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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

How to make my $2.00 sign "aged" with apple cider vinegar!

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I am so excited about the Raspberry sign I made for $2.00!  In fact, I am in the process of making two more.  A different one for autumn, and yet another for winter.  I will show you those later.  Anyway, this is such an easy project with big impact.  Here are the materials:


1 pressed wood panel from Home Depot or Lowes sized
approximately 4 foot by 2 foot by 1/4".

(The one I found consists of a layer of particle board or something sandwiched between two pieces of thin, real, wood.  Sorry, I don't know what you call it, or what it is used for!)  But it only cost $6.00!
*Have them cut the panel into 3 horizontal pieces so that you can make 3 signs! (that is just $2.00 a sign!)

You will also need:
Apple cider vinegar
steel wool (if you don't have, you can buy at dollar store)
white craft paint, and paint brush
string
hot glue gun

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First, age the wood...

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Dip the steel wool into the vinegar, and wipe down one side of the panel. BE sure to get the edges of the panel also, so they will look old or distressed.

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After it dries, you may need to turn it over, and wipe the other side with vinegar or water  and set something heavy on either end to keep it from bowing.

Then, print the word or phrase of your sign on the computer.  For the eleven letters in in mine, I used Engravers MT font with a font size of 300.  Depending on your letters, you may need to adjust the font size.
Your printer will spit out a few or more pages of the letters as they will take up most of the page due to the font size.  Simply line them up evenly, cut and tape until you have all the letters spelled into the word.

Tape the sign to the board, and outline each letter with a pen (pushing hard).  Check to make sure periodically that underneath the papers you see the outline of the letters engraved into the wood.

Then, fill in the letters with white paint and a paint brush, or a paint pen!


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Since it is so light weight, hot glue the two ends down of a long piece of string to hang it.

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Enjoy!  And since you have two other panels, you can make two more and change them out with the seasons!

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2 comments:

  1. thanks for sharing your font and font size! Also - did you use a paint brush or pen for this sign? I have not been able to be 'clean' in my painting - I'm guessing I'm not using the right brush... any help?

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  2. Hi Joyce,

    I used a paint brush, but it sounds like you would probably feel more in control with a paint pen. The ones that I have seen come in two sizes. I would get the smallest one (the one with the smallest tip), so that you can paint in the small corners of the letters easier.

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