What's Your Sign

No I am not into astrology and all of the non-sense (although I think I am an aries if you are interested) but I have had an idea for a while for my kitchen that I finally finished:

Often Philip will call me and say "Hey good lookin'..." . It always triggers the Jimmy Buffet song that says "hey good lookin', what ya got cookin? How's about cookin' something up with me?" I think that it is a funny song and would be great sign to put up in our kitchen. So for the last couple of months I have been on the lookout for some scrap wood. I have seen fence pickets laying on the side of the road and pallets thrown out, but I needed one larger, solid piece of wood for my vision. Then my friend Toni said that she had some old cabinet facing that she could give me that she had picked up at the Canton Flea Market (1st Monday). Thank you Toni.

Here is the step by step of what I did:

1.)I put picture hangers (2) on the back of the board so that I could hang it on the wall.

2.) I designed the lay out on the computer (ie fonts and size). I am sure there is a more scientific way to make sure that it will fit on the board but I am more of a "guess and check" kind of girl. I rarely do anything very exactly. I then printed the wording off on a Word document. I had to do a little cutting and taping to get the spacing the way I wanted.

        (tip: i used the underline button so that I could make sure that I taped the pieces together straight)

3.) Then I took mylar and laid it over the Word print out (you can find mylar at your local craft store. I think I got mine at Hobby Lobby-aka better name would be Hobby Heaven). I taped it down securely and then took an exacto knife and began to cut out my stencil. Make sure that when doing this step that you do not completely cut out the whole letter if there is a hole in the middle (ie and "o" or an "A"). You have to leave a sliver of the letter still attached.

4.) Next, I laid my homemade stencil on the board and secured it with painter's tape and push pins.

5.) Use a stencil brush ( i am not sure what you call them but it is the flat brush that you just dab) and paint in the stencil. Toni has taught me that you dab on the paint and then on a napkin or paper plate dab off almost all of the paint. Then you are ready to go. Too much paint on your brush will cause the paint to bleed under your stencil.

6.) Let dry for a few minutes (it doesn't take long because you didn't use a lot of paint) and then hang on your wall! 

I love it. I even surprised myself how well it turned out. I did another stencil project earlier in the year for my sister's wedding present and I had to go back and do a lot of touch ups because I am not a good stencil-er. But practice makes perfect (and helpful advice always helps).

Now that you know how to make your own stencil, the possibilities are endless. Good luck!