Saturday, February 18, 2017

Saying I love you with wood

Hello and welcome to my little blog. Hopefully you all have had a wonderful holiday with Valentine's Day. I decided to make my DH a wooden sign. The numbers on the sign are very special to us and one of a kind.
I started with some leftover pine boards and stained it with MinWax. I let that dry overnight and then printed out my latitude and longitude. These coordinates are the location of where Kyle and I first met. Awwww! I printed just the outline of the numbers to save on ink.

The next step was to "weather" my boards. I applied some watered down DecoArt chalky paint. After that was dry, I dry brushed some of the same chalky paint over the boards. Viola! The easiest way to make new boards look older and weathered. TIP-You might also want to take some random objects (metal works best) and beat the boards. This technique makes some interesting intentions for your stain to seep into. I've used a tire iron, chains, an axe, hammer and such on past projects. It's awesome and fun. 
The time consuming part came when I outlined all of the numbers and letters to show the coordinates. Yes, some people use transfer paper, others remember to flip their image before they print it and trace that outline but I plum forgot and had to transfer paper. So, I taped my "template" to the board and used a pen to trace the letters. Using a bit of force while tracing I was able to get the font onto my board and then use a pencil to make it even more apparent. 
Once my outline was done I used DecoArt titanium white and painted the letters and numbers. 
After everything was dry, I used a hand sander and lightly sanded parts of the boards to create even more of a weathered look. Below is a closer look after the sanding. 
All done and ready to hang up. I nailed some shims to the back of the boards and some hooks. This was a gift for my husband for Valentines Day and I just got it hung today. Whew! Here is a look at it on our wall.
Please don't mind my wall color. Our living room has not been painted yet and this brown was there when we moved in. I am so very tired of living in brown houses. Haha! But that is another post for another day.

Hugz and Carpe Diem! Thank you for stopping by! 
~Niki

I would like to share this design with these challenges: 




13 comments:

  1. FANTASTIC PIECE!Love how you made it so vintage looking. Have a nice weekend, hugs, Valerie

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  2. Oh my gosh, Niki, you are so creative!! What an amazing gift this is!! I love how you weathered the boards!! They looks so fabulous!! And it looks stunning hanging on your wall!! I love, love this idea!! So spectacular, my sweet friend!! Have a great weekend!! Big hugs :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  3. What a beautiful thing to create for your hubby Nikki, the boards look fantastic. So pleased you showed it up on the wall too, it looks amazing. Beautiful work!! Hugs, Anne xx

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  4. Amazing work!!! Love the idea and the way you execute it.
    Hugs
    Samra
    Paper Talk with Samra

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  5. You are such a sweet heart! I bet Kyle was floored by his gift! I love this idea, and you have executed it perfectly! Way to go with those power and other scary tools, mixing it up with your artistic skills! Great project with a fantastic outcome, and on your walls will remind both of you of that special place and time in your lives! Sending big hugs to you, Punkin!

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  6. So very cool Niki! I love the personalization of this and how amazing it looks in your beautiful home. You have so many talents and I enjoy seeing you go at it! ;0 Hugs, Autumn

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  7. Niki! You are so creative! This piece in your new home is awesome! It's so cool that you've weathered the wood and that the numbers have a very special meaning that only the two of know. Love that! Thanks so much for sharing this very cool piece with everyone at Creative Carte Blanche.

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  8. So very effective and such patience involved and perfectly beautiful outcome. Thank you for sharing with us over at Rhedd's Creative Spirit this month and hope to see you again in future challenges.

    Handcrafted by Ellapu
    Mother Hen for Altered Eclectics
    Mother Hen for Eclectic Ellapu
    DT Rhedd's Creative Spirit

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  9. What a fun project which has the perfect location. Thank you for joining us at Rhedd's Creative Spirit.

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  10. This has to be one of the most creative ways of saying "I love you" I have ever seen! It looks so wonderful in your new home! Fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing it with us here at Creative Carte Blanche!

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  11. Wooooow, Niki, what a super cool project brilliantly executed! You are such a talent, my friend! What an unique and glorious way to celebrate your love! Spectacular work of art! Love, love, love it! Lots of love to you! Branka xx

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  12. Simply lovely shabby chic home decor project. I love that you've used numbers which mean something personal - though the numbers themselves are pretty cool anyway. Fabulous!
    Alison x

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