Wedding Bells...

I have been busy the past week or so working on some wedding programs for a friends wedding. It is this Saturday and I just finished up the programs today. I am pretty happy with how they turned out and she & her fiance liked them a lot!! I did my own wedding programs very similar, loved them, too!
So, after we received the invitation to the wedding, I immediately thought of this ETSY site! I have been admiring her work for a long time and was just waiting for an occasion to buy one! Well, I should have just ordered it then, because on Monday, this Monday, I remembered that I wanted to get them one. Oh, how I procrastinate. Again, working best under pressure & with a deadline- I made my own. Not as fancy as the ones at A Simple Impression, because those are vinyl letters. Mine are painted. I really am so please at the end result, and I hope they will be, too!

I decided to make this into a tutorial because I also host a monthly craft group & this very well may be out next months project!! So, here goes- my first tutorial. {At least I know my sister will proof read this for me & call right away with any errors. She'll be such a great teacher!!}

STEP 1:
Have your adorable husband cut a board to length and route the edges out nice and fancy {I can totally do this myself, but he doesn't like me playing with his tools} .


STEP 2:
Paint your base color in a fast drying acrylic paint. This is the color that will show through the cracks.

STEP 3:
Paint the top with a crackle medium. I use DecoArt Weathered Wood. Let it dry.


STEP 4:
Paint the top coat over the crackle medium. Use a lighter color than your base so that you have a nice contrast.


STEP 5:
Print out your template and trace the last name with an exacto knife on clear contact paper.


STEP 6:
Gently tear back the contact paper and center it onto your board. Use a brayer to make sure no paint bleeds through.


STEP 7:
Use another color paint that is darker than your top coat {I used a water-based walnut stain}and rub over the contact paper with a paper towel. If this coat is too dark, your other words over it will not show up well. This happened to me, and I watered down some ivory paint and brushed it over the whole thing to dull out the name.


STEP 8:
Lay down carbon paper and gently trace your wording.

STEP 9:
Using a very small brush, fill in your wording in a dark color.


STEP 10:
Mix a dark brown acrylic paint with some glaze {I use Behr Faux Glaze} and rub it over top of the whole board. I try to concentrate on the edges and corners more. If you get too much in the center, just wet a towel and gently rub it off.


STEP 11:
After it is all completely dry, use a spray polyurethane to protect your artwork.

STEP 12:
Sign your art!!! Be proud of what you created!!

That's all for today- heading to sleep now :)