One Happy Camper!!

Even though I may do have some other room painting and gardening projects to tackle, I knew as soon as I got the living room done I would give myself "permission" to start on this year's Halloween fun. For me, that fun usually starts with crafting. I showed you the Grandin Road sign that I was going to try to knock-off...and it was time to get going on that!

I made this sign pretty much I make most of my large wooden signs...I start by bringing out my trusty friend, the chop saw. He and I have been through so much together and there isn't much that I want to do that he can't help with! This time though, instead of running the boards vertically, I ran them horizontally - that was the way they were running on the original and it was the easiest way to duplicate the size.
 

Same process as always - I just lay the boards down and then secure them together using furring strips held on with wood glue and nails.

After a quick sanding, I started by putting on a coat of watered down black paint. I decided to do the "wash" effect because it looked kind of smoky and eery to me and I am not a big fan of solid paint on a wooden sign. I like it to look old and weathered.

I copied the picture of the sign from the catalog and then blew it up until it was the size I needed. This time I rubbed dark gray chalk on the back of the words and then traced over them with a pencil. For the diamond shapes, I simply cut a piece of cardboard to the correct size and traced around it with a white pencil.

The rest of it is pretty much like coloring in a coloring book - just fill in the blanks! After all of the paint was dry, I used a wet sponge to remove the rest of the chalk lines and then did a bit of sanding to "weather" it even a bit more.

So, what do you think? I am loving it. Now I just have to find a place for it. Remember, everything will have to find a new home as so many of my display areas are gone. I am thinking this will go with my "witch" vignette - which used to be by the front door - but all of that may change this year.

Hubby and I also finally found our day to head out of town yesterday. We were of to our favorite "Shops at Wiregrass" near Tampa. We hadn't been down there in a few months and PB was all decked out in its autumn and Halloween glory so I was enjoying every minute of it. Hubby always buys me one new Halloween treasure every year and this year was no different. Wait until you see what we found!! I will share soon - I promise.

And, since PB sent me two gift cards when they sent me the new string of mercury glass pumpkin lights, we decided to add this little lovely to our home as well.

We have a busy week ahead so I am off to pour a glass of wine and cheer on the Gators. The season is just getting going - stay tuned.