Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Vintage-Looking Painted Sign
You will need:
piece of salvaged wood
upholstery tacks or short nails (optional)
hammer
acrylic paint (background color)
black acrylic paint (or other color to fill in letters)
large paint brush
small paint brush
laser printer
twine
Sharpie Marker or other dull, rounded tool
This project started with a pile of cedar fence pieces that we've had sitting in our backyard for ages. My husband had just loaded a good portion of them into our chiminea to be burned when I got the idea for these signs and was able to save them from becoming ash.
I loved how grey and weathered they had become from sitting outside. Start by lightly sanding your piece of wood if it's too rough, or just wiping it off to remove any dirt or other loose particles.
Next, distress the wood to your liking. I hammered a few upholstery tacks into the corners, added a couple of empty nail holes then banged on it with the claw of my hammer. In the photo below the top piece is untouched and the bottom one has been beaten. Poor thing.
Next, choose your paint. Most home improvement stores sell miss-tinted paints for very cheap, so during one of my visits to the Home Depot I picked up this little sample pot of pretty blueish gray paint for .50. Sweet! After experimenting with different paints while makig these signs, I've found that the less sheen the paint has, the better. Cheap acrylic craft paint works best, flat latex paint like the kind I used here is next best. DON'T bother with spray paint- your letters won't transfer well at all.
(I wasn't really sure if I was going to be doing a tutorial for this or not until I was finished, so I'm afraid I'm missing a few photos for some of the steps. Don't worry. It will make sense anyway.)
After you've properly dented and nicked your piece of wood to perfection and added your tacks or nails, take your large , dry paint brush and get a little paint on it. Wipe off any excess on the lip of your paint can and sweep your paint lightly over the wood. You're not going for a perfect paint job here. In fact, you want it to be as imperfect as possible without it looking like you were trying to make it imperfect, if that makes any sense. And don't bother painting the sides, just the front.
Once you're happy with the paint, put the wood aside to dry and head to your computer. Choose a word and a font that you want on your sign and enlarge it to a size that will fit on the piece of wood that you have. Flip it so it's backwards and print.
I used Adobe Photoshop to print my backwards words using the "Rotate Canvas" feature under Image, then clicking on "Flip Horizontal". If you're using another software program like Microsoft Word, it might be a little trickier. Check the already submitted comments to see if you can find something that works, or check out this link that I found that explains how to either flip the text using your printer's functions, or in Word itself. It seems like kind of an involved process, but I tried it with my older version of Word and it worked.
Go back to your wood and rinse the paintbrush you just used, but don't worry about getting the brush dry.
Turn your piece of paper over so that the ink is face down on your wood, position it so that it's centered (I like to crease the bottom of my paper along the edge of the wood so it doesn't move around) and begin brushing the paper with your wet paintbrush.
You don't want to make your paper sopping wet or the ink will just run and the paper will disintegrate. Just wet it enough so that it seeps through to the other side and starts to release the ink from the paper.
Take your Sharpie lid and begin to burnish your letters going horizontally and vertically. You want to transfer as much of the ink from the paper to the wood as you can. Don't peek, though. You don't want to accidentally shift your paper. Just scribble over each letter being sure you've burnished over every bit of each one.
Here's what it should look like when you're done. You could leave it like this if you want it to be really faded looking, or...
... you can go back with your small paint brush and fill in the letters a little with some very, very diluted black paint.
Once you've finished with the word, distress the sign a little more with some sandpaper, taking off some of the paint along the edges and swiping it over the word a bit to make it look more aged and authentic.
Finally, nail or staple twine to the back of your wood to act as a hanger for your new, old-looking sign.
I used some of my favorite foods for the signs I made for my kitchen and I just adore them. The "cocoa" sign was the very first one I did, and as you can see I was more deliberate when filling in the letters with paint than I was with the others. I like the faded look of the other ones more, so I'll go back and sand it a little so that it matches them better.
piece of salvaged wood
upholstery tacks or short nails (optional)
hammer
acrylic paint (background color)
black acrylic paint (or other color to fill in letters)
large paint brush
small paint brush
laser printer
twine
Sharpie Marker or other dull, rounded tool
This project started with a pile of cedar fence pieces that we've had sitting in our backyard for ages. My husband had just loaded a good portion of them into our chiminea to be burned when I got the idea for these signs and was able to save them from becoming ash.
I loved how grey and weathered they had become from sitting outside. Start by lightly sanding your piece of wood if it's too rough, or just wiping it off to remove any dirt or other loose particles.
