2 Fancy hand-painted signs you can easily DIY!
PSA: You can turn anything into a sign.
Whether you hand-paint the letters or choose to create lettering that you make on your Cricut machine, know that absolutely anything can be used to relay your message!
I LOVE signage; especially those that are hand-painted.
Rarely do I pass up an opportunity to read hand-painted wording! If someone took the time to write it, then it must be interesting (even if it really isn't)! LOL! It still gets my attention.
Ok, so now that I have made it clear how important signs are, let me show you how easy it is to use the most random objects as your surface!
Watch the DIYs on YouTube:
Check out this week's video here.
Sign 1: Painting over a Mirror
I needed a small sign for my recent booth space adventure!
Currently, I have a large neon sign with my business name, but I needed a small personal sign that directed shoppers to my social media accounts and website. I wanted it to be personal (painted by hand), gold framed, and in a specific shape. Not too difficult right?
As is usually the case, I found exactly what I was looking for at Hobby Lobby for 50% off.
It was a MIRROR!
Now, I could have removed the mirror from the frame, cut a board to fit the frame, and paint directly on the board.
But that sounds pretty labor-intensive. Not to mention the mirror was glued to the frame.
So I just painted directly on the mirror! And to answer your question: YES, you can paint, using Dixie Belle Paint, right onto the mirror surface, in any color!
I chose Caviar to give it a chalkboard vibe and proceeded to paint on two coats and set it aside to dry.
I then used a Sharpie broad tip marker in white to write my message. I did this freehand in a basic print font. Matt (my hubs) watched and said he would have had to do this in chalk first which is something I often do.
So, keep in mind, you can use a piece of chalk first, then draw with your Sharpie marker once you like your placement and spacing.
The marker dries quickly, and you can erase any chalk lines with a baby wipe. Since the marker is permanent, it will not erase!
So BOOM! It's the perfect size for the space I needed, and I spent less than $20 on it!
Isn't it perfect in my booth?
Sign 2: Painting on a Thrifted Fabric Hanging from a Curtain Rod
My daughter asked me to paint a "backdrop" sign for my granddaughter's "ladybug-themed" birthday.
I get asked to paint backdrops A LOT, and I usually paint on either drop cloths that will hang, mural paper, or canvas. I have even painted on wood planks.
HOWEVER, interestingly enough, (while thrifting), I stumbled upon this giant piece of painted fabric hanging from a curtain rod?!?!
What?????
It stopped me in my tracks because SOMEONE was thinking outside the box! I loved this idea (but not the design). So, I grabbed that sucker and claimed it as mine!
P.S. I painted this the morning of the party in less than an hour!!!
I simply removed the fabric part from the rod/clips, and got busy with my paint! A double base coat of Honky Tonk Red went on painlessly with my Scarlet Brush!
Pro tip: I used a heat gun each step of the way to speed up the process.
Then I painted the small little sections between the scallops with Caviar as well and embellished them with a small flower in yellow (Daisy) and white.
For the polka dots: I traced jumbo-size polka dots using a bowl as my pattern, then painted each dot with Caviar black.
The tassels that were hanging were not the right red. So I removed them and replaced them with four red pom-poms (that I could have made but was in a rush), instead opting to use pre-made ones that I removed from two ladybug headbands that I found at Party City! BOOM!
Once completely dry (using a heat gun to speed the process again), I used a piece of chalk to write the message on the sign! I had to redo my spacing a few times, so don't be hard on yourself if you need to do this. It's so easy to just baby-wipe away the chalk and try again!
Once I had it the way I wanted it (and also running out of time), I used the Sharpie Jumbo marker in white to trace directly over the chalk lines!
And would you look at that!!!
Isn't it adorable?????
I still can't believe I stumbled across something so perfectly matched for my needs!
And just look at it behind the birthday girl!!!
She was the cutest 6-year-old ladybug ever!!!
Again, proof that you can turn ANYTHING into a sign!
You just need a little paint, a message, and the guts to go for it!
I hope this inspires you to give it a try!!!
Some more projects to give you some inspiration!
