Winter Wonderland Wooden Sign

Occasionally, I like to get a little artsy and crafty.  This week, I  completed a new project especially for Day 7 (Christmas Crafts!) of the "25 Days of Christmas", hosted by Jmo and Star: 

**the Winter Wonderland wooden sign**

You will need: 1 wooden board, a few different shades of acrylic craft paint, craft paint brushes, word stencils and a relaxing workspace with good lighting. For this project, I used a 26'w x 7"h pine craft board and Ceramcoat brand acrylic paint in Metallic Silver, Pearl Finish, White, and Ultra Blue.  

Board Prep: Paint with brown base coat - I use cheap interior/exterior paint, because one coat is all that's needed, and it dries quickly.  Any type of paint or varnish can be used.

Paint Prep:  I blended Ceramcoat White with Ultra Blue to create a creamy blue hue that is used for some of lettering on the sign.

Begin by painting the background design. I free handed snowflakes using Silver and Pearl Finish paints, and alternated shapes and sizes until the entire board was covered:

You can't really mess up a snowflake design; I always start with a circle in the center, and work my way outward with a variety of lines, circles, and curls -use your imagination! You can always google "snowflake clipart" for inspiration.

You don't need to spend money on pre-cut stencils; create your very own custom designs on any word processing program, print them out, and "trace"them onto the board. Simply lay the design on top of the board and trace around the edges with a thick ball point pen or dull pencil, applying pressure as you trace.  When you remove the paper, you will see the design etched into the board. Simple and cheap? I think so! 

I filled in the first row of "etched" letters with the creamy blue paint I mixed when prepping for the project. The blue stands out nicely against the silver and pearl snowflakes.  (Can you guess what the bottom row of words will be?)

I free-handed the phrase "Winter Wonderland" with white paint; I opted to use my own handwriting and paint directly onto the board rather than trace a design in, as I wanted to add a personal touch (you will find out why at the end of this tutorial!)

To hang the sign, I decided to use two "loops" of sturdy craft wire (one on each side of the board) rather than a bracket.  The board I used for this project was thin (1/4") and light enough to be supported securely by the wire. A bracket can also be used.  I carefully measured a few inches inward from each side of  the board and drilled small holes toward the top. 

I cut two 7" pieces of craft wire, which i then folded in half and threaded through each drilled hole.  I left a "loop" in the front, and twisted the wire tightly on the backside of the sign so that the wire hangers would be secure.  

The sign can easily be hung by two nails - gorgeous!

Isn't she lovely?  You may recognize the typewriter font - I use it frequently when blogging! As for the free-handed "Winter Wonderland" lettering, I felt it was necessary to add a completely personal touch - I want to make sure that whoever wins this beauty receives a one-of-a-kind, uniquely "Stephanie" piece of work!  

Oh yes - I said "win".  WIN, as in, I'm giving the "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland" hand- painted wooden sign away to one of my awesome readers!

Enter to win:

1. Let me know that you'd like to win the sign by leaving a comment (1 entry)

2. Follow the blog! And if you already do, AWESOME.  Leave a comment either way. (1 entry)

3. "Like" A Grad Student's Wife on Facebook (see Right column) and leave a comment letting me know. (2 entries)

3. Blog it! And leave a comment with the link to your post. (3 entries)

4. Tweet it! Make sure to mention @herdfan in your tweet. (3 entries)

5. BONUS ENTRY:  What's your favorite thing about Wintertime?  Comment and let me know!

The winner will get to enjoy the sign for months to come!

**Giveaway ends Sunday, December 12th at 12:01am**

And the Blogging Queen is...

I would like to thank all of you who entered the Blogging Queen sign giveaway - the feedback was so great, I'm thinking about making one more for another giveaway sometime later on!  

According to random.org, the winning number is 32.  Congrats to Diana of My Lifesong for being the 32nd entry!  

It will be on its way to Kentucky this week, Diana!

Giveaway #2 Sneak-peek

I'm currently gathering some of my favorite summer Bath & Body Works products together to share with one of my followers at the end of August! My "summer isn't over yet" giveaway will include lots of lemon, lots of pink, and lots of sunshine :)  

Just a heads up!  I'll let you know when it's officially on!

Happy Sunday!

Wired & Wonderful Wooden Sign

Welcome to Wooden Sign class 101! I am in love with creating these little pieces. Signs can be stuck nearly anywhere, hanging off a doorknob, on the wall, outside on the porch, in the office... the possibilities are endless!  


Here is a step-by-step for my latest project, a West Virginia-theme two-section sign.  I currently sell hand painted WV theme items in the Addison Visitor's Center, located in Webster Springs, WV.  It's my little way of sending a shout-out to my hometown folk, who have serious pride in their home - and their football team, the WVU Mountaineers.  The possibilities are endless with wooden signs, which are fully customizable - so go grab some wood and get started!

Two-Section Wooden Sign

What You Need:

Two pieces of lightweight craft wood with a base coat of paint (I always use a chocolate brown shade), sand paper, safety goggles, power drill, your design on paper, small paint brushes, craft wire, scissors, decorative ribbon, acrylic paint (in this project I used Navy Blue, 14K Gold, and Antique White by Delta Ceramcoat.)

  

1) Sand the edges of wooden pieces for a worn look. 2) Lay your design on top of the wood, and trace with a ball point ink pen - press hard, to "carve" the design into the wood. 3) Paint background designs first; my signature "stamp" on WV items is the state image.  Even after painting it, I can still see the carved design I traced earlier.

 

4) Begin painting the design; I painted letters with a two-dimensional "shadow" effect.  I used the navy blue shade for my first layer. 5) I added an antique white layer on top of the blue; I decided to stop with just one layer of the antique white, which looks a little imperfect over the blue.  This has more of a worn, country feel to it - so i left as is!  Imperfect sometimes IS perfect.

 

6) This is where my favorite phases of the project begin! Break out the power drill, and using a very small bit, drill holes in your pieces of wood.  For the top piece, drill holes at all four corners. For the bottom piece, drill two holes at the top that line up with the bottom holes of the first piece. Use your safety goggles to prevent sawdust from getting in your eyeballs! 7) Cut craft wire: 1 long piece for the hanger, and two shorter pieces that will be used to connect the top piece to the bottom piece.  I love to make my wire curly before assembling the pieces. To curl wire, wind around an ink pen or paint brush , slide off the tip, then gently pull apart so that kinks are spread wide enough to reach from one drilled hole to the other.  8) Thread wire through holes to assemble pieces together.  twist ends of wire on back of pieces into several small kinks to secure.  

Tie a few pieces of ribbon on the wire hanger, and...

TA-DA!

There you have it!  A simple, country sign to hang and proudly display your state pride! 

If you're stopping in from my Facebook page and you live in the Webster Springs area, this sign will be available to purchase at the Addison Visitor's Center in August.  

If you're stopping in from the weekend DIY blog hops, WELCOME!  I try to blog about one project per week, so stay tuned!

Here are a couple of my most recent projects:

Love is Sweet Sign

Blogging Queen Sign - for Giveaway!

My Etsy Shop