DIY and Crafts: Who Knew!

Who Knew!

I’m so excited to share my family sign… who knew it was so easy to put words on signs! I was shocked!!! If you don’t have a steady hand and feel like adding words to a sign is overwhelming, then you want to check out this really cool sign making tip!

Who Knew it was So Easy to Put Words on a Sign

So I’ve got all the details today.

So let me jump in and tell you how I made it {affiliate links included for your convenience, find more details here).

Supplies Needed for Easy Sign:

Tutorial:

First… I found a scrap of plywood from the garage and gave the side I was going to paint a rough sanding (just to smooth it out a bit). You can see from the pic that it wasn’t very pretty, but all those flaws will make it look even better in the long run (ok I think we can make a deep life moment out of that statement).

Then I used the leftover paint from my recent family room paint makeover. Just one really good coat.

Once the base coat was dry I used some espresso brown acrylic paint that I watered down I lightly painted random areas of the board. This really is better not to think much about the placement. If you’re like me and one of those over planners you might even want to close your eyes. Trying to focus on the cracked, worn, character parts of the board was my goal.

I let the brown dry overnight before moving onto my creamy white. I used a dry brush method with the white paint. Dry brushing is when your brush has barely any paint on it. I usually just dip the tip of my brush in and then wipe it off on the edge of the can as well. This will give it the faded look with some areas with more coverage and some with less. Here too you just want to randomly place your white. Remember there is no right or wrong here… it’s art! Put some music on and go with it ((smile))!

Now… once your top coat is all dry came the part I couldn’t wait to try! I found this over at Pinterest a month or two ago and I’d been dying to try it.

Here’s the concept… you print out words on basic white paper, but in mirror image form… lay them on the wood… with a damp paint brush wet the paper on top of the words… use the cap of a sharpie to rub on top of the letters to help them transfer … then remove the paper and stand in shock and awe!

Printing in mirror ~

If you have Photoshop Elements you type your word(s) and then go to Image… Rotate…Flip Layer Horizontal. If you want to use a word processing program then here are a couple ways to try. This one is creating WordArt and the other way is trying to use your printer. If you go to File… Print… Properties and see if you can find a method to flip it.

Once you have your word(s) printed then arrange them with the printed side facing down. Fill a bowl with water and dip in your paint brush. I used a 2 inch wide paint brush. (I wouldn’t recommend a foam brush as they really absorb water) You need to get the paper damp, but you do not want it soaking wet. (So wipe it on the edge of the bowl a few times) I did one page at a time and moved quickly.

Once the paper is damp I used the tip of a Sharpie marker and rubbed over the letters to get the ink to transfer. I used a horizontal, back-and-forth method. You don’t want to rub too hard because the paper could tear. This is more an issue if your paper is too wet. Then I removed the paper. I found that if I let the paper sit to long the ink starts to bleed, especially if it is too wet.

Words Transferred to Wood

Isn’t that the coolest trick!!! Obviously you could paint on top of the letters to darken them, but I was going for the worn look so it worked perfectly!