If you spend any time listening to the radio, chances are you’ve heard “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers. It’s one of my favorite songs right now. I adore the upbeat vibe of the song (even though the lyrics aren’t really about being “so happy together” if you actually listen to them). Still sweet words to put on a wood sign. Making these is my latest obsession. I have so much fun distressing the wood in different ways.
For this sign, I asked the Hubs to build it out of 1″x6″ boards. I don’t really trust myself with a power saw. He and my 4 year old son usually beat on them a bit after a builds them with hammers and stuff to help add to the rustic, worn look. My overall sign is about 2′x3′.
First, I “aged” my sign by doing the following (allowing 1+ hour drying time between coats):
- One coat of dark brown paint. I used Martha Stewart Crafts Paint in “Vanilla Bean”
- Two coats of white paint
- Dry overnight and sand edges with medium grit sandpaper and over the top with fine grit
- Wipe down to remove dust and let dry
- Make a “whitewash” solution of 50% paint/50% water using a light paint color. I used a gorgeous light blue called “Sea Lavender” also by Martha Stewart Crafts.
- Let dry overnight and sand gently again to distress lines and edges.
- Wipe down again and let dry.
Then I created my text stencils. This step requires a bit of planning, a lot of math, and a little luck to get the layout just right. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut my stencils out of scrapbook paper and carefully laid them out and taped them to the sign with painter’s tape.
Once all my stencils were in place, I used a spouncer (a round foam brush) to paint the text on. The key to getting clean lines with the stencil is the keep the paint on the spouncer light and dab gently so paint doesn’t go under the stencil edges. After the text was complete, I carefully removed all the tape and stencils and used the spouncer to add in periods at the end of each phrase. Finally, I stenciled a light pink heart in the top corner.
My text paint color was “Arrowhead” and the heart was “Pink Carnation” both Martha Stewart.
P.S. For those of you who always ask how I find time to craft, see Quinn hanging out in her highchair with me eating lunch while I work. 
To give you an idea of how big the sign is, here’s a shot of it in the baby’s nursery which is where I think it’s going to end up because the colors match her room so well!
It also goes really well color-wise with the birth sign I made her (you can find the tutorial for that sign here and the tutorial for the Mod Podge Chevron changing table here).
Linking up on: Shine on Fridays, Tatertots and Jello, Monday Funday, Today’s Creative Blog
Super cute! I love that song too, and now it’s stuck in my head yet again.
So funny.. Just saw a printable of this song too…. Love this song and this fun sign.. Kinda want to make one now LOL
Love this! Both the lyrics and the piece itself, great job.
Thanks!
That is one of my favorite songs too. I love how your sign turned out. Thanks for sharing, so cute!
Thanks so much!
Is there anyway you would sell this?
I hadn’t really thought about it but yes, I’d consider it. The price would be $150 plus shipping due to it’s size and the time it took to make it. I have no clue on the shipping but if you’re for sure interested, I’d be happy to research the most cost effective method of shipping it.
My email is designedbydawnnicole@gmail.com.
It would be about $30 to package and ship. (Not as bad as I’d guessed actually!)
LOVE this! Thanks so much for sharing at shine on Fridays last week!
Thank you for hosting, Amy!
what font is that ?
Hey Eric! If I remember correctly I used “Adobe Garamond Pro”.
Do make these to sell?
Wanna buy this for my wife’s birthday. Please let me know if possible
How did you keep you boards together? With a trim nail gun or a different method? Thanks!
With a good old hammer and nails…Check out this post. It has picture of how the back looks about half way down the post. http://designedbydawnnicole.com/2012/12/diy-rustic-wood-sign-art.html
Thank you!
Do you have this lumineers board for sale? Or is possible to make one? Thanks.