Vintage Sign

I love so many of the wooden vintage-inspired signs I've seen on blogs and in stores lately. Susie Harris is an incredibly talented artist and I have fell in love with her creations over and over:

 

  

  

And so as we settled in for yet another night of snow here in PA, I decided to give my own vintage-inspired sign a try. 

Supplies:

 

Left over white paint from painting trim in the house.

Brown and black acrylic craft paint.

Paintbrushes.

Sandpaper.

 

Wood.

We received this sign a few years ago. It was perfect in a little bar area in the basement, but now that the bar is defunct I decided to repurpose it. I flipped it over and had an unpainted, rough surface.

I sanded and sanded, and then painted 2-3 layers of white paint. Then I mixed the brown acrylic paint with some water and using a foam brush "stained" the sign a bit so that it wasn't such a bright white. I let it dry for about an hour and then began the lettering process.

I printed the lettering in a font I liked and printed it out. Then I traced the letters on the front and back of blank printer paper. Then I traced the letters onto the wood. The lead from the tracings on the back transferred the letters onto the wood.

Then I began painting the letters using a fine point brush and the black acrylic paint. I did 2 layers. Then I went over the letters with the brown acrylic paint. I did one layer of brown to soften the black.

Then once dry I began to age the sign. I wish I could give details on how I did that, but I sort of just made it up as I went. I think my old scrapbooking skills came out. I was very into distressing paper crafts back in the day. I just used the brown paint and a napkin to distress the edges and some of the surface. I even scratched off some of the paint and let the wood show through in some places.

And here is what I ended up with!

I chose "La Vita e Bella" (Life is Beautiful in Italian) because it was the first movie date my hubby and I had so many years ago. And because my husband's family is Italian. It's just a special phrase for us. A nice reminder that life is precious and indeed quite beautiful.

Now I just have to figure out where to put my vintage sign! I keep moving it around the house trying to find it's spot.

What would you want on a sign in your home? Your last name? A special phrase?

This post is part of the Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick, Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered and Transformation Thursday at Shabby Chic Cottage.