Distressed Stenciled Sign using Contact Paper (Before and After)

The other day I decided that I wanted to stencil a quote on a sign to display in my home that would inspire confidence as my kids return back to school.  I went online and read through quite a few quotes before I came across one that was just what I was hoping to find.

The sign says 'Believe you can and you're halfway there' by Theodore Roosevelt and will rest on the board and batten ledge in my dining room.  It will be right at eye level when the family is sitting down to eat so I'm pretty sure they might actually even read it from time to time. 

Size:  4" tall x 34" long

My goal was to coordinate the sign with my gallery wall by repeating the shapes and colors. 

I first made this sign at a 'Super Saturday' craft day years ago--back in the day before vinyl and personal craft cutters.  I had to use a sharpie marker to write the words on it and was never happy with how it looked.  It hasn't hung on my wall in a very long time and was taking up precious storage space so it was time to either donate it or give it a makeover.

First I had to sand the board down to bare wood.  I stained it in dark walnut with a clean rag, painted it with SW Alabaster paint, and then sanded the edges to distress it.

I don't have pictures of the next steps, which might be for the best because things got a little ugly.  I took it to a craft night to work on and (despite my better judgement) I used regular paint to stencil the black letters instead of spray paint (which looks so clean and smooth).  This would have been fine if I'd been patient and brushed it on in several thin coats, or even if I'd used my stenciling brush, but I didn't.  The result was a whole lot of sloppy, messy lines.  I figured I'd have to go home and sand it back down and start all over again but a friend suggested that I try distressing it first. 

In the picture the sign is distressed on the left and the sloppy mess is on the right. 

(I was actually quite happy with how the pattern turned out, it was spray painted and the lines were crisp and clean.)

Sloppy Mess

Distressed and Aged

 (I was able to wipe off most of the black smudges on the white paint that you see with a damp cloth.)

I buy my contact paper at Wal-mart (it's a better quality than what you would buy at the dollar store and cuts so much cleaner) for around $5-6 for a large roll.  It's so cheap that you can afford to mess up, unlike with vinyl.  I use a Silhouette craft cutter to cut my contact paper stencils.  (Shanty 2 Chic first shared this great tip!)  The width needs to be cut to 8.5-9" wide to feed through (or the maximum width of your cutter) and doesn't require a mat.  I set the Silhouette on the vinyl setting and it works perfectly.  Once you have your stencil cut, weed out the letters and, just like vinyl, use transfer paper to place the design on the wood.

Tip:  I like to reuse my transfer paper.  I can usually use it 2 or sometimes 3 times before it loses it's stickiness.  I wrap it back on the roll in-between uses.  It saves a little money this way. 

Once you have pressed the contact paper down on the board well, spray over it with light coats of spray paint.  The paint will not dry well over top of the contact paper so be careful as you pull it off so that it doesn't mess up your board, tweezers help.  I like to take the contact paper off when the paint is still tacky.  You won't want to leave the contact paper on the wood for very long or it will leave behind a sticky residue.

In the picture below you can see how clean and smooth the blue words are because I used spray paint.  I think that it looks just like vinyl but it's less expensive and gives you a wide variety of color options.  You can also still choose a gloss or matte finish, depending on what paint you use.  Another plus, you won't ever have a letter peel off or bubble over time.

The sign didn't turn out exactly how I first imagined it would, but I think I like it even better this way.  I love the distressed vintage look and I think the flaws give it some personality.  Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it because I really don't want to start over. ;)

I hope that I was able to pass on a few tips that might save one or more of you some frustration.   For those of you who don't have access to a craft cutter I think that if you are using a stencil that isn't too detailed you could cut the contact paper with scissors or an x-acto knife. If you've tried this, I'm curious to know how it worked for you.

I have a little Fall craft that I made the other day that is also stenciled and am looking forward to sharing it with you soon!

My kids go back to school this week so I'm hoping to get in a little more crafting/blogging time.  Thanks for sticking with me through my random posting over the last several months and a big welcome to all of you who are new readers!

