Avast the Poop Deck! A Distressing Matter

Not really. But sort of.

 

This post is to show off a couple of projects I completed recently. These pieces are going to go in my kiddos' bathroom, which has a colorful nautical theme.

 

Here are the completed pieces:

 

 

Colorful and humorous. Just my style.

 

Okay so here is what my "poop deck" sign looked like originally:

 

 

Yeah. I know. Big difference. I got this plaque at my local thrift shop for probably less than a $1.

 

 

First step was to sand. I used a palm sander and it took off all the paint and finish. The perfect black canvas.

 

 

I wanted a distressed beachy looking sign, so I started with a base coat of white paint. Just one coat; you want the wood underneath to show when we distress it.

 

 

Next we gotta get some lettering on there. I was a little short on stencils and die cut machines, so I had to make my own stencil. I started with typing up my lettering the right size and font I wanted. I made it an outline so it would use less ink. Then using a penknife, I cut out the inner part of the lettering. As you can see, I forgot to leave a tether piece on my "P" and "O" originally, so make note of this when cutting out your own stencil.

 

 

With a little rigging, I have a completed stencil.

 

 

I cut it down and taped it to my sign. Time to paint! I used a foam brush and blotted the paint on.

 

 

Argh maties! The big moment arrives...

 

 

It worked!

 

 

I decided it needed a little something else so I added this anchor using the same method as the lettering.

 

 

After the paint dried, I used a paint pen to outline everything.

 

 

Now time to distress!

I took some fine grain sand paper and lightly sanded the surface. This allows the wood grain to show through and make the paint look older. I might even make it look older. That's the nice thing, you can make it look as old as you want.

 

 

I added this rope to the back so we could hang it on the wall. Actually, Nick did it for me. A few staples in the rope and it's good to go.

 

 

I also added these studs. They are actually upholstery tacks that Nick broke the points off of. Hot glue them on and we're all set!

 

 

Now for the clock...

 

 

I didn't do much to this guy. This is how I bought him for $7. He looks great and fits in with the theme, but he just needed something.

 

 

So I painted the anchor orange to match the sign.

 

These were a couple of fun crafty projects that I really enjoyed working on. I'm looking forward to seeing them in our house!

 

On another note, our house is getting very, very close to being finished. We are planning on moving into it in a couple of weeks. So it might be a while before I have a chance to give a blog update. Things are already quite busy between getting the house ready to move into and, randomly enough, the garden. Big things are coming up, and I can't wait to see and show everyone our new place!