Thursday, August 29, 2013

How to Fake a Reclaimed Wood Sign

In my Powder Room Progress post, I touched on the fact that my happy accident in breaking a 10" pine board practically down the center gave me an extra piece of scrap wood to work with. After some thought, this is what came of that scrap piece of pine that could:



I wanted a painted wooden sign badly, but did not have transfer paper handy or a fancy cutting machine to create a stencil of sorts and I didn't feel like leaving the house, so I worked with what I had. 

It was fairly easy:

Find a font you like. Print it large enough to your liking. I wanted an old-time rustic look, so I picked...a font. I can't remember which one now. But pick one you like! The sky (or your willingness to download new fonts) is the limit here.


I'll admit: I had already taken the taped-down words off at this point, realized I forgot to take a picture,
and then hastily stuck it back on for a photo. #getittogetherwoman
Once my words were printed, I cut each word out and taped it to my already-sanded-and-stained board, making sure that they lined  up nicely and were level.

And then this is where I fail at providing you with more pictures. Sorry, friends.

Take a ball-point pen or a pencil and trace over the outline of each of your letters. You can press firmly, but not too firmly. If you're working with pine, it's pretty soft so it won't take much pressure. You'll want to apply enough pressure while tracing to make an imprint of each letter's outline on your wood piece.

Once that's done, take a fine paint brush and fill in your letters with the paint color of your choosing. I used two coats of Martha Stewart Acrylic Craft Paint in Wedding Cake. And then I took a black acrylic paint and painted a faint shadow along the left side of each letter's outline.

Just a note, that tiny paint brush will do wonders. I didn't have one and was determined to not leave the house. I tried a pen dipped in paint to fill it in, my pinky finger, and a q-tip. All of those methods sucked, so I finally had to bite the bullet and drive the two miles to A.C. Moore.

I know, guys, it was so hard.

Let your masterpiece dry, then gently sand over the letters to distress your sign. Below you can see how it turned out after taking a sanding block to it.


Looks pretty legit, no?
Originally, I was going to paint the words "Powder Room" on the sign, but I feel like "Powder Room" is so twee and precious and not meant for rooms with awesomely rustic wooden shelves. "Powder Room" probably would have worked if the walls stayed purple, but not today. Not in this bathroom, no sir.

I now dub this room the W.C.



22 comments:

  1. Water Closet! How cute is that? I love how rustic signs like that can look. It adds so much Warmth. Great job!

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    1. Thanks Kylie! I'm so happy with the way it turned out!

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  2. Love it! So glad you came over and told me about your happy accident :) You couldnt have gotten that cool of a shape if you tried!

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  3. I love this sign and your style! I am a huge "cheater" when it comes to decorating and I am so bad at remembering to photograph my DIY steps! The sign is super charming!

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    1. Thanks, Kim! I ALWAYS forget to take pictures. Which is silly because I'm operating off my iPhone's camera right now and I always have my phone with me! Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. This is great! We had a technical difficulty over Craft Frenzy Friday so please come back and post this again!! Thanks!

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  5. You are too funny, I know what you mean, there are times when you just want to complete your project with what you have in the house... You did a great job! You also had a great piece of wood as your building block!
    I found you through the Craft Frenzy Friday Link Party where I am also partying, would love it if you'd stop by too.
    Hugs, antonella :-)

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    1. Thanks, Antonella! Sometimes it kills me to leave the house for that ONE thing that you know you can't finish a project without, even though you've already gone out and picked up your supplies. It always happens, never fails. Thanks for stopping by and I'll be sure to check out your blog!

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  6. Super cute! And it looks great! I would have messed it up if I had to hand paint it!

    I would love for you to share this post (and any others!) at my Life of the Party link up. It just opened! Im going to poke around your site a little more.
    http://thegrantlife.com/life-party-2/

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  7. Thanks for posting on Craft Frenzy Friday!

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  8. Thanks for sharing this with all of us, great idea! I am slowly learning to take pics while doing my DIY, it has been a rough road. LOL Once I get started I don't even think about stopping to take a pic. :-)

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  9. LOVE your WC sign - doesn't the shape of the wood give it such character. I feel like you could have ripped this off the door of an old pub in England. Thanks so much for sharing it at Work it Wednesday this week!

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    1. Thanks, Krista! I feel like it does have quite a bit of character even though it started out as a new pine board from Home Depot ;)

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  10. Looks great. Thanks for stopping by DIY Vintage Chic’s Friday’s Five Features and Fun Festivities. Don’t forget to stop back by this Friday!

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