Pinteresting Ideas - Sign for E's Room

Along with the rest of the world, I have a pinterest obsession. :) What the heck did we do before pinterest? More importantly, what did we do with all of our TIME before pinterest? Perhaps pinterest (and blogging) is is to blame for my dirty floors and mountain high pile of laundry?

Now that I've said that, I'm not even sure this is a pinterest project. I originally saw this idea at Milford Memories this summer and thought "Hey, I could make that!" So I added it to my pinterest and then took the idea and ran with it while I was motivated.

Materials:
plywood, cut to size (mine was 27x24)
sand paper
contact paper
cricut machine
paint (2 colors)
small paint roller (2)
skinny masking tape

First things first, I had to determine what size sign I wanted. It was my brillant mother's idea to start by cutting a newspaper (she measures everything out with newspaper!) to the size I was thinking, and then cut the letters out on plain white paper for size (it is very important to label the letters with the font and size you used so when you go back to cut them out of contact paper, you know exactly what you need). I laid the letters on the newspaper to get an idea of what I was working with. After a few minor adjustments, we had it perfect.

I added a skinny strip of masking tape around all edges so that the edges would remain the background color.

You are safe to cut your plywood to size. My parents had the plywood on hand and my dad had a saw and was able to make the cut himself. Normally, I would have just gone to the hardware store. Lightly sand the plywood. Paint the plywood the background color (the color you want the letters to be).

This is where you would add the masking tape if you want. Lay out the letters on the sign to your liking (prior to removing backing). We (me and my sidekick, mom) were pretty precise on measuring, centering, etc. We made small markings of where the top and bottom of each letter was suppose to line up (you will not see these markings when you paint the top coat). Begin peeling the back of the contact paper, one letter at a time and press firmly to secure to the sign. Finally, take your top coat and roll it over the sign. Roll slowly in one direction (away from you) and be sure to watch for the letters to stick to the roller and lift. We had this problem and am not sure how it could have been avoided. It didn't effect the turnout of the sign at all - thankfully the idea is that the sign is suppose to look distressed and not be perfect. :) Once the paint dries, slowly and carefully peel up the contact paper letters.

Pin It

Ta~da!!! This sign is hung in Easton's nursery but will grow with him when he moves from his nursey to his big boy room -- that is, unless we have another baby boy someday. ;)

And let me brag for a moment that we've had a few people ask if we'd make them a sign -- if only I had the time.....