Like I've mentioned in previous posts, my wife and I are converting our spare bedroom into a craft room for my wife to use. The room was previously a "dumping ground" for all of our random things that we didn't want to put back in their designated space.
Well, this past weekend, we finally were able to put a couple of hours into it and clear out the room! I put a bunch of stuff in the garage storage and up in the attic, and we pulled a few bags of trash out of there!
And now, it looks AMAZING!
We configured the room for my wife the way she wants it, and we even picked up some furniture from a friend to give her some more storage options and a new rolling chair!
As I looked around the room, there isn't much on the walls. My wife wanted to keep it that way for now, but she did want me to hang a chalkboard sign and her ribbon storage cabinet (check out the blog entry!).
But there was something missing...
Oh yeah, she needs a craft room sign!
After all, I have a workshop sign and my daughter has a kitchen sign. This will definitely change the identity of the room once and for all!
So, let's get to it!
I've been looking for a use for this live edge piece! I actually have 2 of them, and I've been really scratching my head over what to do with them.
They are camphor diagonals that I purchased for $15 a piece from Jesse's Exotic Woods (https://www.facebook.com/jessetreeman.inc/). Really nice, high quality wood from his lumber yard, measuring almost 3 feet long. I'm super excited to use them on this project.
The first thing was a thorough sanding on the side of the board I'll be using for the design. This sanding removed all the built-up dirt and wood shards from the diagonal.
On to stain!
Originally, I wanted to use Minwax Early American stain for this sign. On the pieces I've done, like the Custom Serving Tray (check it out!), the stain looks really rich and it's not too light or too dark.
But, when I put that stain on the natural wood, the wood sucked it up like a sponge and left patches. Then, when I went ahead and painted it on using a brush, it was so dark that it looked like Dark Walnut stain, which is WAY too dark for this piece. So, I went ahead and used Minwax Classic Gray stain. My wife's new favorite design color is gray anyway, so I know she'll love it.
I let the stain fully dry for 24 hours. Then, I searched for the right lettering for the job.
Since this project is for my wife and it's going up in her craft room, I let her decide which font would be used. She decided on KG Always A Good Time as the font. So, I downloaded it, blew it up in Microsoft Word, and cut it all out.
After lining it up exactly as I wanted it, I traced around the cut out letters with pencil. Then, I used white Sharpie paint pen to color in the letters!
This wood is super absorbent; it took 3 coats of the white Sharpie paint pen to cover the way I wanted it. I put it aside and let it dry overnight.
When I picked it up the next day, I realized that something was missing...
To give it a little more detail, I asked my wife to give me six craft supplies that she uses or may use in the future that she would like to use on the sign. She came up with a hot glue gun, a marker, buttons, scissors, a ribbon spool, and a paintbrush. So, I got to work on finding some references!
I went with simple takes on the craft room tools because I wanted to keep the rustic look going. Again, the tools needed 3 coats to cover fully! Pretty tedious!
After letting the sign dry overnight, I sprayed it with a coat of water-based matte poly in the morning. About 6 hours later, I flipped the sign and sprayed the back as well, for good measure.
Once everything was dry to the touch, I added some D-ring hangers on the back and it was DONE!
With a sign this heavy, I had to screw into the studs to hang the D-rings. I also put a couple command strips on the top and bottom for added security!
This sign looks awesome in my wife's new craft space! She loves it, and it really captures who she is!
But...
As soon as I finished, my wife asked about making a sign for my daughter, as she has her own little corner in the craft room all to herself...
A DIY Dad's job is never done! Stay tuned!
-Kevin
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