Signs, signs, everywhere a handpainted sign

Today, I’m channeling Five-Man Electric Band, or in my case Tesla. Boy, did I love that song when I was a teenager. And from the looks of things, I really love signs.

Lately, I’ve been on a handpainted sign kick. Probably because they’re so much more manageable to paint than furniture. When yard sales and flea markets dried up for the colder months, I had to figure out something else to paint.

Luckily, that timing coincided with my discover of some awesome old painted wainscoting,salvaged from an old house, and some cabinet door blanks from my local Habitat Restore. It was also around the time when I got my Silhouette Cameo, which gave me the ability to create my own stencils.

So, today I’m sharing a selection of signs I’ve painted. Some are hanging in my house, some are for sale and some sold at last weekend’s Indie Market.

Bistro Sign created from a 70s-era cabinet door. Painted Aubusson Blue with Duck Egg Blue accents. The copper hardware I painted Old White, then added a verdigris by brushing it with Duck Egg Blue and sanding to distress

Here’s a closeup showing the hardware and the Duck Egg Blue.

“Color outside the lines” sign hanging in my craft room. Painted the message in Old White on this gorgeous old wainscoting. That is the original color. I sealed it with polycrylic to keep the (possible) lead paint from chipping.

A half-dozen handpainted signs haning in my garage. All are for sale. “Groceries” and “Color Outside the Lines” were created on old wainscoting using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and stencils I cut with my Silhouette Cameo. “Market” and “Guests” are two new drawer panels. I painted the borders and stenciled the words. (Market is Antibes Green and Guests is Provence, both Annie Sloan Chalk paint colors.)

The laundry sign is another cabinet door panel, painted Caromal Colours Bayberry Blue, a thick textured paint. The words I stenciled in Martha Stewart craft paint.

Bistro I’ve told you about already!

Here’s another look at some of these signs at our booth at the Indie Market.

Speaking of the Indie Market, here’s another laundry room sign that sold there. WASH. DRY. FOLD. REPEAT. Painted in Old White and Duck Egg Blue and heavily distressed. Notice I didn’t include IRON in my list. I so rarely iron!

I wish I had taken more and better photos of these two painted signs before they sold. These were two of my favorites. The “First Breath” sign I made for a nursery. I painted a cherry-colored cabinet door Duck Egg Blue and then stenciled on the phrase, “Your First Breath took ours away” in Old White and black craft paint and added some flourishes. I distressed this and then added clear wax.

The “Happiness’ sign features a quote from Harry Potter. I painted a cabinet door Duck Egg Blue, then added a white vinyl flourish background, which I cut with my Silhouette. I layered on the black vinyl saying, then sealed the entire thing with polycrylic and added an antique wash.

The chalkboard is just a little fun family command center memo board. Chalkboard spray paint plus white vinyl letters on a cabinet door.

The “Bicycles” sign is a natural wood cabinet door front decorated with vinyl tricycle and bicycle decals I cut with my Silhouette cameo. This groceries sign is painted Arles with Provence letters and finished with dark wax. I think it would be perfecting hanging in a kitchen or over a pantry door.

My Dr. Seuss sign is another favorite. I made this out of a wooden toy wagon that I found at Goodwill. I thought it would make a perfect sign for a child’s room. I painted it Old White, then stenciled two playing figures atop that in gray and finished it with a Dr. Seuss quote cut out of red vinyl. This hasn’t sold, and if it doesn’t, it may be destined for Jackson’s room. I love the look and the sentiment.

Another sign on old wainscoting that is hanging above our family command center, i.e. junk collection spot, in the laundry room.

I’m sorry the photo of these isn’t any better. There’s no natural light in this room. I made these French-inspired signs for our downstairs guest bathroom as a way to get some color on the walls until I can paint. I used two cabinet door panels and painted them Old Violet. I then painted the centers in Arles and stenciled on my phrases in Old Violet. For the Salle de Bains, I cut a stencil with my Cameo. I did the same for the Savon au Jasmin sign, but I was inspired by a vintage graphic from a French soap label from the Graphics Fairy.

I distressed these signs pretty heavily and added a few rubs of Duck Egg blue to give them even more dimension, as you can see from the photo above. Finally, I added a coat of clear wax and dark wax and buffed to a shine.

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