DIY Wooden Sign

Very rarely do I start a blog post with a picture of the finished product, but I'm way too proud of this sign to hide all the final pictures down at the bottom of the post! 

And in other great news this past week, I got my first feature over at Etcetorize for my Not-So-New Dresser Makeover! Now onto my amazing wall sign/art:

I don't have a headboard as of yet (I've been planning on building one) but I wanted to go ahead and have something above my bed in the meantime...let's be honest, it could be years before I actually get around to making the headboard.

My bedroom a couple days after move-in - you can see how something needed to be done with the blank wall space above my bed.

I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to make cuts in my apartment parking lot, so I had Home Depot rough cut 1x4's into 4' pieces for me and then broke out the drill for the first time since March.

I was so excited because this was the first time I was going to be able to use my pocket hole kit my dad bought me back in February, before I got hurt.

It really was super easy - I now get what all the hype over on Ana White's site is about!

After it was all attached with pocket holes (and yes, all the construction was done off the tail gate of my truck) I realized that I needed to add some braces on the back.

And then the fun of aging/staining! Yay! The messy part!

I used steel wool soaked in apple cider vinegar and it smelled NASTY! I highly recommend doing this outside and wearing gloves if you decide to do this. I was happy with how it aged the wood a little bit, but I still decided to wipe it down with stain after it dried to make it look a bit more even.

I got to cutting my vinyl letters and sticking them on - making sure they were on nice and tight - didn't want paint to seep under them too much.

Part of me wishes I had done the heart in "Love" in red or pink and kept it that color...

I spray painted right around the letters with silver - this was two fold: I felt it "sealed" the edges of the letters down, but I also wanted to add some color depth...once again - I highly recommend NOT spray painting in the house - I think I killed a few brain cells.

After the spray paint dried I mixed a little ASCP Old White with some water (probably about 1 part paint to 2-3 parts water) and white washed it - immediately wiping/moving the paint around with the grain of the wood with a rag.

When I peeled the letters off after it all dried I was left with this beauty:

I sanded it a little and then hung it using two Monkey Hangers (each rated up to 50 lbs, so I figured I was safe) and the best method I've found for hanging pictures - using masking or painters tape (found on this pin). 

Now onto all the beautiful final pictures (but please ignore my pillows...I couldn't get them to behave correctly!).

Can you tell I'm proud and happy? :-)

I will be sharing this at the Linky Parties below!

http://www.carterscottage.net/

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