A Family Plaque

I've always loved personalized things and objects that have meaning to them. In the past I've noticed really adorable family plaques and wanted one for our house, but didn't love some of the price tags that came with them. This one is listed for $80 and I didn't even like it that much! Anyway, I knew that I could do it cheaper and more in the style I was looking for. Follow along to make one for yourself for under $10...

First off, I got an unfinished wooden plaque at Hobby Lobby for $7.99. You can also use a 40% off coupon to make this project even cheaper, but I was feeling guilty for not posting a tutorial in a while. :) Paint the plaque your base color and let it dry completely. I did three coats with some leftover paint from Mistress Monstress's furniture. I would go with white or off white. You will see why in a minute...

Next, cut tissue paper to the size of a piece of printer paper and tape it at the top. Load up the number of sheets you will need in your printer. In my case it was three.

On your computer, type out The and Family in whatever font you want. Make it slightly smaller than your last name. Also type out est. and your year in the same font, even smaller than The and Family. Choose a second font for your last name, this will be the largest word on your plaque.

Cut out the words from your tissue paper as close to the edge as possible. Arrange them on your plaque.

CAREFULLY mod podge them down to the plaque. The tissue edges will mostly disappear when they are applied, leaving only the wording. Coat the entire top with mod podge for an even finish and let it dry thoroughly.

Once it is completely dry, attack your plaque with some sandpaper. You can sand over the wording, just not as hard as the wood. Make sure to expose some bare wood in places so the distressing will show up well.

Next take some scrapbooking ink, (I prefer brown) and cover all your exposed wood with the ink. If you find you have gotten too much on you can wipe it off with a baby wipe or damp paper towel as long as the ink hasn't dried completely.

On mine, some of the mod podge rubbed off which gave it even more texture. I loved the way it turned out! I also then took some chain, nails, and a hammer and distressed the entire front. It's a great way to take out aggression!

And here it is! I added a hanger to the back and hung it up in our newly freshened up great room (which will be in a future post.) I am completely thrilled with how it turned out, and am already looking forward to the next project!