Next, distress the wood to your liking. I hammered a few upholstery tacks into the corners, added a couple of empty nail holes then banged on it with the claw of my hammer. In the photo below the top piece is untouched and the bottom one has been beaten. Poor thing.
Next, choose your paint. Most home improvement stores sell miss-tinted paints for very cheap, so during one of my visits to the Home Depot I picked up this little sample pot of pretty blueish gray paint for .50. Sweet! After experimenting with different paints while makig these signs, I've found that the less sheen the paint has, the better. Cheap acrylic craft paint works best, flat latex paint like the kind I used here is next best. DON'T bother with spray paint- your letters won't transfer well at all.
(I wasn't really sure if I was going to be doing a tutorial for this or not until I was finished, so I'm afraid I'm missing a few photos for some of the steps. Don't worry. It will make sense anyway.)
After you've properly dented and nicked your piece of wood to perfection and added your tacks or nails, take your large , dry paint brush and get a little paint on it. Wipe off any excess on the lip of your paint can and sweep your paint lightly over the wood. You're not going for a perfect paint job here. In fact, you want it to be as imperfect as possible without it looking like you were trying to make it imperfect, if that makes any sense. And don't bother painting the sides, just the front.
Once you're happy with the paint, put the wood aside to dry and head to your computer. Choose a word and a font that you want on your sign and enlarge it to a size that will fit on the piece of wood that you have. Flip it so it's backwards and print.
I used Adobe Photoshop to print my backwards words using the "Rotate Canvas" feature under Image, then clicking on "Flip Horizontal". If you're using another software program like Microsoft Word, it might be a little trickier. Check the already submitted comments to see if you can find something that works, or check out this link that I found that explains how to either flip the text using your printer's functions, or in Word itself. It seems like kind of an involved process, but I tried it with my older version of Word and it worked.
Go back to your wood and rinse the paintbrush you just used, but don't worry about getting the brush dry.
Turn your piece of paper over so that the ink is face down on your wood, position it so that it's centered (I like to crease the bottom of my paper along the edge of the wood so it doesn't move around) and begin brushing the paper with your wet paintbrush.
You don't want to make your paper sopping wet or the ink will just run and the paper will disintegrate. Just wet it enough so that it seeps through to the other side and starts to release the ink from the paper.
Take your Sharpie lid and begin to burnish your letters going horizontally and vertically. You want to transfer as much of the ink from the paper to the wood as you can. Don't peek, though. You don't want to accidentally shift your paper. Just scribble over each letter being sure you've burnished over every bit of each one.
Here's what it should look like when you're done. You could leave it like this if you want it to be really faded looking, or...
... you can go back with your small paint brush and fill in the letters a little with some very, very diluted black paint.
Once you've finished with the word, distress the sign a little more with some sandpaper, taking off some of the paint along the edges and swiping it over the word a bit to make it look more aged and authentic.
Finally, nail or staple twine to the back of your wood to act as a hanger for your new, old-looking sign.
I used some of my favorite foods for the signs I made for my kitchen and I just adore them. The "cocoa" sign was the very first one I did, and as you can see I was more deliberate when filling in the letters with paint than I was with the others. I like the faded look of the other ones more, so I'll go back and sand it a little so that it matches them better.
Ultimate Menu Board
HOW TO MAKE THE ULTIMATE MENU BOARD
You will need-
11x14 picture frame
2 sheets of decorative 12 x 12 scrapbook paper
2-3 additional coordinating decorative papers
several sheets of solid colored card stock (for meal cards and pockets)
7 clothespins
the boxes from two 16 ct crayon packs
Elmers glue
Hot glue gun and glue
letter stickers (for title)
Meal cards---
Preparatory to using your board, gather several meal ideas (I have about 35) and their recipes. Make a 2 column word document- typing your menu on one side of the page and the ingredients in the column next to it. You should have room to print about 5 menus/ingredients per piece of printer paper. After printing, cut the meals/ingredients out into strips and fold each strip in half, giving you a front and back. Laminate the cards. I used self-laminating paper which worked okay but not perfectly. (Because I didn’t leave much empty space around each card, some of my cards did not seal well all the way around. If I did it again, I would have them done professionally or with the use of a heated laminator.) My cards measure 1 ½ inches tall and then half of the width of an average size paper (4.25 inches) across.
Frame Background
Trim the decorative scrapbook paper to fill your frame. You will use one full sheet and just need a couple of inches of a second piece of paper in order to fill the entire frame. Where the two sheets overlap, place a thin piece of coordinating paper across the width to hide the seams. Put the title above that line using scrapbooking letter stickers. Place in the frame. Secure the background into the frame. Everything else will be done on top of the glass.
