EllaBoo & Co.: carbon paper

We are finally getting better weather which means I can get to some heavy lifting. Not literally, of course, I leave that to my husband. We affectionately refer to him as Tarzan - the guy can lift and move pretty much anything which is super handy for a girl who collects a lot of furniture and can never visualize how the couch will look 'over there' until someone moves it 'over there' (and often back again!).

So today I got to some sanding and finishing touches on a few projects. I love old signs and a while back I opened a certain catalogue from a certain store, saw a wall hanging and thought, "I could totally make that". So I did! I used stencils for the top letters and hand drew the bottom letters, then painted everything with a small brush, a whole bunch of sanding, and a lot of patience. We'll talk about the wood source later...

Surf Riders found an immediate home in my middle son's bedroom, but then my daughter wanted one. I flew solo on this one, and with inspiration from a few places, hand written letters, and a hibiscus stencil, I created a girly looking sign that celebrated her love for ice cream.

I made a third attempt at a sign for my youngest son but I wasn't happy with the results - I realized that as much as I enjoyed hand drawing the lettering, whenever I looked at it, I recognized my own writing and it felt less authentic.

That was last summer so with better weather I was back at it. I wasn't even planning my next sign, but I came across this Star Biscuit Sign at That's My Letter. I am obsessed with stars (more on that another day) and who doesn't love biscuits? I had to make my own and I came up with this.

Very loud turquoise base, coat of clear varnish, coat of red, bit of sanding to get that turquoise out in the open and then traced my computer-generated letters with carbon paper. I painted the letters in white and finished with a wash of brown paint and glaze then a random slathering of clear varnish so it would look worn off in some places - I stuck it up on my mantel to dry but I love it so much I haven't taken it down.

Now for the wood - I do love all those gorgeous signs being made out there on old doors, etc. but I haven't been lucky enough to find anything like that so I had to resort to what I had on hand. Plywood. Plain old plywood, lying around behind the shed with the perfect level of weathered-ness. Brush off (most of the dirt) and start painting! I love the chips and chunks missing. Makes it look so much more like it was hanging on the front of an abandoned store for years before being rescued.

This was my most recent success - it's a re-creation of last year's attempt but this time with computer-generated letters and a particularly fabulous, knot-holed crumbly piece of wood.

Taped off the halves and part of the pattern - dry brush the paint on

Lay out the letters and tape them in place

Trace over the letters with carbon paper under the white paper

Paint the letters, using as little paint as possible - the less you put on, the less you have to sand off, but try to keep the outside edges crisp. Sand, sand, and sand some more. I have learned that you can almost completely remove the paint and it still looks fantastic. Give it a really good wipe with a damp cloth - microfibre is my favourite. I didn't varnish this one - I liked it the way it looked without.

Here are a few of the lovely, crumbly details