It Must Be A Sign

Mark this down in the books as the longest project ever. Mostly because I'm a procrastinator. In reality, the actual work didn't take too long!

A few months ago, we were at Menards and I saw a scrap piece of wood (pine I think) that was selling for $2. It was pretty big and I knew I could get some use out of it. I have one project started already from it, and there was enough wood left for me to create a sign for our kitchen. I had Jeremy cut it in a rectangle large enough to go above the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway to the garage and sanded it down. Then about three weeks later, I got around to staining it. I put conditioner on first, and then used the same stain Jeremy used for his desk. I only put one coat one and I love how dark it is! It is crazy how the different wood affects how deep the stain is.

After the stain dried, I lightly sanded it again and got ready to do my stenciling. I printed off the words and measured where they should line up on the wood. I imagine this part would not take as long as it did for me if you're not as picky, but I can definitely tell if things aren't centered and even! Once that was set, I taped the paper onto the wood, and then traced over the outline of the letters using a ball point pen. With some pressure, the pen leaves indentations in the wood. Pretty easy!

While watching an episode of House, I painted in the letters using white craft paint. That dried, and then I put a coat of polyurethane on the wood. I nailed in a picture hanger on the back and hung it up in the kitchen. I love how this looks, and it's such a good reminder for us!