Clothespins
Trim strips of paper to fit on top of your clothespins. Using a mixture of 1 part elmers glue to one part water (homemade mod podge,) brush the glue onto the clothespin, place the paper on top and add more of the glue mixture. I think I did about 3 layers of the glue. When the clothespins are dry, you may add the days of the week to each pin if you choose. I punched out little circles and just used the letters m, t, w, etc to designate the day of the week. Space your clothespins evenly along the left hand border of your frame and hot glue them into place.
Pockets-
I used 16 count crayon boxes as the base for my pockets. Turning the box horizontally, cut out one long side- this will be the opening of your pocket. Lay the box out flat onto a piece of card stock and trace it. Cut the card stock out and glue it on top of the crayon box—making folds to match the boxes folds as you go. Reassemble the box, gluing or taping together the open sides. I left just about a half inch extra along the long sides so I could wrap my paper over the top edges of the box for a smoother look. After assembling your boxes, cut a strip of coordinating paper to use as an accent and glue around the pocket. Hot glue the pockets directly onto the glass of your frame.
Pom Poms
Materials needed:
- paper lanterns (I used one 9" and two 6" lanterns)
- 2-3 yards of fabric per lantern (I used 3yd for 9" and 2yd for 6")
- glue gun
- ribbon
- a long weekend
Before
I started, I printed out 3" and 4" circles and traced them onto
cardboard to cut out and use as my tracing template. Once I had my
fabric picked out I used my template to trace the circles along the
whole piece of fabric. I was sure to put them as close together as I
could so I didn't waste any fabric.
With
the 4" circles I was able to get 100 circles per yard and used a full 3
yards. Obviously you get more circles with the 3" template (but I
forgot to count), and also use just under 2 yards. This is where you
don't want to spend a ton of money on expensive fabric. You want
something light that won't be stiff when you glue or heavy when hung. I
used a basic thin cotton material that cost $3-7 per yard depending what
you chose. I lucked out that there was a sale going on at JoAnn Fabrics
along with a 25% off coupon I had, so I purchased my fabric for pretty
cheap.
Once
traced, I cut out all the circles. This is probably the most
time-consuming and somewhat boring part of the project. It's good to
just plop on the couch and stick in a movie while you do this. I watched
a Jersey Shore marathon while I traced and cut. (T-Shirt time!)
Once your circles are all cut you can begin to glue to your paper lantern. First
fold the circle in half, and stick a dab of glue in the middle. Fold it
in half once more to seal. Put another dab of glue at the bottom of the
folded circle and attach to your lantern.
(these 3 pictures snagged from OnceWed since I had no free hands to photograph this step!)
You want to make sure you mix and match directions that you place the circles.
Continue this for a loooong time until your paper lantern is covered.
(my work area mid-construction)
Once finished, it will look like this:
All
you have left to do is attach a long piece of ribbon to the hook inside
the top of the paper lantern and hang where you want. We picked up an
inexpensive pack of mini hooks from Target that simply screwed into the
ceiling. It took the two of us to tackle this step so that I could eye
the spacing of the pom poms and Jordan could screw them into the
ceiling.
Here
is a close up on the ribbons I chose. They were each $1.00 for a mini
spool at JoAnn fabrics. It took about 1 full spool per pom-pom (then
trimmed for length). I chose teal, white and pink ribbons each with its
own unique decorative detail to mix and match with the multi-colored pom
poms.
Once hung, just sit back and enjoy your pretty, whimsical decor!
Map Coasters
The materials I used for this project were old coasters, Mod Podge,
polyurethane sealant, foam brush, pencil, scissors and printed maps of
the Disney World parks. If you don’t have any old coasters, I’ve seen
others use tile.
Want to know how to make Disney World Map Coasters? Continue reading…it’s easy.
I first printed maps of Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I also printed a Disney World map. You could use the maps you get at the parks. You could also print your own maps from the Disney World site. I printed mine from wdwinfo.com.
I put the coaster on top of the map and positioned it to the part of the map I wanted on the coaster. I traced around the coaster using a pencil. I then cut out what I traced. I recommend cutting slightly smaller than what you traced. And, line up the cut out map on your coaster to see if you need to trim off any excess. I needed to do this.
I then applied Mod Podge on the back of the cut out map and also on the top of the coaster.
I placed the paper onto the coaster carefully and smoothed it out. I waited 15 minutes for it to dry.
I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge on the top of the paper and waited 15 minutes for it to dry. I then put another coat of Mod Podge.
