DIY Handwriting Copy Sign Tutorial

A new trend I have noticed is displaying portions of handwritten notes enlarged as a sign. I think it is a lovely way to remember special words. I was recently asked to create a sign with a portion of Clarence's note from It's a Wonderful Life so I thought I would snap a few pictures of the process to share a tutorial on the blog.

DIY Handwriting Copy Sign Tutorial

I happened to have the perfect size board already on hand. It is a rough cut board sanded slightly, so it has the rough edges and saw blade marks still visible. It really gives the piece some rustic character. I just lightly brushed some cream paint onto the board to get a weathered effect. You can also sand the edges to remove paint and make it more rustic.

Next, I resized the portion of the original note I was using and printed it out. (I just use Microsoft Word because I can use the page size to estimate dimensions.) I used carbon paper to transfer the image to the painted wood.

It's a Wonderful Life Quote
Use carbon paper to transfer handwriting to wood
How to transfer handwriting to signs

I used a fine tip black paint marker to paint the words onto the wood. It is more natural to make handwriting with a paint marker vs. a paintbrush. I also let the roughness of the wood texture the lettering by not filling in chips and grain.

How to easily make a sign from handwriting

Finally, I applied an antiquing wax to further age and seal the piece.

It's a Wonderful Life sign- Clarence's note

I think this technique would be really sweet for old love notes from your spouse, cards from special occasions, or even treasured family recipes!

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Fall Limited Edition Sale

When I have make some spare time to create, I will occasionally have a seasonal sale. Today, I began my fall limited edition sale. There are a lot of rustic, fall signs, and some of my best-selling products from past years. give thanks with a grateful heart

count your blessings

blessed

 

thankful

curly thankful pumpkin indian corn baskets

 

thankful pumpkin

praise god from whom all blessings flow

indian corn baskets close

grateful thankful blessed

I always start out a sale on my facebook page to give my friends over there first chance. You can "like" my page HERE. Some items are already sold and I am trying to list the rest in my new online shop.

I love the fall season and I am really looking forward to it!

Barn Sale Sign

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The biggest project that I made this Christmas was a custom made "BARN SALE" sign. It is for someone who sells antiques, and I really wanted this to look authentically worn and aged. For real... these pictures don't do it justice. I was super happy with how it turned out!

My husband put three, 36" long, 1 x 6 boards together with strips on the back to hold it together. This sign is HUGE! It is a "pallet" effect, but with solid, better quality wood that will last a long time.

The layers underneath contain mustard yellow and robin's egg blue- both very "vintage" paint colors. The background is several layers of barn red paint. The letters are white, but I did them with about four coats of paint using a tiny brush. It is hard to get a crisp, white color over a dark background and I didn't want thick brush lines. I also used the little paintbrush to give the letters a black shadow and it really made it pop!

It was difficult to find hangers that were not shiny and new, so we ended up using these fun, decorative, gate hinges. Flat, black, tractor paint was used to take the gloss away and the end hole was drilled out a little bigger to make it possible to use rope to hang it up.

The lettering isn't perfect, but it is authentic and this piece took a lot of work! 

Thank you to my sister for modeling this piece. :)
Link Parties where I sometimes hang out...

A thrill of hope...

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I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!!

I know the blog has been quiet for a few weeks, but there were so many projects I had been working on that were Christmas surprises! You can expect a little blogging overload now that the presents have all been opened.

First up, this wood sign for my aunt:

 I was inspired by THIS Aimee Weaver design, but changed it up and put a chalkboard spin on it. So, it isn't really anything like hers anymore now that I look at it. I made it my own, and that is a good thing. I don't want to be a copycat.

A little behind the scenes reality here... I almost forgot to dot my "i"s- I did the one in rejoices and when I was getting ready to wrap it up I saw the "i" in thrill was undotted, too! Since that dot was still wet, I was going to wrap it in the car on the way there and then the "f" in "of" looked too much like a "t" so I made my husband turn around and go home so that I could fix it. I couldn't have lived with myself!

Just a short post today- I still have some recovery to do around the house- but I have lots more to share later!

Painting Christmas Signs... and a Cyber Monday Sale

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My life is totally different than it was a few years ago. When I sold ornaments in my etsy shop, this time of year was hectic and stressful. I was not a fun person to be around and it was not what was best for our family. I don't regret closing my shop and I don't plan on opening it up regularly anytime soon.

Lately, I have been actually keeping up around the house- except this weekend, but I don't think that counts- and I had some free time to paint just because I wanted to. 

I like to paint. It relaxes me. It also gets my creative juices flowing and energizes me. Does that make sense?

So, I painted a bunch of Christmas signs, trying some new ideas and techniques. I can't keep them all and I could use some extra income right about now. I am going to sell them in a little "Cyber Monday" sale. I am not taking any custom orders. This is all that I made and when they are gone, that is it.  I am going to offer them to my facebook fans first, then list them on etsy. If you are interested in any of these you can check them out there or e-mail me: pacountrycrafts at gmail dot com.

Each one is hand painted- no vinyl and no stencils- so they are one of a kind pieces. They are all made from solid pine boards.

Thanks for looking!