Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Homemade Coffee Sign Tutorial~ GUEST POST


Dear friends, I'm so excited! Manuela from the fantastic home making blog A Cultivated Nest is here to share her easy and frugal hand painted Coffee Sign Tutorial! Manuela has made a mission out of making do with the home you have now. Her blog is choc a block full of easy, frugal decorating ideas with practical charm and that warm, homey feeling. So sit back and enjoy this wonderful tutorial sure to inspire creative ideas of your own! Take it away Manuela!


Hi, I'm Manuela from A Cultivated Nest where I blog about gardening & making the most of the home you have now. I'm so excited that Deborah Jean asked me to share a project with you all!

  I'm going to show you how I made that hand painted “Coffee” sign. If you've ever priced hand painted signs on Etsy or eBay you know they can be pretty pricey. Well, they are really easy to make! 


  You need a piece of wood that you've painted in the color of your choice - I just used some aqua craft paint that I happened to have. Flat and satin is the best finish to use for this type of project. You are going to print out the words that you want on your sign. So what I do is open Word and start playing with the different fonts and sizes.  For this sign I used the Oldgate Lane Outline font and I changed the size to 200. The word "Coffee" is printed in landscape because otherwise you wouldn't be able to fit the whole word onto a sheet of paper at this size.  I just liked the font  and  had to try several different sizes before I found the one that would work with my piece of wood.


2.To transfer your word(s) onto your sign use either graphite paper which is what I did here or cover the back of your words with artists charcoal, crayon or press really hard so that an indentation is left. I’ve used all these methods and the graphite paper (Micheal's, Hobby Lobby, art stores etc.) has been the easiest to work with.

3. Use a dull pencil or something that’s not too pointy and trace over your printed out letters. You should have your board, graphite paper and printed out words in that order.


 4. Now that your letters are transferred, all you have to do is fill them in! You can use a brush or a paint pen if you think your hand isn’t steady enough for a paint brush. 


I’ve used them both and I find I like the paint pen better - it's easier for me to trace around the letters and then fill in. But if you like using a brush, a firm angled one is easiest to use in this application. 


 After your sign is dry, you can sand it as much or as little as you want to get a distressed vintage look. I sanded the edges and over the words. You can also seal it if you're going to put it in your garden.

Using this basic technique allows you to customize your sign any way you want. Plus these make great gifts or you can keep it for yourself! 

Follow A Cultivated Nest on Pinterest too!
Sharing this post with Tillys' Net Down Home Blog Hop
and The Country Homemaker Hop! 

17 comments:

Stacey said...

That's so cute and Manuela made it look very easy. :)

Happy@Home said...

Thanks for sharing this tutorial, Manuela. I'd love to make some signs for my garden. Love the colors you used on your coffee sign.

Vee said...

Very cute! And now I have another cute button to display in my collection, too from Dandelion House.

Tori B. said...

What an adorable sign! It was very thoughtful of you to make a tutorial to share. Thank you!

Tori xo

Farmgirl Heidi said...

I love it. I can see myself using this technique to hand paint a few coffee and rooster signs very soon. Thanks Deb and Manuela.

Michelle said...

I have several pieces of scrap wood in the garage that are looking for a home. I now have a way to use them . Thanks for sharing.

Rhonda said...

Great tutorial- Manuela is the best!

Kelsey said...

SUPER CUTE!! Love this idea :) I'm mentioned you on my blog! Keep a look-out for the next day or so! -Kelsey from Keeping Up With Kelsey
http://kelseyhomolka-keepingupwithkelsey.blogspot.com/

Sandra said...

That is an adorable sign. I was thinking of painting a few rock as signs to put on my deck. I would like a few simple ones like "mom's garden" and "oasis."

Nancy said...

Very cute and colorful...it's making me want some coffee right now I think!!

Kathleen Grace said...

I love little handmade signs like this, I think they add such a cute, sweet touch to a home!

Theresa said...

Hi, I am visiting from Manuela's blog! I love her creation and will be giving it a try:) Have a blessed evening, HUGS!

Miss Nifty Thrifty said...

Love it!!!

Candy C. said...

What a cute sign and such a great tutorial! Thanks Manuela and thanks to Deb too! :)

Chenille Cottage said...

Oh...I love it! Thanks, Manuela and Deb for this great tutorial! Can't wait to make one for my home.
Blessings to you both,
Carolynn xoxo

Sue said...

What a cute sign, Manuela! Easy technique, too. Wish I was a crafty person- my talents lie elsewhere! LOL
:-) Sue

Adrienne said...

It's fun to see you here, Manuela! I love your sign. This is a great tutorial!
~Adrienne~

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