project reveal: wood artwork

I'm back with all the details on our latest project. We made some artwork. It's rustic. colorful. personal. and we love it. 

Bare with me--point and shoot camera + bad lighting=not the best pictures. You'll get the point but will have to trust me it looks sweeet in person. I edited the top photo for fun, but the rest are unedited and display the true colors. You may not be able to tell but this sign is huge. It's 40" by 28."

The hardest part was deciding what words we wanted to display. We contemplated for a while...a Bible verse? a meaningful quote? but in the end realized we wanted something simple and big, and 'douglas duo' seemed to fit the bill. 

Now for the tutorial. I got the idea and step-by-step process from here. Thanks, Ashley! We did change a few things and have a few pointers of our own to share.

Day 1: We put a rectangle of painters tape above the sofa to get an idea of how big we wanted the sign to be. Then I was off to Home Depot with measurements. I had them cut it for me. I needed 7 pieces of wood 40 inches long and when all put together 28 inches high.

I then laid two thin pieces of wood along the back (and actually added two more pieces, vertically on the sides) to attach all 7 pieces. Then took it outside for coat 1 of stain. I used this stain, Early American finish.

Then day 2, took it back outside and applied another thin coat of stain

Since I was home again from work on Monday, I kept trucking along. After debating on which font we liked, we printed the letters out and had it enlarged (4 times) at Staples. It was actually pretty cheap, $4.99. It looked pretty big in the store so just in case we got another one printed (3 times as large). We actually used the bigger letters. It was huge, just look at the tape measure for a comparison.

Next, we cut out the letters and once they were in place, we traced them onto the wood. 

Next came the most tedious aspect of the entire project...cutting the letters out of painter's tape.

We found it easiest to retrace the letter onto the tape so the tape matched the letter perfectly. But of course the tape was thin, so each letter was done in sections. Again let me say, time consuming. It took probably about 2 hours.

Then, we painted over the entire thing. I painted in between the cracks because I wanted to see the separate planks of wood. It did make me nervous to cover that pretty wood, but in the end it was worth it. Side note: we did use oil-based stain and latex paint on top and it adhered fine. Take that man at Home Depot who tried to convince me otherwise. 

Some paint did sneak through the cracks of the tape. After the paint was dry, we went back with an exacto knife to create the clean line of the letters. 

Last step, attach a picture hanging kit (we bought one that said sturdy and held up to 25 pounds). Our sign weighed 14 pounds. 

Step back and marvel at your work. We're proud of this beauty. 

Here's was our timeline:

Day 1: Purchase materials, assemble and apply 1st coat of stain

Day 2: Apply 2nd coat of stain

Day 3: Cut out letters, trace onto wood, trace and cut out "tape letters"

Day 4: Paint and remove letters

Day 5: Scrape off excess paint

Day 6: Hang and Enjoy

Oh and the best part, the price. After purchasing all the supplies, the hanging kit, paying for the enlargements it was about $50.00.

It nicely ties in both sides of the room. Remember my new print across the room?

If you decide to tackle this project and have any questions just send me an e-mail.