I like to hand paint just about everything but, sometimes time prevents me from doing it by hand.  Ok… let’s be honest sometimes I am just to lazy to be bothered with hand painting it! I want it done NOW!  As they say “Ain’t nobody got time for that around here!”  So here is my Lazy Girls guide to paint lettering.

 

 

It all started here.  Well, it really started when I bought a new sofa and rug.  The sofa was larger than my old one so I shifted the arrangement about a foot to the right.  Which meant I needed to shift the TV.  As you can see, that also meant I needed to shift the photos on the wall.  However, that arrangement had been bugging me for awhile, so now was the perfect time to mix things up.  I decided to add in some wall decor other than just family photos.  I started with making a “family” sign.

 

 

I already had some wood blanks that the hubs had made for me a few years ago.

 

 

I spray painted the base coat using a Metallic gold.

 

 

Here’s where the lazy part comes into play.  Using my Cricut machine, I cut lettering out of vinyl.  So. Darn. Easy!  I just stuck it on.  I didn’t even measure or use a level.  Just eye-balled it.  If you don’t have a Cricut, you can find adhesive lettering at any craft store. Be sure to burnish, or rub, the letters down onto the surface really well, focusing on the edges to insure that you get a nice crisp edge on your lettering.

 

 

I chose black as my finished color.  I just painted it right over the entire board.  Here’s an important tip!!!  Let the paint dry until it isn’t shiny, then using an exacto knife gently pull up the edges of the lettering and gently remove.  It is very important not to let the paint dry for hours before removing the lettering for a couple of reasons.  If there is any “bleeding” of paint you can take a small, slightly damp paint brush and remove the unwanted paint.  If you let it dry for hours you run the risk of the bleeding paint drying and having to do paint touch up.  Also, when pulling up the lettering, the paint may tear leaving jagged edges.  Let dry completely.  At this time you can distress the edges or add any other embellishments that you want.

 

 

Here is my beautiful “family” sign hung, along with a few other fun things.  Much better.  At least for today…

I give this project  a beginners rating.  It really is that easy and turns out really well.  You can use this technique on just about anything!  Truly, a quick project from beginning to end!

Part 2…. next time….

 

       Tammy