Cheap and Easy Outdoor Sign

Materials to create this project:

- 8 Dog Ear PT Pickets from Lowe’s  ($13.44 total)

- Wood glue (I use Gorilla Wood Glue)

- 3/4” nails. I used a nail gun but regular nails & hammer would work.

- Vinyl cut letters for the mask. I cut my letters from my SVG available in my Etsy Store (.99 cents)

- Spray paint (I used Rust-Oleum Flat Black) ($4.38 each)

To start you need 8 Dog Ear PT Pickets from Lowes. ($13.44 total). You can have your wood cut at Lowe’s in the lumber dept. if you do not have a saw. 

Cut a clean end off of one end.  Measure 70” and cut the other end. 

Repeat for 6 pieces.

Lay out all 6 pieces on a flat, level surface. I make sure all the slats touch (with no space between them) because they will shrink.

Measure the height of your sign.  Due to shrinkage, you want to make sure you cut your back braces to that height.  If you had your pieces cut at Lowe’s, just adjust your 6 slat pieces accordingly. It is fine to have space between them because eventually the wood shrinks and spaces will happen. 

With your 6 slat pieces laying flat, glue and nail on back braces evenly spaced. You do not need to

measure this out. Just eyeball it.

You are ready to flip over and paint.

I used the SVG that I created for this project. I used my Cricut and individually cut all the letters onto vinyl. Open the large format SVG and set the size to 26.5 high. This is extremely large and your Cricut will not be able to cut that at once. However, you will be cutting these letters individually onto vinyl. *Do forget to change the date!  I used 2016 because that is the date we moved into our home. 

Position what you can to fit onto your vinyl and hide the rest by clicking on the eye icon in the layers panel. You are making no more than a sticker. You will then peal and stick them onto your sign to mask areas from the paint.  I used 8 12”x12” pieces of vinyl. 

The vinyl creates a mask to block out the paint. I wanted my sign to be all black.

Once all cut, position the letters on to your sign. It may take you a few tries to get your letters straight and spaced like you want. Refer back to the original, that will help.  

Once you are happy, rub them down. The wood is textured so it will take a little pressure.

Prop your sign outside in the grass. Keep it away from anything you do not want painted.  The wind will carry the particles and could land on your house, your sidewalks, your car, etc.  You do not want that!!!

Spray in short strokes to cover the sign.  Spray right over the vinyl. I used 1 whole can of spray paint ($4.38 each).  I purchased 2 just in case. 

Let dry for an hour.  Pull off the vinyl.

You are finished.  Hang and display outdoors! I will post again when my hubby gets it hung for me.

Stay safe!

Stacy

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It's the Thought That Counts - Video Tutorial

May starts a very busy celebration season for us.  Birthdays, Mother's Day, anniversaries and graduations...one after another. I love giving gifts! Picking out the perfect thing for that special someone. Now-a-days, it is hard. Money and gift cards may be the gifts of choice. But to me, they do not feel very personal. I get it, people LOVE them! I am a firm believer that it's the thought that counts. I decided that I will make the outside of the gift count. I created my own wrapping paper with kraft paper, acrylic paint and a potato. I just wanted a small polka dot pattern and a little Russet works perfectly.  I sliced it in half and dipped it into the acrylic paint.  Let it dry.  Check out my tutorial showing how I used this technique on my homemade printed buffs.

Watch my video tutorial on how to dress up the package with a cupcake liner flower.  Super easy and beautiful. Maybe Mom would like one on her gift this Sunday!

Happy Mother's Day! Be safe! 

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Wish-List Crafty Ideas

I have been doing so many projects around my house.  My to-do-list was more like a wish-list until the pandemic. Now, I am creating more and loving the idea that whatever crafty idea I have, I can do almost immediately. I was lucky enough to have an old Singer sewing machine base.  It was one of those wish-list things I never got around to making something with. I wanted to make it into a planter for my porch. I have a lot of scrap wood in my garage because I have sooooo many ideas! I drew out what was in my head for my hubby and he whipped together with rough crate. I stained it, drilled holes in it and used some chunky rope for handles. I loved it but it needed something more. I created a vintage stencil to make the crate look more authentic. A little acrylic paint and then I sanded to distressed it and threw some poly on it because I knew it may get a little wet as it is a planter.  I lined it by stapling a lawn and leaf trash bag inside, again for the moisture. So cute on my porch! 

If you would like to create this stencil, I have it discounted in my shop for .99 cents. You get two for the price of one. Got a flower pot or an empty box that needs pizazz?! Check it out here!

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