Family name sign

I started this project ages ago but the busier I got with other projects the more this one was set aside.
Originally I had included our family name within a piece of Typography as wall art, but that piece of wall art bugged the hell out of me because no one could actually read what it said and I got sick of having to clarify it. Plus I really did not like the way it had turned out anyhow, looking back I rushed it because my mum was staying for a while and I wanted it finished.
Every time I came across the thing it really irritated me, not only did people struggle to read it but the letters were all over the place and just didn't look right, also the script was just soo squirly.
OK, here's the link, just please don't judge me, it honestly wasn't my fault. Ok it was my fault but at least I can admit when I've made a complete farce of something.

Anyway where am I leading with this? Weeeeeell basically I redid that awful Typography and it's sooooo much better now (I'll repost it soon) but this time I put more thought into word placement  and omitted the family name part.
So I needed to make a new family name plate didn't I!

I really wanted to use a drawer front as I wanted a smooth finish with chamferred edges but I'd used up all my stash on other crap projects.
I then decided I could use some old wooden fence boards (as ya do) and convinced myself I really didn't mind the sanding involved.
This board was seriously grotty. I mean seeeeeeriously grotty!. It was extremely weathered, green and covered in pretty disgusting moss, plus it smelt a bit funky too!

Very weathered!

This beauty took some serious sanding I can tell you. But I'm too lazy to get out the electric sander so I did it all by hand - the smell was something else!
Once I'd got it looking presentable I gave it one coat of Patio Paints in Wrought Iron Black and then one coat of undercoat purely because I'd ran out of White paint and this undercoat was White (ya gotta learn how to get round these things huh!)
Once it had dried it was then that I decided I didn't want the naff rough look of this wood and that the split that had appeared from the left hand edge meant the project was a disaster.  So I shelved it!
Weeks later I came back to it and figured I'd give it a go, finish it and see what I thought of it then.
So I gave it 2 coats of Cream Emulsion paint and then went at it with the sand paper, sanding just enough to bring the black paint through as well as the White.
Guess what! I loved it! This rough wood gave it a whole different effect from smooth wood and that split just added to the effect - how chuffed was I!
As for the Typography I just did my usual trick - opened up CS5, typed the words, jiggled with fonts, traced from the back lit screen of the laptop, turned the tracing over and copied the front to the back and then  scribbled over the words on the front of the sign.
Then all I had to do was go over the letters with a Sharpie! BUT, I'm sick of Sharpie because they tend not to like this paint and just won't work properly. But I had no Black Pilot pen to hand so I then got stroppy! Once I'd had my hissy fit followed by a Nanny Nap I remembered my daughter storing her inks of many colours in my craft room. Why do that if you don't want to share right?
So I borrowed a bottle of her Black Calligraphy ink and a very thin artist brush too (Eek!) and traced the letters. Sorted!
This is now my favourite way of going over traced letters, it's so easy and so much better than a Sharpie.

Sorry it's a crappy angle but it's not actually situated where I wanted it. It was supposed to be propped up on my newly finished hallway table BUT hubby decided that was stupid! Yes, he did use those words!!! And figured it was better on the wall which I begrudgingly had to admit was probably a better place as it looks quite good there.
However I aint a tall girlie and I'm too lazy to get a chair or something else to stand on so I used the staircase but this meant the angles squiffy!

Thanks for popping by and taking a peek at my projects. have a scout around if you have time, if not then pop by again some time and/or leave a comment - I love getting them and do try to return mail to all.

 

Linked to:

'I Heart Nap Time'
'Fingerprints on the fridge'

Family motto

This project was one I'd had on my mind for ages. It's actually 1 part of what will be 3 sections - the first section, 'a shabby shelf', is finished already, the second part is this frame and the third part is a table that is currently in the workshop.

This started off its life as a picture that had been on our walls for years - in the bathroom!!???!!, however originally it was my sister in laws so it's been around a while:

Seriously faded. The colours are all Blue.

We used to love the picture, in fact hubby still does but once I'd actually taken the picture out of the frame is was sooooo obvious how much it had faded.
Once I'd taken it all apart I gave it a good sand down making sure the awful gold flake area was done extra well.
Then I gave it a coat of Patio Paints in 'Patio Brick'. Originally I had intended to then go over it with a cream paint and sand it back but I changed my mind - I kept it in the Brick colour.
It was also intended to be a pin/memo board with areas for letters ready for posting and also an area for a calender but I changed my mind about that as well...
Then it was just going to be a pin/memo board but guess what? Changed my mind about that too.... see, this is why I don't plan my projects - I always change them.

Finally I decided I would make it into a board with a quote. As it would be hanging in the hallway I figured it would be a cute thing to have.
I spent an age trying to find something to use that I could paint onto that would fit the frame and then I had a brain wave ..... yep me....
I used the backboard that originally held the picture in place - cool idea eh!
It took a bit of sanding back because I had to use the back of to write on  because the front was too rough and had a weird texture. The back however had had years of tape stuck to it so the sanding took a wee while.
Once it was sanded down I painted it with Patio Paints 'Cloud White' and then a couple of coats of 'Contemporary' emulsion paint.
Once dry I sanded it back to reveal the White and also the dark board beneath:

It is actually more sanded than this piccie shows plus this piccie needs turning CCW - Oops!

Next was the frustrating bit.
I knew what phrase I wanted to use - "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain" - BUT I'd ran out of computer ink and was waiting for new ink to arrive.
Could I wait a few days for the ink? Could I eckers like! I had to come up with something else.
So I opened CS5 on my laptop and opened a load of new pages in A4 size. On each one I wrote part of the quote and just hoped and prayed I'd managed to do each one in the same size as I had to enlarge them past the maximum font size.
The best thing about laptops is that the screen is backlit - makes a perfect lightbox.
To copy the letters from the laptop onto paper I turned the laptop round so that the screen was sitting on my knee and simply traced them onto paper:

Look at that for backlighting!

Once I had the image on paper I simply turned it over and traced that image on the back so that I could then put it to the board, scribble over it and have the letters imprinted where I needed them. *HINT: Use a pencil that is dark - these are usually the softer ones. It makes a big difference when tracing the letter to the board. A finer, lighter pencil just won't show enough on the piece you've traced to.
Once the letters were on in pencil I grabbed my permanent pen (a Stabilo & a Sharpie), lay on the floor and went over all those letters.
I always find 'Sharpie' bleeds when you varnish so I try not to use it too much but I've always found that any permanent pen struggles to work on paint and I am constantly (every few strokes) having to get the pen to run again on waste paper - very annoying!!! So if anyone knows of a permanent pen that actually works well on paint pleeeeease let me know.

Once the pen had dried I then gave it another sand down to age it a little.

I'm quite chuffed with how it's turned out. I maybe would change the font next time - This one is 'Before the Rain' and I would prefer the words to cover more of the area.
Overall though it's gonna look great with the 'shabby shelf' and the table.

Thanks for taking a peek, hope you enjoyed it.



This post is linked to
'Ginger Snap Crafts'
'Someday Crafts'
'Night Owl crafting'
'The Girl Creative'
'Delightful order'
'Bear rabbit bear'
'The DIY showoff'
'Flamingo Toes'
'The Shabby Nest'
'Miss mustard Seed'
'Finding Fabulous for Less'