I also applied three (3) coats of polyurethane sealant to make it more waterproof. I recommend this. I read somewhere Mod Podge alone isn’t enough to seal your coaster especially from wet glasses. Also Note: If you do not use a polyurethane sealant, then do NOT put anything hot on the coasters for a month. Mod Podge takes about one month to fully cure. If you do use a polyurethane sealant, then you could wait 1-7 days as directed on the sealant.
Take another look at the Disney World Map Coasters. Aren’t they fun?! Have you made any fun coasters?
Want to know how to make Disney World Map Coasters? Continue reading…it’s easy.
I first printed maps of Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I also printed a Disney World map. You could use the maps you get at the parks. You could also print your own maps from the Disney World site. I printed mine from wdwinfo.com.
I put the coaster on top of the map and positioned it to the part of the map I wanted on the coaster. I traced around the coaster using a pencil. I then cut out what I traced. I recommend cutting slightly smaller than what you traced. And, line up the cut out map on your coaster to see if you need to trim off any excess. I needed to do this.
I then applied Mod Podge on the back of the cut out map and also on the top of the coaster.
I placed the paper onto the coaster carefully and smoothed it out. I waited 15 minutes for it to dry.
I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge on the top of the paper and waited 15 minutes for it to dry. I then put another coat of Mod Podge.
I also applied three (3) coats of polyurethane sealant to make it more waterproof. I recommend this. I read somewhere Mod Podge alone isn’t enough to seal your coaster especially from wet glasses. Also Note: If you do not use a polyurethane sealant, then do NOT put anything hot on the coasters for a month. Mod Podge takes about one month to fully cure. If you do use a polyurethane sealant, then you could wait 1-7 days as directed on the sealant.
Take another look at the Disney World Map Coasters. Aren’t they fun?! Have you made any fun coasters?
Canvas Portrait
Here's how I transferred my photo to canvas: 1. Supplies needed- stretched canvas (I chose an 8x10 size), gel medium (I used this kind from Liquidex
),
paint brush and the image you want to transfer (laser copy) and a spray
bottle filled with water. Remember, your image will print reversed. 2.
Completely cover your canvas with gel medium. Use a heavy coat. 3. Press
the photo copy onto the canvas and let it dry for several hours or
overnight. 4. After your image is completely dry, use a spray bottle to
wet the top of the paper. 5. Rub the surface with your fingers until
pieces of the paper start coming off. When pieces start coming up your
image will be revealed. This step takes patience and is messy! Be
careful not to rub too hard as this can remove your transfer on
accident. Continue until all the paper is removed and the image is
completely visible! 6. Cover your canvas with one more coat of gel
medium to seal and protect the image.
Note: You can expect an imperfect transfer. I think the imperfections are absolutely lovely! It's best to choose an image that is not incredibly detailed to work with. Each transfer is different. The more you experiment, the better!
),
paint brush and the image you want to transfer (laser copy) and a spray
bottle filled with water. Remember, your image will print reversed. 2.
Completely cover your canvas with gel medium. Use a heavy coat. 3. Press
the photo copy onto the canvas and let it dry for several hours or
overnight. 4. After your image is completely dry, use a spray bottle to
wet the top of the paper. 5. Rub the surface with your fingers until
pieces of the paper start coming off. When pieces start coming up your
image will be revealed. This step takes patience and is messy! Be
careful not to rub too hard as this can remove your transfer on
accident. Continue until all the paper is removed and the image is
completely visible! 6. Cover your canvas with one more coat of gel
medium to seal and protect the image.Note: You can expect an imperfect transfer. I think the imperfections are absolutely lovely! It's best to choose an image that is not incredibly detailed to work with. Each transfer is different. The more you experiment, the better!
Scrabble Tile Coasters
For each coaster you will need:
- 25 Scrabble tiles
(resale shops and yard sales are good places to find used Scrabble games.. you can also find them online) - cork board
- carpenter’s glue
- Xacto knife
- varnish (I used marine varnish)
- paint brush
- Special Effects Aging Glaze
or wood stain
Pick out your tiles.
Pick out letters for desired name.
Paint name letters with aging glaze or stain and let dry.
Place tiles on cork board and trace around them with a pencil. (If you are in a hurry, skip this step and simply add carpenter’s glue to cork board.)
Remove tiles and add carpenter’s glue to cork board inside the traced square.
Add
Scrabble tiles to the cork board, beginning in the corner. Pay
attention to the letters – you might inadvertently create some swear
words.
Using an Xacto knife, cut around the tiles. Try to get as close to the edge as possible.
Varnish.
Let dry. (You can give it another coat if you want.)
Use as name cards at your wedding, or give as bridesmaid or groomsmen gifts!
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