Recently one of my best friends got remarried. I wanted to make a gift for the whole family since between the two, they have 7 children. Of course, I searched Pinterest and found several options out there, but I decided to take a few of the ones I was inspired by and incorporate them into my own version. I am so excited to share my blended family sign as a part of this month’s Pinterest Challenge. Especially since I made this earlier in the summer, but couldn’t share it until after the wedding!
My Plan
Before leaving for the lake I had every intention of making a wooden pallet sign using my excess crate wood similar to my rustic menu chalkboard or the belt rack O-Man and I made. But, as usual, I had way too much on my plate and I was in the middle of a tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike when I remembered I didn’t get the signboard made.
So, I regrouped and decided to use a large canvas, I think it’s probably a little more of Amy’s style anyways.
Knowing her main living area (I hadn’t seen her new house yet) is a pale gray, I painted the background in a dark gray with a bit of dry brushing lighter and darker grays on top.
I’d love to show you a picture of just the painted background…. but, I think I took it on someone else’s camera because I don’t have any of the pictures of the process!
When I bought the canvas, I considered using stencils for the wording. However, none matched what I had in mind, something similar to their wedding invitation.
Plan B was to print the font and use it as a stencil or tracing… but, this didn’t work either. After wasting several sheets of paper, I opted not to kill any more trees and sketch the lettering by hand.
Hand Lettering
I do have neat handwriting to begin with. If I don’t write neatly, I can’t read it! While I don’t have major drawing skills, I can do some basic sketching. Recently I got my daughter an e-book about hand lettering and several of the tips in the book were helpful in making the sign.
Using a pencil and ruler, I started with marks for where I wanted the letters to go, following the mock-up I made in PicMonkey.
Then, I went for it and drew the letters. Anything that didn’t work, I just painted out and tried again. The great thing about PicMonkey is being able to zoom in on different parts of my design so I could see the details.
Another cool thing in PicMonkey is being able to make more than one design. My original version was much simpler and a close copy to one of the inspirational versions. The layout I went with mimicked their wedding invitation.
Amy is a nurse, which made the “little to do with blood” part of the quote even more fitting to me.
Blended Family Sign
Once I was happy with the penciled letters, I jumped in with a paintbrush and white paint!
The sign is far from perfect. But, that makes it even more perfect for Amy, she appreciates the imperfections in the world more than anyone I know.
Pinterest Challenge
To join next month’s #pinterestchallenge, click here to sign-up ⇒ September Pinterest Challenge.
Now let’s see what other things Pinterest inspired! Head over and visit the other hosts to see what they crafted, cooked, built, or tried!
Erlene – My Pinterventures • Jenny – Cookies Coffee and Crafts
Alexandra – EyeLoveKnots • Joanne – Our Unschooling Journey
Chelc – Inside The Fox Den • Erin – The Usual Mayhem
Beverly – Across the Boulevard • Lynne – My Family Thyme
Laurie – My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies • Lydia – Lydia’s Flexitarian Kitchen
Leslie – Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Lauren – Mom Home Guide • Emily – Domestic Deadline
Debra – Shoppe No. 5 • Roseann – This Autoimmune Life
Terri – Our Good Life • Lisa – Blogghetti
Kelli – The Olympic Nest • Rebecca – Hello Central Avenue
Bri – Halfpint Design • Cherryl – Farm Girl Reformed
Julie – Sum of their Stories • Habiba – Craftify My Love
Shirley • Intelligent Domestications
Pin and Share
As always, feel free!
What a wonderful, amazing, thoughtful gift. I’m sure it will be cherished for years to come. The hand lettering looks great!
Such a precious and thoughtful gift for a friend and even more so since it is custom hand made. Love it!
Gorgeous! I love your handlettering and this very personal gift idea. I have tried myself in handlettering and I think I can Picture myyself doing a similar sign one day, too. I’ll make sure to pin it for future reference.
Love anything that is handmade. Have create several hand lettering signs. Just saw a plain long board that had a fall quote and was hand written. They wanted $40 for it! You could easily get that and more. Shared this with a friend on my Facebook page.
Always funny when you see something you love, but know you could make it for less… of course, then I’m always glad there are people willing to pay for the work too!
That is such a wonderful and heart- felt gift! I love the design idea and the colors and I am blown away that you managed to hand letter it. Pinned.
This is great! I love the way it turned out – just so perfect for a blended family!
Girl I am so impressed with your lettering! That’s really beautiful and the fact that it was hand lettered and hand painted makes it so much more meaningful. What a wonderfully thoughtful gift!
What a lovely gift. I bet Amy was so thrilled when you gave it to her. You did a great job. If I had to depend on my handwriting you would never know what it said.
Thanks!
What a beautiful, thoughtful gift! I am sure that your friend will treasure it for years to come! Your hand-lettering is so impressive. Pinned!
What a nice gift. I love handmade gifts and I’m sure this will be treasured.
I love your sweet sign! What a thoughtful gift idea. I think it was very smart to use PicMonkey to create a template for your lettering!
Thanks, I can copy letters as long as I have something to copy!
Love the sentiment of happily blended!! This is an adorable project. Thank you for the inspiration.
I think your lettering turned out great! The sign is lovely and I’m sure very appreciated!
Such a lovely and thoughtful gift, you did a great job and your hand lettering makes it so personal.
I love it, it is just perfect!
cute sign idea! #InspireMeLink
Love it! You can’t beat a well thought through and personalised present 🙂
What a perfect family sign! I can see this making a wonderful gift for Christmas. Thanks for joining us for the #dreamteam linky x