Thursday, May 26, 2011

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!




Pink Hippo Party

14 comments:

  1. so stinkin' cute! i'll be trying that one this weekend :)

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  2. What a great idea to use the tissue paper! I would have stenciled and then been frustrated bc me and stecils do not get along...LOL I have been wanting one of these signs for years but never wanted to fork over the dough for it. Definately bookmarking this idea!

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  3. cute. I'm going to do this one soon.

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  4. This is easy enough even I MIGHT be able not to screw it up!

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  5. Very cute! And will all the supplies I have on hand. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. How do you keep the ink from the computer from bleeding when it gets wet?

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  7. I made sure that it had a little while to dry completely before using the mod podge, but honestly mine didn't run at all. I did more of a dabbing technique with a foam brush to get it adhered, then went back over lightly with the brush to get a smooth, even finish. With the tissue paper you have to make sure not to over brush it anyway which probably helped too. Good luck!

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  8. I can't wait to try and make one of these signs... right now my hubby and I are about to try using tissue paper to print out some words for a planter we are making into a fountain! Love your blog and your crafts!

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  9. I'm having a hard time getting the tissue paper to run through my printer. It's like it isn't grabbing it and then it is getting stuck. Also, how do you get your letters big enough?? Could you give me an example of font and size for each of your letters?

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  10. Hi Kasey! The way that I do the tissue it to tape it securely all the way across the top to a piece of regular printer paper and run both pieces through at the same time. (I use junk mail, that way I'm not wasting paper) I'm sorry if that wasn't completely clear in the directions! As for the letters and sizes, the last name was in 'Snell Roundhand' at size 250 and the rest of the lettering was in 'Didot' size 150 for 'The' and 'Family' and 'est. 2000' was sized at 96. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions!

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  11. How do you get it that big? The biggest I can find is 72

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  12. I'm making one right now for a wedding gift... about to print on the tissue paper. Kasey, mine only goes to 72, too. But, if you highlight the number you can type any font size and click enter. Good luck!

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