Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Lil Cowboy Sign

As I've mentioned before, Elijah kinda sorta has a cowboy themed room. I didn't want to go over the top with the whole cowboy look, but I also wanted people to be able to tell that's it's kinda sorta supposed to be cowboy themed. I felt like the little cowboy print and the old lantern lights weren't quite driving the point, so I decided to go a more obvious route and make a 'Lil Cowboy' sign. That should ensure that there's no confusion!
=)

The first thing I did was type 'Lil Cowboy' in Word and printed it out (each letter was a whole page). Next, I turned the printed side facing down on my green scrapbook paper and traced along the outline of each letter, which transferred the outline onto the scrapbook paper. Would you believe I just discovered that by accident?? I know you guys are probably thinking now that I must live under a rock!

After I had that all cut out, I went to Home Depot and bought a pine board that was 10'' wide and 6' long.

I wanted to add some character to the board so I got this brilliant idea (<--- That would be totally sarcastic) to make it look like planked floors, so I got out some long metal thingy I found in the garage, a flathead screwdriver, and a wood chisel (which is not pictured because I was expecting this would be easy to do with just a screwdriver, but I was oh so wrong!). I marked 3'' in from the top and bottom edge then used the metal thingy I found in the garage as a guide to run the screwdriver and chisel along to create the 'planks'.

TIP: It was easiest to use the corner of the chisel for that part.

Next, I made random vertical lines to make it look like several different boards were running horizontally.

TIP: It was easiest (and I use that term lightly) to use the whole chisel when making these lines because the chisel gets stuck on the wood grain, leaving little divots.

Next thing I did was stained it Early American by Minwax. To make it look a little more realistic, I put a tack in each corner of each plank.


I'm waiting until I move (which by the way is in less than 3 weeks!) before I attach everything, but I laid it all out so you can at least get an idea of how it will look.


I got the iron star from a local flea market and they will be popping up in other places in his room (stay tuned for that!).


I originally inked just the edges of the letters, but it stood out too much, so I went and inked all over them for a rustic look.


This should make for a great little addition to his room!







 
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UndertheTableandDreaming

15 comments:

Star Talks said...

Wow, that turned out so cute! What a great idea to make it look like wooden planks... add so much to the overall look! Can't wait to see the whole room. Good luck on your move.

kelly said...

love it! you could modge podge the letters on so they will last longer and it will dry clear. love the plank idea!

Deborah@Green Willow Pond said...

What a cute idea. The "planks" look so realistic and the tacks were the perfect touch.

Sarah @ Cozy.Cottage.Cute. said...

Ooooo, very cute!

Megan said...

SO creative and cute - I just love how you made it look like different planks of wood!

Deb said...

Super cute sign Ali! This is one of my favorite projects of yours, I just love the look of the "planks"! Deb

shannon i olson said...

what a great job, looks wonderful, nice photographs too.

Kim @ Starshine Chic said...

Cute!!! It's perfect for a cowboy room.

Lindy said...

Ali, this is so cute. Love the wood "planks"!

Amanda said...

I am in love with this sign Ali, it's awesome :) Featured you http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/lil-cowboy-sign/

Unknown said...

It's great, Ali! Takes me back to when I was growing up (w/cowboys). Your son will love it!

Having just moved last week, I feel for you. What a huge chore it is! Hope it goes better for you then it did for me.

Would love for you to stop by tomorrow & link your sign up to Passion for Paint!

Funky Junk Interiors said...

LOVE the plank look idea! Very cool idea to create the look with chisels! The sign is adorable... love those stars!

Donna

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

This is so darn cute! I love the idea of making it look like planks and the tacks were a great idea. And I must be under a rock too because I didn't know about turning the printed paper over to trace it either!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Whoa... that looks amazing! I love it! I just clicked over from Craft Gossip and I would love to link to this if you didn't mind.

Sarah @ Modern Country Style said...

This is really great too. You're super-creative. I love the iron star.

Note to self: Must put in more effort with my children's rooms.

I hope your son loves it as much as I do!!!

I love it that your ideas are great...but all seem really different too. Not just variations on a theme.

Sarahx

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