Pinterest Wednesday

What do you do when you and your little one are home sick all week? Pinterest Wednesday, of course!

This is a project that has been in the works for quite awhile. I wanted an antique sign for my kitchen. Tony and I searched antique shops but couldn't find just the right one. After looking at signs on Pinterest, I decided to make one! Here is a little tutorial on my "antique" diner sign.

First we had a board cut to size at Lowe's. The kids put it in the gravel front yard and stomped on it, rode their bikes over it, etc. I did not want it to look too new and pristine. Next step, Sophie painted the whole board charcoal gray. After the gray dried, we did 2 dry brush coats of an antique white:

 {sorry about the photo, the background was really distracting!}

 Next I printed all the text in the fonts and sizes I needed to fit my sign. I used a ball point pen and traced the letters onto the board, leaving an impression to follow for the hand painted letters.

 In this photo you can see the impression. I put 2 coats of the red onto the words.

 Here it is with the words all painted. It is still looking a little too clean and white for my taste. I sanded it all over a little, then did a color wash over the entire sign with the charcoal gray diluted in water.

 I used some hardware from Lowe's to hang it on the soffit above my fridge. I really like how it turned out!