This past weekend, I was able to get some good scrap reclaimed wood from my local guy for cheap; he said he was going to throw them out eventually, so he charged me a small fee and I took them off his hands! Sarasota didn't really have much to offer in the "affordable" range; everything was overpriced there! Luckily, I visited my local spot and that guy helped me out with the scraps!
I wanted to take a little break from quilt squares and challenge myself a little bit more. But I also wanted to stick with the geometric wall art!
After looking on Pinterest, I found a pin that intrigued me! It was a star with vertical strips behind it! It was really clean looking, so I wanted to try it out!
Here we go!
I started out with laying out the design and making a template.
I decided on a 12" X 12" design for this one. The star is 2-toned, and the strips behind alternate in color side by side.
Now that the template is done, it's time to start cutting some wood!
I decided to do the star part first. I traced a cardstock template for each of the 5 points of the star. Then, I cut them out using my scroll saw...
Looks good!
After cutting the points out with my scroll saw, I sanded them down to remove the splinters and straighten out the sides as needed. I pieced them all together to make sure they fit nicely.
I also wanted to cut all 5 points in half so I can do an alternating color scheme, so I cut them right down the middle with the scroll saw!
Perfect!
At this point, I wanted to do the frame before going on to the vertical strips. I thought it would be better to have a boundary to place each of the vertical strips. Otherwise, things could shift around and I could have inaccurate cuts, or a crooked end product...
No thanks!
I decided to use some thin, dark reclaimed wood strips that I had left over from previous projects. I didn't want a big, bulky frame on this one to take away from the artwork. So, I decided to use 1" thick wood; the same as the vertical strips!
I cut the strips to 12" on the inside length with 45 degree angles on either side. Then, I attached them together using wood glue and the 2" flat corner braces I always use!
The frame looks great! It's really going to look nice with the color scheme I'm thinking!
Now, I can start getting the vertical strips prepped.
I started with 2 long strips of 1" wide whitewood. I cut the strips into (8) 12" strips...
Now, it's time to start piecing in the strips around the star...
This was tough to do! There's a lot of tough angles in this piece and some funny cuts. To get the angles and shapes I needed, I just used printer paper!
I cut the paper into 1" strips and and laid it down on the corresponding strip from the template. Then, I pressed it into the sections of the star where it intersected. This left a nice crease that I just followed to make my cuts using the scroll saw!
While I make it sound easy, there was a lot of incorrect angles, trial and error, etc. But finally, I got it done!
As you can see, the vertical strips don't all match up perfectly; there's some gaps, length discrepancies, etc. I think it adds to the overall rustic feel. If it was perfect, it would look like a mass-produced sign you would get at a store. I prefer my stuff to look homemade; I think it makes it unique and one of a kind!
*If you notice, The two middle strips on the top and bottom are a little thinner than the others...for some reason, I had to do some shaving down to make sure everything fit...It could have been a miscalculation somewhere, or a flaw in the cuts made in other sections. Either way, we're just adding to the rustic here, people!
After the pieces were all in, it was a bit of a tight fit. So, I removed the template from underneath and flipped the whole piece over!
I took this opportunity to mark the backside of the pieces so I know which ones need to be stained which colors. I also marked the sections of the star to keep the orientation the same.
I took also took this opportunity to put on the backer board..
I screwed it into the back with 1/2" screws and flipped it over once again.
That's when disaster struck...
I went ahead and did a final sanding of the whole piece with my palm sander to make sure no section was protruding and all splinters were tamed before paint and stain.
And, my trusty palm sander of 9 years finally bit the (saw)dust!
Well, not really...
It wasn't dramatic or anything. As it turns out, I've used it so much that I ran the rubber down to the screws! So, I was sanding and got a couple scratches on the wood from the screw heads!
So, after some gentle sobbing and a mandatory reflection period/funeral service, I went on to Amazon and checked out some *deep breath* replacement sanders. Some claim they were the best, others had circular or oval-shaped heads, some came with other tools included...
But at the end of the day, I fully believe that I've already had the best sander. So, as homage to him...
I got a younger version of my old reliable!! Good old 2.0!
By the way: I fully recommend this sander to anyone! This bad boy works hard, goes around corners nicely, and the sandpaper can be replaced easily with generic sheets! They just clamp in with clamps on either side. That way, I don't have to buy special sandpaper with adhesive backing or anything.
*Also worth stating: I'm not getting paid to endorse this sander by SKIL or anyone else! I just really like it!*
Now that my arsenal of tools is once again complete, let's continue!
I removed all the pieces from the frame and arranged them in order (to the best of my ability) to how they go back in. I also intended on using 3 different stains for this one: Pickled Oak on the star and every other vertical strip, Jacobean on the opposing star sections, and Dark Walnut on every other vertical strip.
But, this didn't really work out...
After testing the Pickled Oak stain on the wood, it didn't really show up! I caked it on there, and still nothing. Probably because the wood I'm using is so light already. Either way, I had to shift gears.
So, I went with a "white-wash" on the wood pieces I en
So, I decided to go with a white-wash for the light sections; this was a 1:1 paint-water mixture that was painted on, then lightly wiped off after a couple minutes, so the grain could be seen underneath. It worked really well and gave me the look I was going for!
I went ahead and stained/painted all the pieces, even extending onto the sides, just in case of a gap or opening in the final piece. Definitely don't want any natural wood showing!
I waited until the paint and stain were dried, but still somewhat "tacky" to the touch. I went ahead and started reassembling the piece back together.
The reason for assembly when the paint and stain is still a little "tacky" is because it's just too darn clean looking right now. All the painted parts are flawless; no imperfections. Remember at the beginning of the post when I mentioned that this is supposed to be a "rustic" piece?
By assembling when still tacky, some of the stain will inevitably transfer onto my hands and fingers and should find it's way onto some of the painted parts in a very random, yet artistically rustic way.
At least, that's what I'm hoping will happen!
Okay good! Just as planned!
I know you can't really tell, but there's some smudges and dark spots that transferred onto the painted parts.
This bad boy did NOT want to be put back together! I had to be very strategic; I also had to use my rubber mallet to get the last couple pieces in!
I gave the piece a nice spray coat of matte finish water-based poly to finish it off. I let it fully dry, and that's all she wrote!
I know I say this a lot, but I really like this one! It was a total challenge, with a lot of weird cuts and angles. I got really comfortable with my scroll saw on this one! The contrast between light and dark looks really nice...
You can definitely see some flaws and imperfections, but that's what makes it unique! I probably won't be doing another one like this again for a while, unless commissioned! It was very taxing. But, I did learn some tricks along the way that should help me for next time, if I feel so inclined.
I just wanted to make this one to prove to myself that I could do it! It's going right up to the Etsy page later today! If you're interested in it, go check it out!
Until next time!
-Kevin
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