JOY Sign

I read something another artist wrote,

and I wish I could remember where I read it

so I could give her credit for this:

Artists Either LOVE Lettering, or HATE Lettering!!

It's. Just. So. True.

I used to HATE Lettering!

But I'm okay with it now.

In fact, I LOVE it! 

Granted, I still have "Good Lettering" and

"Poor Lettering" days,

and sometimes, to my complete chagrin,

my lettering isn't spaced perfectly,

but I've found a few tricks

that work for me and I'm happy.

Here's a quick and easy project

for someone ready to practice their lettering:

It's a small word,

and the background is black,

so it's easy to disguise any errors.

Materials List:

*Wood Plank 8" long

(I had an old painted plank that I

cut into smaller pieces with my table saw)

*Acrylic Paints:

Black, Red, Green, White, Metallic Gold,

Extreme Glitter Red

Extreme Glitter Green

*Sanding Block

*Stencil (Swirls Design)

*Paintbrushes

~ Pattern Supplies ~

*(Tracing Paper, Marker, Transfer Paper, Stylus) 
Power Drill and Wire for hanging

I borrowed a Cricut Cutting Machine

from one of my crafty girlfriends,

and I cut out my own alphabet "stencils" in two

sizes to use for making patterns.

Then I forgot to return the Cricut cutting machine.

How annoying am I?

So she picked it back up the last time

she visited my studio.

~ Thank you, L! Crafty Hugs!! ~

Here are basic instructions for making

a pattern: 

 First, I sketch my design onto white paper

with a pencil.

Next, I lay a piece of tracing paper over

my white paper drawing,

and use a Sharpie marker to

transfer clean lines to the tracing paper.

Bingo! Pattern.

~ Directions for JOY sign: ~

Paint the wood plank black.

Use a sanding block to lightly sand

across the surface of the plank. 

Because I used an old painted plank,

the previous paint color showed

through when I sanded lightly.

A few pieces had been previously painted

 white, and a few were red.

I used light colored transfer paper and

a stylus to transfer my pattern

to the painted plank.

I shaded around the left and lower

sides of each letter using black paint.

Since I sanded the surface of the

black painted plank, my shading with

black paint is subtle, but still shows up.

See??  Subtle.  But there.

I like. 

Next, I base coated the letters with red paint.

It took me two coats to achieve opacity.

After the red paint was dry,

I painted one coat of Extreme Glitter Red

over each of the letters.

Next, I sketched a few holly leaves

onto a piece of tracing paper.

This way, I could twist and turn the

pattern and still see my design underneath;

so I got a good idea of exactly

where I wanted to place the holly leaves.

I used transfer paper to add the leaves.

I painted the holly leaves green.

Next, I added a small amount of black

paint to my green puddle of paint

so that I could shade each of the leaves.

 

 With this same general idea in mind,

I added a small amount of white paint to

my green paint to make a lighter

shade of green, so I  could highlight the leaves.

You could use three shades of green

in the same family instead of adding the

black and white paint.

I'm a little unpredictable about that ~

sometimes I find the perfect shades and

sometimes its easier to create them.

I shaded behind the leaves

with black paint, so they would appear

to be attached to the front

of the letters. 

I painted a center stripe down each

holly leaf, and I shaded the "back" leaf

a little more heavily so it would

appear to be behind the other leaf.

Next, I added a coat of Extreme Glitter Green

to each of the leaves and allowed

it to dry completely.

I dipped the handle of one

of my paintbrushes into a puddle of red paint.

I dotted the berries onto the

leaves (see photo as a guide for placement).
To create same-sized dots,
dip your paintbrush handle into the paint
before dotting each time.
To create smaller dots,
dot two or three times before dipping
your paintbrush handle back into the paint.
 

I stenciled a few swirls onto the sides

of the plank with gold metallic paint,

and I highlighted each berry with a small

amount of white paint.

Finally, I coated the berries with

Extreme Glitter Red.

I outlined my letters with gold metallic paint.

Finally, and you'll just have to take my word

for this since I forgot to take a final pic,

I drilled holes in the top two corners of the plank

and threaded wire through the holes.

I curled the ends of the wire to

secure them and create a hanger,

and tied on a tulle bow.

I promise.

I'll upload a finished pic the next

time I'm out in my studio.

Hopefully tomorrow.

~ Before ~

 ~ Later ~

and, coming soon:

XXX

~ Finished! ~

Peace and Joy in Painting!!!