This ‘THINGS’ sign is another element in my newly revamped mudroom & command center project: Save my counters! I wanted to make a painted sign, but I have horrific handwriting and my hand painting skills are really really lacking. This is the easiest method to have perfect lines, like you get with a vinyl stencil…but without the expensive vinyl cutter.
To make this project you’ll need:
- wood (mine is a pallet slat 5 1/2″ x 35″)
- Printer/paper
- Frog Tape (affiliate)
- X-acto Knife (affiliate)
- Stain/paint
I wanted my sign to be a little bit rustic. So I used a pallet slat, I love to leave the nails for added character (here’s a video showing how.)
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Then I stained the wood with the under color that I wanted, this is General Finishes Nutmeg. Let the stain dry for at least a day.
Download and print THINGS Things – THI Things – NGS and tape together. Or design the words or shapes that you want on your sign and print it out. The font I used is called Captain Howdy.
Add Frog Tape to the wood, when overlapping the tape, overlap around 1/4″ or more.
Tape ‘things’ or your pattern in place on top of the Frog Tape.
Use an X-acto knife and trace around the pattern, cutting through the paper and tape.
Remove the paper pattern and excess Frog Tape, revealing the stencil. Make sure all of the tape is pressed down firmly.
Now it’s time to paint! One painting tip that I’ve learned is that you don’t want to soak the painters tape. To get the crispest lines, paint on a super light coat of paint at first. I used the dry paint method, where you put minimal paint on your brush and dab it off on a paper towel or sponge and lightly coat the wood. Let this thin paint coat dry, it’ll dry fast. Then add another thicker coat of paint depending on the look you’re going for.
After painting, you can either pull off the tape carefully wet or wait until the paint is dry.
Tip for rustic look: wait for the paint to be FULLY dry, at least 1 day, then lightly sand the edges and face until the sign is distressed as much as you like.
I added turquoise glass knobs that I had previously purchased on ebay for another project, but didn’t work out. Add 2 picture hangers to the back.
For the baskets I really wanted to find something like these white bins.
Or these woven baskets.
But the baskets I found were at Jo-Ann’s for $2.50, so I had a hard time passing them up. Maybe I’ll come across something a little cuter later. The purpose of the ‘things’ and baskets, is for each family member to have a place to put their little things that they need frequently.
Pin for later:
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Great Job Amy!!
Wow, I have never thought of using frog tape as a stencil, what an awesome idea! It was great to meet you at Haven, Amy, hope to see you again next year!
It was great meeting you too!
great job and you have so many great articles here! gotta follow 🙂
What a great technique. Pinning this for when I need it – for the project I don’t even know I want to do yet!
wow…. I have never seen this painters tape method done before. great thinking!!! 🙂
xo, Crystelle
Crystelle Boutique
Thanks Crystelle
I love making signs, and yours looks awesome! Thanks for sharing this tutorial at Snickerdoodle! 🙂
I am keen to make a sign for my kitchen, so thanks for sharing this tip. I was going to battle with regular contact paper, but I love the idea of painter’s tape.
Great tutorial!
What a clever idea! I love the frog tape as a stencil! If you get a chance, I’d love for you to link your project up to my linky party. It’s the Twirl & Take a Bow Party and it runs from Tuesday to Sunday.
Oh great, thanks I’ll be there.
I love the glass knobs! that pop of blue draws the eyes so you see how awesome the sign is 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us!
This looks great Amy. Pinned!
Thank you!
I love this. You make it look easy.
Thanks, it really is super easy.
Such great tips and I love how it turned out!
Amy, I really love this post. It is featured on my Facebook page for Ducks ‘n a Row as one of the first entries on our Friday boosting party. Stop by? Here is the blog post w all the info in it! http://www.ducksnarow.com/2014/07/facebook-boosting-frenzy-today-only-on.html
Thank you so much, I’ll be there.
This is awesome! Frogs tape is a great idea! Please drop by Merry Monday Linky (Sunday at 6pm pst)!!! We’d love to have you! Pinning and sharing this! And making one myself! LOL!! Julia
im too lazy and cheap to use frog tape lol dollar store contact paper works great for me! i love the font you used!
Thanks for the contact paper tip. The font is Captain Howdy.
Such a neat way to do this! Never thought of using frog tape! Thanks for sharing with us at Your Designs This Time!
Erin & Emily
Very Cute! Great work!
Another great post! I’m bookmarking you for ideas for when I have time to DIY anything. 🙂 Thanks again for sharing at the Merry Monday Linky Party!
Thanks Nicole! I’ll be back and visit often.
Great tutorial! I am going to give this a try for sure. Thanks for linking up to the Be. YOU. tiful link party. Pinning!
I LOVE the way this sign turned out, and I am completely amazed that you did this without a digital cutter! Good job! I’ll be featuring this on The Happy Scraps today.
Thank you Amy!
Love this, Amy! =) It was great meeting you at Haven earlier this month! I hope you’re having a great summer….. xoxoxoxo
It was great meeting and chatting with you Daune, thanks for stopping by.
Pallet signs are my favorite projects lately. I use vinyl or vinyl stencil and cut it with my cameo. Thanks for linking up at the Creative Spark Link Party! I hope you will stop by again today to link up! http://bit.ly/1kbGQ7W
Great tips! Thanks for linking up to The Creative Exchange. I am featuring your project this week. xo, Laura
Thank you!
Great idea! Such a useable tutorial thanks for sharing!
Thanks Wendi
these are great tips, thank you for sharing at Friday Favorites!
This is so cute and great tips! Pinned. Lou Lou Girls
What kind of paint did you use? Thanks!
For this sign I used regular white latex paint left over from painting a wall in my house. However I’ve used chalky paint and that works really well too.
I love this post. I’m doing a project but was honestly dreading the not-so-smooth lines I just with regular stencils. You’ve just changed my day for the better! I do have one tip I would like to share though, after I cut out the letters with the exact knife, I will give my project another light coat of the underlying (or base) color. Then, if there are any places where the tape is not pressed down all the way, those “bleed spots” match the base and the lines are even crisper. I’m even more excited about my Saturday project now – Thank You!!!!
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your tip.