Building a Sign

My fancy architectural drawing.

“I have an idea.” Those are words that strike fear in my Faithful Sherpa. Coupled with “Can I use your workshop.” Good thing he's a sharing type of guy!

Pinterest Photo

I knew that I wanted a sign but I really didn’t know what the look should be. So, I was flipping thru Pinterest one night (another word that strikes fear!) and came across this photo of Besserina’s booth sign. ​http://bit.ly/2fKqMM4

I have found my inspiration!

Wainscoating is the perfect material for signs. Lightweight, good texture and paintable/stainable!

So we headed off to my local Home Depot for supplies. 

The perfect blend of colors

Walnut stain to add antiquing and depth

But I didn't like the results

Creating can be very messy!

After a frustrating trial run, I went back to Pinterest to look for more paint techniques. I found "Beyond the Picket Fence" paint tutorial.  ​http://bit.ly/2gQeXWd

That's it! The technique!

I love this little nail gun!

Sanding down the nubs that were left after I snipped off the excess brads

Gluing the wainscoating to the backing

My Faithful Sherpa spent time with me teaching me the best way to construct the sign. It had to be sturdy enough to move between shows, but light enough that I could carry it. We used luan or door skin as the backing and glued and nailed the wainscoating to it.

It's painted and ready for the stain.

Gloves are a must when working with stain!

Beautiful, isn't it!

I spent the evening applying the walnut stain to the wainscoating. Apply a layer, wipe off a layer, apply a layer, until I achieved the look I wanted. Nice, distressed, and antique. My Faithful Sherpa couldn't understand why I wanted to have it look this way, he likes things nice, clean and neat. But I love it!

Logo Placement

It was hard to cut the board, but I knew I wanted curves

I found a beautiful piece of wood in his workshop and with permission, I cut it into a circle. It's perfect for the logo! We didn't have fancy logo back then. Just a piece of paper with my grandmother's image printed on it. So I laid the paper on top of the circle, and varnished it together. The next morning, I went into the garage to check on my work, and what did I see, a bug had gotten itself stuck onto my logo! I ran back into the house, almost in tears.

"Don't worry" he said. "We can fix it."

The finished sign! I love it.

I attached copper pipes to the back of the board. It not only helped to stiffen up the sign, but it gave me a place for the legs (also copper pipe) to attach to. 

This project really challenged my brain, but I love the way it turned out. It's fun being creative in an area and medium that I'm not used to. 

"Welcome to my life" my Faithful Sherpa told me. "this is my type of art!