COLE & KILEY: Home State DIY.

Soooo I made this today:

It's a home state DIY wall mural. I was feeling extra crafty today and this is what became of it... And ther best part is that it cost less than $5! I am pretty proud with how it came out... It's such a creative way for Cole and I to display our entrenched Oregon pride. So here is the process to the final product:

As far as materials go, you will need a wood board, sandpaper, paint, paint brushes, a state stencil, blue tape, a pencil, and some pride in your home state.

I started with a wood sample board! I don't know why I hadn't thought of this sooner! It's the perfect way to get quality wood without having to nail any pieces together. I found this one at Goodwill, but I'm sure you could also go to any flooring store and see if they have any old samples that they don't want anymore.

Once I took the wood off the board (it was just glued on so it came off pretty easily) I used super glue to glue the pieces into place. Gorilla glue works wonders.

Next I took sand paper and sanded the surface. I wanted to board to look kind of "beat up" and antique. Plus it had a super glossy finish that I wasn't too keen on. You can see the antique-y look on the left hand side.

Here is how it came out after I sanded it. Much better!

Next I took a damp rag and wiped away any excess dust from the wood.

Next I printed out a cutout of Oregon onto card stock and cut it out.

Next, using blue masking tape I secured the back of the cutout to the board and moved it around until it was in the right place to stencil.

Using a sharp pencil, lightly trace around the cutout.

Then, peel the cutout and tape off of the wood.

Next is the fun part: painting! I used a fine tip paint brush to outline the shape. Then I used a wide foam brush to paint the remaining inside portion.

This is coat #1.