Pages

April 8, 2011

Vintage Style Washroom Sign



In case you missed it, this is the tutorial I posted over at Lolly Jane Boutique the other day:) 
There are THREE ways to make this sign, depending on your resources and desired look!

I love handmade, personalized painted signs.  I love how distressing them makes each one unique.
I have been starting to decorate a big blank wall in my kitchen, and this is one of the signs that I decided to make for it!  It is very simple, but looks like something you would buy in a boutique or online for buko bucks!

I grabbed a piece of scrap wood that I had around.  You can pick up a piece of pine board like this at the hardware store, and have them cut it for you.  This one measures about 4.5" tall and 22" long. 

I knew that I wanted my sign to be "antique white", and the words to be "tapestry wine".  I have many brands of acrylic paint in my stash - because I usually buy whatever is on sale at the craft store:) 

Start by painting your board the color that you are going to want the words.  In my case, the red color.  This way, when it is distressed, this color peeks through, coordinating with color of the words.

Now is when you have to make some choices.  There are 3 ways to put words on this sign.

Option 1) After this first coat of paint is dry, put down vinyl letters, stickers, or contact paper that you have traced and cut.  This will act as a barrier to your next coat of paint, keeping the words the red color.  Ultimately you will peel them off. 

I did not choose this option, because I wanted to distress the words and have the white coat of paint show through.

Whether or not you choose Option 1, next comes a few coats of white paint (or whatever color you want your finished plaque to be).

Option 2) After painting the plaque the final top color, use vinyl that you cut with a machine, or contact paper that you cut by hand, and create a stencil.  (This is the option that I chose).

Paint inside the stencil, the color that you want the words to be.

Option 3) If you do not have a vinyl cutting machine, or the patience to cut a stencil, you can paint the words over the top by hand.  I have done this many times before!

I have a quick example of this below: Print the words in the size and font you want, trace them onto the wood using chalk or pencil rubbings on the back of the paper, and paint inside your traced lines. 

Whether you use option 1, 2 or 3, you will end up with something nice and crisp, like this!  With option 2 and 3 you will have peeled off any vinyl or stickers, etc. that you used. 

Now comes the fun part!  Distressing it :)  I used an electric sander for the edges, and hand sanded the top.  If you used Option 2 or 3, then white paint will show through when you sand down the words.  As you can see, by painting the red underneath, as the very first coat of paint, red shows through when you sand the edges - and really ties the whole sign together!  Finish it by spraying it with a matte sealer. 


Now, it hangs on the same wall as this sign here!


image signature

12 comments:

  1. Great sign! Love your tutorials, too! I'm getting ready to attempt my first one (and wishing I didn't have to do it by hand)! *Becca* (your newest follower)

    www.adventuresindecorating1.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the great tutorial! I have a few ideas for signs and this was very helpful - Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great tutorial! Love the sign :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very cute! Just wanted to tell you thank you again for the super cute {Dr. Pepper} keychain. Love it! I did a shout out to you on my blog today. Thanks again!!
    Allison
    www.room-mom101.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the weathered signs! and the tutorial. so great.

    your new follower!
    kathryn
    www.thedragonsfairytail.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the tip! Your newest follower... hope you can visit me sometime soon!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your signs are amazing! I love making signs to. I love that red!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Those signs are so great! Thanks for sharing them at Fantastic Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lindsay-
    Thanks for your comment, I love all your crafty stuff here! This washroom sign is my favorite! Sarah R and I were talking about getting together for a craft night in a couple of weeks, maybe we should all get together and do some stuff.
    See you soon,

    Elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
  10. love this! newest follower, found you on lambaround.blogspot.
    Would love a visit and follow back to
    http://imnotatrophywife.com

    laura

    ReplyDelete