Friday, September 5, 2008

Make an Old Sign

Good Morning!
Last summer when I shopped at the antique shops in Destin, Florida I located a very large old fruit stand sign with several layers of chippy faded paint. I thought wow, that would look so cool in a kitchen on a big wall. It would be a great statement piece. Well, it was out of the budget so I had to pass on it. I kept thinking about the sign though and decided to start looking for an old "Farmer's Market" sign to hang in my kitchen. Why, did I want the sign to say "Farmer's Market"...well let's just say...it has a special meaning. I couldn't find the large size that I wanted & if I did, it would probably be cost prohibitive! Hmmm, wasn't ready to give up yet. So guess what I did?? Yeah, you guessed it...I made it! Hubby had the perfect size of wood out in the garage so I nicked it up with a variety of tools, such as hammers, ice picks, screwdrivers, and chains. Then I painted the wood black, added a crackle medium, then added a creamy gold color. Sanding came next, then on to painting the letters (I made the stencil). After the letters were painted and dry, I sanded again, banged it up a little more, and drybrushed a brown on the sign so that it looked a bit dirty & weathered. Oh and I added some rusty iron medallions to each side. It turned out very old & authentic looking! Just the look I wanted & fairly easy to achieve. What do ya think?






Have a great weekend!

3 comments:

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Hi Darlene...thanks for stopping by my blog! I'll add you to my blog roll. LOVE your "old" sign...you did a great job. I bet you could make those and sell them! :-) Susan

MC said...

Love your sign! I've been searching for a similar sign for my laundry room, with no luck. You've inspired me to try this myself. Do you have suggestions for paint brands, crackle medium, etc? Any additional info would be greatly appreciated!

Anonymous said...

Darlene,

I love your farmers market sign! I'm making a similar type sign but was trying to handpaint the lettering. How did you create your stencil? Any tips you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Brooke

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