After some amazing family time this procrastinating blogger is back with a fun new sign that I hope will make up for my recent lack of posts!! It's rusty and easy.. am I winning you over yet !?! I sure hope so!
To get started you need some big, cheap letters. I got these at Hobby Lobby for around a dollar a piece.
Then I painted the back, front and sides with black paint, any that you have or can get your hands on for cheap will work perfect. Next I put a very thin coat of bright red paint just on the front. Once the red dried I used a piece of sandpaper to distress the paint a bit and let some of the black show through.
The tin is a chunk of a larger piece that I got for free. It came off of an old barn and was covered in dirt and rust, just the way I wanted it. Sorry no pictures for this step, but next I dusted off the loose grime and used tin snips to cut down the big piece to something more manageable. Using tin snips is a bit of a pain and slow going but since I got the tin for free I won't complain.. at least not for too long!
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To attach the letters, first I arranged them overlapping each other in a haphazard way then used small dabs of gorilla glue to attach the wood letter to each other (small being the key here, this stuff expands so a little goes a very long way). Once the letters were secure I used more gorilla glue to attach the wood to the tin.
You could finish this off with some old barn wood around the edges to form a frame, but I wanted to get this up and just didn't feel like measuring so I drilled two holes in the tin near the top about 6 inches in from each side. Then I put a screw through the front and used a bolt on the back to keep it in place, this gave me a spot to securely wrap some picture hanging wire and hang it on the wall. But the shiny, new screw looked out of place so I did what any good DIY'er does and "googled it" .. did you know that cinnamon sprinkled on glue (I used a spray adhesive) dries and looks like rust?? Me either!!! But it works just dab or spray the glue where you want there to be a rust spot, sprinkle on some cinnamon let it dry, dust off the excess and like magic the area looks aged. The best part is you don't have to be very precise just spray and sprinkle the messier the more realistic I think.. oh and it smells great!
In a very short time this too could be in your house!
In our house the sign is above a hutch I found on craigslist that was in pretty rough shape. But a fresh coat of flat black paint, a little distressing, a few upholstery tacks and some booze later, we now love our little Saloon and hope you do too!
Enjoy,
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