Hi I am Laura from Corner House and I must say “I heart nap time.” Both the blog and the actual time of day. Which is why I was absolutely tickled pink when Jamielyn asked me to share my sign with all of you, even is she is helping the competition on Crafting with the Stars :).
I am so excited to show all of you how to make my Halloween count down to candy sign today!
Alright let’s get started on this sign.
{Halloween Count Down}
Shopping List:
8 – 5.5″X6′ wood fence posts (cut to 2.5′ long- by the nice guy at Home Depot)
2 – 2″x2″x8′pieces of wood cut to 7′
1.5″ nails
hammer
paint (white, black, yellow, orange)
paint brushes
about 10 pieces of card stock
tape
2 pieces of cute paper
2 little clip boards
and your silhouette. (If you don’t have one I guess you will just have to go get one. Kidding. I will tell you how to do it with out a silhouette, but it just just faster and easier with one.)
You will start by laying out your 2×2 boards about 1.5 feet apart. I put them against a wall at one end to make sure they were level. Then lay out your shorter wood pieces on the boards so you can get a good idea of how you want them.
Sorry these pictures are the best I could get, I made this down in my basement (due to the fact that is was NAP TIME). Anyway, now you just want to nail your boards down.
I moved a few boards as I was working so I could see where the 2×2 were. I used 4 nails per board; and if as you are nailing one of the nails bends over don’t worry about it, just hammer it in and move on.
Once it is all nailed you want to beat it a little. Feel free to hit it with what ever you have around. I like to use the the back of a hammer or a screw driver.
Then you want to white wash it. I like a 1 part paint to 1 part water ratio to make the wash. Paint on the wash like you would normally and then let it dry. I like the wash because it lets some of the wood natural prettiness show through.
While that is drying, use you silhouette to cut out your words. If you don’t have a silhouette you can just print out the words and then rub the back with a lot of chalk (not white) and the put that up to the wood and trace over the letters with a pencil and it will make the letters on the board so you can paint them in.
Back to the stencils. Put your stencils up on the sign.
(100,000 points if you can see how I where I messed up)
Now once I had my letters up there I decided that I want some of the candy corns to be under the letters, so I moved some of the stencils to add in the candy corn.
I just painted them on and them sanded them off before painting on the letters.
(Oh look two of those nails that didn’t go into the wood nicely. cute)
Now paint in your letters.
I used those cheap foam brushes for the stencils.
Once your letters are dry you will want to sand them.
For the count down, I nailed up two little clip boards and then just cut out letters and glued them to cute paper.
To finish it off I free hand painted the little bunting and the spider. I know… my art skills are AMAZING. Possibly I shouldn’t joke with you guys like that. You may not know I am joking.
Oh BTW I used the fonts Crackhouse, Addict, and Adler. Maybe if you already have those you can save yourselves hours not having to look though and find a font you want.
Once it is all together, all you have to do is put it on your porch and count down to what is really important. CANDY!
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and managing editor of iheartnaptime.net. She is married to her best friend and together they have two beautiful children just under two years apart. Her days are filled with lots of snuggles, crafts, e-mails, avoiding the ever-growing pile of laundry, play dough, sneaking bites of chocolate and wondering, “Is it nap time yet?!” I Heart Nap Time is a creative site sharing DIY home projects on a budget, crafts, sewing tutorials, easy recipes, tips and techniques.
mommahen
I bet the kids riding by LOVE this!! So, stinkin’ cute. She has some of the best projects!
Jessica from Jessabells
Wow, love it.
laxsupermom
Love this! I’m sure it’s the hit of the neighborhood. Thanks for sharing.
laxsupermom recently posted..Pear & Nutella Dessert Bars
Samantha
How cute is this! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
And don’t worry, my art skills are pretty fantastic also… One word, character. (That’s my excuse for mistakes. Gives it character.)
Awesome job! I have a couple of pallets lying around, I may whip up one of these for myself!
Samantha recently posted..Darn this week! And last week….
Lyndsey Favero
This is so rad!!! I cant stand it!!! I wish I had a porch and I would make this right now!!
Lyndsey Favero recently posted..H to the O
Leanne
This is so cute! My kids would love it. The little clipboards are my favorite.
Leanne recently posted..Home Decor and Organizing Link Party #20
Christi
This is so cute… My son would love it. Someday when I have a house of my own I may have to make one for my front porch.
Christi recently posted..We Are Having Family Pictures
Lisa
I am absolutely IN LOVE with this project!! I love count-downs..lol This is just fabulous!!
Laurie Cutler
I am loving this. I want one asap. You did a great job!
Kelli
This is sooooo stinkin cute! I am soo going to try and make this. I all ready pinned it!! :D Where by chance did you find those fonts at? I have tried looking, but none of them are coming up.
Kim @ The Celebration Shoppe
Oh my! This is beyond fabulous! My sons would love to make something like this and if I let them see it I’ll have to. ;)
Kim @ The Celebration Shoppe recently posted..science experiment activities
Ginger
This is the BEST front porch idea I have seen yet. That is awesome! I totally agree – the candy is the best part!
Ginger recently posted..embroidery hoop project ideas
janitsy anderson
love this! can’t wait to make it :) where did you find the small clip boards?
Risa Baker
I am so lucky I get to live one street over from Laura and her CUTE corner house!!! Makes me happy every time I drive by. Laura is SUPER talented! Fun to see her work on your blog!
<3
Risa
Audrey Martinez
I love this!!!! So cute, I love the clipboards. Thanks for sharing.
Deborah Fitzgerald
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!!
Becky Pearce
Thank you SO much for this tutorial! I made one today and LOVE the way it turned out. http://ow.ly/i/iufw
Kathy
This is so cute!!! I wish my kids were still small so I could make one for my house.
Jennifer
I love this idea! Thanks so much for sharing your creativity to the rest of us… it’s much appreciated!
Michelle Verdier
I think i could use the tall pallet I have in the backyard for this, no?
Amy @ Positively Splendid
This project is too fun for words! I loved it so much, I shared it in my Saturday Seven lineup this week! http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2011/10/saturday-seven-no-27.html
Amy @ Positively Splendid recently posted..Saturday Seven (No. 27)