DIY Love is the New Black Signage

Step by step post on how to create signage without using a stencil or technology

Happy Thursday! It has been a long month for me and for those who keep up with the One Room Challenge it has been a BUSY month for a group of bloggers. I had the opportunity to participate in the One Room Challenge this Fall and I decided to share with you a tutorial from my room makeover.

I know that there is a lot of different ways to make signage...everything from using a Cricut machine to buying stencils...but this post was made for those who do not have any of those fancy things to create a stencil. Yep, you read that right...we are going old school...Pencil, ruler, and my own 2 hands. Sometimes you have to do something yourself for it turn out right.

I have been wanting to create a sign that says, "Love is the New Black" for a while...I actually made one on poster board, but I wanted a more permanent look. While I was getting ready to decorate my room for the One Room Challenge, I figured that I should just make one myself. This sign literally took about an hour (or less) to create and it cost me absolutely nothing.

Materials:

Scrap wood
glass jar
mis-matched sock or cloth of some sort
paint
water
ruler
sharpie

Before I go straight into the typography of the sign, Let me share with you how I created the "cool" paint technique. I really do to know what to call it. It was like I was staining the wood with watered down paint. I applied this same technique on my daughter's book shelf and depending on the wood species the effect may look different. The scrap wood I used on this signage had a wooden veneer on it so it did not soak in like I would have liked. Instead, it created a very unique, chic look to the wood.

Steps: Part 1

1. gather materials and fill jar with water
2. pour water on wood
3. pour paint on wood, mix water and paint together with cloth
4. wipe paint mixture on wood as if you were staining it
5. once you are satisfied with color and texture, let it dry. depending on wood species it may not have texture.

Now on to the typography

6. Once the wood has dried, draw light horizontal lines on the paper so that you can start writing your words

7. Free hand your letters, feel free to use circle templates for round letters

8. Trace your letters using a sharpie and a ruler

9. Fill in the thick parts of the lettering with paint

10. Paint the edge of the scrap wood to give it a clean look

11. Erase existing lines

Voila--the finished product. I have so many homemade signage it is ridiculous! Always remember, Good design has no limits...so get inspired and just do it!