Saturday, March 1, 2014

Easy Barn Wood Styled Favorite Places Mile Marker Sign

Wow, isnt it crazy that we are already more than a week into January of 2014! With the kids back in school, I sat down to post some new items to my Etsy store and I wanted to share a project.

Over the holidays, I had several requests to make signs for gifts. The fun thing about custom requests is that many times a they turn into one of my favorite items.

This sign is one of those favorites.

This particular sign was for my best friend Tamaras brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Tamara wanted me to create a mile marker sign that listed some of their favorite places. Favorite vacations spots, where they met, home towns...just really personal and special places.

She also wanted to keep it fun, distressed and sort of beachy.

One of the things I loved most about this sign was the paint finish. Using just a simple 2x4 foot plywood board cut to a 2x3 foot, I used an easy aging effect, with a white wash and a simple scoring to create a barn wood effect. This sign is going up in my Etsy shop but its easy to create yourself.

Heres the how-to:

Supplies :
2x3 foot plywood or scrap wood of your choice
aging solution
white paint
chip brushes
yard stick
ice pick tool
water color pencils
sharpie paint pen

Using the publishing layout on my computer, I listed the towns and their mileage. In this case, I chose a more casual and fun font called "Connie." I used letter spacing to widen each word to make them all stretch to fit the same width...keeping it with a subway sign layout style. I then printed it out on an old page protector to use with an overhead.

Tip...for images I will only use once, I print out my layouts on left over school page protectors from my boys. It is cheaper than transparency paper but just dont smear it! Thats how I created this mural project.

The boards I select for signs are 2x4 feet which I usually have cut down to 2x3 at Home Depot. I also usually select the birch wood plywood which I find has a smoother finish than pine. This runs about $16+ dollars and I use the leftover scrap for small signs. ww.homedepot.com/p/Project-Panels-1-2-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-Birch-Plywood-154153/203504316#

Tip...always view your wood sideways to check to make sure it is not warped.

To prep and age my wood boards, I always use a solution of vinegar and steel wool. Here is a link to my go to recipe at one of my favorite blogs, Country Design Style. I store it in an old jar. Just brush on and in hours the solution will give your wood an authentic aged looked.

Tip...as the solution ages the tint deepens...it looks good at all stages but if you want a

certain look you may want to consider this.

To create a beachy white wash effect. I used some left over white paint thinned with water and applied vertically, leaving some open more "open" then others, revealing the weathered wood.

To create the barn wood effect. Measure increments even or uneven if you like, across the top and bottom.

Tip...I use a water color pencil so I can easily wipe away marks later. Looking back, I would have used a brown pencil just to add depth to the scoring. Who knows why I grabbed neon yellow??? Oh yes, Im lazy and it was probably closest.

Using your yard stick and pick, press down and score the wood. I did this several times, pressing hard, to get a nice deep grove.

Once you have your board painted and scored, transfer your image. I use a projector and traced letters with a black water color pencil.

I hand painted the letters and numbers in using a sharpie acrylic paint pen. I highly recommend these for letters...keeps it neat and so easy!!

Find beauty in your day! Debbie

Where to get easy Woodworking Plans for Beginner

It doesnt seriously matter if youve practiced woodworking for many years or if youre still a beginner, you can always have use for those easy woodworking plans. It will be much easier for you to end your projects if you stick to easy woodworking plans and I likely dont have to mention that it is critical to check out the exactness of the plan when you start working.

Its all up to you where you want to opt for your woodworking plans. You can find hundreds of them on the internet but not all of them are precise. Its more likely that youll get a great plan for your new project if you consult a book about the woodworking craft. A membership for a woodworking magazine might help you a lot too. Internet is a good source for many things and its a good place when you want to learn articles and study much about a specific subject, like woodworking, but its not the ideal place when you want to get easy woodworking plans.

It is crucial that youre aware of the fact that it will be possible for you to make several actually good pieces of furniture even if youre following easy woodworking plans. You can do a rocking arm chair or a good bureau if you would like and it doesnt have to be as difficult as it might seem. You should know that its not easy to be a talented and skillful craftsman even though and you will need to practice a lot if you want your furniture to look good.

Woodworking doesnt should be your career, you can have it as a hobby too. If you practice much you will be able to make most the furniture thats needed in a home and that can help you and your family to save lots of money since you wont should get all the high priced pieces of furniture in a store.

When youve done a few projects you might want to try more difficult plans and thats okay but you should always remember easy woodworking plans can be used even if you want a great final result. Its your work that matters. You can also come up with your own plans if youre skillful enough to figure out how to do it. That creates the craft of woodworking much more exciting definitely.

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