My friend at work is having a baby boy! His name is Killian; which is the name of Captain Hook in the series Once Upon A Time!
When she decided on the name, she also wanted the accompanying theme to go along with it...
Peter Pan, of course!
She showed me this directional sign she found on Pinterest with a bunch of good Peter Pan Easter eggs. She wants to use the sign for her baby shower and then move it into her son's nursery as a permanent decoration!
Originally, she just asked me to cut out some wood rectangles for her and told me she would decorate and paint the sign herself...
But, I could tell by her face that she wanted me to do it...she just didn't want to ask!
So, I took matters into my own hands: I told her that I would take care of it all, and she didn't have to worry about a thing! Plus, I'll be making a nice, custom gift that will stand the test of time!
Let's get started!
I started with some scrap wood I had in my shop already. I cut the pieces down to similar length rectangles with different widths. All the pieces of wood are 3/4" thick.
I made 9 rectangles for the 9 sides I need...
Then, I cut angles and points into the ends of most of the sign boards. I tried to follow the model as closely as possible...
I also found the piece of wood to use as the post in my stash. It's a 4.5' piece of reclaimed pine, about 2" thick. It has a lot of character and doesn't need any refinishing, and it adds a bit of a rustic touch!
Next step was to sand down the edges of the signs to prep for paint and stain!
Like I said, most of the signs have points cut on the end to indicate some kind of direction. BUT, some of them don't! Those signs have an indication of direction somewhere else on the sign.
It's a bit confusing, but you'll see what I mean when we get there!
After sanding, I wiped each sign down with a damp cloth to remove the sawdust.
Time for paint and stain!
Most of the signs need a coat of stain, and then are either left alone or layered with paint over top, like a color wash...
I decided on 3 different types of stain: Minwax Dark Walnut, Provincial and Jacobean. I wiped each stain on with a rag and let them fully dry.
If you look closely, a couple of the wood sign don't match the others in grain. That's because there's a mixture of spruce and pine in the picture. Like I said, I'm using what I have on hand! And I don't like to waste.
Now that the stain has dried, it's time to add the paint!
Some of the sign boards got solid paint, some remain stained only, and others got a color wash. All for the sake of trying to match the model as best as possible!
I let the paint fully dry overnight before handling.
Now it's time to decorate each individual sign. So let's start at the top!
This sign goes at the top of the pole. It used Provincial stain with a whitewash over the top. I used light green paint with a fine brush to paint on the words. After it dried, I went over the letters and outlined them with gold paint Sharpie to give it some pop!
NEXT!
This sign is second on the pole; it sits right underneath the "Neverland" sign and gives directions, just like in the movie. This sign got Provincial stain as well, but was left alone. I wrote the words on the sign with white Sharpie paint pen. Then, I painted on the word "star" with a glitter gold paint to really accentuate that word.
NEXT!
The 3rd sign on the pole is the "London" sign. If you've seen the movie, you know that the kids live in London, and that's where Peter Pan gets them from. For this sign, I used Provincial stain as well; the reason it looks darker is because the last 2 signs have been spruce, and this one is pine. I painted the letters on with a fine paintbrush; I went with both, thick letters because the London sign is going to be the most formal. After all, England does have a reputation of "fanciness" to uphold!
NEXT!
The 4th sign down is the "Indian Camp" sign. If you don't already know, the gang heads to the Indian Camp and they hang out with them and live it up! This sign looked like so much fun, I actually did this one first!
This sign started out with the Jacobean stain, which was the darkest stain I used. Then, I applied a whitewash over top and wiped it off after about 10 seconds of drying. Then, I sanded down the edges to give it a "peeling" look. The "tipis" and the arrow were done with black Sharpie paint pen, while the letters were painted on with a fine tipped brush. The arrow on the sign provides the directional component by pointing to the right. This one is my favorite for sure!
NEXT!
The 5th sign, smack dab right in the middle, is the "Lost Boys Hideout" sign. The Lost Boys are a fun group in the movie, and I think this sign reflects that. The sign was stained with Dark Walnut stain; the letters were painted on (kind of haphazardly) with a standard brush. I mixed in a reversal and interchanged some capital and lowercase letters to make it look like it was painted on by a child.
But it's still missing the directional component!
In the model, the sign has Peter Pan's hat on one end, seemingly pointing to the left. The one in the model is made out of cloth, but I went ahead and used thin backerboard instead. I used my scroll saw to cut out the shape of the hat and all the components. After sanding and painting, it was ready to attach to the sign!
I glued everything together using wood glue and wooden clamps. I let the glue fully dry for 24 hours before removing the clamp! It's definitely got a playful quality to it!
NEXT!
The 6th sign on the pole is the "Crocodile Creek" sign, made for Tick-Tock himself! For those of you who need a refresher course, Tick-Tock is the crocodile who terrorizes Captain Hook!
For this sign, I painted the whole surface with green paint. Then, I painted on the yellow letters and the small clock as well. Not much to this sign, but it looks good and is a good warning to stay out of the water!
NEXT!
The 7th sign is the "Pixie Hollow" sign. This is where Tinkerbell is from, hence the silhouette in the left corner. This sign was painted brown on the whole surface. Then, the green letters were painted on with a fine tip brush. The silver silhouette was done with a silver Sharpie paint pen, and the random stars were done with a gold Sharpie paint pen!
NEXT!
The 8th sign is the "Skull Rock" sign. Skull Rock is the place that pirates call home! This one was really fun to do, specifically because of the skull. The sign was painted black on the whole surface. Then, the white letters were painted on with a fine tip brush. Lastly, I painted the skull with the same brush as the letters; this took a lot of time and attention to detail, but I think it looks great!
And FINALLY...
Sign #9! We made it!
The last sign is for the Mermaid Lagoon! For this sign, I stained the whole plank with Dark Walnut stain that I wiped on with a rag. Then, I applied a "teal-wash" over top; I let it sit for about 10 seconds and then wiped it off. After the wash dried, I sanded down the surface to remove some paint. The lettering and the mermaid tail was painted on with green paint and a fine tipped brush...
Now that all the signs are done and fully dried, it's time for poly!
I decided on a water-based, matte finish, spray-on poly for this one. I didn't want a shiny clear coat on this one, so I went with matte. I sprayed the front, back and all sides with the poly and let them fully dry overnight...
The next day, it's time for assembly!
I attached the signs to the 4.5' reclaimed pine post using 1.5" wood screws; I drilled small pilot holes beforehand to prevent the wood from splitting...
The thicker signs got 2 screws, while the thinner ones got only 1. The signs that only get 1 screw can pivot slightly, which is nice for my friend if she wants to move things around just a little bit!
And it's finished!!
This project was a real marathon for me! I had some trouble getting started on paint and stain because I knew how much work it was going to take to add the details and the decorations! But eventually, once I really sat down and focused, I hit my stride and got it all done in a matter of a couple days!
This goes to show; if the task seems insurmountable, just take it one step at a time and keep moving forward! Any progress is a step in the right direction. With how well it turned out, I don't know what I was worried about! It was worth every minute of work!
When I gave it to my friend tonight, she loved it! She said she had to look away from it because she was about to cry! She can't wait to display it at her baby shower next weekend! I'm so glad I could make her happy and give her a one of a kind gift that she won't find in a store!
Congrats again Tana! We can't wait to meet Killian!
-Kevin
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