No Longer Afraid of Making Distressed Decor!

Just want to remind everyone about our new giveaway, you can find it by clicking HERE! It's open until May 14th :-)

So I've been wanting to make some distressed decor signs for a while now, but I have been nervous to do it.  I think the idea of trying something new just scared me a little bit. Last week I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try.  I realized I had nothing to be afraid of, making these signs was SUPER easy!  I am really pleased with the way they turned out.  It took a little trial and error, but this is the result!

These were so easy to make you guys!  I took a few scrap pieces of wood.  The key to getting them to look like this is to use three paint colors in three layers.  The layers work best when your first layer is light, second layer is dark, and third layer is light.  Or you can reverse it and do dark, light, dark. 

On my laundry sign I painted a light yellow layer first.  It doesn't have to be perfect, because you're going to put several layers on, and it's supposed to look distressed anyway.  Next I painted a layer of red.  I just put it on sparingly, leaving it less thick in some spots for effect. 

The next step was a little tough.  A lot of people have machines they can cut vinyl letters with.  I don't have one of those machines, so I had to use stencils.  I bought a package, and punched out the middles of the stencil.  I took those pieces, sprayed them with an adhesive lightly, and stuck them to my board as you can see here.

The last step was to paint with light blue over the letters.  I did this layer thicker so that the letters would stand out well.  As soon as the paint was applied, I peeled my stencil letters off.  The adhered stencil cutouts worked perfectly.  After the paint dried, I did a light sanding over the entire thing.  This step is important to create a more distressed look, and also to remove any adhesive that stayed on the sign.

Easy as pie!  I used this technique on all of the signs.  I'm pretty happy with them considering it was my first attempt.  I can't wait to do it again with other sizes, sayings, and colors!!  Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to!

I also am really excited to say that tomorrow I will be co-hosting the "Not Your Ordinary Show & Tell Link Party" over at "The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife! I hope all of you will come over and join the party!!

Linking up at:

Debbiedoos-You can also find her button on my sidebar! :-) Love this party!

http://debbie-debbiedoos.com/2012/04/thrift-store-chair-resurrection-newbie-party-started.html

Homemaker on a Dime

http://www.homemakeronadime.com/2012/04/creative-bloggers-party-hop-57.html

Brassy Apple

http://brassyapple.blogspot.com/2012/04/make-it-monday-29.html

Between Naps on the Porch

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2012/04/office-updates-shell-charger-progress.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20BetweenNapsOnThePorch%20(BETWEEN%20NAPS%20ON%20THE%20PORCH)

How to Nest for Less

http://howtonestforless.com/2012/04/30/just-a-party-with-my-peeps-12/