I thought it appropriate to post my latest Pinterest Hack because...
IT'S ABSOLUTELY FREEZING OUTSIDE!
Like 19 degrees freezing outside.
Plus, it's time to work on the final touches for my winter front porch idea.
Enter brooklynlimestone.com; a wonderful blog about decor and rehab in the big city.
Here's what I spied on Pinterest:
Obviously, with Mrs. Limestone's talent, she created this adorbs stoop signage.
I decided that I would create something VERY similar for my winter steps as well.
I always start a project like this by copying photos from Pinterest into a montage of that I want to copy or use as inspiration.
Besides the sign, you can see a series of wooden snowflakes that I will be posting about soon!
I purchased a pine craft board from Lowes and painted it black with some leftover paint that we already had on hand. I painted both sides as this will be out in the elements and I wanted the wood to be sealed with the paint and eventually the polyurethane.
TIP: Lowes and Home Depot have an aisle where you can purchase "craft boards" that are already pre-cut to differing lengths and widths. The wood choices range from hard oak to soft pine and can be stained or painted. I use these craft boards quite often because I have less cutting to perform and I like how they are not as "raw" as the typical wood you find deep in the lumber area of Lowes.
Once the black paint was fully dried, I used white chalk (I know, it's small...) to begin mapping out the letters and placement of the words.
The black paint is not chalkboard paint, but the chalk will easily wipe off with a dry cloth. I do not recommend using paper towels as they will leave a bit of fuzz on any raised surfaces of the painted board and you then have to hand-pick them off piece by piece. (Ask me how I know.)
Using the inspiration picture as a guide, I started at the top. My "Baby" is slightly different than hers, but it's close enough. I liked the cursive part of this sign, so I wanted to emulate it as much as possible.
Once I got the top words on, I started on the large "COLD" word and quickly realized that I needed to first script on the "outside" so that I had a visual idea of where to place the C, the O, the L, and the D.
So, I wiped off the C with a rag and moved to the bottom of the board.
I made sure to give myself some room on the edges for the outline that goes all the way around the board.
At this point, I chalked on the COLD.
I was happy with the "rough" draft, so I grabbed some paintbrushes and Waverly chalk paint in white.
You can use any white paint you have on hand, I just happened to have this.
I have a collection of inexpensive artist brushes and ended up using the flat angled brush and a pointed tip brush.
I followed the lines I had chalked, using the original picture as a constant reference. I had to re-dip the brush in the paint often to keep a smooth like appearance. I did not go for solid white, but more of a "snow-like" appearance - where the board showed slightly behind the paint.
Here's the tip of the brush I used for the fine lining.
I also found it helpful to work from different angles. I painted this on my Kobalt craft island, so I was able to move around the piece easily.
I painted the top and bottom and let it dry. I knew that the COLD letters would be more of a challenge, and I didn't want to flop my arms or hands in the wet paint of the cursive letters.
I decided that I was not as ambitious with my letters as Mrs. Limestone was. Her's were very Old English scripty and mine are more typewriter chic; which is a much cooler way of saying that I was not going to paint all those tiny lines and features she had on hers.
Once it was all dried, I used a rag to wipe off any remaining chalk and then free-handed the outline around the board.
This was my finished version...
Of course, Dixee dog had to check it out, but I'm hopeful she approved. I at least didn't get her usual "side eye."
Of course, it's absolutely too cold to work on the front porch today, plus I need to finish my snowflakes and snowballs.
In fact, it's too cold to break any significant rules today, but I can make plans to break some tomorrow!
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