Today's Fabulous Find...
Stenciling with Contact Paper and Spray Paint

Linking up to:  I Heart Naptime  Today's Creative Blog

Childen's Handmade Rocking Chair

Today I'm so thrilled to share with you one of my Dad's latest projects (of many).  He is recently retired and is thinking of spending some of his newly acquired time making handmade furniture to sell.  If you have a moment to offer some feedback on this project (for ex. would you buy it, how much would you pay for it, do you like the design, etc.) he would be very grateful.  

Thanks so much!

In my last post I showed you a picture of an apple tree that was 'the before'.  This is the amazing 'after'!

My Dad needed to prune the apple tree and instead of throwing away the branches, he recycled them into a beautiful rocking chair that his grandchildren will enjoy for years.  If you look closely you can see where one of the cuts was made.

  

I thought it would be fun to sew a reversible cushion for the rocking chair (with fabric that would work for both boys and girls) although my kids told me after it was done that the rocker is so comfy it really didn't need one.

This side has a strip of green fabric sewn into the seam in front of the piping to add some contrast.  The green fabric and ribbon was left over from last years Winter mantel.  All of the fabric was purchased at JoAnn Fabrics.

Rocking Chair Features

*Made with 100% recycled wood:

Apple Wood (pruned apple tree branches)

with  

Oak Rockers (wood from a remodeled church)

and a

Shaped Pine Seat (from a neighbors cut tree)

*Curved Back

*Mortise and tenon joints

*Dowel fasteners

*All Wood (no nails or screws)

*Butternut Stain (Sikkens brand)

*Measures 30" tall, 17" wide, seat is 13" square

It's hard to believe that this chair was once part of an apple tree in my parents orchard.  A tree that was planted when I was a child.  My kids have loved rocking in this chair and it means so much that their Grandpa made it for them.  

Thanks for taking a moment to look at my dad's chair!

Today's Fabulous Find...

Handmade Children's Rocking Chair

with Recycled Wood

Linking to:  Not Just a Housewife   Thrifty Decor Chick   Lil Luna

Gallery Wall

I knew that I wouldn't be posting as often through the summer, but oh boy, I never intended to drag this project out for as long as I have!  I'm finally ready to show you my dining room/kitchen gallery wall.  When I started this project, my goals were to fill the empty space, add some color,  a little whimsy, and make it different and fun.

I tried and tried to get better pictures of this wall, but with poor natural lighting, glares on the glass, and the contrasts of darks and lights, I haven't been able to take a photo that really shows how bright this grouping is.  Oh well.

There were two things that I needed to work around, the clock and the thermostat. I decided to just pretend that the thermostat wasn't there and fit the frames around it as best I could. I tried to mimic the round shape of the clock with the monogram and the nest.

I pulled the colors from the fabric that I used to make my kitchen curtains.  I love this fabric and discovered it thanks to a post at I am Momma Hear Me Roar.  As soon as I saw it I knew it was just what I was looking for!

This shows where I'll add all of our personal photos...

...and this is a collage of how my wall would look if I had hung the frames up as they looked when I bought them.  In some crazy coincidence, all of the dollar store and thrift frames that I used were originally gold or purple.   I bought the tan frame on the bottom row on clearance a few years ago for $3.

I have very little experience with grouping frames, so I tried a lot of different combinations before I found one that I thought would work and in the process gave up on the whole thing--twice.

Click on the links for the tutorials of each project.

Faux Window with Vinyl

Fabric Covered Magnet Board

Vinyl Monogram Thrift Frame

Family Tree Branch

Painted Vinyl Thrift Frame

Fabric Embellished Frame

Key Holder

Rather than hang the key directly on the wall, I used a scrap piece of mdf and made a holder for it.  I painted it just like I painted the frame with the birds and branches and added a couple of hooks.  It's hung on the wall with Command strips.  I've been thinking about adding a stencil to it.

I could have just gone to the store and bought frames and hung them on the wall, but I'm glad that I didn't.  It took a lot longer to redo all of the dollar store and thrift frames, but for someone who loves to craft, that's the fun part!

Today's Fabulous Find...Thrifty Gallery Wall

Linking to:  Home Stories A to Z    Thrifty Decor Chick--Before and After Party   Under the Table and Dreaming    Funky Junk Interiors