Reclaimed Barnwood Sign & Tutorial

Live Simply.  A great motto to live by.  And also the wording I decided to use on a piece of old barnwood I reclaimed from the hub's parents' farm.

I'm pretty sure his Dad had used it at one point to clean fish, since there were scales on the backside.  Yum!  But not a deterrent to me!  I just bleached it really good before I got to work.

This is what I started with:

First I gave it a coat of Chalkboard White by Dutch Boy Paint.  I love how it really made the grain pop.

Then I sanded the heck out of it with steel wool, which is now my new fave to rough up a surface...  Cheap and it works!

And then I cut some burlap, centered it, and hot glued it into place:

I had these starfish laying around that I bought a few years ago when I was back in Virginia Beach, so I decided to glue those down too. . .

Next, because I'm severely straight line challenged, I marked off where the stencil would go.  Seriously, if I tried to just eyeball it, it would turn out looking like this:
                                                      L
                                       i
                                      v
                                        e
                                 S
                                  i                        
                                   m
                                    p
                                     l
                                       y        .

No kidding.

So, if I have to deal with a tiny barely noticeable line on most of my homemade stuff, no biggie.  I'd rather have that than a crooked word.

And since I really, really don't like stencil paper, I decided to make my stencil from regular old printer paper.  Guess what?  Worked like a charm for a fraction of the cost.

After tracing on the words, I filled in the letters with black paint by first dabbing on the outline and then filling it in.  With burlap, you can't smooth the paint on because it catches, so you just dab it on like so. . .

  

And then you're done.  YIPPEE!

Doesn't it just remind you to take a deep breath, even amid all the hustle and bustle of life?

Live Simply.  A reminder to not let the frantic pace of life consume you.

And a little taste of summer, all year through.  (Although I'm really out of step with the rest of blogland, who have all moved onto fall decor.  A little secret. . .  I really don't care too much for fall or halloween decor.  I mean, I like it - just not in my house.  Love the season, just not the traditional decor.  Now Christmas?  Whole 'nother story.)

One of my favorite things in my house.  I got this potpourri shell from TJ Maxx last summer.

  

Now, all I have to do is figure out what to do with it.

Take care!

I've linked this project up to:

Lil' Luna - All Things Good