's dismay.  When I saw this poor thing sitting beside a dumpster FOUR YEARS AGO....I couldn't resist.  OK, I could, kind of.  Because I took it home and it sat in my basement storage room for the next four years.

Pretty bad, huh?  It was actually put together, this is what it looked like after I dissected it and wiped it with my (thank you lord for these), Mr Clean Magic Eraser.

I then gave this old girl a squirt of my trusted spray primer and some spray paint, put her back together, added some swagggggg......and she now hangs in our beach house.  I love her. 

This was a quick and simple project!  Really, my kids could do this!  And these poor old, sad fixtures are alll over the place.  While I got this one for free, you can find them in the thrift stores and on Craigslist every day!  Enjoy!