New "Old" Sign

I've wanted an "old" sign for my kitchen forever. Just now got around to it.

Remember when we redid our deck steps? Well, I used a plank from the old steps that we took off since it's a good size and already perfectly weathered.

I experimented to see if I could get the inkjet printer ink to transfer, but no go. All the techniques call for a laser printer.

Since that didn't work, this called for a stencil. So, I printed my words and then cut them out, careful to keep the outline intact because that's the part I needed.

It took several pieces of paper, so I made sure to line everything back up and then taped it all in place on my wood plank.

Because I had to line the letters up properly, I printed the word smaller so I knew what it should look like.

I mixed black acrylic paint with water to make it very thin and then painted the letters. Because I just used paper, I did not slop paint on the edges much so that I did not have to worry about bleeding too much.

I peeled off the stencil and let it dry. I definitely looked weathered, but it didn't quite pop enough. 

This is a really awkward angle. I hope you aren't getting dizzy!

Now, I don't know why, but I really didn't want color on this one. Finally, I decided to use the black like a shadow, and paint the letters again with watered down white paint.

I just free-handed it, but you could put your stencil back down. I brushed the white very thin in some places and let it pool and soak into the wood in others. I hoped this would create a uneven weathered look.

It is thick, so we hung it by screwing four really long screws back into the holes that used to hold down as a step.

Why MI cherries? I like cherries and I thought that font would work well with the word cherries. 

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