Creative Collaboration-signs designed by you and me!

 It's Christmas eve, eve, eve and I am almost finished with custom Christmas orders.  I have a framed magnetic board to stain and finish but then that's a wrap!

 I can share with you only some of these sign orders, as many of them won't be opened until Christmas day and I don't want to give away the surprise as some have names on them but will try to remember to post them soon.  Here's a sampling of some personalized gifts:

These are being hung over beds in master bedrooms. I had this stencil already cut and had used it on some large embroidery rings that I had stenciled for my booth last year, but it's much more fun to personalize them with marriage dates.

This one, my neighbor ordered for her newly repurposed living room. They recently purchased a large sectional and needed/wanted wall art to hang above one section-the main wall as you looked into the room.  Here is the image she texted me:

She wanted it to be as close to that font style as possible.  I couldn't find the exact font, so I decided to enlarge the text using a projector. I traced the lettering on paper and cut the stencil out with an exacto knife. 

I then painted/stenciled it using black paint and a stencil brush.

 
I distressed it by hand with a sanding pad and Ken built a frame for it which I also painted black and distressed.

 This one was a Christmas order from last year painted on bard wood, but I had this pallet sign already cut in the garage and reused that stencil. This one i brought to my booth. Not sure if it's still there. I haven't stopped in yet this week.

 This 3x5 custom order was placed by my friend Renee for her parents who live in a cottage/home on the lake near the woods.  This sign was to be the identifier to point guests in the direction of their home.  Ken used pine boards that I stained with a dark walnut stain and would later paint over it in an exterior creamy white to give it depth.

 Again, I used the projector to enlarge the font/writing.

Here's the image being projected on the sign:

 Same song, second verse: I traced the lettering and cut a stencil using a large sheet of plywood as my cutting board.

 Being stenciling the wording, I sanded off the corners, edges and joints where they were connected to give it a rustic/cottage vibe.

 Stenciling the wording using a custom brick red color that I mixed using paints I had.

 This is before I finished it off with three coats of exterior polyurethane to keep it from weathering too quickly. 

 Karen ordered this sign from something she saw online.  She found it in a vertical orientation, but needed it horizontal to hang over a leather sofa in her family room.  Again, had to be a bigger, bolder look to make sense in that room.She wanted it really rustic to match a barnwood framed mirror she had found earlier in the week.I first had Ken lay out these pallet boards, but after he put the whole thing together, I determined they were too light to compliment her wall color in that room so I had him build another. Oh how he loves me. :)

Once I had the time consuming design and stencil cut, I was grateful I would be able produce another to sell  to make up for some lost time. ( will be brought to the booth this week).

This style is a little trickier because every word or every few words are a different font style...so you're adjusting size and fonts as you go.

 
Here's the finished product.  Ken framed it with some cut pine trim which I stained with a walnut stain and distressed.

I had so much fun (?) -yes, I really did with these custom orders and am so thankful for your trust in me as you continue to challenge me to step out of my "accidental artist" comfort zone.

 Looking forward to more creative collaboration with you Champs in 2015! If I don't have time to post before Thursday, I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!!  Love and peace to you in the new year! See you back here soon!