Tutorial: Welcome To The Dead & Breakfast Inn Sign

A year or so ago I saw a "Dead & Breakfast Inn" sign in a battered copy of Better Homes & Gardens magazine.  I fell in love with the idea and begged hubby to make one for our little house in the woods.  During the recent government furlough, he had a little time on his hands...

Hubby built me the post using a turned post from Home Depot and some scrap wood from the garage.  The bottom is weighted with bricks to prevent it from tipping over.

Using 1/2" clear pine scrap wood, wood glue and a reciprocating saw, he made the sign that would hang from the post.  (There are 1/2" x 1/2" straps on the top & bottom of the back of this sign.)

I used Minwax Ebony Wood Finish to stain it (and the signs that go with it) black.  While the stain dried (just 1/2 an hour!), I mixed up some leftober black and white paint to create a grey that would cover the entire post. 

At this point, I only painted the post.  Before I could paint the sign, I needed to add vinyl die cut letters.  I used my trusty Wishblade to cut the letters using the Footlight MT Light font from some leftover (red) cling vinyl I had used for Christmas a few years ago. Note: Make sure your vinyl is down securely.  I used a craft rolling pin over & over mine to ensure that the edges had sealed.  If you don't do this, you may end up with paint bleeding under your vinyl.  Not good!

Once my letters were down, I was able to paint the sign grey as well.

Once all of the paint was dry, I dry brushed some white acrylic paint (very lightly) over the grey to age it a little.

I gave it a day to dry and then carefully peeled up the vinyl letters.

I used some sandpaper to pull up some of the black stain underneath the paint.  We sealed the entire thing with spray sealant.  Hubby used some hooks and chain to hang the sign and we were done:

I still plan to add some scary crows to the top and pumpkins & mums to the bottom.  It looks fantastic on the front walkway and makes me smile every time I pull into the driveway.

Hope you're enjoying your Halloween season!

 

Comments

[Amy S]

This is just amazing! Love it.