How to make the Love sign~

On Saturday, I mentioned how I am busily stocking my etsy shop.  While I have lots more fun things to list, the latest addition was this distressed love sign.  It is the perfect decoration for Valentine's Day!  Feeling crafty?  For all you DIYers, I would love to show you how I made it, so that you can make your own!  It was a lot of fun to make, and really quite simple.



You will need a stretched canvas, (craft supply store or Walmart) grey, white (or cream), and red craft paint, large paint brush, small paint brush, pencil, and heavy grit sandpaper.

First, paint paint your entire canvas (sides too) a charcoal grey.  (I mixed white and black since I didn't have grey).  Let dry.



Then re-paint the whole thing in cream or white.  You may need to do a couple of coats or more of paint to completely cover the grey.

Next, print out the word love in Microsoft word using the font, and size you prefer, and cut it out.



Turn the paper over, and using the side of the pencil lead, shade over the letters using medium pressure.



Turn the paper over again, center it on the canvas, and trace over the outline of the letters.



It's like magic!  Remove the paper, and you will see the word transferred to the canvas.  The pressure from the pencil (not too firm) transfers the letters onto the canvas from the graphite that you shaded!

Then, with a small paint brush, paint in the letters.



When the word is dry, take your sandpaper, and lightly sand the whole piece back and forth in one direction (horizontally like and along the word) to distress it to your liking!  I took a screwdriver and lightly dented mine in some places to further add to the worn look.  And there you have it!