sign making

I've been making signs for a craft sale in several weeks.

Although I'm still not finished, I have a few ready to go!

Before I moved that ping pong table/work surface today, I wanted to get this bugger up.

 

The most difficult part of this whole business is printing out the wording and getting it to fit the size board I'm using. I know there is a program that will make this all easy peasy .... I'm not using it. I'm sort of a sucker for doing things the hard way.

 

I did discover transfer paper, which transfers the image to the painted surface.

 

After transferring the image (lettering) onto the board, I use paint to paint the lettering on.

There are some seriously miracle producing paint pens out there .... otherwise it is a paint brush and I've been doing some finer work making that nearly impossible.



This one was a bit of a loooonnnng one. I started at the top, with transferring and painting each message before moving on to the next one.

 

 The bottom part I did in reverse order ... saving one of the most important ones for last.

 

After the paint was dry, out came the sander. Most often, I'm too impatient to use the hand sanding ... so it is power tools for me. I managed to keep all the skin on my fingers today!

After the sawdust was cleaned off, I rolled stain over the top ... one section at a time ... removing the excess with a rag. Then moving on to repeat it again. Why do the stain? It gives it an older look and I'm a fan of old.

 



I'm not sure this was really necessary but this sign is going to live outside. I then applied several coats of polycrylic finish to the piece.

 



 

The only problem .... I don't like shine. At all. And shiny it was.

 

While it dried and I covered it yet again with a matte vanish ... I cleaned up all the leftovers!

I have saved much of the lettering for signs I've made in case there is a desire for more,

but this one .... only one being made.

 



I store the rollers in baggies for reuse. As long as I remember which roller is soaked in what ...

I'll be just fine!



 

This is the spot I've been wanting to fill. Our patio door was obviously the much larger version at one time. The extra space is just a painted wood surface that I've been itching to fill for a year now.

Doesn't it just beg for something?!



Something like this?

 

 



As is often the case with my little projects ... I look at it afterward and think,

... I wonder if I should change that part .....

 

I don't think I will.

 

After all, this Porch Rule (and a family rule at that!) says that I'm suppose to take my coffee cup outdoors, put my feet up, read myself into a state of relaxation while the sunsets

and lulls me into a nap.

 

I'll leave it.